There is a real hole in website hosting. You can buy what I refer to as commodity or mom-and-pop virtual hosting at places like Godaddy and iPower, however this is really not a long term solution for any serious business. These hosting companies also offer virtual private servers (VPS) and hardware servers. What is missing is business class web hosting.
I used to work in the domain and hosting industry which has given me much insight.
Some of the things that were a real eye opener:
Level 1 techs – These hosting providers have a customer service hierarchy. When you call or fill out a ticket you are communicating with a level 1 tech. These folks know just enough to help you with some simple things. If you are experiencing a real problem all they can help with is filling out a ticket that goes into a queue. Depending on demand it might take your ticket up to 3 days to work it’s way through the queue. In the meantime all you can do is wait. If your email is down or your website has disappeared, all you can do is wait.
Ticket Queue – As mentioned above your ticket will stay in a queue for 1 to 3 days depending on demand. They are not trying to ignore you, it is just how cheap hosting works. Think about it, if you are paying less than $10 and month for hosting, they really cannot spend much time with you or they lose money.
Lost data and lost websites – I’ve used this level of hosting in the past without any problems. My friend was not so lucky. His blog was lost and he had no backup. Can you imagine spending hundreds of hours working on a blog to have it all disappear.
And of course if you move up to a VPS or a hardware server you will get more power and resources, however it is wrapped in the same old customer service hierarchy.
There is a solution. Break free – find a hosting provider that will give you outstanding customer service and resolve your problems in a reasonable amount of time. No ticket queue and no gatekeepers. Look for a place where you will have access to the people working on the hardware – the system administrator.
If you are hosting your business website on cheap virtual hosting, I would recommend moving up to business class hosting. It will cost more, however it is worth it.
I’ve been working with Pixelgate Networks for over 11 years and find their pricing to below those other guys and their service to be excellent. When you call you talk with a real system administrator – the person who can resolve your issue.
If you would like peace of mind call Pixelgate at 805-446-6251 and tell them Keith sent you.