WDTalk

There’s a lot of controversy in web hosting circles – on how to compete with bandwidth offers, with some providers offering unlimited bandwidth on their plans, although most restrict this to shared hosting only.

Unlike most, I suppose, when I see the term UNLIMITED - I always look for the fine print, very much the same way I view the term FREE. I’m like, I know there’s a catch, but now where to find out what it is.

And I’m not saying all Unlimited offers are bad – just that it normally pays huge dividends long term to know what to expect when your website gets popular, and starts pushing a ton of traffic. Some providers handle Unlimited very well, while others will boot you in heart beat for violating their Terms and Conditions (buried somewhere in there is a clause that explains how their Unlimited offer really isn’t Unlimited).

I ran across an advertisement this morning – for Unlimited bandwidth on a dedicated server, which is very rare. I won’t say who the provider is, but here is a quote from their website:

Naturally with unlimited traffic for more cost transparency

(note that there is no asterisk on traffic)

Under benefits, they show

Traffic                   Unlimited*

(now comes an asterisk – uh oh, have to read the fine print)

At the bottom of the page, in small print

*There are no charges for overage. We will permanently restrict the connection speed to 10 MBit/s if more than 10,000 GB/month are used (the basis for calculation is for outgoing traffic only. Incoming and internal traffic is not calculated). 100 MBit/s speed can be optionally restored by committing to pay 6,90 € (incl. VAT) per additional TB used. Please see here for information on how to proceed.

So what can we glean from this clause? First, that their servers are on a 100Mbps uplink port, which is an industry standard, but it also LIMITS your data transfer to that speed. And then there’s that opening sentence about no charges for overage – but wait, what overages? I thought this was unlimited.

On to 10,000GB/month or 10TB/month – that’s a lot of data transfer, but it isn’t “unlimited.” OK, so your site has pushed in excess of 10TB so far this month, and you got hit with a notice that your port speed is now “permanently” restricted to 10Mbps, or one tenth of what they could allow.

Option 1: If you expect a continuing excess of traffic limit, we offer for 6.90 € each additional GB of bandwidth to the permanent establishment to 100 Mbit / sec.

Notice the hyperlink here in their clause on how to proceed. Seems that permanent really isn’t permanent if you start paying, but wait – the clause says 6.90 per additional TB used, but when clicking through, Option 1 states 6.90 for each additional GB of bandwidth – that’s a HUGE difference. I can’t help but think one of those is a typo.

Again, I’m not saying Unlimited is necessarily bad – just that you need to calculate the risks associated with these offers by reading the fine print first. Whether or not a provider offers limits on bandwidth or offers unlimited is not a reflection of the quality of their respective services.

High on my list is the perceived value of support – good web hosting providers have 24/7 knowledgeable technicians on hand, that are not only professional, but willing to go that extra 1% on every call to exceed their clients expectations. Level one techs don’t sit on issues they can’t solve – they bump them to Level 2 to resolve client’s issues as rapidly as possible. Bad web hosting providers tend to hire inexperienced techs that lack customer support skills (the ability to interact with clients), and solve their issues promptly and professionally.

Good providers have experience gained from years of providing – competitive, stable web hosting solutions. In this business, hosts that have been around 5+ years have proved sustainability, while most bad web hosting providers disappear within one to two years. If you’re investing in a viable business partnership, longevity is a huge indicator of stability. Bad web hosting providers are often run by “kiddie hosts” from their bedrooms or by college kids out of their dorm rooms. Don’t expect to see a brick and mortar address on their site, or even worse, expect a response to a service ticket while class is in session.

A good web hosting provider usually has thousands – or possibly millions of dollars, invested in infrastructure. Failing is NOT an option for them. On the other hand, many bad providers started their business on a shoestring, without a business plan or funds to sustain operations beyond a few months. Simply check out the threads on web hosting forums – there’s always distressed hosting providers there for sale.

A good provider manages their resources – with plans that balance services with actual costs, with the long term goal of retaining clientele, and minimizing churn. They understand their limits. They understand turning a profit. They understand ROI.  Bad providers offer services at ridiculously low prices, that fail to provide enough revenue to sustain (or grow) their operations.

A good host tells you like it is – they under promise and over deliver.  They won’t tell you anything you want to hear just to get you in the door. They provide well thought out solutions and NOT just packages. Bad providers lack transparency, often promising features that are limited by clauses buried in their Terms and Conditions.

Revised

Reseller web hosting – provides a relatively inexpensive solution for newcomers to the hosting industry who want to start their own web hosting company. In this scenario, it’s a type of hosting account in which the “account holder” purchases a reseller or master account on a shared web server, then sells sub-accounts to their clients. They are essentially middle-men or intermediaries reselling services (space and bandwidth) allocated to them by their host.

Reseller accounts are also used by people with multiple - websites (for their own use). The account holder can then adjust the amount of disk space and bandwidth allotted to each site and manage all of their sites via one control panel, such as cPanel, DirectAdmin, HSphere or Plesk.

Reseller web hosting accounts are generally marketed - in different package sizes, allowing the account holder to match their requirements, then upgrade or downgrade as needed.

Advantages of reseller hosting

The web host is responsible for server maintenance.

The account holder controls access to all sites (their sites and their client’s sites) via one control panel.

The account holder can earn revenue reselling web hosting services.

The account holder can assign and modify space and bandwidth to all sites on that account.

With certain plans, account holders can brand their services without the appearance of being a reseller. (No advertising by their upline)

Startup costs are lower across the board.

Disadvantages of reseller hosting

Moving from the current web host can be both inconvenient and costly, both to the account holder and their clients.

They are marginally more expensive than shared hosting plans.

Reseller web hosting explained

Reseller web hosting commonly provides a relatively inexpensive solution for newcomers to the industry who want to start their own web hosting company, offering web hosting services. In this scenario it’s a type of hosting account in which the “account holder” purchases a reseller or master account on a shared web server, then sells sub-accounts to their clients. They are essentially middle-men or intermediaries reselling services (space and bandwidth) allocated to them by their host.

Reseller accounts are also used by people with multiple websites (for their own use). The account holder can then adjust the amount of disk space and bandwidth allotted to each site and manage all of their sites via one control panel, such as cPanel or DirectAdmin.

Reseller web hosting accounts are generally marketed in different package sizes, allowing the account holder to match their requirements, then upgrade or downgrade as needed.

Advantages of reseller hosting

The web host is responsible for server maintenance.

The account holder controls access to all sites (their sites and their client’s sites) via one control panel.

The account holder can earn revenue reselling web hosting services.

The account holder can assign and modify space and bandwidth to all sites on that account.

With certain plans, account holders can brand their services without the appearance of being a reseller.

Startup costs are lower across the board.

Disadvantages of reseller hosting

Moving from the current web host can be both inconvenient and costly, both to the account holder and their clients.

They are marginally more expensive than shared hosting plans.

Terms of Service vary widely by web hosts, so it’s extremely important to understand what services the account holder is contracting for.

Important questions to ask a potential web host provider

• Does your collocation provider offer personal tours of their datacenter(s)?
• Do they feature online (virtual) tours?
• How long have they been in business?
• What level of security do they employ?
• What is their uptime?
• Do they offer a Service Level Agreement?
• What are their Terms of Service?
• Do they have a money back guarantee?
• Do they offer managed services?
• Are their technicians not only knowledgeable, but courteous?
• Are they a one-stop-shop?
• Do they offer control panels, and which ones?
• Do they offer both Windows and Linux solutions?
• Do they charge setup fees?
• Do they offer BGP bandwidth?
• Do they offer cross-connects?
• Do they offer live chat support?
• Do they offer 24/7 phone support?
• Do they offer live event monitoring?
• Do they offer disaster recovery plans?
• Are their plans scalable?
• Will they customize a plan for you?
• Will they provide references?

I’m sure there are many many more questions – you may think of, but these are a great place to start. Finding the right provider with whom to entrust your data requires some forethought and research. Don’t over think the entire process. Search the Internet for positive / negative reviews, narrow down your list and then call each prospective vendor.

Gauge which provider best fits – your business model. How important and relevant are each of the above? Assign a value to each, total the numbers and compare vendors. Often, the correct match jumps of the page and hits you square in the forehead. Often the offer seems too good to be real – for instance, an offer of unlimited bandwidth on a VPS.

I would recommend assigning a heavier weight – to a disaster recovery plan. And also to their technical expertise, as it directly relates to the level of service you can expect to receive from them.

You’d be amazed how many hosts do NOT offer – phone support, or only during business hours. Uptime can be verified to some extent as there are sites that monitor hosts, but those do not necessarily monitor every router – so the numbers can be misleading. If your prospective host publicly lists anything less than 99.9% uptime, I’d recommend looking elsewhere. Downtime can cost thousands in lost revenue and disgruntled clients.

Do you recognize - their references? Are those references credible?

Even if your application doesn’t fit – a plan you see featured on their website, call and ask them if they’ll customize a plan for you. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Are you confused when presented with which operating system to choose – when selecting a web hosting provider’s hosting packages? You’re not alone. And no, it doesn’t matter what operating system you have on your desktop or work station – they don’t have to match your hosting platform. You can be using Windows Vista on your desktop and Linux on your web server. So what are the key guidelines to select one versus the other?

On a shared web hosting platform – both operating systems are normally priced the same. If you’re leasing a dedicated server though, Linux is open source (free) and Windows is proprietary to Microsoft applications that require license fees. If you need services like Active Server Pages (ASP), MSSQL, MS Access, Visual Basic or remote desktop, these applications are Windows specific.

Are Linux servers more secure – I see this brought up quite often in comparisons and the answers are all over the board. Very simply, the answer is NO. Both operating systems can be locked down tight – what I generally see are providers that only offer Linux platforms stating that Linux is preferred.  Both support a wide range of software applications, languages and databases.

Control panels do vary by operating system platforms – with cPanel frequently offered for Linux versus Plesk for Windows. Of the two, cPanel is more popular, but both are comprehensive.  

There are different flavors of each operating system – with Linux; CentOS, Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu and others, and with Windows; 2008 Standard, Express, Enterprise, Web Edition and more.

My recommendation – is to match your specific requirements to the Operating System that best fits. If in doubt, call your prospective providers and discuss your concerns.

I shop the Internet comparing plans all the time – and I read a ton of reviews about a trillion different providers. It seems there are plans and services by the gazillion, enough to satisfy every client.

Which provider is the best for you then? Do you look for the big established host or do you prefer the small newer hosts? On web hosting forums, some providers contend that plans are black and white, and are very much focused on definitions – this is that and there are no grey areas or exceptions. I contend that the defining difference is the client’s specific requirements.

Someone with a personal website – about their Elvis collection might not be overly concerned with uptime or bandwidth, but may require lots of disk space for their high definition pictures.

Conversely, a corporate site may not be – as concerned with bandwidth and disk space as they are uptime. I read threads every day from OPs (original posters) on various forums complaining about losing thousands of dollars because their provider suffered numerous outages. These types of clients require an elevated level of infrastructure redundancy from their providers.

It’s not even the package that matches – your requirements, as much as it is the people and infrastructure supporting what you want – your specific requirements. Unlimited this, caps on that, we respond to tickets before you even submit them, we do offsite backups every evening, or we guarantee five 9’s – what does that all equate to if you’re the exception to the definition?

There are always exceptions to the rule – and every client’s needs and requirements are different. So how do you match your requirements to your provider? If they offer pre-sales live chat, go online and ask lots of questions. If they have a phone number (unfortunately, many don’t), call them – and ask lots of questions. The key here is – do they listen to your questions and offer solutions, or do they simply guide you to packages – trying to fit you into their definition of a client?

My recommendation is to – find a provider that is willing to work with you – to match their products, services and expertise to your specific requirements.