Am starting a web hosting company.

[Wild Rat]

Yes, I know what you're thinking....I AM MAD! 😛

But I am starting up a web hosting company.
I will not announce any information about it just yet as it's not ready yet.

I would, however, like to ask you guys a few questions:

1. Any of you interested in trying for free?
- The reason I'm asking is because more than half of new web hosting companies shut down after a few months. I, myself, have been let down before so I know what it feels like.

2. What kind of things do YOU expect to see from a web hosting provider?
- This is a very important question. I want to know what YOU expect from a web hosting company. Doesn't have to be a specific company, but what you expect from web hosts in general.

3. What made you choose your current hosting provider?
- Please only answer this question if you have bought web hosting in the past.

Thanks in advance for your help in answering these questions guys. 😉

 

[PoBoy]

1. You mean free as a beta test thing? or you're planning on a free hosting business model?

2. Uptime and transparency. By transparency I mean I work on my site, it runs without hiccups. I don't even think about my web host at all. If I do have a support question, I get a timely response, even if it's not "We fixed it!" right away. I like to be kept up to date on what's being done.

3. I chose my current host because they have a previous proven track record and good reviews (I know, hardest part for a startup 😀), and I stick with them because I've had great support and my sites run reasonably quick so I know it doesn't have a disgusting amount of overselling.

 

[Wild Rat]

PoBoy, that was a very helpful response, thank you.
People, I would love to hear more responses like this. 😉

And in answer to your first question, PoBoy.
It would be free for a while, not free for ever.

 

[kavin]

1. Any of you interested in trying for free?

I probably won't, because i already retired from my Forums, and won't have time for a while.

2. What kind of things do YOU expect to see from a web hosting provider?

I expect someone who runs their own servers, and not someone who is just a reseller. I also want the admin (or team) to have good knowledge in managing servers and other hosting stuffs.
They should have been established for a while. I don't trust new ones.
They should have excellent live support.

3. What made you choose your current hosting provider?

I used to have a shared hosting from hostable.com and a VPS from KGNinfotech.in
Hostable is up for more than 8 years, and though KGN is new, they provide excellent support (referred by a friend).

 

[Wild Rat]

Thanks again kavin.
Another good response.

And yes I will be running my own server.
It will be a quad core VPS with 4gb dedicated RAM.
The VPS will be running off my own dedicated server.

I use VPS instead of dedicated as cPanel license is cheaper.
So you don't need to worry about me being a reseller. 😉

 

[kavin]

That's nice. Good luck. 😀

 

[Wild Rat]

That's nice. Good luck. 😀

Thanks. 😀

 

[MrJohn]

The only piece of advice that I can give really is to be stable. People want to know that they are going to be able to rely on their host. Trust and word of mouth is about all you have in this business. Best of luck mate!

 

[IcEWoLF]

Be sure not to overload your machines.
Few happy customers will help you grow your service rapidly.
Always try to build a strong loyal base customers.

 

[nveid]

Look into more RAM.. 4GB RAM is NOT ENOUGH for VPS hosting, you want at least 16GB. Be better if you can do 32GB of RAM.

All my shared hosting servers have at least 8GB of RAM and 3TB of diskspace.. Dedicated you can get away with 1 2 or 4.. VPS You need 16 or 32.

Good luck though! 🙂

 

[dan213]

1. Any of you interested in trying for free?

I would but I already have a host that I'm happy with so not at the moment.

2. What kind of things do YOU expect to see from a web hosting provider?

Uptime, uptime, uptime, and even more uptime. If I'm paying for web hosting, I would expect my website, forum, blog, etc to be online and servings its purpose. While I understand that there are hiccups and downtime may come at one point, I would expect the web host to be knowledgeable enough to get my site back up and running quick.

I also would expect support that has a clue as to what they are doing. There are so many hosts that hire staff and give them a "good luck" type email with very little to no training in the field. I understand you may not be able to provide 24/7 support but taking care of customers is one of the keys to success here. Personally, if I have an issue with my forum than I tend to already be in a bad mood. The one thing that would irritate me even more and push me to the edge would be if support wasn't quick to fix the problem and get me back online.

3. What made you choose your current hosting provider?

My current hosting provider is Host Gator. I have been with them for a long time and have yet to run into any issues. The support is awesome, the uptime is what I'd expect, and while the price is a little bit more than other hosts out there - I'm happy and willing to pay it just because I know I'll be taken care of.


Good luck with your endeavor and toss me a link when your live so I can be nosey 😛

 

[InFiNiTy™]

1. Any of you interested in trying for free?

I would but I already have a host that I'm happy with so not at the moment.

2. What kind of things do YOU expect to see from a web hosting provider?

Uptime, uptime, uptime, and even more uptime. If I'm paying for web hosting, I would expect my website, forum, blog, etc to be online and servings its purpose. While I understand that there are hiccups and downtime may come at one point, I would expect the web host to be knowledgeable enough to get my site back up and running quick.

I also would expect support that has a clue as to what they are doing. There are so many hosts that hire staff and give them a "good luck" type email with very little to no training in the field. I understand you may not be able to provide 24/7 support but taking care of customers is one of the keys to success here. Personally, if I have an issue with my forum than I tend to already be in a bad mood. The one thing that would irritate me even more and push me to the edge would be if support wasn't quick to fix the problem and get me back online.

3. What made you choose your current hosting provider?

My current hosting provider is Host Gator. I have been with them for a long time and have yet to run into any issues. The support is awesome, the uptime is what I'd expect, and while the price is a little bit more than other hosts out there - I'm happy and willing to pay it just because I know I'll be taken care of.


Good luck with your endeavor and toss me a link when your live so I can be nosey 😛

I would agree with you that Host Gator is the best!

 

[cpvr]

Yes, I know what you're thinking....I AM MAD! 😛

But I am starting up a web hosting company.
I will not announce any information about it just yet as it's not ready yet.

I would, however, like to ask you guys a few questions:

1. Any of you interested in trying for free?
- The reason I'm asking is because more than half of new web hosting companies shut down after a few months. I, myself, have been let down before so I know what it feels like.

2. What kind of things do YOU expect to see from a web hosting provider?
- This is a very important question. I want to know what YOU expect from a web hosting company. Doesn't have to be a specific company, but what you expect from web hosts in general.

3. What made you choose your current hosting provider?
- Please only answer this question if you have bought web hosting in the past.

Thanks in advance for your help in answering these questions guys. 😉

What I expect from a web hosting provider? Reliable, speed, and great support. No, I'm not interested in trying your host for free.

What made me chose my current hosting provider? The fact that they have good servers and support.

 

[David]

1. Any of you interested in trying for free?
No.

2. What kind of things do YOU expect to see from a web hosting provider?
Uptime, fast support (online and phone), good user interface, cPanel, good pricing, well known in the industry (ie. actively advertises).

3. What made you choose your current hosting provider?
Reputation, good uptime, and reasonable support.

 

[Hitakashi]

Look into more RAM.. 4GB RAM is NOT ENOUGH for VPS hosting, you want at least 16GB. Be better if you can do 32GB of RAM.

All my shared hosting servers have at least 8GB of RAM and 3TB of diskspace.. Dedicated you can get away with 1 2 or 4.. VPS You need 16 or 32.

Good luck though! 🙂

He means a VPS for EVERYTHING, so the VPS would have the max allowed RAM and disk it can take.

1. Any of you interested in trying for free?
Trying, Yes because I need a non-localhost for scripting (PHP)

2. What kind of things do YOU expect to see from a web hosting provider?
Uptime, Fast Support, No random downtime, good servers, fast, nice staff, financially backed.

 

[TheInformer]

The market for hosting companies is insane!

Fist off I would not suggest free trials as that usually leads to abuse and spam issues. I would do a cheap offer, but not completely free

I expect good customer service and support, no down time, professional responses from everyone, and live chat along with phone support is a big bonus!

I chose my hosting company after much research and reading of reviews. I don't mind paying extra if their service shows they truly care. It is great that they know me, and I am not just another client ID number

 

[Sam]

Crucial Features:

-Timely Support
-Quality Support
-Good Knowledgebase
-Notification of sever downtimes.
-Uptime
-Fast Hosting

Good Luck!

 

[Ghost]

Yes, I know what you're thinking....I AM MAD! 😛

But I am starting up a web hosting company.
I will not announce any information about it just yet as it's not ready yet.

I would, however, like to ask you guys a few questions:

1. Any of you interested in trying for free?
- The reason I'm asking is because more than half of new web hosting companies shut down after a few months. I, myself, have been let down before so I know what it feels like.

2. What kind of things do YOU expect to see from a web hosting provider?
- This is a very important question. I want to know what YOU expect from a web hosting company. Doesn't have to be a specific company, but what you expect from web hosts in general.

3. What made you choose your current hosting provider?
- Please only answer this question if you have bought web hosting in the past.

Thanks in advance for your help in answering these questions guys. 😉

As I have hosted multiple websites and more, the most important thing is definitely uptime and flexibility. If your host is offline for even a few hours, you've eliminated potential big buyers. If it loses uptime more than that then your crowd of potential buyers goes down.
Secondly, with flexibility it would be nice if you offered the ability to upgrade or (maybe even) downgrade plans if someone needs to. (Ex: can't pay that much anymore, OR needs more space). The way I figure it, someone who can't pay the bill would be better off paying less for themselves and you because at least you get SOME money instead of none.

Options! People love to see a list of available tools and things they can use. Most of them won't even use all of them, however, the more there are there more likely they are to use your host. Long term promises also help for I won't use a host unless I have to if I am unsure if it will still be around in a year.

You want to make sure to have some customer support too, as I see a bunch of complains, when researching possible hosting options, concerning lack of support. This will be hard and it may have to come personally covering this or hiring someone online to answer questions for customers.

Not too expensive. When starting a company it's really easy to go to 'I need cash, so I need to raise the prices'. Eliminate this thinking and think: BIG PICTURE.
Is more cash at the moment worth losing customers? Going through tough times financially for a website is worth the endgame. Mark Zuckerburg and his groupies once said 'we know it's cool, but that's it', and they stayed away from advertisers, thus making it hard to keep the site up for poor Edward or whatever the CFO's name was. However, obviously, it worked out.

Good luck!

 

[PoBoy]

Any updates Wild Rat? did you end up launching the company?

 

[IAAM Radio]

Crucial Features:

-Timely Support
-Quality Support
-Good Knowledgebase
-Notification of sever downtimes.
-Uptime
-Fast Hosting

Good Luck!

The above says it all. Good luck and keep us posted.