I am actually trying to help a friend with hosting and he found a host named KristiHost that he was interested in. Kristi Host is a new host company that was recently established. However the company that acquired KristiHost is called World Operative, which does webdesign stuff.
I spoke with the CEO on behalf of my friend and he was quite warm/friendly and we spoke for about 20-30 mins via live chat.
I even directly asked could we trust that one day they will not just randomly go out of business for whatever reason? He answered back that he could not guarantee that but that KH would be around for the forseeable future. They do not rely solely on KH to make a profit since World Operatives is their main company and Kristi Host is just a division of that.
I got a good vibe from the guy and I didn't feel forced or manipulated. Seems like a pleasant guy.
I asked how many clients they had and he answered truthfully with 13.
My Friend made a good point that one time or another companies like Hostgator, GoDaddy, etc etc. all had to start off small at one point as well.
Obviously nothing is going to stay around forever so he probably answered the the only possible correct way. It really depends, usually appearance of something is a good indication of what it's really like. I think if the staff are too warm and friendly it could be to good to be true but to be honest having a friendly and approachable staff is much better than having staff that speak like robots which really annoys me.
Do you think it is wise for me to tell my friend to go for it and try them out?
I wouldn't say they were overly warm & friendly(that creeps me out lol)
Another benefit is with them being so small, it allows them to build personal relationships with all their clients. 13 clients means better familiarity.
I'd do some research on the new host first, like asking them to show me some of the biggest sites/forums that they host. Google for reviews, and see if any members of specific communities (Like FP), has any experience using it.
Assuming that it's been around for a bit, but still rather new.
I like when the CEO would talk to you like that, it shows to me that they care a lot about their business and want to do everything they can to help you.
It doesn't get any better than that, the CEO has the most abilities to get you the best deals.
While it's true that they can't guarantee going out of business, it would be pretty fair to ask that they give you a fair bit of warning if that ever does happen so you can do an urgent server move. Although I doubt they would one day just "turn off" anyway.
The one I'm using actually sold their sub-hosting companies but kept me on as a client.
I think it's worth trying, I think the smalls guys are better than the big guys (1and1, hostmonster, GoDaddy, etc). But you should make sure that they're a full time business. I've used small times hosts before where the people had an actual day job. It took longer for the support I needed because it had to work around their schedules.
My current host moved my sites for me, they've done database optimizing, they've assisted in Database restores. They even gone as far as attempting to assist with forum software issues. And that's not even something they normally support.
The site move & database work really helps since there's a time or resource limit for everything I do through the browser. My databases are huge, so I'd run into a lot of timeouts. Plus, having that type of service really takes some pressure off of me.
Nope, I never trust a brand new host. I wait until they've been around for a long time. I've used my current host for 3 years and just signed up for 3 more in advance.
I think he will go ahead and try the host out but when he asked to see some of the sites that were hosted by KH, he was not able to give their web addresses without prior consent.
He did however tell my friend that he would be willing to put him on their fresh out the box server. So i guess that is good...Right? LOL
Oh and their servers are
Two Intel Dual Core 2.2 GHz, I3-2100 3.1Ghz.
Fresh servers are always good 🙂. Less people on it.
But, it would really depend too on how they allocate resources.
When I used shared hosting on mine, they were pretty good on giving my sites more than what other sites were limited to because of the higher activity. The more users you have on, the more resources you'll need down the road.
Our forum took a lot of work, we use multiple developers too.
So don't be surprised if you can't find certain features/functions/plugins that we have. They're exclusive to us.
Although I feel our themes/style is out of date.
I hope to change that whenever MyBB 2.0 is ready.
No, we're definitely not on a shared plan, not even a VPS. We're using a dedicated machine. It's primarily focused around trading. That's how we started, that's why we have the name GTS aka Global Trade Station.
I wanted to cater to other aspects of Pokemon, so we began to expand on that.
While it's still a primary place for trading, we have a PokeLeague, and are encouraging users to use our "PokePedia" wiki system. So we can provide the resources the fans need without having to go to another site.
GTS's database is significantly big. We also use CometChat that we're calling "PokeGear", an "Instant Messenger" software like that, also drains lot of resources as well, especially when tons of people are using it.
With new hosts I always went on a month to month basis, with regular back ups & never comitted to paying a year up front, as it could end up biting you in the bum in the end.
I dont trust new hosts, I use ones that have been around and have established a reputation as being reliable and dependable. I'm sure lots of people think that way and thats why its hard to be a host starting out.. It could possibly take a host years to build a reputation and actually get profitable amounts of customers.
I am a new host myself.
And from a hosts point of view, I know how hard that can be.
The opening stages of any business are always the toughest.
It is certainly very difficult to trust a new host.
It's easy to say HOSTGATOR when given a choice
between that or a new web hosting provider.
The difference between new hosts and established hosts is that,
on the whole, new hosts are cheaper and tend to offer more value.
However, it really does depend on the impression you get from them.
It's alright having a chat with the pre-sales department.
They would do anything just to sell you an account with them.
Of course they're going to be polite and helpful.
The question is, will they continue to be polite and helpful once they've sold their services to you?
It's often the case that they seem to disappear at this point. 😕
I would suggest requesting a free trial if you're not sure.
They'd be stupid to refuse as its potentially a loss of business for them.
An established host may refuse as they've already got enough business.
Test every nook and cranny! Make sure the service meets your standards.
If they let you down then let them down! Spread the word with bad reviews.
There's nothing worse, in my opinion, than a bad web hosting service! 😉
If the new host has good prices, why not? For example, this host that I've never heard of - IPXCore.com - offered to sponsor my gaming forum by hosting it for free 😀 And so far, they've been great, even providing us with game servers.
Don't we just love people like you! LOL! 😛
You're one of many though...popular hosts are, after all, popular for a reason.
Contradictory to that, were they popular from day one? No! People had to try them.
It's more of a gamble. New hosts might not have experience and power like old ones have, but they tend to offer lower prices and bonuses compared to the old ones. I suppose you can try with a new host first then switching to the old one if you are ready.
Of course, talking and asking must be done first. At least to know how the management would reply. Or try their free host first if they have any.
