Finding Stability in the Ever-Changing Web World

I recently had a client decide she no longer needed my hosting services because she found a website online that offered free hosting and she could save $50/yr. Yeah, free hosting has been around for years, but this new website was offering it with no strings attached. No logos, advertisements, surveys, nothing… just free hosting for budget-conscience folks and a user-friendly interface to help you pick out, edit and publish a pretty decent website on your own. (You just pay for the domain.)

At first this news rocked me to my core. I understand how someone could give away server space and website building tools, but WHY would they do it? It makes no business sense to offer something for nothing. It costs money to buy and maintain servers, program and update a website. Why would someone go out of their way to offer this service and get nothing in return? But more importantly, I wondered how I am supposed to compete in this new, ever-changing world of web giveaways.

It seems the services I offer can be found online for cheaper and cheaper with each passing day. First the internet offered cheap website templates, but you still needed some working knowledge of HTML to make it work. Then the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor came out. That allowed anyone with basic computer skills the ability to edit html text and pictures. The catch was, you had to know how to hook the new technology up to your template. Now, the art of web development has gotten down to an exact science and almost anyone can find a packaged design to suit their needs for free with no programming skills required to install.

Internet advances are overwhelming, frustrating, and sometimes downright discouraging. I love the internet and welcome new technology because it makes my life easier too. So telling myself and my client that free tools and resources aren’t beneficial when in fact they are… isn’t an option. That would be like keeping life-saving medicine from a cancer patient because I didn’t want to admit that someone else had a better treatment. At the end of the day, honesty wins out. So I have to find a way to not just survive in this dynamic world, but become a part of it. I have to find my niche in the chaos, find what’s timeless about me, what transcends a trend. I have to challenge myself to find stability in change.

So that’s where I am. I’m in a state of reinventing my business. While continuing custom web design and development, I’m brainstorming ways I’ll help people and businesses succeed online in the future. By combining the craftsmanship of yesterday with the new tools available today, I’m hoping to generate a new business model that exudes creativity, innovation, and stellar customer service.

To my client who wants to change hosting to save some green, I say, “Go, be free, enjoy the new service, and I’ll be here when you need me.” Because the help I provide, the advice I give, the ideas I plant and the many questions I answer in every email you send me doesn’t come standard with your new, free service. My expertise has value and that’s one thing that never changes.

Why Should I Manage Your Hosting?

The reason is simple.  Don’t you have enough to worry about already?

When it comes to web site hosting, most people outside of the technology industry are clueless. And I don’t mean they are stupid, just inexperienced and uninterested.  Unfortunately, though, anyone who wants a website is going run face-first into that mysterious word – hosting – and most are going to say, “what is that!?!?”

As I describe it to my clients, your website is like a file folder in the sky and hosting is the cabinet.  In order to publish your information to the world wide web, you need a server to run it.  And since most of us don’t just have one of those hanging around the house, we rent space from someone who does.

Now, when I start a web project, one of the first questions I ask a new client is whether or not they have hosting.  If they don’t, I always say that they can either buy it themselves and give me their login or host through me and I take care of it for them.  You guessed it, nine clients out of ten say, “I’ll let you handle that.”  And here’s what they get for giving up control:

• Control… as in… everything’s under control and they don’t have to do anything.
• The most awesome customer service around. If they need help or have a question, they can email me, text me, or phone me… not a 1-800 number.
• Save money. I charge the same as the hosting companies charge, but because they don’t end up signing up for stuff they don’t need, because they didn’t know they  didn’t need it, they save!
• Save time. Whenever they need a change done to their website that requires server information, they don’t have to go searching the planet for it. Since I manage it, I have it.
• A knowledgeable friend. I know what hosting plans should offer and how their website should work.  If something’s wrong. I’ll probably spot it before they do.  I’ll be the one to tell if they need to upgrade or change plans all together.  (You can’t beat my friendship with a stick!)
• Security. I know of at least a handful of clients who lost their websites because they failed to pay the hosting bill. Either the email address was wrong or the they ignored the bills, but when they didn’t pay, the company dropped the account and they were out of the $$$ they had invested.  Don’t let that happen to you.

Now, sure, there are always those people out there, those do-it-yourselfers who enjoy learning something new and have a tight grip on everything around them.  Those are the same folks who change their own oil, fix their own leaky facets and dye their own hair.  To them, I say, “here’s your towel and gloves.”  But to the rest of you I say, “sit back and relax…”

All Hosting isn’t the Same

If you’ve been reading my posts, you’ll probably well aware of my writing style. I like to give reviews. No, I’m not being paid. I’m just someone who spends A LOT of time on the internet and because of this, end up learning useful things. I believe in spreading the wealth!

Today’s dilemma: HOSTING.  (See the top 10 list of hosting companies here)

I’m a web designer and use web site hosting with all projects I work on. I’m very fluent in server speak. I know the which companies offer what and am pretty good at determining the best hosting plan for each of my client’s specific needs. And most of the time, my clients want me to set hosting up for them and I like that, because it keeps the guessing out. But sometimes a client will come to me with hosting they already purchased and want me to do the work using what they already have. That’s generally ok too, but sometimes we have trouble.

Trouble arrived lately with a new client who was trying to be proactive and set up hosting by herself with domain.com. I was impressed that she had done her homework and was also glad that instead of starting with hosting, I could jump straight into the project itself.. a move that would save me 30 minutes or so. What I didn’t know was that her random choice of a hosting plan would set this small-budget site into a tailspin of problems that would eventually set me back hundreds of dollar in development time.

Problem #1 was getting a construction page up because of some prior applications they had put on the account that limited what the customer could do using the FTP.  Problem #2, I then found out, was that the company offered HORRIBLE customer service on the phone.  They are only open 6am – 6pm (pacific time) and are nearly impossible to get on the phone unless you are willing to wait 30+ minutes on hold.  They never responded to my emails either and never called me back when I left a message. Problem #2 was diverted when my client didn’t mind waiting on the phone for so long and finally did get our needs met. Problem #3 started the following day when my easy-install zen cart app’s permissions were set to non-edit in the control panel and I wasn’t able to change that OR edit any files in the system OR upload my own new ones.  Are you serious?!?!?  This ridiculousness led to problem #4 which was missed/renamed files in the zen cart system when I went around domain.com’s easy apps and did the manual zen cart app upload through the ftp.  As if these problems weren’t bad enough, problem #5 occurred when I tried to set up a meager “redirect” from the main directory to the /shop/ directory where the e-commerce site is hosted.  Every other hosting company I work with allows me to do this simply in the control panel.  This company apparently doesn’t offer it or it’s not easily found in the control panel (and we all know phoning this company is out… ).

I’m sure we’ll get this worked out in the next day or two, but it still reminds me that ALL HOSTING ISN’T THE SAME.  The following is a list of the most popular ( and best reviewed ) hosting companies out there.  To prevent the above problems from arising with your next web project, I suggest doing business with one of the companies on the list and looking for 24/7 support via the TELEPHONE.  Call support and see how long it takes before you finalize your purchase.

http://webhostinggeeks.com/

WHEW!!! This is a long post.