I've been managing servers off and on since 1998 and have been working with Web-related servers (DNS, FTP, HTTP, POP, SMTP) since about 2001. And starting around 2004 for, I took over the management of a small hosting company with about 1500 to 2000 websites.
It has always been frustrating to me when customers balk at a decent price for hosting. Everyone tends to gravitate toward the cheapest of any product, but having used various hosting services as well as operated my own, I understand better than most that real hosting costs real money.
What is "real" hosting? And why does it cost money?
- Hosting occurs on servers that cost money.
- Servers are located in a building that costs money.
- Connecting the servers to the Internet costs money.
- The skilled employee(s) needed to maintain this infrastructure costs money.
In the old days of the Web, that is, 1995, I remember "business class" hosting was sold for $50 to $150 per month. But some companies today are selling hosting for as little $2.95 a month. And what about free hosting? How do they sell it so cheaply or even give it away?
- Hosting may be a secondary business.
- Advertising is inserted into the hosted sites.
- They offer little or no support to hosting customers.
Real hosting companies needs to make a profit. With the exception of a very few, these low-bid hosting companies are like childhood lemonade stands -- here today, gone tomorrow. They are in the business to make a quick profit and it doesn't matter if they aren't around tomorrow -- to them at least. It is easy to find horror stories of cheap hosting gone bad.
Real website hosting comes from people offering friendly and responsive support on a stable and well maintained infrastructure. This is NOT what you pay for when you purchase hosting for $2.95 a month.
Oh, and if you're looking for "real" hosting, check out Connecting Point. And if you're a photographer, I would recommend Marathon Press. They aren't paying me to say good things about them, but I work for and with both of these companies from time to time and you'll find them to be real indeed.
