Web Hosting Strategy

[WarringtonWebsiteDesign]

Hi All

I would like a bit of help from everyone if that is OK?

We currently offer web hosting as a side business to our core web design business, we outsource support to ensure customers can get a resolution to any hosting issues 24/7.

At the moment we offer 3 plans with set storage and bandwidth limits with prices varying from £4.99 to £14.99 a month.

As much as we hate "unlimited" and fully agree there must be limits we are considering offering an "unlimited" space and bandwidth package. Our limits would be soft limits based around server CPU useage and impact on other sites on that server. Price would be in the region of £4.99 a month.

E.G.
Site one uses 10% of server resource at 1am for 3 hours, server use is light and there is plenty of resources still available.

Site two uses 10% of server resource at 1pm while the server is quite busy, monitoring software picks this up and scales back the resources available to this site if the 10% useage lasts more than a few seconds.

Obviously the two examples are simplifications.

Any site using excessive server resources would be contacted and told of the issue. Regular offenders then worked with to find a resolution.

This is still only at the idea stage and I would love peoples views both good and bad.

 

[webhostuk]

Hello,

This is a perfect way to start with. Good Luck to you.

Make sure go for good support and customer care if you are looking for a good start.

 

[Adrian Pearson]

Hi there, could I ask where you obtained the outsourced support service from?

 

[Optegris]

Any site using excessive server resources would be contacted and told of the issue. Regular offenders then worked with to find a resolution.

Then it's not unlimited

Rob, you said yourself you hate these unlimited proposals so why go down that route?

If you are selling unlimited plans and then you have a clause stating that there will be penalties for excessive usage then it's not unlimited hence you are miss-selling your services.

Be honest, do you really see the need to start selling "unlimited" plans?

 

[WHUK]

I would not suggest you to sell unlimited hosting plans, offer guaranteed resources to your clients and if they are about to exceed the allocated resources ask them to upgrade the hosting plan. It would be pretty easy for you to manage all the accounts and the clients would also know how much resources they are using.

 

[Dominic Taylor]

This is a perfect way to start with. Good Luck to you.

With respect it's the worst start possible.

By the time he's identified and taken action against the people who regularly use too much of the unlimited resources and boot them off, he'll have no customers left / alienate any who stay as they realise the same will happen to them.

OP - unlimited doesn't exist, end of. Don't think you can offer it and constrain it - you can't. Shared hosting can be enough of a minefield with dodgy scripts etc without inviting your clients to try and overload the system!