I have been visiting this forum for several months now and I am glad to help everyone I can. However, I must ask for a little help from you. My company is preparing to launch our web solutions services under a domain separate from our corporate and software sales site. The new domain is http://www.AtlantaWebhost.com/ . The site is still under construction, but it is fully functional.

I would love to get everyone’s comments about the content and interface. Please give me your opinion on how the site and our services can be improved for our customers. The staff in my company specializes in software development and web site hosting, but none of us are great designers (that is one reason we are pulling out of web site design). I think the site is good, but we may need to hire a professional to recreate the design.

Though it is not available to non-customers, we are developing a new clients area where our clients can manage the aspects of their account not controlled through their control panel. What features would you recommend we include in our clients’ area? We have plans to list billing dates and give access to all the receipts and invoices for the last year.

Thank you for any help you can give us.

Best regards,
Frank Rietta


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Rietta Solutions
Internet: web.rietta.com
E-Mail: websolutions@rietta.com
Phone: 770-623-2059
Fax: 770-495-0914

Frank -

Very nice design - clean. I hate cluttered sites. :)

Very easy navigation, everything is laid out in a logical manner, easy to find the info you need.

One thing. On this page: http://www.atlantawebhost.com/signup.shtml
in the body of the message, your AUP and TOS links do not work.

Dear Annette:

Thank you for your comments. They are very helpful. I corrected the URL problems on the sign-up page.

Best regards,
Frank Rietta


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Rietta Solutions
Internet: web.rietta.com
E-Mail: websolutions@rietta.com
Phone: 770-623-2059
Fax: 770-495-0914

Hey i got some people intrested in your plans so is it possible todo yearly payments couldnt see that when i took a quick look around

Originally posted by Rietta Solutions:
Dear Annette:

Thank you for your comments. They are very helpful. I corrected the URL problems on the sign-up page.

Best regards,
Frank Rietta

100 Gigs of bandwidth per month for 26.95?

To FHosting,

Yes, we can do yearly payments. The option is not on the order form yet, but it can be changed when the user goes to the client area. We took the option off the order form since no one ever ordered for terms of service more than quarterly when we had that. It could be added again though.

PepsiCoke:

Yes, our upstream host has lots of extra bandwidth. However, we have come to realize that it is absolutely impossible for anyone to use that much bandwidth without using too much CPU time. Those figures are being adjusted right now, but the new information is not yet published.

Best regards,
Frank Rietta



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Rietta Solutions
Internet: web.rietta.com
E-Mail: websolutions@rietta.com
Phone: 770-623-2059
Fax: 770-495-0914

Frank,

Your site is what I would expect of you, judging from your posts and responses in the past. Lest there be any doubt, that's a compliment on both points.

You don't need to have it redesigned. I found it direct, easy to navigate and find appropriate and relevant information, and refreshingly honest. I like the lack of the x.95 pricing (except for your lowest package) and the lack of "unlimited" for limited resources.

The TOS are easy to find and one must acknowledge having read them and acceptance of them in order to sign up. This is a nice contrast to those hosts that hide them (until you exceed those "unlimited" resources). You may want to refine your definitions of adult material. Nudity covers a wide area, and even National Geographic has some. Your meaning is clear, but your definition is not. Also, you have an inappropriate, though often misused, use of the term "hacking". What you should use is cracking, which refers to those who break into the systems (or violate software copyrights) of others. Hacking refers to those who discover their own systems and software, and some programs, including open source, even encourage hacking.

The additional helpful information (like definition of terms) is a nice touch. I expect you'll probably refine it further, perhaps mentioning the limitations of bandwidth vs cpu cycles further. I did see a casual mention in the bandwidth limitation, noted for its honesty.

In short, a job well done, a site that is honest in what it offers. It sets an example that others would do well to emulate, but only if their attitude were similar to yours. Otherwise, their lies are welcome. It makes it easier to tell them apart from the honest companies.

[This message has been edited by Duster (edited 05-23-2000).]

Dear Duster,

Thank you for your kind and helpful comments! I made the slight modification to the TOS regarding the cracking/hacking deal. However, the word hacking is now surrounded by a connotation of badness. I heard a small segment on the history of the word “hack” on a show on National Public Radio (I think it was on the “All Things Considered” program). It is quite interesting how the usage of the word has changed over the last six hundred years.

I like the idea of explaining CPU usage further. I do not know why we did not think of that when we were gathering the information we wanted on the site. I took a few minutes last night and produced three paragraphs on our CPU usage policy. If you would like to critique it, please see http://www.atlantawebhost.com/moreinfo.shtml#cpu .

I also added a site search feature today (powered by the whatUSeek product). It functions very well and I hope it will make pertinent information easier for people to find.

Thank you again for your helpful, and encouraging, words.

Best regards,
Frank Rietta



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Rietta Solutions
Internet: web.rietta.com
E-Mail: websolutions@rietta.com
Phone: 770-623-2059
Fax: 770-495-0914

Frank,

You have added a crowning touch to the bandwidth vs cpu usage issue. Your site goes further than any I have seen in making sure prospective customers understand their obligations and limitations of usage. The fair treatment of customers is evident in the TOS and elsewhere. An exceptionally well done job (check the grammar though, a few words are in the wrong tense, etc.).

The honesty of your site, and the information on it, may give people something to think about when they see the claims of "unlimited" at so many others, especially when the cpu usage is not mentioned, or the TOS are nowhere to be found. I think it will be especially appreciated by those who have already been lied to and had bad experiences and find your site a refreshing contrast.

Yes, I know the negative connotation of ht eword "hacker" caused by all the people, including the media, who misuse it. many people, including the media, have stated that the next millenium has begun this year. They are all wrong on that issue as well. So too are the people who use the word "spam" to indicate any advertisement, ignoring that it must be a bulk unsolicited message to be considered spam. To misuse a term only perpetuates the corruption of the meaning and adds to the confusion.

Good job on not confusing your customers on the more mportant matters.

Frank, I hope your "upstream" as you put it, is as nice as you are, but I have heard otherwise by many that they are not. Doesn't this concern you even a little bit?

I wish you where as quick to answer emails as you are to answer here i sent a request from your website on monday or tuesday and still no reply but you have time to reply here how come ?

Dear Chicken:

I wish you had used your real name since not posting any personally identifiable information does not lend you much credit.

As for your question, I am not concerned about our main provider because we deal with them on a daily basis. There equipment is state of the art and their uptime is hard to beat. We do not rely on them for most technical support, but handle almost everything ourselves. On the few occasions we have had problems, we were able to get them resolved within hours and at the most within a day. Our staff works closely with the company and we are not limited to the normal customer service lines.

Best regards,
Frank Rietta

Dear FHosting:

Did you not get the reply e-mail from me on 5/23/2000, sent at 1:20 PM? It was sent to your webmaster@fthosting.co.uk address. Let me resend it.

::Edit::
I just forwarded you the e-mail that I originally sent on the 23rd. Your original message was sent on Tuesday, May 23, 2000 at 10:20:53. I guess there might have been network trouble. Please let me know when you get the mail.

Best regards,
Frank Rietta


[This message has been edited by Rietta Solutions (edited 05-25-2000).]

:( your email dont seem to be getting through Frank you could try this addie DjSy99@netscape.net id really like to hear your response and sorry for the tone of my last post.

sorry, but I don't think my real name would have added anything to my post. Notice I didn't let the monkey out of the bag, it was just a question, (which you answered fine).

Just looking at hosts. And I guess it was me that was concerned.

Sorry to take this off onto a tangent, but I have to comment on the point of no personal identifiable information in a nickname.

First of all, it's just that, a nickname. This means it doesn't have to be a real name or other personally identifiable name. That's specifically it's purpose. I'm sorry if you disagree with me on that.

Second, there are many reasons quite a few people don't put personally identifiable information out here for everyone (good and bad) to see. First and foremost on my list is personal security and privacy. I value them greatly. On surveys, questioniares, applications, etc., I routinely omit certain information that I don't feel is really necessary. There's enough problem with your private information becoming public, why should I be required to destroy the very private-ness of that information?

Personally, I take anyone's name on these forums with a grain of salt. What really matters is what/how they post. The rest is just fluff (that could be used against them by dishonest people).

I'm not sure all this makes sense, and I'm sure someone would be willing to pick it apart for us, but that's my opinion which I'm entitled to. :) It's not meant to offend you guys, either.

Again, sorry for going onto a tangent, this is not what this thread is all about.

tk

Not to mention that my question about his provider didn't require *me* to have credit. Sorry Frank, but I just don't think as highly of Rietta as Duster (which I am sure we can all agree doesn't matter).

I don't recommend unlimited bandwidth hosts, and while you can put 100, (or 50 or 35), it doesn't mean much.

I just don't see how your site is any different than the other hosts I have seen, and thus have no interest in your services.

I don't even know why I am posting? Ahhh well... Hope it all goes well for you.

Dear Sir:

Thank you for voicing your opinion. I believe that it does make a difference in how much bandwidth we state. From experience with existing customers, and the company’s policies, we know how much bandwidth they can support. Unlimited bandwidth is a marketing move and it does not truly exist. The network can support up to 17 GB/ DAY, but that will not happen in a shared environment because of other limiting factors. A web site that is dynamically generated with scripts will run into problems much sooner than a static page with graphics. The later uses mostly bandwidth, but the first uses mostly CPU time.

I posted this topic to get feedback about how we can improve out site and services. I am looking for opinions that say what is good and what is not. I thank all of you for your input. Chicken, I am sorry if my comment about the name turned out to be more of a red herring that anything else; that is not what I originally intended. Thank you for being honest in your question and your comments.

Best regards,
Frank Rietta


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Rietta Solutions
Internet: web.rietta.com
E-Mail: websolutions@rietta.com
Phone: 770-623-2059
Fax: 770-495-0914

You know Frank, I tend to read too many boards about people who are specifically looking/have problems running a ubb on their site. Idiotically I forgot about MP3, graphic sites which also require bandwidth, but are not so dependant on the server's cpu.

I know of no complaints specifically addressing problems in areas other than ubb hosting (or other high script bandwidth related) with them.

As far as the 17GB/day... yeah I read that in the TOS and anyone who belives that is a crack monkey. I think (in general) honesty within a realistic setting is appreciated. You, at least, try to explain things a bit.

Sure, the network could support that amount, but there is no way a shared server setting could accommodate this type of usage (as you state to a degree on your site).

While I am not all that thrilled with some aspects of your service, I would like to mention that your demeanor is quite refreshing!

Keep that up and you'll be fine :)

Why the nickname? http://woobster.com/images/chicken.jpg

Cheers...

Originally posted by triumph595:
As a matter of interested, why did you not go with Win2K hosting instead of WinNT?

Triumph, sounds like that question is directed toward Frank rather than me (?)

I have a related question, though...I'm trying to figure out what the advantages are to paying the extra $ for Windows hosting over Unix. At a job once, I wrote web pages with Front Page and published them over our NT network. I loved that--it was instantaneous and easy. I'm wildy guessing that that's the upside. Can anyone explain it to me for real, though?

Dear Sir:


Originally posted by new2thisPartOfTheGame:
... The site I'm planning involves conferencing software--not UBB or Well Engaged, but something in the same general category of software. The developer has told me to make sure that my Host meets a couple of criteria. I'm sort of vaguely aware of what they mean...I'll just paraphrase what he said here.


What is the name of the conferencing software? Is it a bulletin board or some sort of chat room?


1. "Your host needs to be able to provide a straightforward CGI capability...a few of them insist on providing some kind of 'security wrapper." (Which apparently messes with this software.)


You should not encounter any problems with the CGI. I assume the scripts are written in Perl.


2. "The other requirement is to do '.htaccess' user authentication...most do, but a few don't."

HTACCESS support is available on both our Unix account plans.


3. "Ask for the name of a few of their clients and visit their sites." (The indication being that fast existing customers means fast future customers, I guess.)

http://www.urrutiainc.com
http://www.cherishablegifts.com
<A HREF="http://www.bmgi-international.com" TARGET=_blank> http://www.bmgi-international.com (http://www.bmgi-international.com</A>)[/url]
http://www.partypromotions.com

I hope I was able to answer all your questions to your satisfaction. If you have any other questions, please e-mail me at websolutions@rietta.com.

Best regards,
Frank Rietta


------------------
AtlantaWebhost.com – Web Solutions that Work
Phone: 770-623-2059
Fax: 770-495-0914
E-Mail: websolutions@rietta.com

[This message has been edited by AtlantaWebhost.com (edited 07-24-2000).]

To triumph595:
Originally posted by triumph595:
As a matter of interested, why did you not go with Win2K hosting instead of WinNT?

Actually, the servers are now running Windows 2000 Advanced server. We are going to have to update the web site with the new information.

Note: Windows 2000 is Windows NT 5, so saying Windows NT is not inaccurate.


To new2thisPartOfTheGame:

… I'm trying to figure out what the advantages are to paying the extra $ for Windows hosting over Unix. At a job once, I wrote web pages with Front Page and published them over our NT network. I loved that--it was instantaneous and easy. I'm wildly guessing that that's the upside. Can anyone explain it to me for real, though?


FrontPage support is marginally better on Windows NT/2000 since both platforms are designed to work together. The main reasons people choose to host with NT are because they want to use ASP scripting, Access databases, and/or Microsoft SQL server.

Best regards,
Frank Rietta


------------------
AtlantaWebhost.com – Web Solutions that Work
Phone: 770-623-2059
Fax: 770-495-0914
E-Mail: websolutions@rietta.com

Frank,

I came across the atlantawebhost.com site a few days ago, in the course of an exhaustive search for a host for my new small business. You were already fairly high on my list of 'possibles' based on the design of your site...and finding your postings here has raised your stock quite a bit, in my eyes.

I have a couple of questions. The site I'm planning involves conferencing software--not UBB or Well Engaged, but something in the same general category of software. The developer has told me to make sure that my Host meets a couple of criteria. I'm sort of vaguely aware of what they mean...I'll just paraphrase what he said here.

1. "Your host needs to be able to provide a straightforward CGI capability...a few of them insist on providing some kind of 'security wrapper." (Which apparently messes with this software.)

2. "The other requirement is to do 'ht.access' user authentication...most do, but a few don't."

3. "Ask for the name of a few of their clients and visit their sites." (The indication being that fast existing customers means fast future customers, I guess.)

So whattya think? Can do? We can move any part of this to email if you prefer.

Thanks,

The New Kid on the Block

As a matter of interested, why did you not go with Win2K hosting instead of WinNT?

Frank, thanks. Will E you sometime today.

New