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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
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    917

    Question How would you define "GOOD HOST"?

    Hi there

    I have seen so many threads on WHT about people looking for a GOOD HOST. My question to you would be the following:

    Which of the following do you look for in a GOOD HOST?
    1.)24/7 LIVE CHAT technical support
    2.)24/7 HELPDEK support
    3.)Quality Assured Service
    4.)Economical Hosting Plans
    5.)15 Day Money Back GUARANTEE
    6.)Dedicated People
    7.)Awesome Website
    8.)ALL OF THE ABOVE

    Please do let me know which one by indicating the numbers...you could choose multiple selections.

    Thanks all in advance!

  2. #2
    For me it is simple. A good host is one which is responsive, proactive and helpful. One which provides what they claim they would provide. Money is not an issue to me if it does what it claims.

    Uptime is important too. At times, downtime is expected due to many different reasons and a good host would be one which monitors and work on the issue even before anyone notices it.

    So basically iin your list it is 1,2,3 and 6.
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  3. #3
    Join Date
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    Add this to your list :

    One that keeps the promises they make.
    EIRCA Ltd, home of The Genius Network™.

  4. #4
    I'm with Eddy on this one. If a host makes a claim about something, they had better follow through with it.

    Consistent response times are good (fast response times are better) and yes, proactiveness is a big thing.
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  5. #5
    Greetings:

    Everyone defines "economical" differently.

    We have cusotmers paying over $10,000 per month, and call it economical <smile>.

    May I ask why some companies feel their customers appreciate 24x7 chat?

    We looked into it, and didn't see our customers needing it. Most email or call.

    Lastly, I believe the standard for money back guarantees has been 30 days for years now.

    Thank you.
    ---
    Peter M. Abraham
    LinkedIn Profile

  6. #6
    May I ask why some companies feel their customers appreciate 24x7 chat?
    It probably depends on what type of customers you have

    For some web host which claims to come with 24/7 helpdesk sometimes actually mean you have to wait a minimum of 24 hours to up to 7 days before you hear from them. Yes, the web based helpdesk is available 24/7 but the people who was supposed to front that might be in school, in summer camp, at work or sleeping.

    To front a 24/7 chat line, you actually need people sitting there 24/7 waiting for responses. At least the assurance that someone is there to handle support.

    True, I never use chat for support myself and only use emails so far and that is sufficient especially if the response time is great.
    http://www.batchimage.com - Offering Batch Image Processing and TIFF/PDF Software Solutions

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
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    Originally posted by dynamicnet
    May I ask why some companies feel their customers appreciate 24x7 chat?
    Mainly for quick pre-sales questions.

    Nothing is more handy than being able to click "live help", ask a quick question, and be gone in two minutes flat.
    EIRCA Ltd, home of The Genius Network™.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    MD
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    640
    I would only say #3 & #6 but would also have to go with Simon and add #9 (Keeps promises).

    I don't see why people long on 24/7 concerns. You are expecting too much. Are you available 24/7 to the rest of the world or to maybe your employer? I wouldn't expect 24/7 supposrt via desk/chat/phone but would expect some sort of support.

    Like 'dynamicnet' stated, Economic can mean many things so you would need to supply more detail.

    The 'money back' issue should be with every host and not just a 'good' host.

    The website doesn't make the company, so it could be a very dull website and have outstanding performances and feedback fromt he community.

  9. #9
    True, a website doesn't make the company but a simple website stripped of all the fancy gizmos would reduce the likelihood of browser incompatibility and would give the perception that your web hosting network is fast. If everything is static html, it will be snappier than having some scripts for everything you do.

    Flash and all those things are great but it does make access slower and frankly I do not have time to wait.

    The site must be easy to navigate and easy for someone to find out what they need to find out and not buried behind tons of links.
    http://www.batchimage.com - Offering Batch Image Processing and TIFF/PDF Software Solutions

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2000
    Posts
    610

    Re: How would you define "GOOD HOST"?

    Originally posted by Daryl
    Which of the following do you look for in a GOOD HOST?
    2.)24/7 HELPDEK support
    I would choose 2 with a fast response time plus competent systems admins, competent support staff, quality hardware that has some basic built in safety features such as raid1 or better, quality network, daily backups to a different server or tape, good uptimes on all services, 24 hour server monitoring with paging to the world requesting the server be put back online, and a server that is not over loaded. Remember, this is for a good hosting company. Most of the other items on your list can be provided by any run of the mill hosting company.

  11. #11
    Join Date
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    Originally posted by IHSL
    Mainly for quick pre-sales questions.

    Nothing is more handy than being able to click "live help", ask a quick question, and be gone in two minutes flat.
    Yes, I can see how live chat can be beneficial for the client, but how do you implement such a system with around 1000 clients?

  12. #12
    Join Date
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    Yes, I can see how live chat can be beneficial for the client, but how do you implement such a system with around 1000 clients?
    Its not difficult to do bob, im sure you could do it your self if you wanted to.

  13. #13
    Join Date
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    Originally posted by SplashHost.com
    Its not difficult to do bob, im sure you could do it your self if you wanted to.
    I see live chat support working with a small client base, but can't see the model working well for thousands of clients. I see folks waiting in a que for the operator to become available. I'm probably overthinking the matter too.
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  14. #14
    Join Date
    Nov 2000
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    Dundee, UK
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    Bob, if companies can offer fast phone support to thousands of clients where each operator can only speak to 1 person at a time then surely its possible to offer fast chat support where each operator can speak to 2-4 people at a time.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
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    Australia
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    Re: Re: How would you define "GOOD HOST"?

    Originally posted by mpalamar
    . . . 24 hour server monitoring with paging to the world requesting the server be put back online . . .
    We have Alertra and 2 other monitoring systems working. You cannot rely on any monitoring system to alert you via SMS etc. Nothing beats having Nagios running on your machine and always having folks around and not relying on the SMS to alert staff of a server outage.
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  16. #16
    Personally, I would go with #1-3, & 6. A nice web site is a bonus in my opinion. Also, for the live chat, it is a good addition for a web host, but not a must. As for having over 1,000 customers, wouldn't having sales representatives and support technicians be a good idea to help aid you?

  17. #17
    Join Date
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    Originally posted by SplashHost.com
    Bob, if companies can offer fast phone support to thousands of clients where each operator can only speak to 1 person at a time then surely its possible to offer fast chat support where each operator can speak to 2-4 people at a time.
    I'm sure it's doable. It's not for us though. We're happy with our current support model.
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  18. #18
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    Originally posted by Xyphix
    . . . As for having over 1,000 customers, wouldn't having sales representatives and support technicians be a good idea to help aid you?
    Yes, we have them working the helpdesk, support forum etc.
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  19. #19
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    I don't think being "good" so much depends on what you have as it does on how you use what you have. If you ask me, there is a difference between many of these hosts that claim 24/7 responses with livechats and the like, yet they're offline (with a chat) or you must leave a voicemail (with a phone). I've seen and heard many cases of 24/7 support with response times of a day or more.

    A good host is someone that doesn't lie about false support hours, and is there when you need them. A host that responds to normal requests within 4-6 hours is much better than a host that offers 24/7 support and doesn't respond in 12 hours. Obviously a host that has at least 24/7 monitoring is needed, just in case something goes wrong.

    Guarentees really don't mean anything. It really comes down to how the host delivers. Some do, many don't. Simple fact is don't say it if you can't follow it.

    Personally, I love looking down at the ad forums and seeing hosts that I know are 1 man operations claiming 24/7. Guess they have figured out a way not to sleep or either evented some sort of alarm system. I guess I should talk with them sometime and see if I can learn the technique.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Posts
    98
    #2 and #7

  21. #21
    I pretty much agree with CrazyTech. Whether or not you have the best stuff and so forth, it's nothing without the proper usage and support.

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