Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : What kind of hosting layouts make you at ease?

[MPDon]

To the customers: What kind of layout do you prefer your hosting company's site to have? Do you want a high tech flash layout or a simple php/html based layout?

Each has their own cons and pros. I'm just curious as to what you, the customer, prefers.

[dean1012]

Speaking strictly as a customer:

I absolutely hosting sites that have music and/or soundfx. Usually I find this in flash sites and to make it worse it usually begins playing automatically.

I don't particularly have a real preference as to if the site is PHP or HTML. What matters more is that the site loads fast.

I look for fast loading times and uptime (if I go to a site for the first time and it isn't up, I rarely try again).

Second thing I do is glance. I personally like a site that has spacing and is neat/simple. I like each section to be visually separated and for there to not be too much content on one page.

Third thing I do is scroll straight to the footer. If I don't see a link to the TOS, AUP (if it isn't a part of the TOS), Privacy Policy, and SLA (if applicable) in the footer, I go somewhere else. I want clear access to the applicable legal documents for review.

Matching colors is a must. It must look good. A website is a piece of art. There are Picasos and then there are Homers (SMRT!).

That's all I have to say.

[MPDon]

Originally Posted by dean1012

Speaking strictly as a customer:

I absolutely hosting sites that have music and/or soundfx. Usually I find this in flash sites and to make it worse it usually begins playing automatically.

I don't particularly have a real preference as to if the site is PHP or HTML. What matters more is that the site loads fast.

I look for fast loading times and uptime (if I go to a site for the first time and it isn't up, I rarely try again).

Second thing I do is glance. I personally like a site that has spacing and is neat/simple. I like each section to be visually separated and for there to not be too much content on one page.

Third thing I do is scroll straight to the footer. If I don't see a link to the TOS, AUP (if it isn't a part of the TOS), Privacy Policy, and SLA (if applicable) in the footer, I go somewhere else. I want clear access to the applicable legal documents for review.

Matching colors is a must. It must look good. A website is a piece of art. There are Picasos and then there are Homers (SMRT!).

That's all I have to say.

You've said quite a bit. Thank you

[~ServerPoint~]

I think that the customer must see friendly interface and customer don't worry about that how your pages are designed. Layout must be comfortable for users.

[eddy2099]

I am a customer so I guess I qualify to speak

Well, I personally do not care how the site is design as long as it is fast, easy to navigate and I can find all the information easily.

I would think a PHP/HTML website works best for me as I know it would work on any web browser including my PDA.

It is important to list the following info :-

1) Hosting Plans
2) Payment Methods
3) TOS and AUP
4) Add-on Prices (Bandwidth, disk space and so on)

I've seen web host which places the type of payment they accept on their frontpage and that is great. While others, I find that there is no information until I am almost through the sign up process and realized that only Paypal is accepted or not accepted. I want to know at the offset and I do not want to waste my time going through to find that I cannot pay.

I know some people don't read Legal Documents like TOS and AUP until something happens but they are vital for me, I want to know what I am going into and if I cannot accept it, I can find somewhere else.

[~ServerPoint~]

I know some people don't read Legal Documents like TOS and AUP until something happens but they are vital for me, I want to know what I am going into and if I cannot accept it, I can find somewhere else.

Yes.But it must be easy to find links to TOS and AUP. In any case, web hosting provider must offer to visit their AUP/TOS pages.

[rush4rk]

should be simple and have light colors

[Nadabrahma]

I prefer sites that have a simple but professional design, where you can easily find all the information you want about hosting plan features, money-back policies etc.

I get suspicious if:

- the site looks amateurish (are they hosting amateurs also?)
- it is hard to find the information I'm looking for (what are they hiding?)
- the site is very hypey (what kind of sucker do they think I am?)

Just my 2 cents...

[iHubNet-Matt]

Yeah, one of the main point is that it shouldn't be confusing for some one who is navigating though the site. Also, should be easy to find the pages like TOS/AUP and different plans. Having a brief picture of all plans in a single page would be better than putting them in detail in different pages.

I have noticed many websites which do not have a sitemap and sometimes it really get irritated when I can't find a particular page.

[MPDon]

Originally Posted by Nadabrahma

I prefer sites that have a simple but professional design, where you can easily find all the information you want about hosting plan features, money-back policies etc.

I get suspicious if:

- the site looks amateurish (are they hosting amateurs also?)
- it is hard to find the information I'm looking for (what are they hiding?)
- the site is very hypey (what kind of sucker do they think I am?)

Just my 2 cents...

your 2 cents is always welcome

[Amy-T]

No flash, no animation and no scrolling of any kind as I found those annoying is heck.

What I do like is easy to find support, live support, and easy to find plans.

[tinat]

No flash.

What I like is links to hosting plans on the front page, plan details listed in a table so you can easily compare plans, visible clearly stated price (not quoting monthly payments if the only option is to pay yearly).

Once I've browsed the packages and concluded they have all I need, then I go and look at their support. I like hosts that have support forums so you can see what their other customers are saying, what problems they're having and how the staff responds to them.

I've actually decided not to go for a host without a support forum any more.

Ticketing systems are a must, live chats a plus, phone irrelevant to me since I live in Croatia and it's unlikely I'll bother ringing the US or whichever country for support.

TOS has to be easy to find, as well as general contact details. I don't trust hosting companies with no address on file.


As far as design goes... I already said, flash site is kind of weird for a web host in my opinion.

What I like, is hard to define, so here's some examples.

Not very professional looking:
http://www.turbohost-usa.com
http://www.wickshosting.com/

Quite professional looking
http://www.cirtexhosting.com/
http://www.fyant.com/

In my opinion.

[avocado]

Originally Posted by tinat

No flash.

What I like is links to hosting plans on the front page, plan details listed in a table so you can easily compare plans

Ditto, and the more info the better. Give an overview page so people who don't need or want the details can get a quick look at how you rplans compare, but give me the info I need about software versions, domains, overage charges, shell access, etc, etc, all in one place.

[mrbister]

From a customer point of view; flash with audio makes me wanna vomit...

If they have it integrated into the billing page; no comment.

[ldcdc]

I do have a thing for simple sites, for detailed info being readily available, hate flash that emits sounds without my express approval etc. However, all this means nothing if I am not representative for your target market.

There are lots of people for whom the flashy bit is what closes the sale. For my mom it probably would mean quite a bit. The wow factor is not to be neglected.

On the other hand, all that flash will slow the site down. Some customers will use the time it takes to load the pages as the main sign of hosting quality.

So, unless WHT is representative for the places where you attract customers from, not everything mentioned here will be important for your sales closing ratio, and some might even be unproductive.

Note the ideas. Do a change (or set of changes), analyze the results, decide. Anything else is guesswork.