As competition in the domain hosting market continues to increase we are seeing a vast array of services and very competitive pricing coming to the fore. It is a market where only those willing to move with the times, and adjust their service accordingly, will survive.

One company who have shown a willingness to integrate both competitive pricing and valuable services is www.triple.com. While perhaps not one of the more well known names in the industry as yet, they are competing at the highest level in a market which is dominated by the majors.

They offer a domain name registration service as well as great value hosting, they are able to issue SSL Certificates to give your customers that little bit more confidence in your business. www.triple.com also have an excellent support service which can be accessed either “live online” or via email.

Among the common services offered from their array of hosting packages is domain forwarding, email forwarding, free domain lock / unlock, free domain secret, advanced control panel, free bulk action tools and many more. In essence, whatever level of service you are looking for www.triple.com will be able to offer you something to fit your requirements to the letter.

In a world where companies come and go you can be sure that www.triple.com will be here tomorrow – which is half of the battle as more and more of the second line hosting companies continue to slip away.

The web hosting industry is perhaps one of the most saturated on the internet, offering as much competition as there is difference in services available. Depending on what you have to spend there will be an offering for you, whether it is what you need is another matter! But is there space for any new contenders to the web hosting crown? Or is the market closed up?

The beauty about the internet is the fact that things change so quickly, companies come and go, services come and go and prices move all over the place. While it would take someone special, or with a reputation in another area of the market, to take the web hosting industry by the scruff of the neck, it is possible. It may also take a massive advertising campaign to break the back of some of the more established companies who have both reputation and an often loyal following. So what might offer a new player a unique entry point?

There is so much going on in the world of the internet that technology is changing all of the time, new systems are be delivered and created on an ongoing basis. If a new payer could enter the market offering something a little different, or the latest technology at a price people could afford then they may be able to make a name for themselves. This would rule out the vast majority of companies, with few having the firepower and investment clout to make it happen.

The web hosting industry is not a get rich quick industry, it is competitive, it is hard work but above all it is a long term business. New clients and repeat business are the way ahead in any industry, the web hosting industry more so than most.

While it is difficult enough to find one reliable host in the mass of hosting companies trading today is it sensible to have all of your sites with one company or should you spread the risk?

The first rule of any business is not to put all of your eggs on basket, because you would not run a business around one customer, so why one let one host look after all of your sites? The main problem with the hosting business is the reliability factor, with many hosts either too expensive or not reliable enough – it can be very difficult finding that balance. So what are the options?

Using One Host

If you use one host to look after all of your sites, with the best will in the world there will be times when the host will be down, and your sites will not be available. While it does depend a lot on their reaction times with regard to sorting out problems, it is inevitable that there is downtime, whether through maintenance, short term problems or cyber attacks. Could you cope if all of your sites were down for one day, one week, etc, etc?

Using A Group Of Hosts

The problem with using a group of hosts is the fact that some will be more reliable than others, but many people seem to find it useful to separate their highest earning sites and spread them between different hosts (as long as the quality of service is there). By doing this you are at least ensuring that you get some income, even when one host is down. It may be a little more costly, it may not be as reliable as one good host, but it does reduce your dependence on one host - something that may prove crucial over time.

Conclusion

Where possible, and depending upon the number of sites you have, it may prove worthwhile splitting them into small groups of hosting accounts with different companies. Peace of mind in the business world can often be priceless!

While the web hoisting industry continues to consolidate, the many changes in the industry have left a number of webmasters high and dry. We have recently seen a number of the smaller hosting companies struggling to survive, with competition heating up as the big players further strengthen their positions. Is there now a premium for the reliability factor?

In reality there has always been a premium for reliability, otherwise known as investment. There is no way that some of the smaller hosting companies can compete with the masses of new equipment, up to date servers and the like which are being installed on a daily basis. Some of the smaller hosting companies are being left behind in the need for speed, reliability and confidence in their hosting services.

The sad reality is that a cheap hosting service may be here today, but there is no certainty that it will be here tomorrow. The web hosting industry has changed so much over the last decade that it is almost unrecognisable from the very early days when competition was tough, but prices were not under as much pressure. We are seeing many of the larger companies’ actually introducing feeder hosting packages, which many may run at a loss, to entice new customers in. Once they have signed up, the constant drip feed of new offers and new services will soon entice many to the premium packages, where they actually make money.

Consolidation and mergers are being announced on a regular basis in the industry, but many of the larger companies are just interested in the client bases on offer, not the equipment or the services. There is a real danger that the industry may soon be controlled by a small number of the major players, which could see the consumer lose out on reduced pricing pressures.

How many times have you logged onto a website, read the front page and noticed the “Terms and Conditions” section? How many times have you actually checked out that page? Are you really bothered?

While many people who use the internet will not be remotely interested in the Terms and Conditions a site may have, they can prove crucial in the event of mishaps, disagreements and ultimately legal action. Never forget that while you probably do not pretend to be an expert in any particular field, if someone were to use you advice and incur losses or some form of damage, they might come back to you for some kind of recourse. As unlikely as this may seem, it does happen and is likely to become more frequent in the months and years ahead.

So what do you need to do?

If you are serious about making a name for yourself on the internet and actually making money, or offering a popular service, you do need to cover yourself. There are many standard “Terms and Conditions” formats out there, many of which are free and can be amended to cover your site.

It is not a big task or particularly difficult, and the chances are that you will never need it, but it may well save you a lot of money in the future. If you can prove that a customer or reader of your site was warned prior to taking a certain action, that will cover you. You only need to show that you had the relevant terms and conditions on your site, you don’t need to prove that a user read them - that is there problem, not yours!

When you last looked for a hosting package, what was it which attracted you to the package you have now? The price? The services? The name of the hosting company? A friend?

While each of the above aspects has a part to play, you cannot beat a personal recommendation by someone who has used and continues to use the services of a particular host. If you go for the cheapest price, will you actually get the services you require? If you check out the services first are you getting the best price? and one and on…..

While many people may ignore the various computing magazines which check out and rate each hosting company and hosting service available, they do offer real value for those not fully aware of pricing and how the market works. Imagine the backlash if a computing magazine were to give a biased account of a hosting company? They would never risk losing their customers for an extra few pounds of advertising revenue.

The problem with choosing your hosting company is the fact that there are so many, offering similar services, similar prices and all promising to be the cheapest around and offering the best services. But do you not sometimes need to rise above the cheap end of the market, and look for something a little more reliable? Is price everything?

Unfortunately for those looking for a cheap bargain, price should not be your main leader, you should really consider the services on offer first and whether they are actually what you need - then check the price!