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.