My Own Web Host Service

[Ash-Bash 0]

Hello,

As you may know I have been a member here for a while and with all my experience on hosting I decided to make my own.

Here: http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

Now I know it needs a logo I am having a very professional one made. Please review the website in every-way possible and tell me if you think its worth doing post to host.

Many thanks,

p.s Negative and positive feedback are welcome.

[Semsem 0]

Post-to-host = Something that would be great!However, the site itself...I'd choose a different background...but that's just me.

[rvalkass 5]

On the front page, you've cut Tux's foot off on the right hand side Just looks a bit unprofessional as the main image that greets visitors, and it's an easy fix. Your capitalisation of text throughout the site also seems somewhat random - for example, "Webhosting", "Site" and "Forums" don't need to be capitalised. The bulleted list on the home page suffers from the same issue.

On the "Hosting Plans" page it looks like the block of text at the bottom has been copied from an original bulleted list, but you haven't made it a bulleted list on the site, so it appears as one large block of unpunctuated run-on text. Separate it out into a bulleted list if possible, to make it easier to read for visitors.

On the "About" page, you state:

ITneed is owned and run by one single owner though has employed staff. ITneed is a UK based company [...]

If you are a registered company then you are legally required (AFAIK) to put your company number and registered address on your website, neither of which I could find. If you are acting as a sole-trader then it is best to state that, rather than being somewhat misleading with the vague term of "company".

UK self owned datacenters

If you own your own datacentre, that's great! Put some pictures on there and make this a much bigger feature than you have done. Having your own datacentres and team of staff is a great selling point. Unless you actually mean the "datacentre" is just a computer in a cupboard somewhere, or shared space in a datacentre - in which case you should say so!

Only providing an email address as a contact method would certainly scare me off from buying anything. Having your address and telephone number available adds credibility and gives people another method of contact should they need it.

[mahesh2k 0]

UK self owned datacenters

I know this is not the truth for your second attempt at rip-off hosting. But any hosting company with datacenter will not create site like this. For site who has datacenter and dedicated fiber lines will have site much more information and accesile, like say softlayer.com. Now tell me site that owns datacenter deploys ipanel on their billing system ? Not at all. Ever heard of WHM ? anywy, is there any ipanel nulled script running there ? If you own datacenter then it's obvious you should provide lot of information about location, images(original not from some another datacenters). Besides that there is no datacenter so far on this planet owned by single owner with limited staff. If there is let me know i'll invest on such business cause this is good business opportunity for me.

Besides to be honest Ł1.00/M to 2.50Ł is not what you can afford if you own datacenter, trust me. You need to build multiple revenue sources to afford this. If you manage to afford that and purchased dedicated server then i'm sure you'll hardly need to promote your hosting service on any other site or forums.

The following is included with all ITneed WebHosting:
100% uptime 24/7 support Host unlimited domains Variety of contact methods Money back guarantee Fastest speeds Offers for existing customers Simple control panels Unlimited extra features Latest cPanel Software Installatron Installation Manager Affordable plans Instant Setup Special Offers Free transfer from another host Payments via SMS SSL Secure Client Area Friendly staff The list just goes on...

Check this sales copy. are you satisfied ? If so, let me know how this looks attractive. Take some time and write some catchy sales copy for your hosting service. go to site like elance or fiverr.com and hire copyrighter for cheap.

If any person with english as third language writes something like this then i can understand but if any UK-Native English speaker writes such sales copy then i've to rethink if it's originally written or just copy pasted. This is where site fails for making sell, hard to read the plan and features from this para.

By the way, is there any facility for transferring host data from one host to another for free as mentioned in this sales copy? if that is the case then you're providing too much cheap service to your customers. I wonder if your datacenter/hosting service allows FFMPEG service. Why that is not mentioned ? i mean if it's datacenter then any type of streaming, file sharing and hosting should be mentioned.

and what about warez hosting ? I thought you'll allow that on your own server as they say practice what you preach.

anyway, flaws aside good luck with your hosting service journey.

[aloKNsh 0]

sorry to say but i dont see anything new i mean its a costly, writting it in gbp dont let you down the price. I was fasicianted by seen 1 but after that i can to know that its not in dollar but in gbp which is costlier than usd. in 1 $ you can get hosted here also. bro try to get your cost hell cheap as you are a starting company bit once you get some customers and outlet gradually increase the amount of your packages. and also please add some more stuff it took me less than 5 mins to go through you full site and i didnt forund any thing unique though its simple and might attract customers having simple sense and not going for some trendy fashion but believe in simplicity is the best. anyways nice site.

[Ash-Bash 0]

Thanks for the feedback, No guys I don't hate you I thank you . All sites need feedback to make them better. It would be nice if more members here review it for a much better site. I will be making all the changes once most feedback has been given.

[anwiii 17]

it's a good basic site ash, but you are competing with a lot of web hosting businesses and yours just doesn't stand out.there are a lot of problems i see with it that some people mentioned. i think i visited every link you have on the site. i even went to your billing area.so let me just make a couple suggestions at a time. first, i would indicate what people are actually getting with their hosting other than cpanel and "100% uptime" which we all know is a lie right from the start. other webhosting companies actually list what the webhosting offers. even if it's standard stuff, it's good to list. people aren't going to buy if they don't know what they are getting.it would be better if you offered domains on your site. i am not too familiar with how exactly domain registration works, but i am sure there is an option to where someone can register a domain with your site even if you are not the registrar.i absolutely hate the about page where it states you and your staff have a decade of experience. try to be honest but a little more professional at the same time. maybe list what your experiences are?that's it for now....there is much much more suggestions in my head including trying to think of something that you can offer that would seperate you from other webhosting companies. the low price right now doesn't cut it because people are still under the impression "you get what you pay for"let me ask you something. you advertise 24/7 support and you also advertise a refund policy. if i were to sign up and i don't get immediate support for any questions or problems, you would refund me?also, i might want to suggest offering a sub domain for free even if it includes an ad on their free site. let people know what they are getting before they pay for a domain which is hosted on your site.i also really don't like your site name. for a .net address, i think you could have come up with a better name. that name just doesn't seem like it took too much thought.like i said, it's a good basic site....but that's all it is. it doesn't stand out. you need to revamp part of it to look more professional and intriguing. it is cheap. that is one thing going for it but only dummies will fork over money for the hosting when they don't even know what they are getting. even the hosting plans could be improved on and given some more thought. it is a good start, but i think you have a while to go when you are competing with the thousands of other hosting companies....

Edited March 30, 2010 by anwiii (see edit history)

[Ash-Bash 0]

it's a good basic site ash, but you are competing with a lot of web hosting businesses and yours just doesn't stand out.

The site was meant for newbies, Therefore I didn't make a complex hosting template.

so let me just make a couple suggestions at a time. first, i would indicate what people are actually getting with their hosting other than cpanel and "100% uptime" which we all know is a lie right from the start. other webhosting companies actually list what the webhosting offers. even if it's standard stuff, it's good to list. people aren't going to buy if they don't know what they are getting.

The packages and descriptions will be sorted out later this week, There was a bit of confusion with my Staff in setting that up.

it would be better if you offered domains on your site. i am not too familiar with how exactly domain registration works, but i am sure there is an option to where someone can register a domain with your site even if you are not the registrar.

I have purchased a domain reseller a while ago just haven't had the time to set it up with iPanel etc.

i absolutely hate the about page where it states you and your staff have a decade of experience. try to be honest but a little more professional at the same time. maybe list what your experiences are?

Again another mixup this will again be sorted and put on the to do list.
that's it for now....there is much much more suggestions in my head including trying to think of something that you can offer that would seperate you from other webhosting companies. the low price right now doesn't cut it because people are still under the impression "you get what you pay for"

let me ask you something. you advertise 24/7 support and you also advertise a refund policy. if i were to sign up and i don't get immediate support for any questions or problems, you would refund me?

This policy is not fully completed you must wait at least 4 hours. Just because it is 24/7 support doesn't mean it will be like MSN and instant, We already have a few tickets to reply to.

also, i might want to suggest offering a sub domain for free even if it includes an ad on their free site. let people know what they are getting before they pay for a domain which is hosted on your site.

This would come under the post to host idea again free things would be given to this.
Thanks for the brilliant feedback all of this has been taken into consideration and will happen in the near future.

-Ash

[anwiii 17]

well i like simple because it makes things easier to understand and read. nothing has to be too complex so i like that idea in keeping it simple.i would have suggested to make the changes already in your head and then posting your site for review because if you already had certain ideas, then it's just wasting peoples time in commenting on them or taking the time to review your site.i have more suggestions, but will wait in what transpires in the changes first. but i would really highly suggest changing the domain name and using your current one as a parked domain. there is a really good website called "justdropped" which allows you to search for expired domains that are available. you can pick up a good domain with backlinks, a domain that already has history, and if you combine that with the google adwords keyword tool to check the keyword popularity of your domain, you can not only pick up a good domain, but one that already has traffic coming to it. with a little seo, you can even probably get in the top with your domain keywords. i only suggest doing this because you WILL be competing with a lot of other established hosting companies so even if you pick up a domain that is already getting 100 visitors a month, that's 100 visitors you would never have had before....you really have to think about seo when choosing a site name. also you have to consider a good 2-3 keyword phrase in your domain to make seo a little easier for a very competitive market.so when you're done making changes, bump this thread and i will make sure to review it again if you want an honest opinion.

[Ash-Bash 0]

Ok today I have had the day off, So I have managed to get on with ITneed, I have set-up new security options to avoid being hacked and installed more addon's.

I have gone through every post here and made a check list what I need to do and improve on.

Post to host? - Still not sure if I should do this need more feedback on this!

Penguin foot - I deleted the PSD and will just leave, I doubt someone will notice.

Random caps - Fixed up around the whole site

Plans page bullet points - Fixed changes into ticks and made more professional

About us: State we are a sole trader - Stated in about us

UK self owned datacenters - Also edited in about us

Provide more contact information - Contact us page has been layed out differently and contains easier ways and more contact ways

transferring host data from one host to another for free as mentioned in this sales copy - Now mention on the front page!

Thanks for all the feedback given I now ask you to re-review on what can be improve and suggestions to get the site rolling.

[anwiii 17]

i don't have much time to reply right now or review, but i quickly checked out the site and it looks 100% better. i will comment more later but just wanted to let you know that i think it looks more professional with more information users would look for....

[-Sky- 0]

I also recommend a a better theme for the Terms of Service. Perhaps a slight dark grunge background? I could make one for you if you wish. If not, then please change the color of the TOS rules. A white background with light blue/aqua coloring hurts the eyes and will drive alot of people away from it.

[rvalkass 5]

Penguin foot - I deleted the PSD and will just leave, I doubt someone will notice.

I did I'm sure other people will. The best analogy I can think of is that it looks like a sign above a shop, but with one of the letters missing. You know what should be there, but it just looks sloppy and like they don't really care. It's the image that stands out on the front page, and is the first thing visitors will see. It's important to get those first impressions right.

 

[*]Random caps - Fixed up around the whole site

[*]Plans page bullet points - Fixed changes into ticks and made more professional

[*]About us: State we are a sole trader - Stated in about us

[*]UK self owned datacenters - Also edited in about us

All of these are looking much better and more professional.

 

[*]Provide more contact information - Contact us page has been layed out differently and contains easier ways and more contact ways

Your only contact method is still email. Take a look at Xisto's site. In the bottom right hand corner you find the address. This adds credibility to the company, and security for the customer. A telephone number is also good. I would certainly add these to your site. I tend not to deal with companies if they make it at all hard to find their contact details, and I'm sure many people are the same. The fact you've used some sort of privacy protection on your WHOIS records also removes credibility and trustworthiness from the site.

 

I also agree with Sky that the TOS looks awful There's no need to go for those horrible colours, so change them to match the rest of the site. On a related note, you may also wish to review those terms. For example, the first one states "no illegal use", but under whose laws? The same goes for item 21. You're based in the UK, your server is in the UK, so why would US and Canadian laws be relevant? Item 29 mentions an AUP, yet I can't find one anywhere on the site. Items 30 and 31 combined seem to allow you to charge people infinitely by cancelling their account and then charging them to reinstate it, without any reason and with no limits. A little disconcerting for any serious customers. Not providing notice is also somewhat mean. You've got contact details for your customers, so contact them to let them know if you change the TOS.

[Ash-Bash 0]

i don't have much time to reply right now or review, but i quickly checked out the site and it looks 100% better. i will comment more later but just wanted to let you know that i think it looks more professional with more information users would look for....

Ok Anwii well thanks for the feedback once you have time please do give me more feedback to make it the best . I am very glad after all the work it looks a lot better.

I also recommend a a better theme for the Terms of Service. Perhaps a slight dark grunge background? I could make one for you if you wish. If not, then please change the color of the TOS rules. A white background with light blue/aqua coloring hurts the eyes and will drive alot of people away from it.

TOS will be fixed shortly later today, I have something planned for it, Though I very much doubt it will work.
Ok rvalkass, I will try and locate the PSD from somewhere or if it comes to it create a new one. About emailing I have asked my dad about an Office he said he will share one of his with me and I will have my own phone number, maybe an address. About the Privacy protection Xisto told me to keep that on or my account would be suspended lol? as I tried taking that off they suspended ITneed and emailed me saying I had to keep it :/

And for the TOS I will be updating that later today, I will make a reply when possible when the work is complete .

Could some people please suggest to me where to start advertising once all site work is complete and its at the best it can be.

[anwiii 17]

a couple things. when you click on the terms of service, look at your menu and see how it differs from your standard menu options. you have "vps" listed. this seems like an obvious error to me. the terms are a little cheesy so i have to agree with the others but that should prohibit you from starting to advertise right now. lastly, have you checked that you billing is operating correctly? have you tested it? if not, you should really test it rather than assume everything is working properly.that's about it for now. as far as advertising, you aren't going to rank well AT ALL in the search engines with how you have your site set up. you should still submit to the search engines and directories though because you can still gain SOME traffic from it. i would create a newsfeed for your site and submit the feed. i would join all social networks and be active in them at least once a day. i would compile a list of forums that you can post in. since i know right off, your site isn't going to rank well, then forums with a low pr wont matter for any backlinks. just comile a list of a couple hundred forums and post in them once a week without spamming. i would REALLY encourage you to make a video and upload it to the video sites. make it a good one with a good non competitive keyword phrase you can put in your description and maybe your first comment. i would actually give away free hosting for a month for your first month or up until you have advertised the crap outta your site without spamming. this will encourage people to sign up and if they want to keep their site, they will have to pay for it. it will also get people to promote your site and have that viral affect of word of mouth for the first month. that is free advertising that you need to think on. create a press release and submit it. submitting a press release usually costs money, but is worth it for the advertising. also write a news article once a month or once every two weeks to gain even more exposure after you submit your articles. try to to get about 10 good backlinks with related websites. not for the pr or backlinks, but for the exposure. a user here recently created a free domain website. those sites are great if you can get those people to put your link for an almost free website. even a link exchange between yours and the other site is good. just get 10 good ones at first and then over time try to get 1 a month or so.i noticed your two ads at the bottom of your page have nothing to do with webhosting. this is not good. if that company optimises like google which means the ads should be related to the content of your site, you need to optimize your site to get the right ads displayed. your ads though need to change to something related to webhosting so if people aren't interested in your site, they might just click on an ad. also, create a newsletter and encourage people to subscribe to it. usually the best method for that is to offer something of value so people will be motivated to subscribe and then just send out a newsletter once a month or so. the people who subscribed but didn't purchase hosting are still in your list so you can still offer hosting to them through email or maybe join an affiliate program and offer something related to hosting in your email. it's called backend marketing and works even if they didn't buy your original product(in this case, hosting).now the advertising aspect is going to take A LOT OF TIME(i'd say about 100 man hours). one thing people do is outsource the work to other people so if you have cash to do this, i suggest outsourcing all of the work or maybe half of it. but if you have never marketed online before, it's good to just do it yourself so you have that experience under your belt and so if you ever want to outsource anything in the future, you know exactly what needs to be done. advertising is REALLY REALLY easy. it's just time consuming. what's not easy is the words you use in your advertising. you don't want to sell people. you just want to inform them. people hate being sold to.that's about it for now....i think you are just about ready to start advertising after you clean up a few things. you can always work on other things while you advertise.