Web Host Talk Turns to Payment, Pricing

• By The WHIR, February 06, 2004

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Web Host Talk Turns to Payment, Pricing

Karen Snider, theWHIR.com

February 6, 2004 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY

REVIEW) -- While company policies have always been a matter of ongoing

debate on Web hosting message boards, recent weeks have shown hosts and

users placing particular focus on how those policy issues relate to

pricing and payment.

Hosts once again debated the pros and cons of PayPal,

with many concluding that it should be offered, not as a site's sole

payment system. Most caution customers against using a host that offers

only PayPal because it might suggest a young, financially unstable or

fraudulent company. And many hosts feel they could lose customers if

PayPal were their only payment system. Customers may not know how to

use it, or they may not feel confident using it. Hosts also worry about

security issues with PayPal, saying the verification system is weak and

there is little protection for the purchaser if something goes wrong.

Others don't want to use PayPal because of how it might make their

company look. "Even though PayPal is (a) pretty popular payment method,

I personally can't see it as showing a professional image of your

company," one user writes.

Another payment issue that had hosts clashing in recent weeks was the decision of whether to give customers the option to pay up-front for long-term services, and what drawbacks that formula might hold for customers and hosts.

Because some unstable hosts may not even

survive a year, most hosts suggest customers shouldn't pay up-front for

a year, unless they already have an established relationship. If they

give a new host a year's payment, they might regret it if they don't

get the services they are expecting.

Customers who said they started off with

discounted one-year up-front payment plans are now shying away from

them because of potential frauds, or to avoid any refund issues that

may arise.

Those hosts that do accept up-front payment don't recommend offering discounts for yearly rates.

When 1&1 made its great leap into the US market, debates on pricing and pay plans shifted focus to the real price of free services.

The entry of the European-based host into

the US market has become a regular topic in Web hosting forums, and

this month was no exception. Over the last month, 1&1 has been the

main subject of at least 11 threads, and it's been mentioned in 27

more. Hosts have obviously been testing the promotion, leading some to

conclude that 1&1's free hosting is a great deal for personal use,

but not good enough to run a business on. Many hosts criticized the

navigation

of the control panel, calling it "labor intensive" and too confusing to

set up and use.

The awfully affordable pricing wasn't enough for some users who said it wasn't worth their efforts because of how difficult it is to set up and use.

Some hosts found time to praise 1&1

for its large amount of Web space, the inclusion of email for every

address set up and for being able to access the site by FTP, Browser

and SSH.

In a recent interview with Netcraft,

1&1's CEO Andreas Gauger said he had participated in some of the

online forum discussions. "There has been some disbelief from our

competitors, but people have begun to recognize 1&1 as a real

player in the US market," he said.

1&1 officially launched itself into

the US market on Jan. 22, following the three-month pre-launch

promotion. The promotion, worth about $1,000, attracted more than

200,000 subscribers.

This month's discussions weren't all about serious griping or debating. To lighten things up, hosts made suggestions for users looking for a theme (other than the usual Greek gods, planets or movie characters) to use in naming their servers.

One host recommends the names of singers

and bands from the 80s. "It is kind of funny mailing people and telling

them that their new server is paulaabdul.domain.com," he writes.

Another recommends the names of Simpsons characters. "Disco Stu is my

favorite."

If you are looking for something more

serious, you might consider the names of leaders; religious leaders,

presidents or prime ministers. One forum user suggested putting a

"fresh twist" on this theme. "Why not use the famous dictators: Hitler,

Stalin, Mussolini, MaoTseTung and, of course, Hussein all make server

names that look great in traceroutes with reverse DNS set up."

Tags:  security  Europe  control panel  Anet  ETT  Iona  Netcraft  PayPal 

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