WhoIsHostingThis

If you were once a customer or user of the blog host Blogetery, you aren’t now.

On July 9th the site, along with the 73,000 blogs it hosted, disappeared, never to return.

It was something of a murder mystery for the Internet.

Initially, the site’s host, BurstNet wasn’t making matters any easier and was effectively stonewalling the site’s owner, Alexander Yusupov, saying that “We cannot give him his data nor can we provide any other details. By stating this, most would recognize that something serious is afoot.”

Many suspected that it was copyright issues that led to the closure of the site but Blogetery’s owner said that he fully complied with all relevant laws and should have been well protected against such closure.

In the end, the host’s warnings about “something serious” turned out to be very true as the BurstNet’s CTO Joe Marr went on the record saying that it wasn’t copyright, but rather terrorist activity that led to the closure of the site. Apparently, on at least one of the blogs on the service, there were tips on how to make a bomb and a “hit list” of people to kill. This, in turn, prompted the FBI to take action and BurstNet to close the account.

But, as interesting as the story is from a news standpoint, it also serves as a word of caution for those who run websites. After all, Blogertery’s closure isn’t just a story about the questionable closure of a blog host, but also about 73,000 bloggers who have lost their data and their work.

So what can we learn from the Blogetery story? The answers are surprisingly clear. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re going to host your own .com website, you need two things: A hosting account and a domain.

Though we’ve already talked at great length about warning signs when buying a hosting account, precious little has been said about how to avoid getting burned when buying a domain.

Though domains are usually significantly cheaper than hosting accounts, less than $10 per year for a single domain, we tend to buy many more domains, causing the cost to rack up quickly, and they are much more critical to our websites. After all, if you suddenly lose a hosting account, if you have good backups, you can be back online within a day or two. If you lose your domain, you have to start over.

So how do you avoid getting burned on your domain purchases? Here are five things to look out for when finding a new registrar that avoiding can help keep you safe. Read the rest of this entry »

Your site is down. You realize that you need to contact support and you visit your host’s contact page. There, you are faced with a decision: Do you reach for the telephone and give them a call? Or do you send them an email/file a trouble ticket?

Most people find talking to a human being very reassuring in these moments and will reach for their phone (or their Skype headset). In fact, phone support is one of the most commonly-requested features for a Web host for this very reason. However, if you want to actually solve the problem, going with a phone call is not always the best solution. In fact, it usually isn’t.

Though phone support can be great, one has to know when and how to use it. Unfortunately, too few do and end up passing up an opportunity to quickly resolve the problem in exchange for the comfort of talking to another person.

So when should you turn to your keyboard your dialpad? The answer is not exactly clear-cut. Read the rest of this entry »

It has happened to nearly every hosting customer at some point. You’re researching a host and visiting their “Why Us” page or some other page with information about the company. There they talk about how they run a “Tier 3″ or “Tier 2″ data center with no explanation about what that means.

Though hosting geeks instantly understand what the tier system means, even hosts aimed at every day users, such as Media Temple, which talks about being a “top tier data center” and IX Web hosting, which mentions being a “tier 3” datacenter, use the terminology as well, understandably confusing many.

However, the data center tiers are actually very easy to understand and, even if you don’t fully understand what the tiers mean, you can certainly understand what to look for and what is “good” when seeking out hosting.

Without further ado, here’s your primer in the data center tiers and what you should be looking for. Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to hosting, most customers have an expectation of certain features. They know how many GBs of storage and transfer they have, the various languages that their hosting account can support and how many databases they can create. In short, all of the things they need to power a website.

However, hosting has become an increasingly competitive field and the competition for customers has become especially cutthroat over the last few years. Hosts have been seeking out new ways to compete with one another and have started to get more and more aggressive about adding new features to their service.

Unfortunately, many customers don’t realize these new features and services are available to them, often times including when they already have access to them.

With that in mind, here are five lesser-known features that at least some standard hosting accounts offer. Not all of these features are available everywhere, but they just might be available to you.

5. Migration Assistance

Migration assistance basically means help transferring an old account to your new server. It is actually a very common feature among all hosts as a means to help new customers get set up on their new service.

Most times, migration assistance involves using standard transfer protocols as part of CPanel or Plesk and the main advantage is having technicians initiate and monitor the process, ensuring that everything works out.

But while many might be aware of this feature when they sign up, what is less known is that many hosts offer it throughout the term of their client’s stay. This means that if you, for example, wished to combine multiple domains into one account, you can get assistance from your host.

Your mileage may vary and policies differ, but often times, as long as you are transferring sites to the service, you can take advantage of migration assistance at any point.

4. Free Advertising & Trial Services

Nearly every Web hosting plan you sign up for comes with a spate of coupons for free advertising from Adsense, Facebook and other ad providers. While this is great, it is all fairly standard.

However, some hosts have been expanding their offerings beyond the usual “promotions package” to include other services. For example, Web.com is offering a free trial of BookFresh, a popular scheduling service. FatCow is offering a trial of Constant Contact, a well-known email marketing service and LunarPages has a free trial of KeepIt, a Web service to back up files on your Windows PC.

Best of all, with most hosts you can take advantage of these deals at any time so, if you haven’t checked out your host’s free offers, it may be worth seeing what they’re promoting. There may be something worth taking advantage of.

3. SSL Certificates

Shared hosts aren’t exactly known for being the most eCommerce-friendly. The high load of shopping carts and the limitations of shared hosting accounts rarely make for a good combination.

However, one of the “limitations” actually isn’t in many cases. An increasingly large number of shared hosts will allow you to set up an SSL certificate, eliminating the warnings and security concerns of running a shopping cart.

This will, in turn, enable you to buy an inexpensive SSL cert from a third party and run your storefront off a shared host with your visitors being none the wiser. It may be a great, cheap way to get your store off the ground.

2. Toll-Free Number

This is easily the least common feature on this list, but Hostgator offers all of its customers with a “Business” account their own toll-free number to help them make their business appear more professional.

This number can be directed to any line you wish but can be a great number to present on your site as it gives your company a nation-wise presence and offers potential customers a free, easy way to contact you.

This number includes 100 free minutes per calendar month with each minute afterward costing 4.9 cents.

All in all, not a bad deal for a business just getting off the ground.

1. Free Software

A web hosting company obviously has an interest in helping you get started as quickly as possible and many of the features listed above are geared to just that end. However, one less-traditional area that they can and do help in is getting the software you need.

Many hosting companies offer free downloads of paid software applications including FTP clients, site builders, guides, eBooks, etc. ThinkHost, for example, has a very large library of free applications, many of which would otherwise cost money.

To be clear, not every company offers such deals, but you may find that you can get a discount or even a free version of an app you want or need just because you’re a hosting customer.

Bottom Line

In the end, as hosts work harder and harder to earn your business, it behooves you to stay on top of the features and services they offer and take advantage of them as appropriate.

To do otherwise is almost as bad as throwing money away as you are simply not getting the full value for your hosting dollar.

So, if you haven’t done so in a while, take a moment and look at your host’s feature list, you might be surprised what you find on it.

WordPress is one of, if not the single, most popular applications hosting customers install on their servers. Not only is it an incredibly popular blogging platform, but it is also a well-respected CMS and is used to manage a large number of sites, even those that aren’t blogs.

Nearly every major host, especially those who target shared hosting customers, put their support for WordPress front and center on their site and offer easy one-click installs of WordPress, which you probably don’t want to do.

Some hosts, however, have started to go beyond that. Rather than simply offering an easy way to setup and support WordPress, they’ve begun offering WordPress features unique to their service, namely through the addition of free professional theme galleries exclusive for their customers.

With the competition for WordPress customers at an all-time high, could this be the move that gives some companies the edge? It depends largely on the themes offered. Read the rest of this entry »

While it is true that “the cloud” is not a place in the physical world but merely a buzzword for making stuff available for access via the Web, everything that exists in the cloud also exists somewhere in the physical world as well, or, in the case of content delivery networks, in multiple places in the physical world.

Simply put, every host has to exist somewhere in the physical world and that location does have an impact on the service they provide.

But should you factor in geography when choosing a host? The answer isn’t very straightforward and actually requires a bit of evaluation. Read the rest of this entry »

Does your host have a blog? Surprisingly, many don’t.

A blog is an excellent, free and easy way for a host to stay in contact with their clients at times other than when a trouble ticket is filed. It’s a chance to put a more human face on the company, let clients see what goes on behind the scenes or just provide useful tips, tricks and ideas.

Though it certainly isn’t critical for a host to have a blog, it isn’t a bad idea either and so, without further ado, here are ten well-known hosting companies who blog:

1. Web.com

Web.com has a very frequent blog (updated several times per week) that focuses on helping customers get the most of their sites with tips for building traffic and using social media.

The blog is targeted mostly at beginning webmasters, such as this basic list of blogging tips, but has a few tips and tricks that can be useful for just about anyone. Excellent for most site owners, including those not currently using Web.com.

2. FatCow

FatCow’s blog is more of a general tech blog, Updated about once per week, it doesn’t focus so much on hosting or websites as technology in general, including everything from cell phones to social media. It also has interesting articles about how to improve your site, such as this one on how to optimize it for an iPad.

Though not the highest-volume blog, certainly an interesting read for anyone interested in tech.

3. The Planet

Updated several times per week, The Planet’s blog is focused primarily on news from the company, including new product launches, hirings, etc. but also offers some neat tutorials such as a UNIX bootcamp series and a few funny posts such as a parody of Grease.

The blog is a great read for anyone who uses ThePlanet but also for anyone running their own server.

4. Aplus.net

Updated several times per day most days, Deluxe, the company behind the popular host Aplus.net, runs a blog targeted at small businesses.

As you might imagine, the blog focuses on eCommerce, promotion and other issues commonly faced by such users though there is still a good deal for other readers, such as an estimate on how much your Facebook fans are worth.

Though it might be a bit active for a casual reader, it’s a great blog for those who want to learn more about growing a site.

5. BounceWeb

Predictably, given BounceWeb‘s cartoonish presentation, their friendly blog is aimed at beginners. It’s updated several times a week and is an excellent resource for the beginning webmaster with tons of great SEO, security and other tips.

That being said, the blog does have some interesting tech articles, such as this one about Web applications running Ruby on Rails, though most of the content is still geared toward a more novice audience.

6. GoDaddy

If GoDaddy’s commercials make you want to punch random strangers in the face, then Bob Parsons’ video blog may turn you into a mass-murderer. The only video blog on the list, GoDaddy’s CEO and founder offers up business and self-help advice in a rather unique way.

Such as with this entry on how to get more done with your time, Parsons video entries are fast-paced, humor-filled, professionally-produced and, at times, extremely annoying.

Still, those struggling to establish an online business may benefit from Parsons’ advice, if they can stand to watch him long enough.

7. Arvixe

Arvixe‘s blog may not be much to look at, but it has some great tips, tricks and how-to’s that almost any webmaster can benefit from. Ranging from the most basic, including how to set up a MYSQL database and user, to very specific and relatively-advanced, the guides offer something for everyone.

All in all, it is a great “hands on” blog about hosting targeted at Arvixe’s own customers and systems first and foremost. A must-read for any of Avixe’s clients and a good one for everyone else.

8. Hostgator

Updated once every 1-2 weeks, Hostgator‘s blog certainly isn’t the most active but it is one of the most unique. Though it includes the standard spate of a corporate newsletter there are many unusual posts, such as this one highlighting some of the stranger occurrences they’ve run into while doing support.

May not be the most informative read, but is certainly one of the most entertaining.

9. Dreamhost

Known for being one of the more eccentric hosting companies, Dreamhost‘s blog does not disappoint.

Though it has some of the standard corporate news that you can expect on any hosting blog, Dreamhost manages to stuff their site full of humor and interesting promotions, such as their year of free hosting to anyone who can down the Special #2 at Orochon Ramen.

Perhaps not the most useful blog on this list, but certainly very full of personality and Dreamhost attitude.

10. Peer1

Most of Peer1′s blog is about company news and updates. However, it is a remarkably well-done and well-written blog that even includes video and some very interesting glimpses behind the scenes at the company, including this clip of the build out of Peer1′s newest datacenter.

Though it may not be very relevant to anyone not currently with Peer1, it is an excellent example of a corporate-only blog being done very well.

Bottom Line

Most webhosting customers only have contact with their providers when something goes wrong and a good corporate blog is a way to change all that. Along with an email newsletter and other means of customer contact, a blog offers a host a chance to stay in touch with their clients and present themselves in a positive light.

Simply put, customers feel better working with a more “human” host and knowledgeable customers are the best ones. A blog is a free way to do both of those things.

It has long been established that downtime is a fact of life for pretty much any Web host. Even Wikipedia, which operates two datacenters, suffered an extended period of downtime earlier this month.

Though a good host will certainly keep downtime to a minimum, you can tell even more about the quality of a host by how they respond when the inevitable occurs. A truly good host will not just respond to a downtime as a technical issue, but as a consumer one as well.

After all, a hosting business isn’t just one about servers and protocols, but also about the people that use them and how to best meet their needs. On that note, every host, even unmanaged ones, have certain obligations to their customers when downtime occurs; there are simple, but powerful ways that they can meet them and prove their worth. Read the rest of this entry »

CPanel is far and away the most common control panel used by Web hosts large and small. this includes companies such as Hostmonster, Bluehost, Site 5 and Midphase just to name a few.

CPanel is so common because it is incredibly reliable, secure and easy to use. It’s a control panel that even the greenest newcomer can sit down to and be able to edit and manipulate their site with great ease without worrying too much about breaking anything along the way.

However, this isn’t to say that CPanel isn’t a powerful control panel with some great functionality. Though it doesn’t have root access. which somewhat limits what it can do, there are still several powerful but lesser-known tricks that you can use CPanel for.

To be clear, not every host is going to have all of these features enabled so your mileage may vary, but all are features that CPanel is capable of and is enabled on many, if not most, Web hosts. Furthermore, all of the directions on how to find these features are based on the default theme and many hosts, including GoDaddy, use heavily-modified ones that may change where they are found.

Be aware of both of these things as you go hunting for these features on your own site. Read the rest of this entry »