Yesterday I received a request from a very good client. The request was for the possibility of a lower priced, lower spec'ed hosting account for his clients. This hosting account would then be more affordable for people who only require minimal features e.g. no website, emails only.

My first thought was, how about proper web hosting. And I replied with the following:

Dear [name redacted]

Thank you for your mail.

I've looked at that before but decided it’s not feasible as we would have to cut down the features incredibly. There are a few hosting companies doing that but it’s completely misleading and quite frankly a way to fool people into signing up but then they are soon forced to upgrade – let me explain why:

• These hosting companies will e.g. offer 300mb web space total web space with 5 or 10 email accounts, no MySQL database etc for R19 or R29. Now this may sound like a bargain but that kind of account is all but useless and will soon frustrate users. 300mb web space for 5 to 10 email accounts equates to 30mb per mailbox and then we are not even including the overhead of a website. This means that every mailbox on that plan would have to download and check email multiple times a day to keep those mailboxes from taking the hosting account over the 300mb capacity.
• Add to this the fact that there is no MySQL database means for all practical purposes you won’t have a website as EVERY CMS system today requires databases connectivity to work.
• Now let’s say that they do want a website, with 300mb web space, they can’t even install WordPress without a concern as most regular WordPress installations are standing on 150mb – 400mb. This doesn’t count any audio or video and definitely doesn’t count ANY space for any sort of backups or storage or FTP storage.
• Add to that standard features like 1-click installs of software like WordPress, etc. FTP locking, etc.
• We’ve included the most generous quotas in South Africa across ALL areas making even our entry level account a powerful feasible proper hosting account with meat on it’s bones. Not some token account used to get someone in the door and then upsell them the proper accounts. 🙂
• What this boils down to is the best hosting account in South Africa across ALL classes. Our hosting accounts are unmatched for features, specs, addons and price.

To end off, let’s put this in perspective – a Wimpy Cheese Burger is more expensive than our hosting account. For R49 our Starter Pro hosting account absolutely rox! 😉

My client's reply was "Wow, now that is why I like working with you: fact-based and to the point. :-)"

How About Proper Web Hosting

Don't be fooled by the cheapest hosting. Very often you get what you pay for. Don't take my word for it, this article on the Huff Post of all places outlines the dangers of not choosing the best web hosting for your website.