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How Great Web Hosting and Customer Support Make All the Difference

In March of 2009, the Thesis Theme went through an unprecedented growth phase that came with its fair share of growing pains. Most of these problems were the small, nagging type, but on one fateful Saturday afternoon, disaster struck—my dedicated server crashed, and I couldn't do anything to fix it.I was left in the one position I hate more than any other: I had to have someone else's help to solve the problem. In times like this, I don't want to submit a ticket via an online interface and wait for a response; I want to talk to somebody at my hosting company immediately!So instead of submitting a ticket, I did what any reasonable person would do—I went straight to Twitter and bitched about the fact that my server was down :DOf course, I didn't go to Twitter just to bitch; on the contrary, I was fairly certain that someone at my hosting company would see me bitching and then step in to solve the problem.Sadly, I was wrong.And that's when I realized that I didn't really know anyone at my hosting company. I had no one to appeal to in times of need, and I had no reason to believe that the company cared if I had an epic problem like the one that was currently on my hands.But then a funny thing happened.Nick Nelson1, who works with the UK2 Group (they run the highest quality Web hosts all over the globe), saw me complaining on Twitter and reached out to help. Only problem was that I wasn't hosted with Nick's company...yet.My little company, DIYthemes, was getting bigger by the day, and I now had over 1,000 customers who were just as reliant on my server as I was. Clearly, it was time to get serious about my Web hosting. Although I gave him the runaround for about 24 hours (I wanted to give my original host a legitimate chance to solve this problem), I eventually caved and decided that hosting with a UK2 Group property was in my best interest.Ironically, my decision to switch Web hosts had nothing to do with speed, performance, bandwidth, or anything like that—I just wanted to know that if I had a problem, I'd have someone who cares on my side to help me solve it.Nick stepped in with a variety of potential solutions for DIYthemes, and because he was ready to help and armed with answers, he got my business.Before we go any further, I want to mention that I ended up on a very special dedicated server that is built to handle my unique situation. I cannot take any chances with DIYthemes—it's gotta be running on a bulletproof, world-beating server because the entire business relies on it. Servers like the one I'm on now aren't cheap, and they're really only suitable for enterprise ventures.Despite this, Nick Nelson and the UK2 Group offer a range of hosting solutions that cover the entire spectrum, and no matter what solution you go with, you'll get the same great customer support that convinced me to switch to them in the first place.

VPS Cloud Hosting: The New Hotness!

Cloud hosting is all the rage these days, and for good reason. Take my story, for example:When I started out on the Web, I didn't have demanding hosting needs; I just needed a way to get my sites online. However, as my sites grew, I realized that I needed more hosting space, more bandwidth, more databases, and most important, a way to scale these items in anticipation of continued growth.VPS cloud hosting is the only service on the market that fulfills the dynamic needs of serious webmasters. You can do awesome things with a VPS that you simply cannot do with a shared server or even an expensive dedicated server, like:
  • Add nodes to handle a surge in traffic (for instance, from Digg, from TechCrunch, or from some major PR)
  • Remove those same nodes when you no longer need them, thereby decreasing your cost for that month!
  • Add a CDN to serve images and scripts2 at ridiculous speeds to users all around the world. I've got this service here on Pearsonified, and I love it. My site is screamin' fast, and it makes your browsing experience far more pleasurable :D

Nick Nelson is the manager of VPS.net, the best VPS service on the planet. If you're ready to take your site seriously and start hosting like the professionals, then it's time to check out VPS.net.

If you opt to host with VPS.net, Nick will treat you like VIP, just like he did me. It's his job, and he's damn good at it!

Shared Server Hosting (Cheapest Options)

The UK2 Group owns two fantastic shared server hosts, AN Hosting and MidPhase. From time to time, I discuss the current hosting packages with Nick, and he lets me know which of these two is offering the better deal.

Right now, AN Hosting is offering the most affordable package with two key benefits—the ability to have unlimited databases and up to 20 domains. At just $5.21/mo., this is as good as shared hosting gets! Click here to check out AN Hosting.

With that said, MidPhase is still offering one hell of a good deal. For just $6.95/mo., you can get unlimited databases, unlimited domains, unlimited Web space and unlimited bandwidth! If you're running a lot of sites and ramping up your traffic, then this is the most cost-effective shared hosting solution I've ever seen. Click here to check out MidPhase, but make sure you don't go for that $2.95/mo package—you'll only get 1 database with it, and that just ain't gonna cut it :D

1 Got questions for Nick? You can find him on Twitter or email him. ↩

2 Actually, you can add a CDN to a dedicated server, but the whole setup will cost you more and won't be as flexible as the VPS solution. ↩

Disclaimer: When you sign up for hosting through one of the links on this page, I get paid. This is how the Web works, and I have the same setup over on DIYthemes—if you sell my stuff, you get paid. Cool, huh?