NoSting Hosting

[andymoo]

Hi,

 

Still some work to do on the support areas of the site but it's coming along.

 

Hit me with it, good or bad. I'm thick skinned so can take the worst of it.

 

Owned, non-branded.

 

http://www.nostinghosting.com

[Daniel]

Looks very good.

 

A few pointers though...

 

Why are you charging setup fees?

IIRC you can't use the phrase "Fanatical Support", as Rackspace have that as a registered trademark.

 

WHMCS looks very good, one of the nicest skins i've seen - although your server status page needs some work

[Daniel]

Try us for 30 days, risk free, if you're not happy we'll give you a full back of your website and refund your money!

 

 

"back" should be "backup"

[andymoo]

Fanatical now reads exceptional and back now reads backup. Thanks for that x 2

 

Consider the setup fee our doorman. It keeps the wrong kind of crowd out.

 

You're spot on about the server status page it does need work but take a closer look, there's XMLHttpRequest callbacks going on updating the DOM in realtime. It's working brilliantly just needs to look a little / lot sweeter!

 

Daniel, thanks for nice words and taking the time to check it out. Appreciated.

[railto]

loving the site, we are currently working on an integration something similar, ie we are going to be running whmcs in the root of the site and have the rest of the site built around whmcs, just need to pull my finger out of my backside and get working on it, have been wanting to do this for ages but never get round to it properly so i have a half developed site on the testbed at mo

[andymoo]

loving the site, we are currently working on an integration something similar, ie we are going to be running whmcs in the root of the site and have the rest of the site built around whmcs, just need to pull my finger out of my backside and get working on it, have been wanting to do this for ages but never get round to it properly so i have a half developed site on the testbed at mo

 

Thanks Mark, I wanted to run WHMCS in the root of the site and integrate my site into WHMCS rather than build a website and run WHMCS as a separate entity. While it will take longer to manage upgrades in the future when there's masses of template changes I feel this is justified by the unified feel we've with billing and website being seamless.

 

Please it's getting thumbs up so far.

 

 

Thanks again

[railto]

Thanks Mark, I wanted to run WHMCS in the root of the site and integrate my site into WHMCS rather than build a website and run WHMCS as a separate entity. While it will take longer to manage upgrades in the future when there's masses of template changes I feel this is justified by the unified feel we've with billing and website being seamless.

 

Please it's getting thumbs up so far.

 

 

Thanks again

 

thats why we are doing it, i feel its better to have it all built in as one looks far neater to me, and also with the way it integrates, users will never know u are using whmcs at all

[andymoo]

Why are you charging setup fees?

 

You seem opposed, care to elaborate why?

 

thats why we are doing it, i feel its better to have it all built in as one looks far neater to me, and also with the way it integrates, users will never know u are using whmcs at all

 

Totally agreed, I want customers to interact with us, not with a billing system!

 

Users should never know what software you're running, at least that's the way I view it. I can't understand why people wouldn't pay the little extra to remove branding, unless there's a valid reason for keeping it on there which I've not considered.

[railto]

I can't understand why people wouldn't pay the little extra to remove branding, unless there's a valid reason for keeping it on there which I've not considered.

 

maybe they like to give WHMCS some "free" advertising, used the speechmarks as its not free at all, not when you are paying for the software already, and at only $2 or so for the unbranded its not really a bank breaker is it

[Daniel]

You seem opposed, care to elaborate why?

 

 

Put simply, I don't understand how it can be justified.

 

WHMCS takes care of the setup and does it instantly. Setup costs pretty much died when automated systems took over from having someone manually process the order.

 

Lets look at it from a potential clients point of view.

If, for comparison only, a client were to visit both your website and mine they would notice that our smallest package is pretty much the same in terms of resources. We both offer free domains for life, money back guarantee etc etc. However, one site asks for a £10 setup fee whilst the other doesn't..

From a clients point of view, It'd be obvious which looks more attractive.

 

You'll rarely find a setup fee from any reputable host these days. Dedicated servers, yes - but not on shared hosting.

[Jordan]

^ It is rare, but you still do see it with larger companies (see: Site5, Dreamhost).

[Daniel]

Site5 seem to offer free setup. Dreamhost can offer it because people will pay it, but only because their name is well known and people think paying $50 for five billion gigabytes is fine.

[Baja]

I wanted to run WHMCS in the root of the site and integrate my site into WHMCS rather than build a website and run WHMCS as a separate entity.

My question to WHMCS

Is there any security risks or other reasons why one would not want to put all files of whmcs into the public_html versus in its own directory? I was planning on using the language system for all my site which is why I was wondering if this could create problems or not. Somebody warned me against this, but I wanted to be sure.

Answer back from Joe

It is very common to install whmcs in the public_html without placing it in a directory.

The guide below describes various extra steps you can take to furthur secure your WHMCS system.

 

Move the attachments, downloads & templates_c folders

 

The three folders "attachments", "downloads" and "templates_c" need to be writeable by WHMCS and therefore require the permissions 777 (writeable by all). When folders have this permission level it is safer to place the folders outside of the public accessible folder tree on your website. WHMCS allows you to do this. If you do move the folders, then you must tell WHMCS where they have been moved to by adding the following lines to your configuration.php file:

 

$templates_compiledir = "/home/whmcs/templates_c/";

$attachments_dir = "/home/whmcs/attachments/";

$downloads_dir = "/home/whmcs/downloads/";

 

Change your WHMCS Admin Folder name

 

Malicious users who visit your site and recognise a WHMCS install will know that they can try logging into your admin area via the admin folder. To protect against this, you can rename the admin folder name to any name you like. You cannot move the folder - only rename it. You can then tell WHMCS what the name of that folder is for the links in admin notification emails by adding the following line to your configuration.php file:

 

$customadminpath = "myadminname";

 

Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.

 

Regards,

 

Joe

Thought I would throw this out there.

[chickendippers]

Looks very neat

 

My only question is, why do your prices not include VAT? It's common practice in the UK to include tax in the price so that seems a little odd to me.

[andymoo]

...give WHMCS some "free" advertising....... $2 or so for the unbranded its not really a bank breaker is it

 

You'd think $2 wouldn't be a deal breaker but then there's enough folks wanting stuff as cheaply as possible.

 

Powered by... to me translates to "We don't have enough clients / capital to pay for the unbranded version"

 

Put simply, I don't understand how it can be justified.

WHMCS takes care of the setup and does it instantly.

 

I can think of several thousand justifications. They've all got the $ in front and yes WHMCS does automate but going owned and unbranded wasn't free, that's 325 justifications.

 

Lets look at it from a potential clients point of view.

From a clients point of view, It'd be obvious which looks more attractive.

 

Agreed but only in the mindset of those who always go cheapest first. I don't want that kind of client. I want those who think long term and can justify it as a viable expense.

 

You'll rarely find a set up fee from any reputable host these days. Dedicated servers, yes - but not on shared hosting.

 

Excellent, we're not following the crowd. I'd prefer us to to be the exception rather than the norm!

 

Getting new blood through the doors isn't urgent, we've a small profit on hardware already and growing the business at a slower level suits me and my other interests fine. I'm happy to play the long game on the investment as I'm not out to run another mass market style host.

 

My question to WHMCSAnswer back from JoeThought I would throw this out there.

 

Excellent, appreciated. Thanks.

 

Looks very neat

 

My only question is, why do your prices not include VAT? It's common practice in the UK to include tax in the price so that seems a little odd to me.

 

I always thought the protocol went like this:

 

B2C = inclusive

B2B = exclusive

 

I'm aiming more to business mentality then individuals, again adding justification to the set up fee. Most folk who invoice me invoice XXX+VAT - it seemed the right thing to do.

Thanks for your feedback!

[andymoo]

Perfect example of that pricing model and VAT - Nominet

 

£5+

 

Speaking of Nominet - I sat the registrar assessment test over the weekend and passed, now waiting to hear back from them about our tag application.

 

[Jordan]

Site5 seem to offer free setup. Dreamhost can offer it because people will pay it, but only because their name is well known and people think paying $50 for five billion gigabytes is fine.

 

Site5 only offers free setup when you pay annually, just like Dreamhost.

[dhinze]

If I may interject a paradigm shift.

When two partys enter into negotiations one is offering and the other is receiving. They both have the same end in mind. "What is the best deal I can get". If we change the perspective here, they are both seeking the "highest and best value" from their negotiation.

Case: I recently purchased a business from a friend, he offered 6 months Free hosting AND free domain name registration, to top it off his rates were highly discounted. (possibly the reason he needed out of the business). One of his prospects called me and inquired about the Free 6 months and the free domain. What I said was something like this; "To be very frank, I dont do free. I dont offer free. Those rates are not my rates and to be brutally honest you get what you pay for. I do business class hosting, and you get my cell phone number."

In the time of a 30 minute "how hosting works" he paid 2x the discounted rate and bought the first year of his domain outright. A nice profit for a nice pleasant no pitch conversation.

 

He received his highest and best value. (infact he asked me if I wanted more money)

I do not state a set-up fee, but there is a premium on all accounts to buy the first year of domain reg outright.

 

Price yourself. Price your services. Seek those that will pay.

Those that wont pay were not going to be your clients anyway; at any price.

 

If you talk yourself out of money it will leave you with empty pockets.

thank you for your time,

-DH