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Posted by hostingheaven, 05-05-2007, 08:51 AM
I see a lot of recommendations for large reseller hosting companies in here. But I also see a fair number of people saying that smaller reseller hosting companies are sometimes better than the large ones - I just hardly ever see anybody recommending a small reseller company. If you've got experience with big vs. small, I'd really like to hear about it. If you have positive experience with smaller ones, please post which company and what they did to impress you. Highly appreciated - Thanks.
Posted by E.Emile, 05-05-2007, 10:50 AM
Hello, you will find many small or large company and they may be good, I think the problem is not whether the company is small or not
Posted by mrzippy, 05-05-2007, 11:09 AM
Well, it depends on what your idea of "small" is, I think. Do you consider a company like www.httpme.com to be "small"? They have several hundred servers, across three different company brands. But the company "feels" small, since it has a nice little community, etc. Or perhaps something like hostgater, which feels very large, but is probably not much bigger then HTTPme? Or perhaps something like 1and1, which is very very large.... Personally, I tihnk it doesn't matter how big or large the company is. If you are happy with their server management, and their support, then who cares about anything else?
Posted by hostingheaven, 05-05-2007, 11:12 AM
When I say small, I am thinking more about companies hosting less than 1000 domains, and maybe only has 1 or 2 servers. Maybe they've existed for less than 1 year as well. What I really want to get to is: Are there really such companies out there - or are new and small hosting companies just not good enough to compete?
Posted by mrzippy, 05-05-2007, 11:18 AM
Well, it depends on what this "small" company has to offer. If they are simply colocating a server or two in some facility and then opening their doors for business... then what is the advantage of using them instead of a reputable and established "larger" company like www.httpme.com? However, if that "small" company offers some kind of Value Added service.. then they might be a better choice. For example, perhaps they offer some kind of specialized software for a niche market? Or maybe they offer great end-user anonymous support?
Posted by XeHSean, 05-05-2007, 12:57 PM
Smaller companies that know what they are doing are always better. Remember, the big companies don't need your business, they just like it . Smaller companies (this is a generalization by the way, it does not apply to every company) tend to value their customers more and offer more of a personalized level of support. If I had to choose between doing business with a very big name company, or a samller company that I know is reliable, I'd choose the smaller one
Posted by w00ts!te, 05-05-2007, 07:20 PM
The larger companies have more money that they can invest in advertising. Smaller companies tend to be more personable.
Posted by kjawaid, 05-06-2007, 04:06 AM
Well i can't trust my business with smaller companies .. usually most of them are one man show .. And i thin one man show have soo many disadvantages .. like owner will sell the company to some big giant .. and then you won't get that type of services which you are used too .. plus owner changes his/her mind and close down the business suddenly ... and GOD forbids some thing happens to owner and he stop paying server rent due to any un-known reason ..
Posted by HostTitan, 05-06-2007, 04:34 AM
To be honest, whether small or large, one should always keep backups in the event that the company were to fold. There have been plenty of instances in which companies perceived to be large by this community have folded or commited pretty unprofessional acts causing many people harm. Small companies will do more to retain your business and may also be able to custom cater various configurations to your liking, whereas larger companies have more standard configurations and set "scripts" implemented for scenarios. If you're relatively familiar with the web hosting industry, in my experience, after the initial setup the client doesn't really need that much more support/is relatively apathetic so long as the network is fast. However, a client in need of a lot of support should be more inclined to try out a few hosts / shop around a bit.
Posted by encoderX, 05-07-2007, 03:50 AM
When all said, done and considered it matters none wheather the provider is small or large as long as you get the features, services and support that suits you, your site(s) and visitors. Alot of small hosts either rent servers or are resellers of the big providers. Some go direct to the DC itself. If a 'one-man-band' suits you and you get what you want then go for it but, if a big co. has what you want then again go for it. That's your top priority
Posted by premium20, 05-07-2007, 04:11 AM
I agree, small is beautiful but one-man show is dangerous!!!
Posted by anon-e-mouse, 05-07-2007, 04:58 AM
There are many "small" companies who have been delivering for years. They have out surpassed several "big" companies in longevity and reliability. I personally prefer a smaller company, but I wouldn't choose a new small company.
Posted by ldcdc, 05-07-2007, 05:47 AM
I agree with the train of thought. Funny enough though, if we would all apply those same principles all the time, there would be no new companies. Though "new" may not rule out "experienced", and experienced may be enough at times, for I would rather go with a new company started by someone with a history of running things well, than a small host I know very little about.
Posted by Mxhub, 05-07-2007, 07:19 AM
Agree on this. You get help from a friend, not just another stranger behind the helpdesk.
Posted by CaroNet-Hesham, 05-07-2007, 07:52 AM
well, small hosts sometimes tend to give a personal touch to things which particular clients seem to appreciate more. However, I've also seen this approach taken by a number of big companies which makes the client more at ease
Posted by faltboat, 05-07-2007, 05:15 PM
we've hosted with comcites.com for the past 3 years. we had a bad experience at first with a larger company based in new york. so then we moved on to comcities (located in sri lanka) and much prefer their customer service and more laid-back attitude. a small hosting company works better for small businesses, i think.
Posted by jhadley, 05-07-2007, 05:21 PM
About 2 years ago VT6 (well, it was called VertoHost back then) was a one man show - it was me and a single rented server. I can assure you it was not dangerous - our ticket response times averaged about 2 minutes and there was never a single complaint. Every customer I had had something good to say about the service. VT6 isn't a one man show any more and people are still very happy with the service but the few who were with me since day one do comment on the good ol' days when I knew all their names off the top of my head and probably most of their websites, packages, domain names and email addresses too. My advice overall would be to look at the service as a whole rather than the company or individual running it. You will find good and bad individuals and firms of all sizes. That said, if you need 24x7 support or something like that you won't have the choice of the individual. The larger firms will also tend to send you canned replies and will almost certainly be very brash as they really don't need your business. I can tell you from my own experience that after a day's (I think I'd be lying if I said "hard") work that's probably not what you need. Finally, if you do decide to go with a very small firm or an individual, ask about their situation with money. Will they have to close up shop if they're hit with a huge bandwidth bill after a DoS attack? Will they have to terminate your account when it gets too big? Take a look at their website and servers - how much do you think they costed? This will give you some idea how much the company has to invest. Always ask if the firm is profitable, whatever the size as you can't go bankrupt taking profits. Last edited by jhadley; 05-07-2007 at 05:29 PM.