The rather brief history of web hosting is littered with the fragments of web hosting companies that simply couldn’t weather the storm over the long haul. There are examples large and small, shared and dedicated. Some were acquired and folded into other companies – for example: as recently as last week a deal was struck which folded budget web host PeopleHost into domain registration and web hosting services provider Namecheap. There was also for example the venerable Dellhost brand – web hosting run and branded by Dell Computer that has long since vanished. Many companies were folded into the former Interland (now Web.com) such as HostPro, Innerhost, Interland, Burlee, Trellix, Communitech, and WazooWeb. Another memorable example from the earlier days of the Internet and budget web hosting is HostSave which was acquired by Affinity Internet and folded into the Gate.com brand – which has now in turn been acquired by Hostway. So these brands are no longer part of the budget hosting landscape, though their accounts most likely live on under a different moniker.
So which companies have weathered the storm and emerged as stalwarts in a consolidating and tumultuous budget hosting landscape? Here are a few budget hosts that have withstood the test of time.
GoDaddy.com – According to information provided by the GoDaddy.com website, this budget web host was founded in 1997 by Chief Executive Bob Parsons. The site goes on to describe the company as follows, ”GoDaddy.com is the world’s largest domain name registrar and is the flagship company of The Go Daddy Group, Inc. The Go Daddy Group of companies also includes Wild West Domains, Inc., a reseller of domains and domain-related products and services; Domains by Proxy, a private registration service; Starfield Technologies, a research and development affiliate; and Blue Razor Domains, a membership-based discount registrar.” According to published information, GoDaddy now has 30.9 million domains under management. The company began and grew its reputation as a domain registrar, but evolved into a full service budget hosting enterprise as well. Years of longevity are 11.
HostMySite.com – Service oriented web hosting firm, HostMySite.com has been delivering great value and service in hosting since 1997. Founded by young entrepreneurs Lou Honick and Neil Heuer as a response to the poor service levels in hosting at the time, the company has thrived in recent years. According to the firm’s website, the company now has 250 employees and hosts more than 65,000 websites. This hosting company was more focused on budget hosting in the earlier days, and has of late developed great expertise in both VPS and dedicated server hosting. HostMySite.com has developed considerable experience in data center buildouts and has recently completed its fourth on site data center. The company also maintains core expertise in the Adobe ColdFusion platform as well. Years of longevity are 11.
Hostway – Another host that has been around since the early days is Hostway. The company was founded in 1998 and now boasts over 400,000 hosted domains. The company has expanded in the past 10 years to include 250,191 square feet of data center space and notes the following marquis clients on the Hostway.com website: Sony Music, JVC, Coca Cola, McGraw-Hill, Bank of Montreal, Tribune Co., Hershey’s Food Corp, Campbell Food, Wrigley Jr. Company, Disney, Infinity Broadcasting, and Fox News. Years of longevity are 10.
WebIntellects.com – WebIntellects has been in the web hosting business since early 1999 according to the company’s website. As with other companies listed here, WebIntellects has shifted focus a bit from the early days, but continues to serve small business with web hosting that is summed up by the company’s mission statement, ”to provide the same quality of service and support for the personal and small business user that is usually only afforded to the larger companies.” Other benefits of this company’s products and services include, guaranteed support resolution times, a 30-day money back guarantee and a 99.99 percent network uptime guarantee. Years of longevity are almost 10.
34sp.com – An honorable mention goes to another great budget hosting firm, 34sp.com. This UK based budget hosting company recently announced its eighth year in business. According to founder Stuart Melling, ”A lot has changed over those 8 years. We started out on humble Cobalt RaQ servers, which is a far cry from the Quad core systems we use today. We have evolved so much over those years. What hasn’t changed at 34SP.com is our commitment to reliable web site hosting coupled with professional support.” The UK market for budget hosting is well served by 34sp.com which has taken on a greater role in VPS hosting in Europe as well. Years of longevity are 8.
Congratulations to all the companies listed above which have outperformed and outlasted the many other hundreds of budget web hosts that have come and gone. It is a good bet that these web hosts are in it for the long haul and plan on even greater longevity in the budget hosting arena
So which companies have weathered the storm and emerged as stalwarts in a consolidating and tumultuous budget hosting landscape? Here are a few budget hosts that have withstood the test of time.
GoDaddy.com – According to information provided by the GoDaddy.com website, this budget web host was founded in 1997 by Chief Executive Bob Parsons. The site goes on to describe the company as follows, ”GoDaddy.com is the world’s largest domain name registrar and is the flagship company of The Go Daddy Group, Inc. The Go Daddy Group of companies also includes Wild West Domains, Inc., a reseller of domains and domain-related products and services; Domains by Proxy, a private registration service; Starfield Technologies, a research and development affiliate; and Blue Razor Domains, a membership-based discount registrar.” According to published information, GoDaddy now has 30.9 million domains under management. The company began and grew its reputation as a domain registrar, but evolved into a full service budget hosting enterprise as well. Years of longevity are 11.
HostMySite.com – Service oriented web hosting firm, HostMySite.com has been delivering great value and service in hosting since 1997. Founded by young entrepreneurs Lou Honick and Neil Heuer as a response to the poor service levels in hosting at the time, the company has thrived in recent years. According to the firm’s website, the company now has 250 employees and hosts more than 65,000 websites. This hosting company was more focused on budget hosting in the earlier days, and has of late developed great expertise in both VPS and dedicated server hosting. HostMySite.com has developed considerable experience in data center buildouts and has recently completed its fourth on site data center. The company also maintains core expertise in the Adobe ColdFusion platform as well. Years of longevity are 11.
Hostway – Another host that has been around since the early days is Hostway. The company was founded in 1998 and now boasts over 400,000 hosted domains. The company has expanded in the past 10 years to include 250,191 square feet of data center space and notes the following marquis clients on the Hostway.com website: Sony Music, JVC, Coca Cola, McGraw-Hill, Bank of Montreal, Tribune Co., Hershey’s Food Corp, Campbell Food, Wrigley Jr. Company, Disney, Infinity Broadcasting, and Fox News. Years of longevity are 10.
WebIntellects.com – WebIntellects has been in the web hosting business since early 1999 according to the company’s website. As with other companies listed here, WebIntellects has shifted focus a bit from the early days, but continues to serve small business with web hosting that is summed up by the company’s mission statement, ”to provide the same quality of service and support for the personal and small business user that is usually only afforded to the larger companies.” Other benefits of this company’s products and services include, guaranteed support resolution times, a 30-day money back guarantee and a 99.99 percent network uptime guarantee. Years of longevity are almost 10.
34sp.com – An honorable mention goes to another great budget hosting firm, 34sp.com. This UK based budget hosting company recently announced its eighth year in business. According to founder Stuart Melling, ”A lot has changed over those 8 years. We started out on humble Cobalt RaQ servers, which is a far cry from the Quad core systems we use today. We have evolved so much over those years. What hasn’t changed at 34SP.com is our commitment to reliable web site hosting coupled with professional support.” The UK market for budget hosting is well served by 34sp.com which has taken on a greater role in VPS hosting in Europe as well. Years of longevity are 8.
Congratulations to all the companies listed above which have outperformed and outlasted the many other hundreds of budget web hosts that have come and gone. It is a good bet that these web hosts are in it for the long haul and plan on even greater longevity in the budget hosting arena
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