Webfaction Introduction
Webfaction hosting was established in 2003 in london and focuses on faster speed and effective performance in its shared and cloud hosting service plans. the company serves clients across the united states, europe and asia through its well-managed...
WebFaction Hosting was established in 2003 in London and focuses on faster speed and effective performance in its shared and cloud hosting service plans. The company serves clients across the United States, Europe and Asia through its well-managed network and hosting environment. Unlike most other web hosting companies, the packages and plans of WebFaction are limited to shared and dedicated cloud hosting.
Customer Service
WebFaction does not offer impressive customer service. The company does maintain an online Q&A community on its website where clients post queries and respond to queries posted by others. An online ticketing system is also made available through which clients can submit a technical query after logging in. Other than these passive sources of information, the company does not offer any interactive forms of customer support such as live chat, telephone, email or postal communication with the customer. This is quite disappointing because customers today expect their hosting company to be accessible to them throughout the day.
Networks and Data Centers
WebFaction does not own the data centers that house the servers on which clients’ websites are hosted. The company employs third party servers located in the Texas, Amsterdam and Singapore. The company screens the data servers to ensure that they are equipped with power backup in the form of UPS and diesel generators. All the data centers employed by WebFaction have round the clock CCTV monitoring as well as 24-hour security and climate control systems. As far as the security of the systems is concerned, the company has developed proprietary monitoring systems to maintain the servers.
Special Features
- WebFaction is a flexible operator mainly because they do not pursue aggressive selling with the result that their servers are never overcrowded.
- The hosting plans are scalable which means that clients can continue to stay with WebFaction even if their growing web activity outgrows their current hosting plan.
- The hosting packages offered by WebFaction are extremely affordable with the lowest cost hosting plan being priced at $5.50 a month including setup costs.
- The company offers an attractive 60-day money back guarantee which increases the clients’ confidence in the company’s ability to offer satisfactory service.
Packages and Plans
WebFaction offers shared hosting and four different cloud hosting plans. Reseller, VPS and dedicated hosting are not offered by the company. Here is a brief description of these hosting plans:
- The shared hosting plan offers the client 1GB RAM, 3.5Ghx shared processors, 100GB storage and 1TB bandwidth. The monthly fee begins at $10 a month.
- The cloud hosting plan offers the client 2GB RAM, 2 CPU cores, 45GB storage and 2TB bandwidth. The monthly fee begins at $30 a month.
- The 4GB cloud hosting plan offers the client 4GB RAM, 4 CPU cores, 90GB storage and 3TB bandwidth. The monthly fee begins at $60 a month.
- The 8GB cloud hosting plan offers the client 8GB RAM, 6 CPU cores, 180GB storage and 4TB bandwidth. The monthly fee begins at $120 a month.
- The 16GB cloud hosting plan offers the client 16GB RAM, 8 CPU cores, 360GB storage and 5TB bandwidth. The monthly fee begins at $2400 a month.
Uptime/ Downtime
WebFaction does not offer any guarantee as far as uptime performance is concerned. This should be a cause for concern for clients, especially if they host an ecommerce website on WebFaction servers. Independent tests show that WebFaction uptime is typically above 99.5% which is par for the course. However, this level of uptime was achieved after much manipulation of domains to improve server efficiency. Therefore, it is likely that clients might expect some decline in performance even though the website may be running most of the time.
Drawbacks
The overall performance of WebFaction is satisfactory to most clients. This is an impressive feat considering that the company serves clients on three continents. However, there are certain ways in which the performance is challenged:
- Because the company offers only shared and managed dedicated hosting, it fails to attract clients who are interested in VPS or reseller hosting for their website.
- Because the company operates out of third party data centers, it cannot ensure the quality of service and security of the systems at all times.
Coupons 2016
WebFaction introduces new coupons every month as a means of promoting its service plans among new customers. These coupons entitle the holder to a number of interesting benefits including free hosting trials, discounts on hosting rates, and percentage discounts on long-term hosting plans. The discounts on these coupons go up to 65% which brings significant savings to the holder.
Awards
- In April 2010, WebFaction was placed 8th in the Best Budget Hosting category by HostReview.
- In August 2009, WebFaction was placed 3rd in the Best Budget Hosting category by HostReview.
Social Links
WebFaction is present on Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus which gives clients an opportunity to get in touch with the company through social media. The following links can be used to reach the company on its social media pages:
- On Twitter at @webfaction.
- On Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/webfaction
On Google Plus at https://plus.google.com/+Webfaction
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