H.O.W.D.Y. Media has been in business since 2000, and in the process of developing websites for our clients, they variably would ask for assistance in setting up their hosting as well.
It's not good business to recommend a product or service that is lacking, and suggesting a proper host was a dodgy situation. We had a checkered past trying to find a good hosting provider for ourselves.
We originally started hosting our website with Website.com, but after months of issues and hours on the phone, we gave up and found other hosting providers. Turns out that a great domain name doesn't magically mean great service.
We started vetting hosts by interacting on hosting forums and found a seemingly good match. This provider also offered a reseller package, so with our clients needed web hosting, we naturally began reselling hosting. This is the usual path of a web host provider, to start small, and when growth comes, expand and improve.
Well, unfortunately, the host that we relied on had an epic failure that lasted over 24 hours. The entire data center went down, and the backup generator didn't run – there was talk that they didn't fill up the gas tank due to the high cost of fuel at the time. This meant that to our hosting customers, we had failed them.
And we had. We took stock in a company that was cutting corners and not operating out of a major data center. As a result, we lost face, as did they and a number of their customers.
Enter a New Era
"If you want the job done right..." as the idiom goes, we took it upon ourselves to set up a server with The Planet. At the time in 2006, all of the HostGator servers were located within the same data centers. We were suddenly launched in to a real world of high assurance real dedicated hosting.
From there, we were able to configure the servers per our standards, as well as control what accounts to host. A large issue with shared hosting comes from having bad neighbors, and we set out to set up a friendly neighborhood with no tolerance for trouble moving in.
Where We Are Now
We have been hosting a number of websites for over 10 years, responding with our customers with an actual familiarity and concern for their websites. We actively monitor the servers and do our best to block traffic from malicious users.
Unlimited Vs. the Truth
Our philosophy is to provide the best hosting possible for a fair price, and to have reasonable limits on accounts. Many hosts play a numbers game, selling the idea of unlimited space or bandwidth, when they realize most users will not try to take advantage of "unlimited" resources. When those users do, they suspend their website and point them to an agreement saying that there actually are limits in place.
This is a lie, flat out. Rather then sell you a lie, we define clearly the limits of your account. You are free to use it all if you like with whatever files you like (as long as they are legal), it's your space. We don't nanny our customers.
"Unlimited" Hosting: Why Trust in Lies?
It's pretty much expected that in business and politics, the best points are sold and the full truth is obscured or hidden away. It's understandable, why push away potential earnings?
The truth is anyone offering "unlimited" bandwidth or space is selling snake oil. It all sounds good, until you try it out. Upload too many files or use too much of the server resources, and you'll be hearing about it.
We feel it is better to have clear defined amounts of space and bandwidth. What is yours is yours - and we don't care if you use it all.