In order to improve security, stability, safety, successability, and superduper-happy-user-ability we have updated MySQL to version 5. Everything should be a-ok on the server but be sure to open a support ticket if you have any issues.

Also just a fun note my previous post Why Bother With The Hassle(The Refund Edition) featured a example of a not so good refund policy with the Video Professor. I also featured a fun edited image of John Scherer(the founder of Video Professor, that guy with the white mustache). Well our bandwidth provider got a DMCA takedown notice from the Scerer’s lawyers for posting a image of him. Yikes! Atleast we know someone is reading!

Refunds are always a tricky thing. Too many people abusing the system and you will never generate a profit. Too strict with your refunds and everyone will be too scared to use you, because you obviously refuse to give them their money back should something happen. This can be a touchy subject. Here are our thoughts on this.

How many times have you signed up for a Video Professor disc? One of their free discs to teach you word(you figure its free and your grandmother can probably use it). Or how about canceling an AOL account?

Look at the dislike out there, one google search of Video Professor yeilds hundreds of un-happy pages about the service.

The process of just canceling(let alone trying to obtain a refund) is horrendous! Everytime I have ever called one of those places I always ended up getting a refund, after a agravating 1 hr of waiting or answering meaningless questions they finally allow me to get my money back. Now not only do they not have my money, but you can be sure that I will never recommend them to anyone I know!

At Powerhost we have decided to ‘do things right’ from the start. You as the customer know if you make enough noise we WILL refund your money to you eventually, we as a merchant know deep down we will as well, so whats the point of going through the hoops to do it?

We have had to refund some money. Sometimes we have had customers with no explanation for wanting to leave, and that is fine! Sometimes we have screwed up and they want to leave, which is fine too. Most of the time there are some sort of other circumstances at play(site closes, or costs too much, etc.), usually we work a bit harder to make a compromise and try to help them out. But in almost every conceivable situation, we will always eventually give them a full refund for most of our services, we figure if you leave us on happy terms we are more likely to see you again.

And its true. About 50% of people who have left us and requested refunds and happily received them have done one of the following:

• Turned around and signed back up with the same or a new domain
• Thanked us and written a good review about us on a forum or website
• Referred someone new to our site

So why deal with the hassle of refusing to refund money, then turning around and refunding it anyways, when you can do the right thing and make your (non)customer happy. It might cost you money in the short run, but will save you money in the long run.

Powerhost is always looking for mutually beneficial relationships. Lets say you like our hosting and want to recommend a friend(and thanks for that nearly 75% of all of our business is from referrals by current customers!). In addition to appreciating it and being forever grateful, we want to reward your gestures…monetarily. Join the PowerHost Affilate Program!

Heres the setup: You love our service and refer a friend. Everyone gets rewarded! You get yourself 50% of his payments to us, FOR LIFE. We get a new client(who we will promise to love and care for). Your friend gets himself the best darn hosting on the internet!

If you are a current customer, its almost too simple to sign-up as a affiliate. Just login to our Customer Control Panel(we like to dub it ‘Client Central’). Once there click on the link that says ‘Affiliates’ as shown here:

Click the box saying ‘Activate Now’ and presto! You are a affiliate. We even throw in some snazzy links and banners for you to put on your website.

Everyone knows that the best deals in the world are on the internet. From prescription drugs, to electronics, and even groceries; the internet is a consumer’s paradise. Many people speak about ways for a consumer to benefit from the robust collection of web stores out there including sites like Slickdeals.net or Fatwallet.com. Internet consumers these days are extremely picky, well informed and rarely loyal. Building your brand on the web is a essential part of doing business.

Gone are the days of getting Microsoft’s Frontpage:

These are the days of simplified pastels and sleek design:

Step number 1 to success with your e-commerce site is design. Much like a brick-and-mortar storefront your webdesign tells the tale of what prospective customers have in store for them. We have all walked into a diner or shop that was less than inviting, and more often than not, nothing was purchased from that establishment. So hunker down and get yourself some decent web design.

The next step once you have the customers in your store is the coax them into purchasing a product or service and giving up their precious credit card information. Unfortunately for legitimate sites out there, there are too many illegitimate sites posing as real sites. Savvy users are scared away when things like SSL certificates are not present or have a error. That is a instant dealbreaker for many users. Additionally you must present yourself as a legitimate merchant. Most legitimate merchants do not take payment through 2checkout or a similar service. They have gone through the hassle of setting up their own Merchant Account. This way the user can identify the store on their credit card statement and be reassured that the company they are doing business with is professional and safe. Most people do not know the preocess of becoming a Credit card merchant. Without going into all the details, suffice it to say they do not just hand out merchant IDs. You must prove yourself to the credit card companies and your local bank. That is not to say they are impossible to get, however if you are doing business without proper paperwork don’t count on it. PowerHost uses CDG Commerce for our merchant account provider. We have used them from the start and would not image going with anyone else.

Don’t get discouraged and think your site cannot be successful without its own merchant account. Plenty of sites do just fine taking Paypal. However to bring your site to the next level you will need a alternative for your users. Plus those Paypal fees get old real quick

Power Host has begun a new marketing campaign on WakeUpLater.com, a blog for freelancing, website building, and passive income. The site’s ‘Group Think’ feature allows for subscribers to discuss a variety of online issues and receive quality advice and information. Thank you Samuel for your contribution to the online world.

Power Host Staff

Maintenance Action: Regional core backbone router software upgrade

There was a short period of downtime due to server maintenance.  The action occurred between 0001 and 0500 CST on Sat Mar 8.  The server is now updated, and functioning normally.  We apologize for any inconvenience this maintenance may have caused, and appreciate your patience and understanding.

 Power Host Staff 

Happy with your experience here at Power Host?  Send us a testimonial and let others in the hosting community know. Email your testimonials to feedback@pwrhost.com.  Please include: Your name, your sites hosted with us, and a description of your quality hosting experience.  We appreciate all feedback from our clients.  

Our new site design has been released as of 3/6/08.  Let us know what you think.  Send your feedback to feedback@pwrhost.com.  All feedback is greatly appreciated.

Our ASSP deluxe spam filter software has been updated to the newest version(2.7.1).

We do not foresee any issues however please email support@pwrhost.com with any issues.

Welcome to the new PowerHost Blog! This is the second time our blog has made a appearance here, and we are planning on fully utilizing it to keep everyone informed on whats going on here at PowerHost. Fell free to register, comment, email, all the good stuff.