NZ Based Reseller Web Host

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dpDesignz

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#280377 11-Dec-2020 10:04

Hey Team,

I've been hosting overseas for 12+ years and want to move my hosting closer to home with all the new law changes and issues with overseas hosts (I'm with Bluehost currently... ugh). I am a freelancer.

I'm looking for a reseller option as I have a fair few clients that I manage and I've locked in on Openhost or Hoopla as the 2 that fit my criteria the best.

My question is, which of these 2 would people recommend (I've seen a few comments lately about Openhost going downhill with their service), have you had any experience with either of these 2, and is there anyone else you'd recommend me looking at?

My main requirements are around the management side. I'm used to cPanel which I understand Hoopla use, and Openhost use Plesk. Linux based, currently around 15GB of data, but not too much bandwidth required. My biggest thing is a robust email management system with a decent spam filter system.

Any input would be much appreciated. TIA

xpd

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#2620069 11-Dec-2020 12:27

You get what you pay for basically.....

Years ago I used Iserve (now defunct/merged I believe ?), was pricey, but had good customer support etc.

Openhost, is cheaper but dont expect as good as service, especially for prompt replies to queries :)

Im using Openhost at the moment, had a couple of times where its gone down but not for more than 5minutes.

Their control panel has changed over the years mainly as theyre trying to merge all their purchased companies into a single system....

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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hio77

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Lizard Networks

#2620071 11-Dec-2020 12:36

I'd recommend a chat with Voyager.

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Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

dpDesignz

13 posts

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#2620082 11-Dec-2020 12:53

xpd:

You get what you pay for basically.....

Years ago I used Iserve (now defunct/merged I believe ?), was pricey, but had good customer support etc.

Openhost, is cheaper but dont expect as good as service, especially for prompt replies to queries :)

Im using Openhost at the moment, had a couple of times where its gone down but not for more than 5minutes.

Their control panel has changed over the years mainly as theyre trying to merge all their purchased companies into a single system....

Great information. Thanks for that.

I'm aware that the cost will be more to move home, but I think it's worth it.

It looks like Iserve is now a part of Vocus Group, which is rather interesting.

hio77:

I'd recommend a chat with Voyager.

Cheers. I had a look at their stuff. They have some great pricing but doesn't look like they have reseller options and according to their FAQs they only offer alias domains which wouldn't work for my clients. I would have to get a hosting account per client. Thanks for the suggestion though :)

MurrayM

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#2620090 11-Dec-2020 13:21

xpd:

You get what you pay for basically.....

Years ago I used Iserve (now defunct/merged I believe ?), was pricey, but had good customer support etc.

iServe is still around. Bought by Orcon which in turn was bought by Vocus. They used to offer fantastic support, often my support emails would be answered and actioned within 10 minutes of me sending them. I could also get on the phone and talk to an actual engineer rather than just their helpdesk people.

I still have several client sites with them which now cost me nothing to host as I bought their life-time free hosting plan when it was offered in order for them to raise capital. This has paid me back several times over and turned out to be a great investment.

My biggest complaint is that they don't support Let's Encrypt certs. They're still trying to sell certs for $113/year!

irpegg

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#2620112 11-Dec-2020 13:54

Haven't heard bad or good things about Hoopla, just that people use them. People often recommend Sitehost too, but will complain about it being expensive later down the track so grass isn't always greener.

Best combo imo is

Domains: DomainsDirect for .nz + Cloudflare for gTLD, DNS & CDN
Mail: G-suite
Webhosting: Local VPS or Sydney + Cpanel / Plesk with Wordpress Tools kits

The above with the correct tweaking of notifications and crons is pretty much set and forget. IMO the mail part is a big one and it's becoming increasingly a PITA managing your own mail server, so best to give it to the big boys and then throw on your management fee.

hio77

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Lizard Networks

#2620140 11-Dec-2020 14:32

dpDesignz:

hio77:

I'd recommend a chat with Voyager.

Cheers. I had a look at their stuff. They have some great pricing but doesn't look like they have reseller options and according to their FAQs they only offer alias domains which wouldn't work for my clients. I would have to get a hosting account per client. Thanks for the suggestion though :)

Have a chat with sales, there is an option for you that you will quite likely be interested in :)

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

dpDesignz

13 posts

Geek

#2620148 11-Dec-2020 14:49

MurrayM:

iServe is still around. Bought by Orcon which in turn was bought by Vocus. They used to offer fantastic support, often my support emails would be answered and actioned within 10 minutes of me sending them. I could also get on the phone and talk to an actual engineer rather than just their helpdesk people.

I still have several client sites with them which now cost me nothing to host as I bought their life-time free hosting plan when it was offered in order for them to raise capital. This has paid me back several times over and turned out to be a great investment.

My biggest complaint is that they don't support Let's Encrypt certs. They're still trying to sell certs for $113/year!

Dang, that's not a bad deal! Will certainly keep them in mind if my other options fall through. The certs are a bit of a killer I agree. :(

timbee:

Haven't heard bad or good things about Hoopla, just that people use them. People often recommend Sitehost too, but will complain about it being expensive later down the track so grass isn't always greener.

Best combo imo is

Domains: DomainsDirect for .nz + Cloudflare for gTLD, DNS & CDN
Mail: G-suite
Webhosting: Local VPS or Sydney + Cpanel / Plesk with Wordpress Tools kits

The above with the correct tweaking of notifications and crons is pretty much set and forget. IMO the mail part is a big one and it's becoming increasingly a PITA managing your own mail server, so best to give it to the big boys and then throw on your management fee.

Ooh interesting. Has DomainsDirect had a price increase this year to reflect the wholesale price increase? All my other domain suppliers did throughout this year and I ended up jumping over to OnlyDomains who I already had some domains with. Interesting to see they're now owned by SiteTech (Sitehost) as of this year.

I'm also interested as to why you recommend G-Suite (or now Workspace) over Microsoft 365? From what I've seen it's more expensive and most people are used to Microsoft tools from work. I must admit, I'm new to the email thing and I want to move over to one of these 2 systems, but cost has been the main issue for my customers as most of them are small companies that don't want to pay for emails when there's a free version.

90% of my sites are bespoke sites, I only have a small handful on Wordpress now. Thanks for the suggestions though! I really appreciate it.

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dpDesignz

13 posts

Geek

#2620149 11-Dec-2020 14:50

hio77:

Have a chat with sales, there is an option for you that you will quite likely be interested in :)

I'm intrigued... I've flicked them an email. Thanks :)

(apparently you're limited to 2 quotes in a reply)

danfaulknor

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Prodigi

#2620245 11-Dec-2020 17:56

We also offer this service and come recommended by a few around here :)

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