In Cloud Hosting Forms for Companies Pt. 1, we touched on why Cloud hosting firms need to be active on popular web hosting forums like WebHostingTalk.com and Sitepoint.com. In the final part of our series, “Cloud Hosting Forums for Consumers Pt. 2”, we are going to chat about why web hosting consumers need to use popular forums and how consumers can make the most of a purchase using popular forums.
Cloud Hosting Forums for Clients
If you are new to Cloud hosting or if you have been active in the web hosting community since dedicated servers became popular, online forums like WebHostingTalk.com and Sitepoint.com serve an equal purpose: education.
1. Web Hosting Forums Provide Cloud Education
Beyond any of the sales or the endless threads of consumers voicing concerns over Cloud providers, forums like WebHostingTalk.com allow consumers to talk to one another about various IT platforms. Be those platforms colocation, dedicated servers, managed server hosting or Cloud solutions, popular web hosting forums allow for education through direct interaction with other consumers.
For the new Cloud Computing mind, Sitepoint.com and WebHostingTalk.com will serve you as a “getting to know” the Cloud guide. With direct access to long time clients and corporate employees providing various tips, you can increase your knowledge of hosting tech by interacting in active threads. Or, if you have a question regarding a certain topic, ask it. More often than not, an active member of the community will answer the question.
Likewise, if you are a seasoned Cloud hosting users, popular hosting forums allow you to serve the community as a moderator. Essentially, the more active you are in a forum – the more knowledge you have – the more you can interact with consumers and companies to raise your own profile within the network.
Rule of thumb: new or old, utilize forums to learn more about web hosting.
2. Web Hosting Forums Provide Wonderful Sales
As mentioned in part one of this series, Cloud server forums like WebHostingTalk.com and Sitepoint.com allow consumers to leverage bottom of the barrel provider sales. Most Cloud and server hosting companies understand online forum clientele are the bottom of the barrel. They understand users are looking for cheap server deals with the highest resources possible. Due to this, if you are in need of cheap and quick Cloud solutions, check out the aforementioned forums to find excellent sales matching your needs. $5 Cloud servers with x amount of RAM and Disk are common enough deals.
But beware, because most providers understand the clientele on WebHostingTalk.com, they won’t be offering business level solutions. If you are a company in need of a private Cloud deployment utilizing the most up to date servers and encryption methods, web hosting forum sales aren’t for you.
Lastly, if need be, use popular web hosting forums to get your provider of choice to bow to your needs.
3. Be Vocal
Providers look at online web hosting forums in two ways – 50% good, 50% bad. While they can gain more consumers through running sales on forums and interacting with Cloud consumers, they hate that the same Cloud server clients can bash them openly throughout the platform. Luckily for you, if you take to WebHostingTalk.com to bash your Cloud hosting provider, do so in a way which makes them take notice.
The old adage is no press is bad press. Well, this isn’t true. No hosting company wants to be bashed on a server forum because they know the readers and users of that forum are the same clients they need to survive. Due to this, if you bash your provider on a forum, do so in an effort to get them to bow to your needs or work with you on a bill.
Rule of thumb: as a consumer, use the forum to gain the attention of a provider. Leverage that attention into positive action.