I received a renewal notice from my hosting company about three weeks ago. They want to boost the cost of this website by about double what I currently pay.
And, what I currently pay is more than double what I paid when I first signed up.
When I looked at what is out there for quality hosting, I learned (quickly) that I have options. Many, many options. So many, in fact, I could change my hosting company daily for several months without ever duplicating hosts.
I also quickly learned that what I was being offered as a renewal price was upwards of eight times more than I can get elsewhere as an introductory deal. I do realize that after the introductory deal has ended (with a new host), my hosting would also go up in price. But when I see a three-year hosting contract costing about 60% of a single year with my current host, it becomes a bit of a no-brainer.
I thought I would give my current company a chance to come up with a different/better rate so I contacted them. They immediately came down by a third. That was promising.
I pointed out the significantly better rates elsewhere and asked if they would match the renewal rate from other companies. Their question to me? “Are you cancelling today?”
That is an extremely loaded question. If I say yes, they will put a manager on who will offer a “Special” rate. That’s good if the special rate is actually a good one. If it isn’t, I stand to have the hosting company simply cancel my account a month early.
If I say no (which I did – not interested in having my site down for a week or more) they tell me they cannot do any better (which they did). I was, however, very clear that the offered rate wasn’t good enough I was actively shopping.
That didn’t illicit any additional interest so I thanked them for their time and I am now preparing to move.
That will most likely happen over the weekend coming.
So, if you notice the site is down or acting weirdly, now you know why. I will be spending time I don’t have to save money I also don’t have. All because my hosting company of eight years doesn’t think my business is worth keeping.
That’s fine. There are plenty of fish in the sea and plenty of hosting companies on the Internet.
See you on the other side.
