Web Hosting Updates

Web site building software provider CM4all (cm4all.com) announced on Thursday that Web hosting provider EasyCGI has added the CM4all WebsiteCreator software to its Web hosting platfrm.CM4all says WebsiteCreator provides step-by-step instructions to enable customers to easily create and maintain professional Web sites. Its features include Flash animations, a map generator, blogging tools and a large archive of media. With over 1.5 million users in 12 different languages, CM4all says WebsiteCreator is the most popular online Web site creation software in the world.

“We are delighted that Easy CGI has selected our WebsiteCreator software to satisfy its customers’ Web site building needs, and we look forward to a successful long-term partnership,” says Robert Schovenberg, CEO of CM4all. “Easy CGI represents the latest in a growing list of CM4all’s OEM customer acquisitions in North America.”

Easy CGI will now offer two optional full versions of WebsiteCreator, which can be purchased on demand, as well as bundled versions available with every hosting plan at no additional cost. The eXtreme version of the Easy CGI site builder includes 300 professionally designed templates, a route planner and database functionality.

Web hosting provider IPOWER announced on Thursday that it has leased a brand-new data center with over $7 million of built-in infrastructure.This Phoenix, Arizona data center brings IPOWER’s count up to four facilities. Along with 32,000 square feet of data center space, the facility is equipped with advanced security features including HandKey biometric hand scanners, diverse fiber access with five carriers on site, the ability to monitor 2000 data points through Datatrax Monitoring System and 24 data air environmental control units, which are powered by three chilled water plants.

“We are very pleased to add this data center to our group of centers,” says Thomas Gorny, of IPOWER. “Its state-of-the-art capabilities will bring an even higher level of service to our customers than ever before.”

Founded in October 2001, IPOWER provides Web hosting and Web services for small and medium-sized businesses. IPOWER says it is the fifth largest Web site hosting company worldwide and now has over 500,000 customer accounts in over 100 countries.

Web hosting provider LunarPages announced on Friday it has cut the price on additional domain names from $14.95 to $2.99 each for a limited time for new and existing customers.

LunarPages says the industry has become extremely competitive recently and that many Web hosts have been dropping their prices to the point that they are running at a loss and are resorting to overselling.The company says customers have been surprised by its most recent offer, especially since it already provides a free domain for life. Domains purchased during this offer will also include renewals at the original price for as long as the customer is hosted with the company.

“We won’t compromise our business model, server stability or uptime by overselling which will leave our customers feeling cheated and forced to upgrade to a dedicated server,” says Amy Armitage of Lunarpages. “To remain competitive we have found another way to enhance our offerings, without compromising the level of service and support that has earned us the reputation as leaders and veterans in the Web hosting industry. Low priced domain names and partnerships with leading companies enable us to give back to our customers without resulting in a price increase to them.”

Web hosting provider 1and1 Internet (1and1.com) announced on Friday it is offering 25 percent off all Linux and Microsoft shared hosting packages for one year.

1and1 offers four shared hosting packages including the Beginner, Home, Business and Developer packages. The Home package, for example, will now be $45 for one year with no extra costs for up to two personal domains. The Business package includes three domains for $90 for a full year term.”This is a tremendous offer especially for a small or medium sized business,” says Andreas Gauger, chairman of 1and1 Internet. “So many businesses think that they can’t afford a world-class Web site. We’re here to show them that it’s possible, inexpensive and will enable any business to compete in their marketplace.”

The discount is only valid for the first year, and beginning with the second year of subscription, normal fees will be charged. The offer is good from July 31 until September 30.

April 18, 2006 — Shared Web hosting provider PowWeb announced on Monday that it had been acquired by The Endurance International Group (enduranceinternational.com), which owns several other Web hosting firms, including BizLand and FatCow.

Financial details of the sale were not disclosed, but the companies say Endurance will maintain the PowWeb brand, as well as its popular online forums.”We’re very excited to work with an online community as dynamic and engaging as PowWeb’s,” says Steve Sydness, CEO of Endurance. “Listening and responding to customer feedback is a hallmark of Endurance. The PowWeb forums will provide a great vehicle for staying close to our customers.”

PowWeb CEO Andrew Te says the company is about to begin the process of migrating customer Web sites and email to a new hosting platform that employs the company’s proprietary load-balanced hosting technology. He says the new platform will support all its customer sites from a single massively shared hosting pool, which will provide greater redundancy.

“While its ownership has changed, PowWeb’s commitment to providing high-quality, rock-solid hosting solutions is stronger than ever,” says Te.

Thanks to all of the great support and loyalty of our customers, we at IPOWER are proud to announce that we have reached another great milestone: 500,000 accounts served. “I am very proud to announce this phenomenal half-million customer milestone,” says Thomas Gorny, president and CEO of IPOWER. “In 2001, I started this company on my own credit card and a dream, and now we have 500,000 accounts. Of course, we attribute much of this success to the work and dedication of our employees.” Just because we are growing at rates higher than estimated doesn’t mean our dedication to our customers will change – instead, we will continue to grow to meet your changing business needs.

Web hosting provider CrystalTech (crystaltech.com) launched a new sales promotion on Thursday that provides customers with two months of dedicated hosting for free.

CrystalTech’s dedicated plans offer powerful hardware, sizeable amounts of bandwidth, Windows 2003 Standard, Microsoft IIS and multiple add-on options. Under the new promotion, CrystalTech is also offering $700 worth of software for free, including mail, statistics and FTP software.

“With a variety of hardware configurations to choose from and a comprehensive pre-installed software package, we feel that our dedicated hosting plans provide a value unmatched throughout the hosting industry,” says Robert Cichon, CrystalTech’s chief operating officer. “When you combine this promotion with CrystalTech’s competitive prices, you can have your own enterprise-level hosting solution with our renowned service and support at remarkable savings.”

From now until June 15, customers that order a new Windows dedicated hosting plan and use the promotion code JUNEDEAL will receive two months of free hosting with a waived setup when they prepay for the first three months. More details regarding the promotion can be found on the company’s Web site.

Data center operator Data393 (data393.com) announced on Thursday that it has signed a colocation agreement with image hosting service Photobucket (photobucket.com), to locate some of the company’s data storage equipment in Data393’s Englewood, Colorado facility.

Data393 will provide Photobucket with a data storage environment that includes power, cooling and access to a 10 gigabit Ethernet connection. Photobucket will use its own equipment and software, and Photobucket staff will manage the company’s operations in the facility.

Photobucket provides a service for sharing and publishing visual content online. Images and videos stored on Photobucket can be linked from blogs, eBay auctions and other separate sites.

“We selected Data393 due to its capacity to handle large amounts of Internet traffic,” says Photobucket co-founder and chief technology officer Darren Crystal. “This agreement gives Photobucket access to an additional secure data storage facility with room to grow. With its massive, redundant 10GigE Internet pipeline, Data393 is one of only a few data centers in the country with enough bandwidth to support Photobucket’s fast-growing business while ensuring we remain online and active.”

Domain registrar and Web host Easyspace (easyspace.com) announced on Friday that it has added more than 40 new templates to its Rapidsite service.

The company says its Rapidsite software enables customers to create their own Web sites easily, without requiring technical skills. The tool provides a choice of design templates, styles, navigation and color schemes, as well as the option to upload images.

The 44 new templates were designed by Easyspace’s design team, and include designs specifically tailored for florists, garages, tradespeople, photographers, taxi companies and DJ and karaoke suppliers.

Easyspace says it plans to introduce more than 50 new templates in the coming weeks.

Web hosting provider VIA USA (vianetworks.net) announced this week it has launched new link mail programs that will give CIOs and IT managers the ability to reduce IT expenses while improving corporate email performance and functionality.

Link mail is designed as a management expense control program, to help CIOs and executive managers decrease wasted IT resources by only paying for usage as it happens. Link Mail also increases productivity by enabling IT staff to focus on core business competencies rather than email uptime. It reduces corporate risk through enhanced security and anti-spam features with guaranteed uptime and escalation processes.

“Link mail addresses corporations growing concern for SAS compliant email solutions that collaborate over technologies from the Internet to wireless phones, while improving the reliability, functionality and storage” says Patrick Gaul, president of VIA USA.

VIA USA is one of the oldest Microsoft hosting companies, having served the Microsoft hosting community for more than a decade. The company provides a full range of Internet-based solutions focused on small to medium sized businesses.