hows the demand for premium webhosting now?

[jason]

like if i do full time plus i manage my own server 24 hrs.. and offering higher prices..and backup server type of stuff.. you guys think hows the market now.. and maybe get a freelance web designer

[Heng Chai]

Excuse me? Isn't that what EVERY single provider suppose to be doing? 24/7 support is CRITICAL for webhosting.

Webdesigner a definately plus but not must have. Outsourcing your web design jobs may be cheaper in the long run unless you have so many design jobs that you can keep your designer busy 24/7.

[jason]

premium as in upmarket 1 dealling with business companies only.. not end user.. any demand nowadays?

[Heng Chai]

Aren't businesses end-users also? They are using your service, its just B2B instead of B2C. End of the day, webhosting is still about 24/7 service and support.

Premium providers you have to look at WebVisions. They have their own redundant network infrastructure. That's the kind of premium that companies are willing to pay for, simply because they KNOW WebVisions is in control.

Your defination of "premium" isn't considered high end hosting. Its more like you specially host for businesses only, which may be good, but don't expect a lot of money from it.

My personal experience is that business users tend to be concerned about 2 issues, uptime during business hours and service and support. I have clients calling me all the time for internet problems which I help them with and other PC related stuff that they need help with. Uptime during business hours is VERY important to them. They must not be able to see any downtime or prepare to have a flood of calls.

As for personal site hosting, I don't think its a good idea to drop it off at all. Personally, I've gained a lot of experience from personal site hosting. It gives you a chance to help your users install forums, galleries, and other related stuff. You are the best person to be doing it simply because you're in control, so you know your server inside out. They will have to keep on requesting information for you to feed into their configuration. Furthermore, end-users tend to be more friendly and most of them end up as good friends online, people you can chat with and stuff. Although I have a couple of hosted businesses which I can speak to like a friend, but majority are personal sites.