Seeking feedback

[sgsllc]

I own and operate a web hosting, design, and email provider. This originally started in 2000 as a bulletin board service and transformed into providing small businesses with full service from start to finish in establishing an online presence. In recent months there has been an uptick in inquiries regarding email hosting. The web hosting and email services are equally important to me as I generally provide both to our clients. Our services are all server based. Everything (email, contacts, calendar, file storage, web hosting directory, etc) is accessible from any computer with an Internet connection.

I have recently redesigned our web site. The site is here to explain what is offered, how it works, the cost, and how to sign up. I am seeking feedback regarding the site. Does the content on the site make sense? Is there something that should be mentioned but is not? Is it clear? I am not really seeking feedback regarding the pricing structure as that seems to work. However, I am open to ideas. I am not here to be the cheapest web host and email provider. It is more important for me to provide a client centered experience with extremely reliable service. The web site is www.swiftglobalsolutions.com. Please let me know what you think. I value and respect your opinions.

Thank you.

Justin

[William9]

A couple of questions/observations:

1. no privacy policy?
2. no description of where your servers are located (other than Maine)? It's not your garage, is it?
3. where is your secure data center?

[William9]

I don't understand this statement:
"Our services are all server based. Everything (email, contacts, calendar, file storage, web hosting directory, etc) is accessible from any computer with an Internet connection."
When would this not be the case for a provider of services such as you provide?

[popowich]

The OP has 7 posts over time all of them links to his site.

If you're going to link to your site at least have it be useful info and not pure self promotion

[sgsllc]

Originally Posted by popowich

The OP has 7 posts over time all of them links to his site.

If you're going to link to your site at least have it be useful info and not pure self promotion

Actually, someone asked for information about a very specific service and where to go it. Since I actually do provide that service and seeing that it had been a while and no one else had replied to that original post, I replied to inform the author of that original post that I did in fact provide that service. Is there something against the rules here about that? If so, I was not aware. Besides, not all seven of my posts contained links to my site.

It is also my understanding that this is a place where operators (as well as end users) of e-mail service providers can come for assistance, feedback, and support. That is what this thread is about. If you have nothing constructive to contribute to a thread, maybe you shouldn't say anything. Sometimes silence is golden.

[FredOnline]

Originally Posted by sgsllc

If you have nothing constructive to contribute to a thread, maybe you shouldn't say anything. Sometimes silence is golden.

Ray (popowich) is well respected here and on his own forum over the years, and has a wealth of knowledge.

I would suggest you will need to be more diplomatic if you want informed advice.

[popowich]

Skin's pretty thick no worries

[William9]

sgslic,
Were my questions helpful feedback?

[sgsllc]

Originally Posted by William9

sgslic,
Were my questions helpful feedback?

Yes, they were very helpful. I am in the process of trying to address them on the web site. I will let you know on here once the site has been updated.

Thanks so much for your help!

[sgsllc]

Originally Posted by William9

I don't understand this statement:
"Our services are all server based. Everything (email, contacts, calendar, file storage, web hosting directory, etc) is accessible from any computer with an Internet connection."
When would this not be the case for a provider of services such as you provide?

Maybe I'm not explaining it right. Many of my clients are used to using a pop3 client where emailed would be downloaded onto their computer and removed from the server. Their contacts were also stored locally on their computer. This would result in not having address to the contacts on the office computer when using the home computer. The software that I use stores everything on the servers making it easily accessible from everywhere. I try not to get too technical because the average client really doesn't understand the terminology, they just want it to work. Do you think this I should word this part differently?

Thank you.

[kijinbear]

Originally Posted by sgsllc

Many of my clients are used to using a pop3 client where emailed would be downloaded onto their computer and removed from the server. Their contacts were also stored locally on their computer. This would result in not having address to the contacts on the office computer when using the home computer. The software that I use stores everything on the servers making it easily accessible from everywhere. I try not to get too technical because the average client really doesn't understand the terminology, they just want it to work. Do you think this I should word this part differently?

I suppose you mean IMAP and/or webmail?

IMAP (or IMAP-based webmail apps) might have been a distinguishing feature 10-15 years ago, but nowadays almost every paid email service and even some free email services offer it as a standard feature. The same is true of webmail. What this means is that the distinguishing features of your service are no longer distinctive at all. Everyone has a webmail interface, everyone offers POP3, IMAP and SMTP, and everyone offers multiple gigabytes of storage space. Since it's already an obvious default, you might as well just say "IMAP" and focus instead on some of the really distinctive benefits of your service. For example, focus on the unique features of your webmail interface, or emphasize a strong privacy policy.

Most companies that operate in the web hosting industry still seems to treat email as just another feature of their web hosting plans. "Access you email from anywhere!" is probably good enough if you only want to cater to that market, and most customers probably won't even understand anything more technical. But people on this forum are serious about email, so much so that many of us pay money specifically for email service, independently of any web hosting services that we might already have. This is a demographic that cares about plus addressing, catch-all aliases, IP exposure in email headers, Sieve scripts, etc. If you want to cater to this demographic, I'd suggest that you describe the features of your service in technical terms (e.g. "We support IMAP over SSL") in addition to laypeople's terms (e.g. "You can sync your email between your PC and your iPhone").

[sgsllc]

Originally Posted by kijinbear

I suppose you mean IMAP and/or webmail?

IMAP (or IMAP-based webmail apps) might have been a distinguishing feature 10-15 years ago, but nowadays almost every paid email service and even some free email services offer it as a standard feature. The same is true of webmail. What this means is that the distinguishing features of your service are no longer distinctive at all. Everyone has a webmail interface, everyone offers POP3, IMAP and SMTP, and everyone offers multiple gigabytes of storage space. Since it's already an obvious default, you might as well just say "IMAP" and focus instead on some of the really distinctive benefits of your service. For example, focus on the unique features of your webmail interface, or emphasize a strong privacy policy.

Most companies that operate in the web hosting industry still seems to treat email as just another feature of their web hosting plans. "Access you email from anywhere!" is probably good enough if you only want to cater to that market, and most customers probably won't even understand anything more technical. But people on this forum are serious about email, so much so that many of us pay money specifically for email service, independently of any web hosting services that we might already have. This is a demographic that cares about plus addressing, catch-all aliases, IP exposure in email headers, Sieve scripts, etc. If you want to cater to this demographic, I'd suggest that you describe the features of your service in technical terms (e.g. "We support IMAP over SSL") in addition to laypeople's terms (e.g. "You can sync your email between your PC and your iPhone").

Although we do offer IMAP, it actually is not used by the majority of our clients. We have a client program that connects to the server (it's encrypted) and accesses the content from the server in real time. Everything is kept on the server, even email drafts which makes it easy to pick up where you left off on another computer. This is especially beneficial to our clients who have shared workstations or have to access their accounts from public computers. Their information is not stored on the client computer. There is a syncing option available for smartphones and other devices. There is also a web client available. The only IP's that show up in the headers are the servers' IP's. Do you think this is important enough to mention on the web site?

You are correct about the people here being serious about email. I really appreciate your point of view on this and will try to include it on the web site. Historically my demographic has been the less technical users and have tried to provide language that they will hopefully understand.

Thank you for your help!

[kijinbear]

Originally Posted by sgsllc

The only IP's that show up in the headers are the servers' IP's. Do you think this is important enough to mention on the web site?

Advertising a privacy-related feature can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you might attract privacy-conscious customers (provided that you have a reasonable privacy policy). On the other hand, spammers are always ready to take advantage of any provider that might help them hide their tracks, so you might also attract some unsavory customers.

My personal opinion is that IP privacy is one of those things that are best left as an unofficial policy, because you'll have a lot of angry customers if you promise something officially and then need to take it back in order to stop a sudden rush of abuse.

[William9]

Originally Posted by sgsllc

... We have a client program that connects to the server (it's encrypted) and accesses the content from the server in real time. Everything is kept on the server, even email drafts ...

I'm not seeing a fundamental difference between what you describe and Google's services, for example, in which email (including drafts), contacts, and calendar are all stored on its servers and accessed with a standard Web browser. Even with IMAP, drafts can be stored on the server as an optional setting in popular email clients.

[sgsllc]

Originally Posted by kijinbear

Advertising a privacy-related feature can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you might attract privacy-conscious customers (provided that you have a reasonable privacy policy). On the other hand, spammers are always ready to take advantage of any provider that might help them hide their tracks, so you might also attract some unsavory customers.

My personal opinion is that IP privacy is one of those things that are best left as an unofficial policy, because you'll have a lot of angry customers if you promise something officially and then need to take it back in order to stop a sudden rush of abuse.

That's so true. I don't want to attract spammers.