HEEELLP! SSL & Hosting Problem - in need of quick advise!

Hi there - I am having problems with my site. I have a hosting resellers account with Heart Internet in the UK. I have just built my first Zen-Cart site for a client, hosting it on that account.

I advised my client to buy an ssl certificate - which he did from GoDaddy as they seemed the cheapest (£8.50ish per year on an offer).

PROBLEM: I then got in touch with Heart Internet to sort out the installation of the ssl and they said they don't install other people's - only the ones they provide - at £150+vat per year! Nearly 20x the price of GoDaddy!!

QUESTION: What should I do now???

My choices as I see it:

1. Change the hosting company for this site - the cost will be roughly the same for the client if he pays me or them. If I did this, who in the uk could you recommend who would be straightforward to install Zen Cart to and also would install a GoDaddy SSL??

2. actually, I don't think there is a number 2 option as telling my client such a huge price increase to keep the site with Heart Internet doesn't really seem realistic!

I could go with GoDaddy hosting which would solve my ssl problems but I am worried about them because of the pretty negative feedback I seem to find when I do a godaddy search in this forum.

Any advice would be very much appreciated. It's something I need to figure out quickly and it is just giving me a headache at the moment!!

Stuart

What should I do now???
Make notes of what you are capable of providing...and maybe select another provider for yourself for the future

I have a reseller account with a different host (US, though), and they offer SSL certs for $100 + $35 installation, but will install any cert for the same $35.

You definitely don't want to move to GoDaddy as your host, so #1 is it - check the Zencart Certified Hosts.

Thanks for getting back to me guys. I have a lot of different web sites and domains hosted with Heart Internet so would rather stay with them except for this site. They do offer shared ssl for free but I'd rather go with a non-shared (can't remember the right term) one.

Does anyone know of any uk hosting providers that might suit? All the ones in the 'Certified Hosts' section of the site seem to be US.

Thanks again - I would have found the site impossible to build without this forum to search through for hours on end!

Stuart

Someone tried to send me an instant message a short while ago. Thank you whoever it was. Unfortunately it didn't come through. It was blocked by a pop-up blocker and I can't find how I can find it again.

I have switched of the pop-up blocker for this site now so it should come through ok now, so if you get this it would be great if you could resend it.

Thanks

Stuart

Does anyone know of any uk hosting providers that might suit? All the ones in the 'Certified Hosts' section of the site seem to be US.
Look closer there are 2 - - one beginning with "J" & the other with "T"

No personal endorsement intended

The geographical location of the host/server is not normally an issue these days - even with SEO. Get in touch with those you'd like to consider.

Don't go down the shared SSL route. This can cause problems too - depending on how the host operates stuff like symlink, etc.

Your current provider's inflexibility on the SSL Cert issue is unreasonable. Consider moving all your hosting to a rival.

Thanks guys - I had totally missed these 2!!

I am currently looking through these 2 providers top see what would suit... I have emailed customer support at Heart Internet to threaten (nnicely!) to have to leave if they can't do it but I can't see them doing it for 1 customer. It's a real shame as I have othnerwise been so so pleased with them - and especially their prices and customer service - for quite a long time as a reseller. But I hope to do more ecommerce sites now that I am more used to zen cart so it will make sense to be with someone else.

Thanks again

Stuart

Stuart

With e-commerce you can't fool around with unreliable / uncompromising hosts. Especially if you are building webshops for clients. E-commerce is serious business - you're transmitting very sensitive data over the web, customers expect reliability, security and efficiency.

Up till now, your websites have probably been simple HTML affairs - and a generic host like Heart is ok for this kindergarten stuff.

By choosing a ZC certified host, you are working with people who are wizards at zencart, and who know how to set up a site properly so that it meets webshoppers' expectations.

When you sell services, build the extra cost into your prices, and tell your clients that as they are now involved in internet selling, reliability and security are paramount.

Furthermore, when people shop on the WWW, they now look for SSL security before they transmit data. Dedicated SSL is essential as you already know.

Good luck and best wishes... :smile:

fairestcape:

With e-commerce you can't fool around with unreliable / uncompromising hosts
Well stated and mirrors something that we all should come to realize.

Hosting on the cheap with "Mass Marketed" providers is fine if this is only a "Hobby" or you are just dabbling with what you might be able to do with an online BUSINESS...

Once one has made the decision to go forward with starting any online business, Then solid Business hosting should be a factor that is part of your business plan. Your goals should be to grow your business to the point that you have so much traffic and product that a dedicated server becomes part of your continuing business plan.

But until then, and to support your getting there you need a host that is fast and reliable so that your customers do not leave your site due to it being unresponsive. And one that supports the requirements that will develop for specific payment and shipping providers.

JMO

Thanks guys for your very helpful advice. As you guessed all I've done before have been straightforward html sites and hosting has never been an issue. I'm looking around at other providors today and tomorrow trying to decide whether I just host this 1 web site with someone else or get a different, more suited to ecommerce, resellers account. It's a pain just now as I have completely underquoted for this web site and am taking forever doing it and now I have to incorporate these extra costs, but I guess it is a good learning experience in many ways. Heard back from Heart Internet and no flexability on this.

Does anyone know anything about 'Netcetera' and their resellers account? Seems good and they will install the ssl for £50 or provide their own for £80 a year? I'd be interested to hear of any experiences with them?

Thanks again guys,

Stuart

I haven't heard of the host that you've mentioned, but what I would do is get a virtual private server account somewhere. You can set up as many accounts as you like, you can buy ssl certs from a variety of sources (Never GoDaddy) and install them yourself.

Having many sites is all the more reason to have your own vps. Get as many ips as you need and you're set. Moving sites is fairly easy - follow the steps here:

https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php?article=100

It will be the best move you've ever made.

pdxdoug:

Having many sites is all the more reason to have your own vps.
VPS is a POOR platform to run DB Intensive scripts on and you will usually hit the resource wall or have to upgrade your resource allocations to the point that it becomes uneconomical

I second the mention of "not getting" a VPS as it would require learning the OS side of Hosting. For most that is too much and, although Hosting may be a Service they offer their Clients, it is not their main business.

And with many Hosters installing SSL Certs for free, regardless of where obtained, the Hosters that do charge may not be doing their Clients any favours.

As to questions in general for a Hoster, start making a list of questions that are important to you. Then keep a list of potential Hosters in Spreadsheet format, easier to track why you like or don't like, someone's Service. Once you have a shortlist of about 5 names you start getting serious. Contact them by eMail, phone, whatever, and ask a few questions about their packages. That should give who to start with now and who to immediately move to, if plan B is required. And don't lose that list!

With any potential Hoster, Features / Price / Support can be checked out before signing up. Another important point to consider is Uptime which cannot usually be determined until one actually starts using it or, unless the Hoster has a link to their Uptime stats.

To help overcome that, there are various places that provide Free or Paid uptime monitoring and the following three provide both:

http://easymonitor.com/
http://siteuptime.com/
http://host-tracker.com/

Using a combination of all on one Hoster or each on different Hosters, can give you a good idea on their Service before using them.

Overall, research and patience are two important tools when checking most things, Hosting or otherwise. :smile:

Thanks all for your help and the good advise re. hosting. I have now started a resellers account with TerraNetwork - a uk based zen cart certified host. Initially I really struggled with the switchover but on reflection it was just down to the fact that it all looked so different in the various control and admin panels. However, I made use of their help and found them to be really excellent and very friendly and helpful. Also, I'm finding the 2 sites I have transferred over ot be running noticably faster than I was with Heart Internet. And there is no charge with Terranetwork for installing dedicated ssl from other companies - which was a surprisingly smooth and simple process.

I've only been with them for a few days but from the point of view of setting up an account, customer service, and online help (especially help aimed specifically at Zen Cart users) I wouldd certainly highly recommend them at this stage.

Stuart

Good to hear that you have found a new home in the UK

The best of luck to you Stuart!

With your attitude, you DESERVE to do well and to succeed. By basing your business on a sound technology platform, you will now be able to focus on what really matters - driving your business forward, which is much more productive than dabbling round in confusing server code and configuration - or spending endless hours on this forum desperately seeking help.

I wish you well. :clap: