Hi there!

I decided to keep a sort of log or journal or call it whatever you want, detailing changes I make to this site and the reasoning behind these changes. I will try to reveal more of myself and my personality here as well as the efforts of keeping the site useful and as un-commercial as possible, while keeping me "in business". While you might not like some of the decisions I make, please keep in mind that I'm human and I make mistakes. I also have to eat and for that I need a revenue.

I won't go back and write from memory how this website started as that would be mainly a waste of time. I will just start with the changes I made in the last 2 weeks (15.03.2004) and continue from there. I don't know how often I will add things to this page, but I plan to explain at least the most important changes. The recent things are at the top, the older at the bottom.

dd.mm.year

05.05.2008

Not that in the two years since the last update nothing happened: several hosts have been removed, even one that I was receiving commissions from. But today I added two new hosts Cartika and Rochen. This was long overdue, of course, as it often happens in life.

Some of the views I used to hold about things happening in the industry are a bit more nuanced today, which means some articles do need a bit of updating. That will come in time.

CouponsNexus is my newest site. Clearly, it's about coupons - hosting and domains. I figure that using a coupon just can't hurt, and in time, the savings can amount to decent sums.

24.06.2006

It's been a very long time since I last updated this page. It's hard to even remember the changes and modifications I did to the site in the time that has passed. There were none of truly revolutionary importance. That is if we can say that removing 3 hosts from my list is nothing revolutionary. I had different reasons for each removal, but it just had to happen. I'm afraid in most cases I postponed the removal a bit too long, but I wouldn't want to do any injustices. Ultimately it just came down to me not being able to say I would consider using them.

The list of hosts is getting small, I know, so two hosts that I've been watching for a very long time will soon be added. It's just a matter of time.

A few months ago I created a one page pamphlet website:  UltraCheapHosts.com. It's my interpretation of the changes taking place in the hosting industry.

In the "real world" I'm busy with getting my condo fixed and cleaned as I'm getting married in September and I want to have everything ready by that time. It's not as easy as one might think.

23.09.2005

More design related modifications have taken place. I've added a logo, moved the menu to the left side of the page to enhance usability, and switched from Mambo to Joomla.

A host has been removed from the list (I will not name them though). It saddens me to remove a host, but I no longer could say that I would use it, so I had to remove it. The situation is made worse by the fact that it was supporting Windows. I've never had many Windows hosts on my site and now I have one less.

My apologies to those who have chosen this host due to it being presented on my site, and have received subpar service from them. Unfortunately such is the nature of the hosting industry. You just never know what will happen a year from now, or even one week from now.

10.09.2005

WHReviews.com has a new face, and I hope you'll all like it. It also has a new underlaying structure (a content management system). Special thanks go to PixelThemes for creating and distributing for free the template that I use now on this site.

One direct benefit of switching to a content management system is that you now have a search feature you can use to locate topics of interest on this site. It's been requested by some of you in the past, and now we have it. Other things might also appear or improve in time due to the change to a more advanced way of publishing content.

Why "we"? Because my brother has been helping me out with a few things and he'll be here to help at least for the next a few months.

It's been a long while since I've put any emphasis on search engine optimisation. To be frank, I stopped because I don't like the idea of search engine optimisation at all, but since the search engines are not yet using artificial intelligence to truly measure the value of a web page, their results continue to be skewed (IMO).

Fact is that I convinced myself that this site deserves better rankings in the search engines, so since my "direct competitors" are actively working in order to get their high rankings, I'll have to do something about it as well.

Some say "Content is King". I know it for a fact it is not so - at least when it comes to search engine rankings. I gave the search engines quality content (IMHO) to add to their indexes for years, but content alone doesn't mean much in their eyes. Since natural linking is virtually dead, and I'm no marketer able to use some head spinning "viral marketing", I'll have to use some very basic weapons. Main weapon: link exchange.

That's it. I'm off to war, so wish me luck!

23.07.2005

Today I've added Clook to my list of Honest Hosts. Like with most of the recently added companies, I preferred the slow approach to things, and allowed myself time to slowly build my confidence in them, which probably means they actually deserved to be listed for a while now.

Starting today you'll also be able to read my new creation, the "Alexa and PageRank" article. It's been so long since I wrote my previous article that I should be ashamed of myself. Ok-Ok, I actually am ashamed of myself, but what can I do? What's done is done.

Cheers!

19.06.2005

Today I added Idologic to the list if Honest Hosts - after a very long time of waiting. As they say, better late than never.

10.05.2005

The articles have been updated. There should be fewer misspellings now and better, more accurate, more clearly expressed info.

I'm still undecided whether a switch to Mambo would be opportune at this moment in time. Search engine optimisation related motives make me be very wary about such a move.

I'll be studying how to keep the current files structure and use Mambo.

25.04.2005

This is just in case you're wondering what I've been doing last month. I've been proofreading, correcting and adding new ideas into my articles. These changes are not yet online though.

I've been also contemplating the idea of using Mambo as a content management solution for this site, but I'm still undecided whether it would be a good idea or not.

See you again in about two weeks or so - that is unless you'll be posting at my new forum.

28.03.2005

Dinix removed. Reason: the answer to the question "Would I signup with them?" is no longer Yes. The new management will have to do a lot of work to make Dinix the reputable provider that it used to be.

06.03.2005

Yes, it's been a week. I finally managed to add that company that I was talking about. Sorry for the delay. The company is DIYHosting.

Why the delay? I've been "upgraded" to a Community Liaison position at Webhostingtalk. If someone would've told me that I will be a Liaison at Webhostingtalk a year ago, I would've told him "No way that can be true!", but it turns out that it is possible. :)

Now, you'd think that being a moderator on a forum is not such a tough job. Well, it's not -- theoretically. In practice though, it's very hard to find the right ballance between being strict and being understanding. I'm struggleing to find this rule and learn as I go. WHT has a more advanced system than I was used to from HostingDiscussion, required by its considerably bigger size. A bit of a steep learning curve for me, but I think I'll soon be getting the hang of it.

28.02.2005

Just a quite note. A few weeks ago I removed a host from which I used to receive commissions - the first host to be removed from the list. It is time I join another referral program, and because Site5 has one, I joined it. Site5 only uses Paypal to make the payments but because of where I live I can't use Paypal. However, Matt from Site5 was so kind to accept to make an exception in my case. He has my complete gratitude for that. I consider this a very big favour and I hereby thank him publically for it. Thank you Matt!

That's it. I'm off to add the other host I was talking about yesterday.

27.02.2005

A new host was added today. After a very long period of keeping my eye on them and posponing their listing, Site5 finally gets added to the list of Honest Hosts. I truly wonderful addition, and a host I would certainly use. Not only that, but another host is about to be added as well, but I'm keeping it a secret for now, to built up some tension.

Actually, I don't have the time for it today, so I postponed it for tomorrow. I hope no one will mind the wait. See you tomorrow!

Oh, by the way, following a thread and an article critique, the Overselling Hosting article was corrected and some new ideas and opinions of mine were added to it.

One visitor let me know that someone is using my articles without my consent: www.hosting.web.za. I asked them to remove them and we'll see if the act on it. So far no answer from them.

10.02.2005

Yes, the day isn't over yet I have to add one very important entry in the log. The first host to be removed from the list: Apollohosting. This was one report too many. I've read about email related problems once, twice, but this is simply getting ridiculous. The answer to the question "Would I go with this host?" is no longer "Yes". Now, this doesn't mean they are dishonest. It just means I don't trust that they have the same level of service anymore. I apologise to everyone who chose them because they were listed on my site. It is unfortunate, but as I said multiple time, things simply happen with hosts.

10.02.2005

Just a very short note letting you know what I've been doing lately. The list of hosts is now effectively randomized, thanks to Mr. Clive Holloway, Software Architect at vDeck.com. It was an incredible surprise to have him write this script for my site, without even asking for one. A very nice gesture that should help in keeping things even fairer when it comes to listing the hosts. Each new load of the page generates a new order of the hosts. This way they all get to have the #1 spot.

I've launched (more or less silently) a hosting forum, WHRForums.com. It is not thought to be a Webhostingtalk, Hosthideout or HostingDiscussion competitor though. Its aims are narrower because I didn't see a need for yet another general hosting forum, but I could feel the need for a place where only high quality feedback or reviews would be allowed.

About a week ago, Dennis (SoftWareRevue) made me a Community Guide at WHT. I was quite surprised, even though a WHT member mentioned a similar idea just a day before. I really wasn't expecting to see this happening. I was always careful what and how I posted, but now I'm twice as careful.

I didn't yet add the hosts I've been watching. I think I might do it at the end of this month, but we'll see about that. The last thing I want is to hurry when adding hosts.

The Email and Hosting article was corrected as it contained certain inaccuracies. I have to thank a certain visitor for bringing that to my attention. Thank you!

29.11.2004

I finally managed to finish the article I promised. It's an article about "Unmetered bandwidth". I've added and modified a few things in the article discussing Overselling and also updated the technique of identifying CJ affiliate links in the article about web hosting directories.

I've got my eye on a couple of hosts to add to the list. I reckon that I'll add one or two new hosts by the end of the year. A new article should be in order too, but this will be a busy month as you can imagine so I'm not sure whether it'll be done by the end of the month or not.

28.09.2004

About a month ago I decided to receive commisions from Fluidhosting. Today, instead of adding yet another host from which I could receive commissions, I've decided to simply switch from Fluidhosting to Apollohosting. I've decided to try my best and limit myself to receiving commisions from 3 current hosts only, instead of 4 as I've announced a few months ago. Hopefully this switch will result in me not having to get revenue from yet another host.

You see, I try to keep the revenue constant, but the Google Adsense ads haven't been performing all that well lately for some reason. This is why I had to consider multiplying the revenue streams in the first place.

In the coming month I will update a few of the old articles and write a new one. We'll see what it'll be about. =)

I almost forgot! Weberz is the new addition to my list of hosts. I'll try to add a few more Windows hosts in the coming months - I know that my list lacks in the Windows department.

16.09.2004

I've received an email from Google Adsense asking me to remove the notices "This are just ads" notices from under the Ad blocks because they might attract undesired attention to the ads, making people click on the links without actually wanting to purchase and thus incurring inopportune costs to the advertisers. Turns out those were the Google Adsense rules and while trying to protect my visitors (the best I could) I inadvertently tripped over that line. I continue to do my best to mark all advertisements as such on WHReviews.com.

17.07.2004

I managed to write two new articles "Windows or Linux" and "Presales questions". The second one took much longer to write that I initially thought it would. One of the reasons was that I was busy with other things at the time.

I'm also very happy that I was invited to be a moderator at HostingDiscussion.com. I accepted of course and I'm now busy learning how to better serve the community there.

Don't worry, I work everyday on improving things on WHReviews too. I plan to add two or more Honest Hosts to the list, preferably at least one of them offering Windows hosting. Also I hope to write an article or two in the next month or so. After I add these new hosts I think I will try to get commissions from 4 of the Honest Hosts instead of 2 as I do now. We'll see about that though.

04.06.2004

Wow. Another month has passed. I said that I would add 4 new Honest Hosts. I added 3 and a half. Huh? Yeah... 3 and a half is the right number as two hosts are Dinix and Bluewho and the third and fourth, JVDS and VPScolo, are in fact part of one group, just different brands catering to different types of clients. So I added 4, but not really. 3 and a half!

Now, to tell you the truth, I didn't really enjoy this "work". It's in a way like being in a trial. I already sort of knew that they were good hosts, but now I had to really make sure that the evidences actually sustained the hunch, which was a bit tedious after a certain point. I hope I did it a right job though.

I can't wait to start writing new articles. I have the ideas (questions) and much of the answers already. Writing actually involves reading a lot to make sure that I give you good info. I call this part "research" and it's a part that I like actually. I would love to be abe to write 4 articles by next month, but most likely they'll be just two. But who knows?

06.05.2004

I almost forgot about this page. Sorry. What's been going on this last month... Well, I managed to write another article "Sharing an overselling" which is more of a critique of the current state of facts in the hosting business than anything else. I also added a few things to the "Unlimited bandwidth" article.

To my dismay I have yet to review new hosts. I shall do this in the next few days I hope. I believe I will aim to add 4 new honest hosts.

I must also confess that I've spent too much time on WHT lately. Way too much. Although I learn a lot by reading stuff there, I must get back to my former self and start writing more articles here. I have about 15 new article ideas. That's a lot of work!

I've also spent a few days in an attempt to make the site a bit more popular by hand submitting to quite a few directories. A very time consuming task I must say and not very pleasant either. But hey, it had to be done. The next step is to publish some of my articles on other websites to gain a bit of "recognition".

On another note, I'm having trouble finding quality websites to partner with. In case you haven't noticed I have a "Partners" box on every page of my website. It's very hard to find hosting related sites that I really like, not to mention those that also have a similar partner box. Another tough job!

Anyway, that's it for now. See you soon!

02.04.2004

Since the last time I updated this page quite a few things have happened.

I was interviewed by Danny Sullivan and his partner from Hostingvoice.com, a new hosting related website, with a lot of potential. If you want to read the interview, which I find to be quite interesting, you can do that here.

I put a lot of work into adding things into the "Reseller hosting" page. Then I rewrote it once again in a manner that is less lenient towards overselling and other things. It took a lot of work and thought, but I believe that the article is a lot more valuable now.

I also modified a few things in the "changing hosts" article, more than I initially intended because I found that the way I expressed myself was very unclear in the initial form.

After playing with Urchin a bit more I felt that I was unjust towards it. It is really something, so I had to say this in the "Traffic Analysis" article.

I added Awstats in the same article. It is an important piece of software that deserves a place there. I also linked to the official pages of those tools and to their "sample" reports, which should help you understand first hand the differences between them.

In the "Hosts & web design" article I underlined the importance of being wary when it comes to clearly unprofessional appearances of websites. I've been too focused on explaining that beauty does not equal quality of service and forgot about the other extreme. I corrected this now.

Also my list of hosts pending investigation is growing in an alarming way. I will have to make the time to look into at least a few of them. Lack of time is becoming a serious problem. I think I have to read a few things about time management considering that I also have ideas for over 10 new articles.

15.03.2004

In the last two weeks I made several important modifications to the site. I wrote two new articles and I added them to the site. I also added a few paragraphs in older articles, in places where I felt that further explaining was needed or where I had new ideas to share. I wrote a few short ideas on a piece of paper with new things to include in some articles. I'll let you know when those changes are in place.

I also had to make some adjustments to the site. The reasoning behind these changes might seem selfish in nature, which is somewhat true. I do try to keep the site as "uncommercial" as possible but if this website is to survive it has to pay for itself and for the work I do.

This is why I had to move the "Ads by Google" higher on each page. To protect my visitors (you) I added under the ads a notice that lets everyone know that those are just ads. There is also a "*" character that links to a larger notice posted at the bottom of each page. If you have a better idea on how to handle this let me know.

I also faced a difficult decision. As I have to increase the revenue as soon as possible (or I will have to get a job and this project/website will slowly but surely die), the only obvious solution seemed to be to increase the number of Honest Hosts from which I receive commissions for referred sales.

While this thought haunted my mind - and it was almost like a bad dream - I went to see the stats analyzed by Urchin. What I noticed was that the hosts listed at the top of the list got more clicks than the others.

The list used to be in alphabetical order. I decided to change that and put the two Honest Hosts from which I now receive commissions at the top of the list. To keep things fair while doing this I also decided to put a ** sign with a note at the bottom of the list that will say something like "This is not a top. The order has no relevance."

I also created a list of websites that offer templates, some for free, some paid. I asked them for a link back, but so far just two decided to do so. The list might be of use to some of you use so it remains there. One nice thing about templates is that they're quite cheap and you know what you get. You like the design you buy it, you don't like it, you don't buy it. Simple!

That's it for now. See you soon.