The Big Move - Changing Hosts

So far it has been a pretty big year for me. I picked up some inspiration from my affiliate and sponsor mates in New York and London at the beginning of the year to make some more improvements on BentleyRace. The biggest complaint last year came from members in Australia and parts of Asia who found downloading videos from my site very slow. I wasn’t too concerned a couple of years ago when most of my audience was in the northern hemisphere, but the number if Australian’s buying memberships picked up significantly. I had no luck resolving the download speeds with my host, and even though I loved them dearly, I had to move on. I already knew some guys who were using National Net and had experienced impressive download test results around the world with them, so it was a no brainer. The change is amazing! Large files on the site now download up to 5 times faster way down here in Melbourne.

The larger and faster server now means I can increase the size of the videos even more and keep more members happy. I was stressing about moving the site during our summer, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve made. National Net did a great job and I feel very positive and excited about the future.

My lesson to anyone choosing a host is to check download speeds around the world before signing up. The host should provide you with a test file to download.

Re: The Big Move - Changing Hosts

You certainly made the right choice with National Net. We have been with them for years and have been quite pleased with pricing, performance, and of course their customer service is second to none!

Glad to hear that your sites growth was the main motivating factor in your looking for a new site home! We deserved I have to say, with the hard work and great photography that you do!

Re: The Big Move - Changing Hosts

[QUOTE=BentleyRace;111941]So far it has been a pretty big year for me. I picked up some inspiration from my affiliate and sponsor mates in New York and London at the beginning of the year to make some more improvements on BentleyRace. The biggest complaint last year came from members in Australia and parts of Asia who found downloading videos from my site very slow. I wasn’t too concerned a couple of years ago when most of my audience was in the northern hemisphere, but the number if Australian’s buying memberships picked up significantly. I had no luck resolving the download speeds with my host, and even though I loved them dearly, I had to move on. I already knew some guys who were using National Net and had experienced impressive download test results around the world with them, so it was a no brainer. The change is amazing! Large files on the site now download up to 5 times faster way down here in Melbourne.

The larger and faster server now means I can increase the size of the videos even more and keep more members happy. I was stressing about moving the site during our summer, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve made. National Net did a great job and I feel very positive and excited about the future.

My lesson to anyone choosing a host is to check download speeds around the world before signing up. The host should provide you with a test file to download.[/QUOTE]

Sort of unrelated but why do you think you have more Australian members now? Is it just because you grown in general or are you more well known now to Australians as an Australian site or?

Re: The Big Move - Changing Hosts

…check download speeds around the world before signing up.

How exactly does one do this, short of booking a round-the-world airfare?

Re: The Big Move - Changing Hosts

Funnily enough I do seem to travel around the world a bit. And I always test the speeds sites when I do. But for the most recent test of the file NatNet prepared me I asked friends in other countries to run the test for me.

Re: The Big Move - Changing Hosts

I’m fairly sure I’m getting a lot of Aussies joining up because I’m either shooting in their city or I’m shooting with their mates. Either way, it’s nice that it took off locally in such a big way.

Re: The Big Move - Changing Hosts

[QUOTE=MiamiBoyz;111943]You certainly made the right choice with National Net. We have been with them for years and have been quite pleased with pricing, performance, and of course their customer service is second to none!

Glad to hear that your sites growth was the main motivating factor in your looking for a new site home! We deserved I have to say, with the hard work and great photography that you do![/QUOTE]

It was actually the MiamiBoyz site that first got me interested in NatNet. The download speeds of the Miamiboyz videos were much much faster than my videos on BentleyRace.

Re: The Big Move - Changing Hosts

I’ve been looking at VPS hosting from AmeriNOC (https://www.amerinoc.com/vps.php) since they seem to be getting rave reviews on other boards.