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Is PowerDNN Hosting a Rip-Off? Maybe not.

Nov
13

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Posted by Subodh on Friday, November 13, 2009
| 822 Views | 8 Comments

The only thing PowerDNN seems to be doing ...

I’ve never hosted with PowerDNN. I have no idea why their services are so -- “Expensive.” I also hate spammers. And scammers. So tell me people; what is it that I have missed about PowerDNN? Is it a ripoff? What’s with all the TVs and Giveaways spamming my DNN search tabs on twitter? Are people really stupid? Or is it just me?

Why do I think PowerDNN is a rip-off?

I looked at their prices.For shared hosting, a 5 Gb disk space costs $100/month? Really? For that price one could get a dedicated server anywhere!

Oh, and their dedicated server plans cost the roof, arms, legs and torso included. Unless they invented superconductors and processors of their own, I don’t know of a processor that can run at 48 Ghz! I doubt they didn’t notice a decimal point missing. 4.8 Ghz? It still sounds blasphemous to me.

Is there a better option?

Like tons! of them. They’re everywhere. GoDaddy shared hosting costs less than $3 per month on their cloud platform. Granted Godaddy has its own issues and I like complete control; Virtual Dedicated hosting from Godaddy is less than $30 per month and I have shell/ftp/telnet/rdp access, why would anybody in his/her right mind want to spend so much $$$? *I just don’t get it*

Of course, to be able to work with GoDaddy, you have to expect Zero customer support; you’re on your own! Other options include Lunar pages, CI Host, Maximum ASP and many others!

What’s with the PowerDNN Giveaways.

Now now, don’t get me wrong. I encourage everyone to correct me if I’m wrong. But, there’s a very thin line that divides my perception of a spammer, scammer from an over-reaching – whether deceptive or a meaningful offer.

Look at the number of RTs and tweets for PowerDNN Giveaway; Dude you just got on my nerves. Somebody, someone; anyone: EXPLAIN PLEASE!!!

And no, I don’t need no giveaway.

Update: 11/21/09

I’ve not been contacted nor influenced by PowerDNN. What I say below is entirely based upon feedback from a few experienced DNN folks.

PowerDNN fills the void between GoDaddy’s almost non-existent customer support, lack of DNN friendly features from other hosting providers and a thorough understanding of nuances of DNN. Customers and developers alike have had one common theme – Most who use PowerDNN agree that their price packages are exorbitant but, except that one thing, they have nothing else to complain about. From busy-bees who have little or no time and need a hassle free DNN hosting provider to clients who just need a hassle free DNN host, PowerDNN seems to fill the gap .

So, is PowerDNN for me? Not at that price. Is it for you? Maybe, depends on your pocket and the need for managed support. But, one thing is clear. PowerDNN has many happy customers. That’s a big refreshing change from the GoDaddys of the world.

Thank you everyone who helped me with your comments, mails and feedback!

More Comments and flames are still welcome :-)

Posted in

All things DNN, Anger Management, Drunk Blogging

Comments and Discussions

8 Comments so far ...

Vitaly Friday, November 13, 2009 at 1:22 PM

Hmm... is Porshe a rip-off because it costs way more than Ford?
They are definitely more expensive than many host providers. (Please point me to a dedicated server for $100/mo, though).

Except:
- They answer phones 24/7
- They close tickets within 15 minutes
- They know DNN - so, upgrade/transfer/etc. is not an issue. I pay them $20 for upgrade to next version and 15-20 minutes later that installation is running on the new version.

Too many good reasons to list here.

One more thing: I have a dedicated server, too - elsewhere. There I host websites that are not mission critical. Everything else goes to "expenisive" PowerDNN and I sleep WELL at night.

Finally - I am a programmer with over 10 years, and a good one. So, don't assume that these benefits are only relevant to non-technical people.

Subodh Shakya Friday, November 13, 2009 at 1:40 PM

Maybe you're right. I just do not know. I have not used them and I've been looking for information on why people would choose them. Its great to know they have at least one satisfied customer.

I still do not get your point though -
1) They know DNN ... really? why do they need to? Its not that Amazon or Azure or Godaddy machines just disappear out of the blue. Everybody gives the same uptime guarantee.

2) For shared hosting, where thousands of other websites are running on the same host, why would someone pay for a dedicated price and still be handicapped with just 5 Gb of storage space?
3) Upgrade/transfer is 20 bucks? Isn't it as simple as in place upgrade? That is the beauty of Dotnetnuke. Its so simple even a 5th grader can do it. Why would someone be willing to pay for a simple version upgrade and not do it themselves?
- VItaly Friday, November 13, 2009 at 5:07 PM
  
  1. DNN is a complex application with many things that can go wrong. In addition, optimization is a huge part of a successful DNN site.
  
  PowerDNN takes care of these things. By the way, they also deal with "wakeup" call of asp.net (keepalive)
  
  2. In isolation, this is a valid point. If your primary objective is the most space for a buck, PowerDNN ain't a good choice.
  
  3. If every upgrade to DNN was that simple... Plus, they take care of the whole stack - backup, upgrade, test, restore. $20 is WAY cheap for that service.
  Bob Friday, November 13, 2009 at 10:02 PM
  
  Have you seen the price of the dedicated server upgrades?
  
  -US$50 per month for an extra 500mb of ram (yes, only 500mb)
  -US$10 per month per additional IP address
  
  So, yes they are a complete rip off.. We have a dedicated server with them & will be canceling it shortly!!

James Sunday, November 15, 2009 at 9:34 AM

GoDaddy & IX Webhosting are bad for DNN
I have a small web design firm in Toronto. I have a number of DNN sites up and running. Two of them on powerDNN and about 6 on www.resellerchoice.com. I would NEVER trust my clients DNN site on Godaddy and I am surprised that you are promoting them. Godaddy's servers are too slow and overcrowded to properly run DNN.

I had a client who (against our recommendation) insisted they keep their site on IX webshosting (also a discount host like Godaddy) and when we launched the new DNN site the performance was so bad that it only took about two months before they asked us to switch to a better host. The main problem was that the site loaded very slowly.

They are now on PowerDNN and their site loads fast, as it was intended to. Client's spend thousands of dollars on their website, they shouldn't serve them on a poor performing discount host

I also second what @vitaly said. PowerDNN know's DNN and offers a lot of DNN specific services that make the price worth it.

Subodh Shakya Sunday, November 15, 2009 at 9:51 AM

This is indeed very interesting. And the intent of this blog post was not to promote GoDaddy. It is to get to the truth behind PowerDNN. I'm merely asking what is it about PowerDNN that despite their outrageous pricing still makes people happy(or not) with them.

At the same time, I'm missing one critical piece of data. When you (and others) say GoDaddy is slow, what exactly was the configuration? Are we talking about shared hosting? (which to my mind is a resounding NO NO on GoDaddy or for that matter anywhere else). Once you're on dedicated hosting, everything is in your own control isnt it? Everybody has the same T1 lines connecting outside, everybody has the same uptime guarantee, everyone has the same infrastructure.

I have been on GoDaddy Virtual dedicated hosting for last 3 years and have never had issues. Of course, I could be on any other host where I have complete control and I do not need any kind of customer support other than the initial image setup.

I do see the point that clients who need more hand-holding (or ones who just do not have the time to micro-manage their DNN installation) would really do better where there is customer support available for DNN specific expertise. GoDaddy just won't fit the bill for that;

So, for a person like me, who knows what he's doing and can manage all nuances of DNN by himself, which one would be a better host? A $30 GoDaddy virtual Dedicated hosting package? or a $35 Amazon EC2? or a >$200 PowerDNN hosting package?

Kurt Amstutz Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 6:32 PM

Power DNN and Twitter Spam
I have personally met both Tony and John of PowerDNN and I honestly believe that they market their company with good intent - perhaps too aggressive for some, but that's their gig. On the other hand I fully agree with the comments about their twitter spam during OpenForce. They really ticked a lot of people off with the RT's of their promotion, as did another prominent DNN personality recently with their repeated company sales pitches for prebuilt DNN sites. For the good of the DNN Twitter community I hope that both have learned their lesson.

Subodh Shakya Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 12:17 PM

Updated this Post
Based on comments, mails and feedback I have received so far, I've updated this post's Title and added the Update in the last paragraph.

Two things are very clear.
1) No-one is happy with GoDaddy's customer support and shared hosting solution
2) PowerDNN customers are a happy lot. They don't mind sending me flames or cuss at me from their real email IDs winking

Thanks to everyone who contributed!

Subodh's Blog Rating


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