[MikeStuchbery]

REVIEW: Mike & Chombo - Hosting made ridiculously simple!

I've never run a website in my life.

No, I always got my nerdier friends to do that, in exchange for the occasional sixpack of Hoegaarden or help as a wingman on the dancefloor.

It was great, but there was the occasional sting that came with told I couldn't do this or that, or that their hosting wasn't to be used to squirrel away downloaded seasons of LOST.

So when I was asked whether I'd like to review some hosting, I was eager to plunge myself in to the process of setting up a website and attract an audience. I was nervous too, anxious that in pursuit of my dream I'd be spending sleepless nights handcrafting templates and methodically putting together forums piece by piece.

Imagine my surprise, then, at being able to be up and running with a blog, a forum and the beginnings of an internet commerce empire within 12 hours of being set up with my account by the lads at Chombo. Through the wonders of Twitter I was coached in selecting the kind of blog and forum software I was looking for - which were all able to be
installed with the press of a button.

The site backend interface, cPanel, that Chombo present their users with is clear and very easy to use, even for a neophyte like me.

It was all rather anti-climactic, really.

Something needs to be salvaged out of the review though, so let me say this - I've never had such a positive customer service experience online than I did when working at setting up my website. Chombo's reps, Curtis and Andrew, were attentive, knowledgable and ready to bend over backwards should anything go wrong, which it didn't.

That's another thing - in my experience with other folk's hosting, I have experienced downtime on such a regular basis I was starting to think I was accessing a server rack somewhere in an abandoned army base somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Tearing apart and reassembling my blog in the throes of insomnia, I never once experienced a problem.

For the purposes of this review, I was working with a package that included 1gb of space and 75gb worth of bandwidth for $14.95 p/month, a very reasonable price considering the attention and customer service received when working with this company. If you're a small business owner I can't think of a better time to sign up with Chombo. Competitive prices, coupled with the time and attention these guys are able to provide mean that those taking up Chombo hosting are getting a lot more than they're shelling out for. Though I probably shouldn't say that.

If this review sounds over enthusiastic and a trifle fawning, that's okay - it's meant to be. I never thought it could be this easy. Chombo have seemingly created an experience whereby a reasonably tech-wary individual like me can get stuck in to realizing the potential of the web without fear of breaking something painful, site-wise. It's been a great experience and I heartily recommend it to anyone looking to get their start in building and running a website.

Oh, and my site? Macabre Melbourne. Check it out, especially if you're in or heading down south soon!