Oct 29
Webfaction Limited Review
I’ve seen a lot of recommendations for Webfaction for new Django developers who want an easy to use hosting solution. As you can see from previous posts that I have a VPS that I’ve set up Django on. I was having problems getting one of my applications to work, and I wondered if it was because of my setup. So I decided to try out Webfaction. After all, they offered a 60 day money back guarantee. So I signed up and set up my account. I must admit it was much easier to set up than my VPS, plus I could choose to use Python 2.5 (which was never really able to get working on my server setup) and you can use mod_python or WSGI. I was quite impressed with their setup options and the ease of setup. It turns out there there was a problem in my code because I ended up getting the same error on their servers as I did mine. I was just confused because it was working on my windows develpement machine, by not my linux servers.
So having lost the need for Webfaction, I decided to exercise their money back guarantee. I think this was the best part of the process. I sent them an email. The responded quickly telling me how to cancle the account from the control panel. I think within a half hour I had the money back in my PayPal account and an email confirmation letting me know and saying thanks for trying their service.
Surely, If I ever need another Django host or if it comes to the point where I need to use the latest version of Python, I will look to Webfaction. If I have a client looking for hosting, I will recommend Webfaction.
October 29th, 2008 at 6:24 am
I use Webfaction for 6 months now or so. I also stumbled upon their service while searching a good Django/Python host.
I can only tell the best about them. Their interface rocks - you can set up everything in seconds. Their service rocks as well. When you create a ticket you can rely on a quick and qualified answer. Best thing: They report expected and unexpected downtimes absolutely transparently via Blog/RSS.
All in all a very very very qualified, friendly, transparent and honest Webhoster. I can even say that they are the best Webhoster I ever tried (I can’t even think of a better one - I got all I need from them) - and I tried four different hosters allready.
October 29th, 2008 at 8:35 am
I use webfaction for a small django-based satire site I run w/ a friend. Webfaction has been mostly great. Their service has been a high point–truly amazing and very prompt. The one downside is the typical bane of shared-hosting setups: imperfect reliability. But hey, it’s cheap, and the reliability is pretty good.
October 29th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Is there any comparison between Webfaction and MediaTemple?
October 29th, 2008 at 8:46 am
@omtv: yes there is: http://www.istherefood.com/2008/03/27/webfaction-versus-media-temple/
Also see http://gustavonarea.net/blog/posts/server-load-dreamhost-vs-webfaction/ for a WebFaction vs DreamHost comparison
October 31st, 2008 at 11:04 am
@omtv: I would recommend WebFaction over MediaTemple. The WebFaction people are really honest. You pick how much RAM your application needs much like with a VPS or dedicated server, but you get a managed environment. Even though it’s a managed environment, you still get a lot of flexibility. mod_python, mod_wsgi are supported with an Apache instance running under your user - yes, you get access to your own Apache and its config files if you want to change config settings. It’s shared, but it can easily support a site that gets thousands of visits per day.
MediaTemple, on the other hand, just seems less honest. They say that they have “hundreds of servers working in tandem to power your websites.” All for $20/mo. There’s just something wrong with that statement. It makes it seem like your site is getting more resources than it actually is. Maybe there is something to their system in terms of burstable performance and high-availability. Maybe they’re hugely overselling. Maybe I should take advantage of their free trial and see how I like it, but generally speaking I like to know exactly what I’m getting so that I can be responsible for any problems. With MediaTemple, all I have is their assurance that nothing will go wrong.
November 6th, 2008 at 5:35 am
I have never used webfaction, but after reading your article and comments, I want to try it. Thanks for good advice.
November 10th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Webfaction is far superior to MediaTemple from my experience. I’ve noticed better results and far better customer service.
November 20th, 2008 at 10:13 am
how long has been webfraction in the hosting business?
November 26th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Since Webfaction has such a great trial policy, it might be cool to check it out for a bit.
November 28th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Thanks for the tip! I gave WebFaction a try and I am *very* impressed by their setup and customer support so far.
December 5th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Wow. Your post really gave me a good first impression of Webfaction. Their trial policy and how quickly they processed your refund truly amazed me.
December 14th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
This is major proof why good customer service works. They now have a possible future customer or like you have get word of mouth around. For any begginer out there always follow up with a customer and if its something you dont want to hear be there to help still.
December 16th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I haven’t used webfaction but did mess around with Media Temple. We quickly switched away from media temple for some reason but don’tt remember why. Dreamhost had a ton of great reviews but then had a terrible security breach in which hundreds of sites were compromised. The word was that they left some passwords unencrypted in a text file.
Nowadays when I do my research on a host I’ve learned to really look for recent reviews. I’ve seen a number of hosts start of with awesome service and then it degrades as they get bigger and get bought out. Such a dilemna.