It is required to have a forum for each web hosting company?

[Steve32]

I like to know what are thoughts out there about adding a forum to hosting website where people can use it as a knowledge base or getting support from their hosting provider via forum posts?

I feel this more useful and convenient to get support from forums on some VPS hosting companies.

 

[Luxin Host]

I like to know what are thoughts out there about adding a forum to hosting website where people can use it as a knowledge base or getting support from their hosting provider via forum posts?

I feel this more useful and convenient to get support from forums on some VPS hosting companies.

While forums can save a lot of ticket answering time, they are not so useful when the user base is small or when your support can easily handle the current ticket flow.

A forum is definitely useful as you mentioned however I believe only for very large hosting companies.
In addition forums require signups which I absolutely hate when I have to sign up again for support so i do not expect my members to do the same.

Kind Regards

 

[LJSHost]

I like to know what are thoughts out there about adding a forum to hosting website where people can use it as a knowledge base or getting support from their hosting provider via forum posts?

I feel this more useful and convenient to get support from forums on some VPS hosting companies.

A forum can be a useful feature once you have the customer base to make it active. Imo your clients support should be dealt with by a professional support team, I'd feel a little rejected if my hosting provider sent me to the forum when looking for help.

 

[Anonymously]

If you have very good customer support, and write articles to questions that you see repeated a lot from your clients, that is more than enough.

 

[nogics]

Not at all. Having forum is good as you give discussion platform to your customers. However it's not necessary. Just give your clients a good support and service, thats it.

 

[archhosting]

A forum will be dead unless you are a really large hosting company.

 

[bestcast4u]

it's not important but it's good to have a forum. Your customers can share their knowledge and have some fun.

But you need to work hard to keep the forum clean.

 

[jadoinc]

you can use a wordpress also to add special article or so .. or u can use bbpress too

 

[Gecko]

Instead of having a forum it would probably work best in many cases to just have a Knowledgebase or question and answer setup which accepts comments.

A forum would need to have some kind of staff and some activity for it to work well.

 

[hostens]

Forum could be a great way to provide tutorials and some support however we have chosen knowledgebase for that because it is simpler to follow.

 

[Waqass]

I was also thinking to launch forum for my host but as others have said it would only do good for larger companies. May be I will launched a different website with forum and provide a link on my host to that forum so even If someone wanted to have discussion can do that on my own another site.

 

[webhostuk]

For web hosting knowledge sharing forum is fine , but for support I personally feel client need quick assistance so its good to concentrate on chat, ticket (Email) or phone support.
Forum is much like a discussion board where time limitation is not applicable.

 

[ikalf]

Better work on a good knowledgebase and a fast support system then a forum.
If you have a small hosting company forum is going to be dead.

 

[HostXNow]

I do not see the point in a web hosting provider having a forum when there are forums like FWH. I could list many big providers who have their own forums and they're all dead. Says it all.

 

[fwh]

I do not see the point in a web hosting provider having a forum when there are forums like FWH. I could list many big providers who have their own forums and they're all dead. Says it all.

Because they could not see what are their advantages to use them and what are their limitations to avoid. :think:

I like to know what are thoughts out there about adding a forum to hosting website where people can use it as a knowledge base or getting support from their hosting provider via forum posts?
I feel this more useful and convenient to get support from forums on some VPS hosting companies.

It is a good idea to have a forum that supports their client, If I am a web hosting provider, I also will have a forum but I can combine some ways into one to have an active forum.
many web hosting providers didn't know how to combine what they are having. :dontknow:

 

[HostXNow]

HostXNow

I think customers will either be happy or upset about their hosting service. If they are happy, then the forum doesn't get used. Or if the customers are angry then the forums soon start to become active. And of course, a providers forum would only be used by their own clients, whereas forums like fwh can be used by all providers/consumers which mean a lot more activity.

I would say majority prefer to interact on forums where there are many different types of people and discussions otherwise, the forum is not active enough and just looks dead. I think a lot of web hosting providers know this and don't have them for this reason.

 

[serverbundle]

serverbundle

+1 Not many users prefer to be active on such forums. Secondly, most users don't even prefer to have their support issues to be kept public at times. Personally, I feel you can make an active forum but it can't be much oriented towards your own company.

Secondly, if your company is still small then it's going to be very difficult to even manage a forum. I personally feel all you need is:
- A Good support system ( Live chat and Emails )
- Knowledge Base
- Status Service Page ( You can use Status.io for this. )

 

[StartVM]

I have yet to find a provider with a forum that genuinely benefits people. On anything more than just the most basic of issues. However, providers such as WHMCS who offer a standalone product have far better forum interactions than general server hosting.

 

[HostBastic]

There are some providers with community forums, the main purpose of those is to reslove small and generic issues which otherwise would slow down the support team. They are usefull but to a extent, nothing can really replace a decent support team and as others stated above if there are not many actives users on the forum is basicly pointless.

 

[norled]

No for me as well. You're running a business and most clients won't want to discuss issues or have open discussions on forums.

Although support systems and helpdesks would be perfect.

 

[HostaPolis]

It is not required under any means. It is just something that is optional. A lot of hosting companies don't go for forums as they are just another thing that has to be looked after and maintained. It is something that can be good after you are established but just starting out, it is a waste of time in my book.

 

[Kieran2001]

Hello,

No is the simple answer.

If your a small company which can handle the ticket/chat flow it's pointless as it'll be a much slower turnaround as there will be few members and they won't be active users. This can also make your company look tiny since the forum is inactive etc.

Once your at a few thousand customers, your safe to open a forum, under the impression that your customers are mostly happy with your service and you notify them of your form opening.

Regarding knowledge base etc, most companies offer knowledge bases on their website regardless, as having it on the form would be more complex than needed. Mainly if it's ridiculous and unlikely to be asked questions in the forum.

I hope I helped.

Nest aregards,
Kieran Cairns