So glad I found Smart Hosting

I am not a person who normally writes reviews but for Smart Hosting I will make an exception.

How can I explain just how helpful Smart Hosting have been.

I had been experiencing problems with my previous host particularly with one of my database driven websites, which forms the

basis of an online writing course, it kept throwing out errors. Students were not getting their grades or the feedback that should have been going out to them when a tutor had graded their work. I checked with my hosting company (who shall remain nameless) and they stated categorically that there were no problems with the server. So having been 'reassured' that all was well I turned next to the software developer to see if the issues could be a bug in the program.

He was great, he checked everything but couldn't find anything wrong and informed me that it was probably because my site was running on an old server and needed to be updated.

So, back to my control panel to check out what version the MySQL database was, only to discover that it was at least three versions behind. I pointed this out to my hosting company who completely ignored my concerns telling me everything was OK and all the patches needed were in place, whatever that was supposed to mean.

I knew I had to take action quickly before the situation got any worse, and can't believe how lucky I was to find Smart Hosting, they have been great. Taking my four websites from the previous host was not a smooth operation, I think it took three attempts in all to get everything downloaded because the old server was in such a poor state.

I don't think my attempts to help improved the situation but they stayed helpful and polite (another thing I am not used to with hosting companies, and I have had websites online for over 14 years) rather than rude and grumpy if you don't happen to know all the ins and outs of running a server.

Despite the problems caused by not being able to get a full backup, with great patience, and in spite of my assistance, they finally managed to get all my sites moved over to their servers.

Miraculously everything is now working just as it should, emails are being sent out to students with the correct information and I finally feel as though my hosting is in safe hands.

Just out of curiosity I thought I would check my website speed now it has all moved over and was amazed. On previous occasions (my old host) it took 5.71 seconds to load, today it took 1.69. That is a massive difference.

Smart Hosting provide a helpful, courteous service and go far beyond any level of customer service I have experienced with any other host, and the difference in the site speed after moving just blows me away.

I would recommend them to anyone.