WebHostGear.com had the pleasure of interviewing President, Brent Oxley, of HostGator.com. The company was founded in early 2002 and has 19 staff including support staff, server administrators, and sales personnel.

Hostgator.com, LLC
1-866-964-2867
Our home office is located in Boca Raton, Florida
23123 State RD 7 Ste 105
Boca Raton, FL 33428

Website: HostGator WebSite

WHG: Tell us about your company and services you offer
We are a full-service web-hosting provider. We offer shared, reseller, and dedicated hosting solutions for personal and business use. We offer 24/7 support for our services via email, Instant Message, Live Chat, and Telephone, as well as Support Forums which are accessible to each of our customers.

WHG: HostGator seems like it has been growing very quickly, how do you manage the growth of the company while still providing enough support for your customers?
We have seen tremendous growth in the past couple of years. We try to leverage our support staff based on the volume of new signups. More signups mean more support staff. We realize that a top-notch support team is a main priority, and we will continue to bring on new support team members as long as we continue to grow. By doing this, we can be sure that our customers are always attended to in a timely manner and nobody is left waiting for a response.

WHG: Do you outsource any of your support to call centers or other support services?
Our support team is comprised of both in-house technicians as well as a group of highly-skilled team members providing support through a 3rd party liaison. We have a great relationship with this provider, and will continue to use their services as long as they are able to provide the level of support that Hostgator is known for.

WHG: Do you find having phone support helps your business compared to e-mail only support, how?
Absolutely. Phone support is imperative in this business. Many people are comforted by the fact that we offer a toll-free number for both sales and support. Many companies rely on email and web-based support systems only, but we feel it is important to go the extra mile and offer our customers what they want - and they want phone support!

WHG: What do you think has contributed to your company's quick growth?
Our reputation in the industry is second to none. We have always stood behind our promises, and our support staff do a fantastic job of ensuring that our customers remain happy even in those times when they are in need of assistance.

WHG: Do you have automated account creation for new and existing clients?
We certainly do. New customers signing up for an account with us are generally activated and ready to go within 20-30 minutes. We also provide the software for our resellers to be able to do the same with their clients.

WHG: What is your take on online fraud and how does HostGator deal with the online order process?
Credit card fraud is becoming very pervasive in the industry, and we do everything possible to ensure that each transaction is legitimate. Large purchases are subject to phone verification, and certain domain names or regions which are prone to fraudulent activity are monitored very closely. While we may never to prevent 100% of the fraud, we will always strive to do what we can to ensure that each transaction placed with us is on the level.

WHG: How do you feel a support forum benefits your clients and is it something you would recommend other hosting companies use?
Our Peer Support Forum is one of the most visited areas of our site. We have a team of talented volunteers who monitor support threads posted on the forums, and answers are usually only moments away. People like the convenience of the Support Forum and it's just another feature we can offer to help set ourselves apart from our competitors.

WHG: When advertising in multiple places how do you track each ad campaigns performance and customer conversion rate?
We have an extensive database of all current advertising campaigns through which we can track the success rate of our various marketing strategies. Web advertising takes up a large percentage of our advertising budget, but we also regularly advertise in trade publications and topical print media as well.

WHG: What is your day to day role like at your company?
Most of my day is spent answering support calls and helping to guide the rest of my staff in the appropriate direction. I personally speak with thousands of our customers, and the feedback I receive from them is very important in my decision-making process. I feel it is important to keep a finger on the pulse of our customer base, and the information gathered from them is invaluable to improving our service even further.

WHG: Who do you see as your major competitors?
We try not to focus on the "other guys" and instead concentrate on offering our customers the best service possible. It's a unique philosophy, and one that has treated us well up to this point. However, I am sure if you were to ask a few other web hosting providers who their main competitor is, you might be surprised to find how many times our name comes up. We are respected in the industry because we respect our colleagues, and that will never change.

WHG: What do you feel is the best thing about your company?
Our reputation for stellar support. If anyone is hesitant about signing up for our services, all they need to do is a quick bit of Internet research to discover just how dependable we are. I think Hostgator is by far the best provider of web hosting services out there - but don't take my word for it. Just ask any of our thousands of satisfied customers!

WHG: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
We will definitely still be here, so don't worry about that. We have seen such an amazing growth rate and there is really no reason to expect that rate to drop in the near future. We will definitely see our 100,000th customer signup within that timeframe, and that will be very exciting for us as a company.

Sincerely,

Brent Oxley
HostGator.com