Solution

Scalable and Modular Solution over Multiple Phases

One of the major reasons behind the success of HostRocket has been the scalable and modular approach to building their solution. This allowed the project to achieve larger successes over time after HostRocket benefited from the initial results.

In the first phase, we concentrated on building a strong and memorable brand, and improving site usability to help people navigate and find the information they were looking for. After this phase helped HostRocket grow their company significantly, they were ready to invest more into a solution that would help them expand their market.

The second phase also brought growth to the company and allowed them to take the next step in updating their brand and planning for new marketing pushes, which was the third phase of the project - and likely not the last.

Phase 1: Rebranding and Visibility

When we started working with Hostrocket in 2001, we began with their weakest points: branding, image and navigation.

• Strong brand - HostRocket's original brand did not leverage the strengths of the company nor help HostRocket to stand out from vast amounts of competition. Ceonex helped HostRocket define and present a strong brand that positioned them as the host "of the future" - framing them as cutting-edge and high-tech.
• Professional image - Ceonex created a memorable site experience for HostRocket that increased their visibility significantly through word-of-mouth. HostRocket's new site was considered to be a pioneer of the time, a highly appropriate position for a provider of web services to a technology-oriented audience.
• Improved navigation – Among the significant improvements seen soon after the launch of the new site was a decrease in the time staff was spending helping prospects and clients navigate the site and find commonly needed information. As a result of the improved navigation, client satisfaction increased, and the utilization of HostRocket staff was made much more effective-ultimately helping to increase profit margins.

The sum effect of the Phase 1 project exceeded HostRocket's wildest imaginations. Ceonex made its sole focus converting as many as possible of their existing prospects, driven to their old site through advertising campaigns, into loyal and ongoing clients. The site helped the company immensely in their growth as well as in receiving international acclaim as one of the best hosting websites worldwide.

Phase 2: Expanding Markets and Increasing Traffic

After Phase 1, HostRocket was ready to accommodate additional growth through increased traffic and signups. To achieve this, Ceonex suggested targeting niche markets and services by building smaller sites directed toward specific audiences.

Why build subsites? By building subsites, HostRocket would not need to water down their high-tech brand and service offerings. While it is tempting to be "everything for everyone" a strong and focused brand is much more effective for attracting attention, gaining trust and converting customers.

Sub-brands, however, can help a company reach out to a variety of audiences without sacrificing their main brand. While HostRocket's image may not optimally connect emotionally to, for example, artists, a subsite could provide the branding, imagery and copy to attract members of the artist community.

Some of the targeted markets and audiences that Ceonex built for HostRocket included:

• Dedicated servers for businesses
• Host rating and portal site
• Hosting for start-up businesses
• Hosting for artists
• Hosting for gamers
• Hosting for pre-teen and teen girls
• Hosting for pre-teen and teen boys

Phase 3: Advances in Technology and Marketing

By 2003, advances within HostRocket's company structure and in the web in general justified an update to HostRocket's branding and site structure. The new site refined their high-tech brand to keep them on the cutting edge, and provided significant technological upgrades, including:

• "Stretchable" design – In 2001, the majority of web-surfers were using 800x600 resolution monitors. By 2003, a significant portion were still on 800x600, yet the number of users who had larger resolutions had grown significantly. To accommodate the inevitable shift in resolution, Ceonex created a "stretchable" design that was not merely optimized for the lowest common denominator - but for all resolutions.
• Modular interface – As HostRocket matured on a marketing level, they found they had a new need for a highly modular site that would allow them to easily create new promotions and services. One major marketing push they were ready to use was "rollover bandwidth," which allowed clients to add unused resources from one month to the next month's allocation. The new site enhanced their ability to showcase this offering, which was highly popular and pushed HostRocket to a new plateau in signups.
• Improved coding standards – After a few years, the usage of many older browsers had decreased to a point where updated coding standards could be used. In addition to increasing the dynamic and interactive possibilities on the site and decreasing download times, the new standards improved HostRocket's search engine visibility.

Ultimately the third phase allowed Ceonex to help HostRocket to an entirely new level appropriate to the impressive growth of the company.