After co-founding and selling popular brands such as WebFusion and 123-reg, Jonathan Brealey and Tim Beresford launched Heart Internet in 2004. Brealey shares some of the Web hosting mojo that makes Heart Internet an influential industry leader.

TH: I rather liked the Suzi Perry promotion to simplify Web hosting technology. What has been the response so far? How might Suzi tackle Ruby on Rails or Cloud Hosting?

Thank you. The response to the new site design has been fantastic and we have had a lot of really positive feedback left on our blog and through Twitter. When it comes to Ruby on Rails and cloud hosting the approach should be exactly the same as if you wanted to explain shared hosting or domain names and focus on what the benefits of that technology are rather than a technical breakdown of the various components. It’s like buying a car, there will always be a group who want to know the exact inner workings of the engine and suspension, but there is also that much larger group who want to know how quickly it will do 0-60 and does it come with air conditioning?

TH: You've seen the Web hosting and Internet services industry evolve over the years as one of the pioneers and continue to succeed where many have failed. What do you deem as absolutely necessary traits/practices to make a lasting impact in the hosting business?

Be ambitious but don’t expect to be competing with the large web hosts from day one. A considered and steady attitude towards expenditure and growth can make the difference between shining brightly for half a year but having to close down and developing a loyal customer base within your financial means. I have literally lost count of the number of web hosting companies that have exploded on to the scene out spending the large hosts only to cease trading that same year.

When it comes to product, pricing and service, competing on price alone is always a dangerous strategy because it is so easy for another company to undercut you or offer more for less. The best web hosts understand a happy customer is a loyal customer and attempt to offer outstanding service and reliable products.

TH: Drawing from your illustrious past, has there been anything you regard as innovative recently in the Reseller, Dedicated Hosting or Control Panel segments in light of your very early involvement in these areas?

For resellers, the biggest developments are currently around the areas of automation. Using ourselves as an example, our HostPay software allows our resellers to set up their own client’s domain names and websites in real time without any manual intervention. They can perform exactly the same tasks as any other web host, including ourselves. Bearing in mind when I first started in the industry in 1997 we had to manually set up every account no matter how big or small, this is a big step forward. Cloud hosting is getting a lot of attention at the moment amongst the IT press and web hosts but that is more of an innovation in packaging a web hosting product rather than the product itself.

TH: How many customers are taking advantage of your company's free hosting offer? What gains or competitive advantages are accomplished by giving away your service for no charge?