This has a very straightforward and straight-to-the-point proposition: Forms for your website for $15/year. No pricing page, just a single, simple offer. I much prefer this [with priced addons when you have them] than the usual multi-offer pages where much time [I assume] is spent trying to make a decision on which one is the right offer.
Also, it might be helpful to have a video showing how to set it up as the source code screenshot seems overly targeted to developers.
Finally, your page still says 2017... It may make sense to use a script like this instead:
It appears that you already have some tech skills [in C/C++]. This is more than a lot of people can say. What you should consider doing is finding some meaningful work around that area of skill to get yourself back on track.
Here are a few questions you could ask yourself to get at an answer:
- Are there any challenges that C/C++ developers have that I can solve with a product I can create within a short period of time?
- Are there any problems that I see around me, problems experienced by others that I can resolve with a C/C++ powered solution?
- Are there any technologies similar to C/C++ that I can learn to help me build something that someone may find useful and pay for, or make a transition to another job opportunity that is not specifically C/C++?
- Can I teach or tutor someone [or a small group] C/C++ and earn something to keep me going?
Maybe the next phase for you isn't a new job. I would encourage you to ask yourself questions about how you can use what you know [and are good at] to impact someone else positively and eventually earn a living doing so.
I've read quite a few good suggestions in this post and I would urge you to stay on-board. Storms don't last that long, but you will be changed for the better if you can make it through them.
Thanks so much for your detailed response. And thanks for your contribution to the space with VirtualMin.
It appears it would be unwise to just build a direct competitor to CPanel, Plesk, etc. Not only would that be short-sighted (given the competitiveness you've highlighted), it would be unnecessary (because control panels don't appear to be required tooling for the people buying cloud infrastructure).
According to Gartner, Cloud IaaS revenue was $90B in 2021, but the combined revenues of CPanel and Plesk in the same year couldn't break $100M (according to data from Datanyze and ZoomInfo). This is a clear signal that those who are buying cloud infrastructure from Amazon, Microsoft, et al. don't have an essential need for these tools. And even at the smaller providers like DigitalOcean, Linode, etc. you'd have to be unreasonable to pay $20 per month for a license to manage a $5 per month droplet; the panel won't even install on a $10 droplet.
It's kind of funny, because the things that can be done on that single droplet/server are incredible. What can't you build? Unfortunately, control panels as they are setup (and have been setup for ages) can't cater to aspirations. People need user-friendly tools they can use to build things on servers; by themselves and/or with others.
You're right about the innovator's dilemma though. Your customers aren't going to tell you what could be, only how 'what currently is' could be a little different. It's going to take some kind of leap, but the companies seemingly thriving in this space may have become too comfortable collecting license fees to make it. Maybe they've seen it (or something like it), but the refactoring cost and mental paradigm shift constitutes too much inertia to overcome their comfort zone without a looming existential calamity staring at them in the face.
'Going to take a crack at it. I have a few ideas I think could work, but I'll never know unless I test them out. There'll be a server management aspect to it, but that's not going to be the main. And I don't think 10 months is too optimistic for an MVP. Again, it's not going to be a CPanel clone; not that many folks really need that.
Is it ok to check in with you later in the process and perhaps bounce a few ideas off?
Thanks for the feedback. 'Had this same problem [not with Hostinger]. It stopped when I started registering domains with privacy. Looks like spammers pull the email address from WHOIS.
Also, it might be helpful to have a video showing how to set it up as the source code screenshot seems overly targeted to developers.
Finally, your page still says 2017... It may make sense to use a script like this instead:
<p>Copyright © 2017 — <script type="text/javascript">var dt = new Date(); var d = dt.getFullYear(); document.write(d);</script> Nivel Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.</p>
This way, you don't have to keep manually updating your web pages once a year.