We’ve waited as long as possible to make these changes in the hope we won’t have to make any more for a long time. In addition to increased supplier costs we’ve also provided staff with 2 cost-of-living increases to match inflation - 14% in total - since March 2022. But we’re not just increasing prices, we’ve been hard at work improving the service too. I’ll outline all the changes and improvements below and hope that you’ll agree we still offer exceptional value for money. 

The revised prices listed below have already been live for new clients since July 1st but won’t affect you until your next renewal on or after October 1st 2023. 

We’re upgrading you to Katapult

As we move to our new datacentre, Netwise East, we’re taking the opportunity to deprecate all our old hardware and move services on to Katapult, our in-house cloud platform. Available in 4 locations around the world and with its own dedicated team of full-time UK developers, Katapult has been hosting most new clients since late 2019. If your site currently runs on a standalone server it will be converted to a more performant, more resilient virtual server running on top of Katapult over the next few months. Being in control of our own cloud gives us the ability to provide Krystal clients with an unrivalled experience. No other hosting company I know of owns anything like Katapult.

We’ve ordered over £1 million worth of new hardware for Katapult

Katapult uses cutting-edge AMD CPUs, ultra-fast NVMe disks and we’ve doubled memory (RAM) on all hosting plans. All these upgrades help your websites perform better than ever.

Katapult’s storage technology, Storpool, keeps 3 copies of your data spread across hundreds of NVMe disks. This offers superb performance and reliability compared to current industry norms. This quality costs, and we are charged per GB of data stored. It also costs energy to store data, and while ours is 100% renewably sourced it’s always better to consume less. With this in mind we’re making some changes to our hosting plans to maintain the phenomenal performance of Katapult and our backup systems while being as environmentally considerate as possible.

Maximising Performance

• We’re introducing site and storage limits on the Ruby plan. 99.6% of existing users fit within these storage limits and if you don’t we’ll be in touch to help. While you won’t be able to create new sites over the limit any current sites will be honoured whilever in place.

• Resource Boost is now only available on Business plans, which run on separate servers with more resources and fewer accounts.

• We’re introducing generous limits on email accounts to discourage the environmentally damaging practice of storing email forever. 99.1% of existing mailboxes fit within these limits. If you are over the limit then we’ll be in touch and you’ll be given reasonable time to reduce usage. Email will work as normal.

• We’ve made a number of changes to our Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) to tackle undesirable storage usage and clarify how our hosting can be resold.

Plan & Pricing Changes

Notes

1. We’ve brought back the Emerald plan (after a 15-year hiatus) as a starter Business plan, to bridge the gap between Ruby and Sapphire.

2. As the existing platform is being deprecated, Amethyst-GF1, Amethyst-GF2 & Topaz plans will be upgraded to their nearest equivalent on renewal.

3. We’ve replaced the 3-year billing term with a new 2-year billing option but kept the same 6-month discount. Biennial billing therefore offers 25% off. If you’re currently on a 3-year term, we’ll convert you to a 2-year term on your next renewal unless you tell us otherwise.

4. We’ve moved all hosting prices to whole pounds! I’ve wanted to do this for years as I think it’s cleaner, simpler and more transparent. Domains will follow later in the year.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if I’m on Katapult already? 
Just login to your Client Area and look for the Katapult icon next to your hosting service!

When will I be upgraded to Katapult?
Migrations will start in September 2023 and conclude in April 2024. You’ll receive an email ahead of the upgrade. You can check the migration schedule here (we schedule work up to 3 months ahead).

Will the upgrade affect my site?
We’ll take care of moving your plan to the new platform and anticipate minimal disruption. If there are any concerns about your existing plan, we’ll be in touch with you to discuss your options.

How can I keep up to date during the upgrade?
You can keep track during by following our status page at https://krystalstatus.uk/ (I’d recommend subscribing/bookmarking this resource).

When will the new resources and prices come into effect for me?
Your plan and pricing will update on your next renewal on or after October 1st 2023. For example, if your hosting plan renews January 17th 2024 you won’t pay the new prices until then.

Can I upgrade early to enjoy the extra RAM?
Yes you can! Just head to your Client Area - Services page, click “Manage Product” and then the “Change Plan” button.

What if I have other questions?
Just reply to this email or raise a ticket through your Client Area and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.