Managed website hosting · Australia
Most hosts stop at the server. We don’t.
BLACKBX is an Australian managed hosting provider with developers built in. We run your server on Google Cloud, AWS or Australian VPS servers from Synergy Wholesale, look after the website on it, and record every change in a logbook you own.
One fixed monthly price for the hosting and the developers. Migration included.
Sample, redacted. The server and the site in one record, dated and in order. Yours to read any time.
Hosting, and the website on it
A host keeps the server running. The website is someone else’s job.
Hosting support usually covers the platform: the server, the network, the control panel. The website on it (the CMS, the plugins, the code, the fixes) is left to you or your developer. BLACKBX does both.
Your host
The server’s fine. It must be the site. Ask your developer.
The gap
A plugin update breaks the checkout at 6pm, and you’re the one passing messages between them.
Your developer
The site’s fine. It must be the server. Ask your host.
With us, the server and the site are one job. Ours.
Where it runs
Three platforms. One team running all of them.
A developer recommends one on the call, based on your site, its traffic and who should own the hosting account. Whichever it is, we run the server and look after the site.
Synergy Wholesale VPS
- Australian VPS servers we run ourselves
- Australian data centres
- Hosting and maintenance on one monthly price
Google Cloud
- On our account, or in your own
- In yours, you own the account and pay Google directly
- We run the server either way
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- On our account, or in your own
- In yours, you own the account and pay Amazon directly
- We run the server either way
What’s included
Hosting and maintenance, from one team.
The server, the site and the record of both. One party responsible for all of it.
We run the server
- Server patching
- Every server package checked daily against published security advisories
- Backups, every run recorded
- Uptime checked every minute
- Migration included
Our developers look after the site
- Core, plugin, module and extension updates
- Security patches when a vulnerability is published
- Fixes when something breaks
- New features and landing pages
- Content uploads
We watch it and write it down
- Known vulnerabilities (CVEs) in the site and the server, scanned daily
- SSL, domain and end-of-life dates
- A logbook for your site, live and staging
- Support tickets
In your own Google Cloud or AWS account, what we run (backups included) is set out in your quote.
The message you get at 7:04pm on a Friday
demo.com.au down since 19:04. It’s on our side — database host. J.M. is on it. Next update by 19:30 or when it’s back, whichever is first. Entry #0212.
Example. A real notice names the engineer who is on it.
99.9% uptime is eight hours and forty-six minutes a year. Nobody tells you which eight hours.
What runs on it
If it runs on a Linux server, we can host it.
Content management systems, custom applications and headless sites, already built. New builds and rebuilds are done by UnDigital (opens in a new tab), the build team behind BLACKBX, and launch straight into BLACKBX.
Content management systems
Applications and headless
Something else on Linux? Ask: a developer will tell you straight.
How it works
From first call to cut-over.
Pricing
One monthly price. No surprises at renewal.
Most popular
Full service
We’re responsible for all of it.
Quoted
A fixed monthly price, sized to your site and the platform it runs on. Our developers, on our hosting or in your own cloud account (its bill stays yours). Monthly, no minimum term.
Get your monthly price (opens in a new tab)Happy with your host?
Maintenance, from $840/month + GST. Our developers look after the site and your host keeps the server.
About MaintenanceAlready have a developer?
Monitor, $99/month + GST. We watch the site and tell your developer what needs doing.
About MonitorBig site, big roadmap?
We’ll put a team on it. Developers sized to your roadmap, on a fixed monthly price.
Talk to us about a team (opens in a new tab)The price you start on is the price you renew on.
Compared
A hosting company, and a service department.
| Shared hosting | A managed host | BLACKBX Full service | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Server and patching | Theirs | Theirs | Ours |
| CMS and plugin updates | You | Often automatic | A developer runs them |
| Fixes in the site | You or your developer | Usually not included | Included |
| New features and content | Not included | Not included | Included |
| When it goes down | A ticket queue | 24/7 support, for the platform | One number, a named engineer |
| A record of every change | None | Rarely | A logbook you own |
Comparing named hosts? BLACKBX compared with WP Engine, Kinsta and Pantheon
Who we are
Fifteen years of building websites. Now we look after them.
BLACKBX is the website service department from UnDigital (opens in a new tab): same company, same developers. Some clients send us one change a month. Others have a full team on their site every month. Our team works out of Sydney, the Sunshine Coast and Ho Chi Minh City.
Websites we’ve built and looked after across the UnDigital (opens in a new tab) group.
You’ll always deal with a person, never an unnamed inbox.
Questions
Before you ask.
Is BLACKBX a hosting provider?
Yes. BLACKBX is an Australian managed hosting provider with developers built in. We host websites on Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Australian VPS servers from Synergy Wholesale, run and patch the servers, and our developers look after the website itself: updates, security patches, fixes and changes. Every job goes in a logbook you own.
How is BLACKBX different from a hosting company?
A hosting company looks after the platform your site runs on. BLACKBX looks after the platform and the website on it: our developers run the CMS and plugin updates, fix what breaks and make changes, so there’s one party responsible when something goes wrong. See BLACKBX compared with WP Engine, Kinsta and Pantheon.
Which platform will my site run on?
With BLACKBX, a developer recommends one on the call, based on your site, its traffic and who should own the hosting account. Most sites run on our Australian VPS servers from Synergy Wholesale or on Google Cloud or AWS, and we run the server whichever it is.
Can BLACKBX host our site in our own AWS or Google Cloud account?
Yes. You own the account and pay Amazon or Google directly, and BLACKBX runs the server and looks after the website. What we run in your account, backups included, is set out in your quote.
Do you sell hosting on its own?
No. BLACKBX hosting always comes with our developers looking after the website; that’s what it’s for. If all you need is a server, a hosting company will be cheaper.
Which websites does BLACKBX host?
Anything that runs on a Linux server. That includes WordPress, Drupal, Magento and Silverstripe sites, and custom applications and headless sites built with Next.js, Node.js or Laravel, as well as Statamic and Craft CMS sites, and their PostgreSQL or MongoDB databases. BLACKBX hosts and looks after what’s already built. New builds and rebuilds are done by UnDigital (opens in a new tab), the build team behind BLACKBX, and launch straight into BLACKBX.
How much does managed hosting cost with BLACKBX?
Full service is a fixed monthly price, quoted for your site after a 20-minute call. It covers the hosting, the server and our developers looking after the site. If it runs in your own Google Cloud or AWS account, you also pay Google or Amazon for that account directly. If you’re happy with your host, Maintenance starts at $840 a month + GST. Every plan is monthly with no minimum term.
Is the migration really included?
Yes. BLACKBX moves your site for you, with fifteen years of migrations behind us. Staged, tested, cut over, logged. If we break it moving it, we fix it, and that goes in the logbook too.
Is there a minimum term?
No. BLACKBX plans are monthly, with no minimum term. The price you start on is the price you renew on.
Talk to us
Tell us about your website and where it’s hosted.
A developer will get back to you, not a salesperson.
Tell us what it runs on, where it’s hosted now and what’s been going wrong, or just that you’re tired of being the go-between. We’ll reply with a time to talk.
What happens next