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CONCERN: Matterport vs. WP3D embed code4361

Regina, Saskatchewan Canada
Queen_City_3D private msg quote post Address this user
I have run into an unexpected and costly issue and I'm wondering how I can best address it...

I've been offering clients the embed code provided by WP3D models as I prefer its look and the fact that I can brighten up the "hero" image.

For example, here's the screenshot from Matterport:




and here's the one from WP3D:




I happen to like the WP3D look much better.

The unexpected and costly issue is in terms of webhosting and a high number of model views.

I signed up for WP Engine hosting for $29/month which allows 25,000 visits/month.

Truth be told, I would be surprised if I even had 10 people physically type in our website URL to view our page.... but our client's websites are a different story. We have about 15 models which are well marketed by the clients who have them embedded on their page and which have each received anywhere from 10K-20K views last month.

I guess it's because I gave them the WP3D embed code rather than the Matterport one, but it seems that all that site activity now runs through our site rather than Matterport.

That's likely good for SEO, but I got a bill for having approx 131,000 more views that my site "allows" for.




So it's not that people are going to our website, but rather that they are seeing the models on other websites but the embed codes are coming from our site.... does that make sense?

The most highly viewed model is only at 28K impressions for its lifetime. What would happen if 1 model went viral and wracked up 1 million views? The hosting bill would be astronomical!

I don't like being charged based on how successful a model will be in terms of number of views.

I suppose one option is to give the Matterport embed code and then none of the traffic would then go through our page. We wouldn't get the SEO, but we also wouldn't get the obscene hosting bills.

The other option is to increase the hosting plan to allow for more "visits", but those costs add up too... from $99/month to $249/month and upwards.

Has anyone else run into anything like this? If so, how did you deal with it?
Post 1 IP   flag post
Orange, California
craigsauer private msg quote post Address this user
It looks like my web host doesn't have a limit like this. So maybe you should contact your web host for an exception to their policy or switch to a new host that doesn't have this policy?
Post 2 IP   flag post
WGAN Forum
Founder &
WGAN-TV Podcast
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Atlanta, Georgia
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user
@Queen_City_3D

Not the answer you asked for, but ...

In addition to amazing SEO for your website, how else might you leverage this traffic?

1. Add 'created by .....'
2. Promote to your existing and potential clients
3. Video testimonial from your client?

Other?

Best,

Dan
Post 3 IP   flag post
grmngrl private msg quote post Address this user
@Queen_City_3D I don't understand why you get charged at all. I don't think the embed takes away the hosting from MP. I would change my website hosting provider if they are charging you.
Post 4 IP   flag post
Regina, Saskatchewan Canada
Queen_City_3D private msg quote post Address this user
@craigsauer What webhosting provider do you use?

@DanSmigrod The issue is really that it's their traffic, not mine. The visits are to their sites because they are doing a good job marketing the models, but my web host is billing me as if I'm getting the traffic.

@grmngrl I agree with you... I admit that I am not the most technologically advanced person out there, but in my mind the hosting is still with Matterport and my site is really only being used as a re-direct to get the SEO boost... it's not like the web host actually has the 3D models downloaded to their servers using up all sorts of bandwidth... or am I wrong in this assumption?
Post 5 IP   flag post
grmngrl private msg quote post Address this user
@Queen_City_3D i don't think you are
Post 6 IP   flag post
Founder
Nail Soup Media
Sarasota, Florida
GlennTremain private msg quote post Address this user
Hi Justus

Out of all the sites we have done with wp3dmodels, most with more models than you have, no one has this issue with wpengine.

I reached out to you today and said I would let you know by Thursday but I will move this up to tomorrow.

First I will reach out to wpengine then look at your logs. Your site has things to it that I emailed you about before that now because of this I will analyze deeper.

I bet I will find it's something other than wp3dmodels because there are people using it more than you are.

Stay tuned
Post 7 IP   flag post
Missoula, MT
rpetersn private msg quote post Address this user
Hi all...chiming in here.

@Queen_City_3D - I can certainly understand not being excited about a large overage bill. As others have noted (taking the 10,000 foot view here) this is a very good thing when you look at it from an SEO and backlink perspective. It sounds like your site (via your clients) is getting a lot of really valuable exposure.

As @GlennTremain notes, it will be important to get to the bottom of EXACTLY where this traffic is coming from...and what Models are being linked to. Armed with that info, you can make some decisions on the best way to proceed. Also...are you seeing similar numbers in the traffic stats provided by Matterport?

This is the first instance I've heard of with this volume of traffic in a single month and I'll look forward to hearing more about the details on where it is coming from.

It is also important to clarify that embedding Matterport content via WP3D Models does not add increased bandwidth to your hosting account. WPEngine offers "Unlimited Data Transfer" with all of their plans, but they do charge for "visits".

Here's information on how they calculate a "visit":

https://wpengine.com/support/count-visits/

Additionally, using WP3D Models allows one to add your own branding, content and analytics data to the Model, as well as use your own custom images (if you like) and serve it all off your own domain. When someone pulls up a WP3D Models generated URL (or embed) it definitely triggers a "visit" to your site. This is a good thing. Using WP3D doesn't just create a redirect, it adds content & value to the Model that is being shared and does so using our code and the resources of a/your web host.

Be sure to note that not every host charges for usage the same and there are lots of other alternatives for WordPress hosting that cost less. Just beware that you often "get what you pay for" when it comes to web hosting. It can be challenging to compare apples-to-apples.

Someone once asked me, "If your site goes down (due to massive traffic and/or poor hosting resources) and you lose a customer out of the deal, was that worth $100, $200, $500, $1000?" I realize this doesn't make spending extra money any easier...but it is worth considering. And it is about as much fun as shopping for insurance. For me, I had to face some hard decisions in the past with less-than-stellar web hosts, lost data, etc. and decided (5 years ago) to move everything I work on to WPEngine.

I've never looked back and happily pay a bit more to know that everything loads fast, is secure, and is backed up on a nightly basis. Additionally, they have a team of WordPress experts available to help 24/7.

Anyway...getting off my soapbox here, hope this helps some and I look forward to learning more about this particular situation and assisting if I can.

Ross Peterson
WP3D Models
Post 8 IP   flag post
Regina, Saskatchewan Canada
Queen_City_3D private msg quote post Address this user
@rpetersn Just to be clear... WP3D Models is awesome.

I talked to @GlennTremain and the stats are accurate. In the past 30 days I have had 110,400 impressions of my Matterport models. That number is mainly spread out over 12 models which have had between 2,000 to 20,000 views over the last month.

I think what's clear is that I have to find a web host that does not charge for amount of visits as that's too unpredictable for me. After all, if those 12 models were out of the equation I'd be lucky to have 5,000 impressions combined over 100+ other models.
Post 9 IP   flag post
Missoula, MT
rpetersn private msg quote post Address this user
Thanks @Queen_City_3D - I hope I didn't give you the wrong impression. I was trying to address your concern as well as also explain a bit about how WP3D works/etc.

I can certainly understand not wanting to be stressed about whether or not you'll randomly be on the hook for overages on just a couple/few highly trafficked Models.

If you don't mind, please keep us/me in the loop on what changes you decide to implement here and where you land re: hosting.
Post 10 IP   flag post
Missoula, MT
rpetersn private msg quote post Address this user
A bit more here re: WordPress Hosting. I recently found this list of "vetted" hosting options from Yoast.

https://yoast.com/wordpress-hosting/

Yoast is a VERY well respected member of the WordPress community and is the author of a Yoast SEO, an invaluable plugin (required by WP3D Models) for almost anyone running a WordPress-based website.


@Queen_City_3D - Perhaps this list helps identify a few other hosting options you might consider?
Post 11 IP   flag post
Regina, Saskatchewan Canada
Queen_City_3D private msg quote post Address this user
Thanks @rpetersn


@GlennTremain had also recommended https://www.siteground.com/wordpress-hosting.htm which is one of the ones on that list.

I've got to decide pretty quick where to go.

I just don't think WP Engine is the right fit when they have such a low threshold for visits before they start charging. After all, the goal is to have hundreds of clients who all have 3D models embedded on their sites and if each of them gets a few hundred or thousand hits per month then 25,000 visits will not cut it.
Post 12 IP   flag post
Frisco, Texas
Metroplex360 private msg quote post Address this user
Siteground.com looks very nice. The message is well communicated and I'm pretty interested in them as a company.

I'm a web hosting company btw. I'm sort of retired from it and taking a passive income now that my focus is on Metroplex360 and Matterport related things. I host over 150 websites, custom corporate e-mail, etc... it's all running smoothly and I have automated e-mail notifications if there's a problem and I swoop in to quickly fix it.

Anyway - point is --




Above is what's on one server. It's amazing how many sites you can host (majority Wordpress) when you have a server that is well optimized and each site is optimized too. I believe that many of these Wordpress Hosts have a hosting environment coupled with their own optimization plugin... which is clever. Just a bit ridiculous to me that I can host 150 sites (some of them high volume) for a bit more than what WP Engine charged @Queen_City_3D for one month of his site with WP3D Models on it.
Post 13 IP   flag post
Regina, Saskatchewan Canada
Queen_City_3D private msg quote post Address this user
I'm still having trouble wrapping my mind around this hosting issue using the WP3D embed codes.

Is it not the case that the data is still ultimately hosted by Matterport even when I use the WP3D plugin? After all, it's not like there's hundreds of GB of data that is on my site.

I'm very frustrated because I feel a hosting service should be more concerned about the data load rather than the number of visits.

What if there was a website that got a million visits a month and all that was there was a picture of a cat... and then you contrast that with a website that has extremely heavy resources to download that only gets 10,000 visits. Wouldn't the hosting company be more concerned with the resources required in the second scenario vs. the high visit count of the first?

I did talk to Site Ground today and they are certainly more affordable than WPEngine; however they only go up to 100,000 visits before you have to go in to Cloud Hosting, and it's been 2 months in a row where I've had 100,000+ impressions of all my Matterport models combined.

I don't think I'll regularly get this amount of traffic on a model, but it makes me worried. I wonder how much traffic that Power Rangers/Matterport Model received? I would hate to get a bill of thousands of dollars from a hosting service for good traffic to a 3D model.

Ugh. I really don't want to give up the use of the WP3D embed code and have to give the Matterport one instead, but if I can't come up with a good solution that might be my best option.
Post 14 IP   flag post
Founder
Nail Soup Media
Sarasota, Florida
GlennTremain private msg quote post Address this user
This has NOTHING to do with wp3dmodels.

You have a client that is sending 145000 real people to pages you have on your site. If you embedded the Matterport scan URL on the pages your client is directing traffic to you would still have the problem.

Im surprised smarter people than me that posted here didn't correct this sooner.

The fix is to make redirects to the Matterport URL (it doesn't have the wow factor the presentation wp3dmodels gives by far and I bet the client will not like it now that they are used to a fully enhanced wp3dmodels page) or to the clients site.

You are blaming wp3dmodels and wpengine for something that is insanely outside normal parameters of an MSP website experience.

It's like buying a Corvette and then posting how it doesn't accommodate a family of 5. NO one in this forum has 145000 real visitors a month and excluding this client you admitted don't either


Let's put this into perspective. The real issue is that you are getting overage bills because you are getting 8 times the normal traffic the average client of your size would.

The reason you use wp3dmodels is so you can give your client a great page layout.

If you created a page on your site and embedded the Matterport URL you would still be charged because your client is directing the 140k real visitors to it.

So to blame wp3dmodels (and for others that have posted here and that know better and not corrected the direction of this thread has me sad) is a severe disservice.

However this is a fruitful post because all of you don't have your business organized to protect yourself from this. In your terms you should have it cover possible overages.

The fix? Tell the client. Put pages on their site (they should buy a wp3dmodels license) and let them deal with the overages if they have any. But don't omit the situation because they need to know the traffic they are generating. If donenright they will see it as a positive because THEY have thebmarketingnpower to draw that kind of traffic. Your client raffles off houses and they do this regularly. It's their business model. Do you think before they used you they were not aware? I doubt it. The promotions they did before you they might not have got as much traffic but they did get more than the average that is for sure.

Sorry I have not been around. I have reached out to Justus to help (I do not work for Ross or get affiliate payments. I just support people with great stuff like his software)but he has decided to go here rather than get a solution figured out.

I reached out to wpengine for him and they are ready to help but there needs to be a solution in place.

So you can ask here where most have already stopped reading because they don't get it or you can reach out to someone that has 4278 clients on 16 servers and been doing this for 23 years that took the time to help at 5am.

https://youtu.be/9kBhm-brrzs
Post 15 IP   flag post
Regina, Saskatchewan Canada
Queen_City_3D private msg quote post Address this user
@GlennTremain I tried calling you and will try again soon. Just doing a lot of running around today.

To be clear... I am absolutely NOT blaming WP3D Models for anything.

I love WP3D Models. I recommend them to anyone and everyone in the Matterport business.

I think if you are using Matterport but aren't offering the WP3D model single-page websites to real estate clients, you're crazy! The 3D model on its own is nice, but it's better to have the 3D model along with property details, photos, videos, floorplans, etc. which you can create with WP3D models in a couple minutes of time.

NONE of my concerns have to do with the plug-in. It's absolutely the best way to tweak and customize the matterport models.

Please know that I'm not blaming WP3D for anything.

My frustration is that I like the WP3D look so much and I want to use it, but in doing so all model visits go through my page which can significantly affect hosting costs.

I know that my overage in visits counts for hosting would go away if I just give clients the Matterport embed code.

It's just that I don't want to do that. I want to keep using the WP3D embed code because I much prefer it.

All of my frustration has to do with the web hosts and how they bill.

I have a legitimate fear that I will be the victim of my own success when it comes to being charged by number of visits. What happens if you create a model that goes viral for some reason?

How can you anticipate that, and how can you bill for that? Imagine it's some poor Seller who has the most awful gawdy home decorating and people are sharing the model over and over to point out how ludicrous their personal tastes are. I simply don't want to get any surprise bills for if model is hosted through your page and you're getting charged for number of visits.

@GlennTremain You had mentioned in an email to me that you may have figured out a fix. I look forward to talking with you about it.

.... so in summary.... Yay WP3D models! Boo to web hosting services who bill based on # of visits. No one should be a victim of success.
Post 16 IP   flag post
Founder
Nail Soup Media
Sarasota, Florida
GlennTremain private msg quote post Address this user
Sorry I was grumpy this morning. Worked a lot this week and had not slept for 22 hours before answering.

Squarespace doesn't charge for visitors and/or bandwidth but wp3dmodels doesn't work on it. Forgot to add that in my rant.

I don't see any messages from you but I just left a message. Will email.
Post 17 IP   flag post
Viewing private msg quote post Address this user
A solution could be to have a searchable 3d hub to display all of our work as 3d pros and get clients to point people towards that instead? Still using wp3d for all of our own sites to personally showcase our work to new and existing clients. The 3d hub could allow followed backlinks for every client listing so the more they feature on this 3d hub, the better it helps their seo. And it helps us as 3d pros too by having a central place for the general public to explore and enjoy 3d content and start to create more demand for what we do as a community.
Post 18 IP   flag post
Viewing private msg quote post Address this user
That was meant in reply to this from @GlennTremain ...

"The fix? Tell the client. Put pages on their site (they should buy a wp3dmodels license) and let them deal with the overages if they have any."
Post 19 IP   flag post
Missoula, MT
rpetersn private msg quote post Address this user
Thanks for everyone's input & energy surrounding this topic....and thanks @Queen_City_3D for the kind words about WP3D Models.
Post 20 IP   flag post
WGAN Forum
Founder &
WGAN-TV Podcast
Host
Atlanta, Georgia
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user


As far as I know, @Queen_City_3D is the only WP3D Models client that has experienced an overage on Wordpress hosting.

We Get Around uses WP3D Models Wordpress Plugin hosted on WP Engine for the We Get Around gallery and single property websites - without any overage charge from WP Engine.

I continue to recommend WP3D Models as an essential tool for any Matterport Pro to succeed faster. Learn more here.

Plus, Standard and Premium Members of the We Get Around Network get the free use of WP3D Models.

Best,

Dan








Post 21 IP   flag post
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