Wistee

What Wistee does

Wistee is a French micro-operator (WISTEE SAS, share capital €4,500; 1–10 employees) founded in 2005 and headquartered in Persan, Val-d'Oise, that provides shared web hosting, domain name registration, and SSL certificate resale to French-speaking individuals and small businesses globally. Its core technical stack is conventional: Hewlett Packard servers and Cisco networking housed in a Tier-1 French datacenter certified ISO 27001:2005, running Apache/PHP/MySQL with 99% SLA-backed uptime and daily 30-day-retained backups. Domain registrations are intermediated through OVH as registrar, while SSL certificates are resold across five Certificate Authorities (Thawte, GeoTrust, GlobalSign, Symantec/DigiCert, AlphaSSL) covering DV/OV/EV, Wildcard, and Multi-Domain SAN variants.

The business model is direct-to-consumer subscription recurring revenue, with pricing anchored at €9.99/month for unlimited hosting, €29.90/year for CMS-pre-installed site packs (PrestaShop, Joomla, WordPress, phpBB), and €79–€1,599/year for SSL certificates; a free 30-day SSL trial and a refer-three-pay-one-month-free program support customer acquisition. Wistee monetizes primarily through the e-commerce storefront at wistee.fr, complemented by non-surcharged phone support and a single-contact (interlocuteur unique) service model. Its go-to-market is horizontal and long-tail: a portfolio of named SME customers is absent, and revenue depends on the aggregated small-ticket subscriptions of individuals and SMBs across more than 50 countries.

The company holds regulated standing via AFNIC and RIPE NCC memberships, CNIL declaration No. 1039789, and an INPI-registered trademark (No. 3402531), and its differentiation rests on French-language support, free SSL installation across 9+ server platforms, and a price-match/satisfaction guarantee on SSL — rather than on proprietary technology, AI capabilities, or scale economics.

Name

Wistee

Legal name

WISTEE SAS

Website

https://wistee.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Wistee is a French micro-operator founded in 2005, offering shared web hosting, domain name registration, and SSL certificate resale from five major Certificate Authorities to French-speaking individuals and SMBs worldwide via direct-to-consumer subscription plans.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Persan

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Shared Web Hosting: Monthly or annual subscription plans for shared web hosting, with storage tiers ranging from 200MB to 4GB, plus an unlimited plan. Revenue is recurring subscription-based with monthly or annual billing cycles.
2. Domain Name Registration: Domain name registration and renewal services across gTLDs (.com, .net, .org, .biz, .info) and ccTLDs (.fr, .be, .eu). Resold through OVH as registrar intermediary. Revenue is per-registration annual fees.
3. SSL Certificate Sales: Resale of SSL certificates from major Certificate Authorities (Thawte, GeoTrust, GlobalSign, Symantec/DigiCert, AlphaSSL) including DV, OV, and EV certificates, Wildcard, and Multi-Domain SAN certificates. Revenue is per-certificate annual fees with optional monthly payment plans.
4. CMS Pre-installed Site Packages: Turnkey website packages bundling hosting with pre-installed CMS platforms (PrestaShop, Joomla!, WordPress, phpBB), sold as annual subscriptions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Wistee is a French web hosting provider selling shared web hosting (tiered storage plans from 200MB to unlimited), domain name registration (gTLDs and ccTLDs), and SSL certificates (DV, OV, EV, Wildcard, and Multi-Domain SAN variants) resold from five major Certificate Authorities. The company also offers turnkey CMS-pre-installed site packages (PrestaShop, Joomla!, WordPress, phpBB) bundling hosting with the content platform of choice for non-technical users.

Product overview

Wistee is a French web hosting company founded in 2005 offering a comprehensive portfolio of internet infrastructure services. The core offerings include shared web hosting (Hébergement Mutualisé) with storage plans from 200MB to 4GB, unlimited hosting plans, domain name registration supporting gTLDs, .fr, .be, and .eu extensions, and SSL certificates. The company specializes in SSL certificate resale, distributing products from major Certificate Authorities including Thawte, GeoTrust, GlobalSign, and DigiCert/Symantec across multiple validation levels (DV, OV, EV) and types (single domain, wildcard, multi-domain SAN). Pre-installed CMS hosting packs are available for PrestaShop, Joomla, WordPress, and phpBB. The infrastructure is built on Hewlett Packard servers in a French datacenter with Cisco networking equipment, featuring 24/7 NOC monitoring and daily backups.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Shared Web Hosting (Hébergement Mutualisé) Shared web hosting service with storage plans ranging from 200MB to 4GB, supporting PHP, MySQL databases, FTP access, and CMS pre-installation, targeted at SMBs, freelancers, and individuals seeking affordable website hosting.
• Unlimited Hosting (Hébergement Illimité) Unlimited disk space and monthly bandwidth shared hosting plan priced at €9.99 HT/month, including one free domain name, 7-days-a-week support, and a dedicated single-advisor contact (interlocuteur unique) for non-technical users.
• Domain Name Registration (Nom de Domaine) Domain name registration and renewal service supporting gTLDs (.com, .net, .org, .biz, .info), European (.eu), Belgian (.be), and French (.fr, .re) extensions via AFNIC membership, with OVH acting as the registrar intermediary.
• PrestaShop Pre-installed Hosting Pack (Site E-commerce) Turnkey hosting package bundling Wistee hosting with PrestaShop (e-commerce CMS) pre-installed, enabling SMBs and individuals to launch online stores without technical setup. Priced at €29.90 HT/year.
• Joomla! Pre-installed Hosting Pack (Site Internet) Turnkey hosting package bundling Wistee hosting with Joomla! (website CMS) pre-installed, for SMBs and individuals launching a standard website. Priced at €29.90 HT/year.
• WordPress Pre-installed Hosting Pack (Blog) Turnkey hosting package bundling Wistee hosting with WordPress (blog CMS) pre-installed, for individuals and SMBs launching a blog. Priced at €29.90 HT/year.
• phpBB Pre-installed Hosting Pack (Forum de discussion) Turnkey hosting package bundling Wistee hosting with phpBB (discussion forum software) pre-installed, for users launching an online community forum. Priced at €29.90 HT/year.
• SSL 123 (Thawte) Entry-level Domain Validation (DV) SSL certificate from Thawte providing basic HTTPS security for a single domain, priced at €79 HT/year. Targeted at individuals and SMBs needing basic SSL encryption.
• Web Server SSL (Thawte) Organization Validation (OV) SSL certificate from Thawte issued in the company name for a single address, priced at €129 HT/year. Targets SMBs requiring verified organizational identity.
• Web Server EV SSL (Thawte) Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificate from Thawte with a green browser address bar displaying the company name, priced at €219 HT/year. Targets e-commerce operators seeking maximum customer trust.
• Web Server Wildcard SSL (Thawte) Organization Validation Wildcard SSL from Thawte securing unlimited subdomains under a single domain, priced at €399 HT/year. For businesses running multiple subdomains on one certificate.
• Quick SSL Premium (GeoTrust) Domain Validation (DV) SSL certificate from GeoTrust providing basic HTTPS security for a single domain, priced at €99 HT/year. Positioned for SMBs needing affordable SSL.
• True BusinessID SSL (GeoTrust) Organization Validation (OV) SSL certificate from GeoTrust issued in the company name, priced at €139 HT/year. For SMBs and mid-market businesses requiring verified identity.
• True BusinessID EV SSL (GeoTrust) Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificate from GeoTrust featuring a green address bar and company name display, priced at €199 HT/year. For e-commerce operators maximizing customer trust.
• True BusinessID Wildcard SSL (GeoTrust) Organization Validation Wildcard SSL from GeoTrust securing unlimited subdomains under one certificate, priced at €389 HT/year.
• True BusinessID Multi Domain EV SSL (GeoTrust) Multi-domain Extended Validation SSL certificate from GeoTrust providing a green address bar across multiple domains, priced at €389 HT/year.
• Domain SSL (GlobalSign) Domain Validation SSL certificate from GlobalSign (Belgian CA) for a single domain, priced at €119 HT/year.
• Organization SSL (GlobalSign) Organization Validation SSL certificate from GlobalSign issued in the company name, priced at €169 HT/year.
• Extended SSL (GlobalSign) Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificate from GlobalSign featuring a green address bar, priced at €395 HT/year.
• Secure Site SSL (DigiCert/Symantec) Premium Organization Validation SSL certificate from Symantec/DigiCert, priced at €299 HT/year. Targets enterprise customers needing high financial guarantees.
• Secure Site EV SSL (DigiCert/Symantec) Extended Validation SSL certificate from Symantec/DigiCert with green address bar, priced at €849 HT/year. Premium enterprise-grade trust certificate.
• Secure Site Pro SSL (DigiCert/Symantec) Enhanced Organization Validation SSL from Symantec/DigiCert with vulnerability detection features, priced at €829 HT/year.
• AlphaSSL Wildcard Entry-level Wildcard SSL certificate from AlphaSSL (GlobalSign subsidiary) securing unlimited subdomains, priced at €119 HT/year. Targets budget-conscious customers needing subdomain coverage.
• Free 30-Day SSL Trial Certificate (Wistee Brand) Free 30-day SSL trial certificate allowing customers to test SSL implementation before purchasing, with 40-256 bit encryption, no credit card required, no automatic renewal, and optional free expert installation.

Quantifiable outcome

• SSL certificates reduce shopping cart abandonment and increase conversion rates for e-commerce sites
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• AFNIC (Agence Française pour le Noms de Domaine en Internet)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWistee® is a member of AFNIC, the governing body for .fr domain names in France. Membership enables Wistee to register and manage .fr domain names on behalf of its customers as part of its domain registration service offering.
• RIPE NCC (Réseaux IP Européens)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWistee® is a member of RIPE NCC, the Regional Internet Registry for Europe, Middle East, and parts of Central Asia. Membership provides Wistee with IP address allocations necessary for its hosting infrastructure operations.
• OVHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWistee has a partnership agreement with OVH (SAS, capital 500,000 EUR, Roubaix, France, RCS 424 761 419) whereby OVH acts as the Registrar intermediary for domain name registration. Wistee forwards customer domain registration requests to OVH, which transmits them to the appropriate Registry (e.g., DigiCert for .com/.net, EURid for .eu, DNS.be for .be).
• Symantec / DigiCertmajorTechnology or IntegrationWistee distributes SSL certificates issued by Symantec (now DigiCert), including Secure Site, Secure Site EV, Secure Site Pro, Secure Site Pro EV, and Secure Site Wildcard product lines. These premium OV and EV certificates target enterprise customers requiring high financial guarantees and advanced features such as malware scanning and Seal-in-Search.
• ThawtemajorTechnology or IntegrationWistee distributes Thawte SSL certificates (a subsidiary of Symantec/DigiCert), including SSL 123 (DV, best-seller), Web Server (OV), Web Server Wildcard (OV), Web Server EV, and Web Server EV SAN. Thawte products are positioned at competitive price points targeting SMBs.
• GeoTrustmajorTechnology or IntegrationWistee distributes GeoTrust SSL certificates (a subsidiary of Symantec/DigiCert), including Quick SSL Premium (DV), True BusinessID (OV), True BusinessID EV, True BusinessID Wildcard, and True BusinessID Multi Domain EV. GeoTrust is positioned as a mid-market CA between budget and premium tiers.
• GlobalSignmajorTechnology or IntegrationWistee distributes GlobalSign SSL certificates (Belgian Certificate Authority), including Domain SSL (DV), Domain SSL SAN, Domain SSL Wildcard, Organization SSL (OV), Organization SSL Wildcard (OV), Extended SSL (EV), and Extended SSL SAN (EV Multi-Domain). GlobalSign is preferred by customers valuing its modern security seal for web marketing.
• Hewlett PackardcoreTechnology or IntegrationWistee's servers are designed and manufactured by Hewlett Packard, the global server market leader. Wistee sources enterprise-grade HP server hardware for its shared and dedicated hosting infrastructure.
• Cisco SystemscoreTechnology or IntegrationAll routers and switches in Wistee's network infrastructure are Cisco Systems® branded. Servers are connected via 100 Mbps or 1 Gbps Ethernet, with each rack containing 2 Cisco switches linked to a Cisco 6513 router. Cisco hardware underpins the company's network reliability and quality claims.
• French Datacenter (Tier-1 facility)coreTechnology or IntegrationWistee's servers are housed in one of France's top-tier datacenters, featuring ISO 27001:2005 certified security (access control with badges, retinal scanners, security guards), redundant power systems (UPS + diesel generators), and 24/7 video surveillance.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Gandi: French domain registrar and hosting provider known for its domain registration business and SSL resale, with a focus on transparency and customer-friendly policies. Directly overlaps with Wistee's domain, hosting, and SSL offerings for French SMBs.
• Hostinger: Global low-cost web hosting provider with aggressive pricing on shared hosting, domains, and SSL. Competes with Wistee on price in the entry-level hosting tier, especially for price-sensitive French-speaking customers.
• Infomaniak: Swiss hosting provider offering shared hosting, domain registration, SSL certificates, and cloud services with a strong French-speaking customer focus. Directly competes with Wistee for French-speaking SMBs in France, Switzerland, and Belgium.
• PlanetHoster: Canadian hosting provider with a strong French-language offering, competing with Wistee in France, Quebec, and francophone Africa for shared hosting, domain, and SSL services.
• OVHcloud: OVHcloud is the dominant French and European web hosting and cloud provider, offering shared hosting, domains, SSL, VPS, and dedicated servers. It is Wistee's most direct competitor in France and also acts as Wistee's domain registrar intermediary, making it both a partner and a competitor.
• Magic Online: French web hosting and domain registrar with a long operational history similar to Wistee, competing for the same French SMB and individual customer base with shared hosting, domains, and SSL offerings.
• LWS (Lien Web Services): French budget web hosting and domain registrar offering shared hosting, VPS, and SSL certificates. Directly competes with Wistee in the French SMB and individual hosting segment at the value end of the market.

Broad incumbents

• GoDaddy: Global incumbent in domain registration, web hosting, and SSL certificates, with localized French-language storefronts. Competes with Wistee on domain registration, SSL resale, and shared hosting for SMBs in France and the francophone world.
• SiteGround: Well-established premium shared hosting and managed WordPress provider with European roots and a French-language offering. Competes with Wistee for SMB and WordPress-focused customers willing to pay more for managed services and better support.
• IONOS: One of Europe's largest hosting providers (formerly 1&1 Internet), offering shared hosting, domains, SSL, cloud servers, and website builders. A much larger, publicly-traded incumbent competing for the same SMB and individual customer base as Wistee, particularly in France and other European markets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wistee