January 13, 2016 by Sean Freitas
It’s absolutely impossible to have a website online without it. Web Hosting is a dedicated online storage for your website, which allows visitors to access it, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Think of web hosting as a computer, that’s connected to a very fast internet connection and is always turned on so people can access it whenever they want. That’s pretty much what web hosting is, a secure storage for your website’s files. Sure, you could host your website on your own computer at home, but you’ll need to set the software up, keep your computer turned on all the time and deal with potential hackers, spammers and web attacks on a daily basis.
There are many web hosts available online, despite them all offering the same, or similar services – with web hosting, you definitely get what you pay for. The cheaper hosts may provide you with cheap hosting, but when you experience an issue, you’re usually alone.
When deciding where to host your website, have a ponder at the below:
Where is the web hosting company based?
If your web host is based on the other side of the world, your web hosting may be slower because of the distance and support may lack due to the difference in times.
Where is the server that will be hosting my website based?
Typically, if the website is based overseas, it will be slower than a locally hosted website. It’s in your best interests to provide your customers with the fastest possible website.
It’s always best practice to use web hosting in the region you’re targetting. If you’re a business that focuses purely on clients in a specific city, it would make sense to have your website hosted by a company based there.
Is my website backed up automatically?
Backups are very important. In many cases, a website is the only marketing tool for a business and a large proportion of clients are converted through the website. If your website is hacked and you do not have a backup, it can have harmful effects on your business and livelihood. Finding a web hosting who automatically backs up your website is pivotal.
If my website goes down, who do I call?
Web hosts should have a dedicated support team to assist any time. If not, don’t take the risk.
Do you charge me extra to restore a backup?
Some web hosts will back up your website, however charge a hefty fee to restore it for you. Always check this.
Unlimited Space
How much web space do you really need for your website? You may get sucked into the deal by the unlimited space feature, but most websites only need around 20mb. Yes, it can depend on what your website is about and what content you have on your website, however the “unlimited space” gimmick is held back with tough terms and conditions, you may unknowingly breach them and lose your complete website.
Unlimited E-mails
How many e-mails do you really need? Typical websites only need one or two e-mail accounts. Though, you have the ability for unlimited e-mails, you’ll rarely use them. Cloud E-mail such as Google Apps is definitely worth looking into for stability and security of your e-mails for the long term.
Ideally, you are the shot caller in your business, if you’re serious about making your business work, a small investment (~$20/month) is all you need to ensure your website is hosted by a fast, secure web host with great support and backed up regularly.
At Mr Digital, we provide web hosting to our clients in Sydney, we also provide ongoing maintenance and backups are included, 3 times per week. Give us a call for assistance with your web hosting, if you’re not happy with your current provider, we can transfer you over for no charge.
Need something done? Speak to our team and we'll get back to you within the hour.
Call our team of web design specialists on (02) 8999 3311.