When it comes to website hosting, not all hosts are created equal.
But what does ‘website hosting’ mean?
And what are your options?
That’s what we’ll look at now.
Let’s dive in.
What is website hosting?
Imagine you’re opening a new shop in your local shopping centre.
There are the good spots near the car park, where all the fancy shops and the best toilets are. Then there are the grubby spots in the dark back corner where nobody ever goes.
The space in the shopping centre you pick is like your website hosting – it’s where your website lives on the internet. And like the shopping centre, some spots are better than others.
In website hosting terms, good website hosting:
– Means your website loads quickly (read more about website speed here)
– Means your website doesn’t crash or ‘go down’ often
– Allows more people to find your website in search engines (SEO)
So it’s pretty important to nab a good spot.
What are your options for website hosting
As an agency that offers website hosting packages, it’d be easy for us to claim we’re your best and only option – but hosting your website with an agency isn’t right for everyone.
(Yep – we’re a website agency and we just admitted that).
Option 1 – Can I host my own website?
You can – if you’re extremely tech-savvy.
As well as the equipment, you need to know about stuff like:
– ISPs,
– IP addresses,
– Internet security,
– and … okay, you get it – it’s really specialist.
An adventurous route to take, yes, and one we wouldn’t recommend to just anyone.
Unless you have your heart set on doing it yourself, it’s so much easier and cost-effective to let a specialist do it.
Option 2 – Source a website hosting provider directly
You can search for a provider online and have them host your website directly.
But it’s not as simple as googling: “good cheap website hosting UK”.
(We know, it’s never bloody simple, is it?).
These are the different types of hosting you need to consider:
– Shared hosting
– Managed hosting
– VPS hosting
– Cloud hosting
– Dedicated hosting
– Colocation hosting
The difference between these types of hosting is a blog in itself. For now, all you need to know is the type of hosting you need depends on the size of your business and the size and goals of your website.
Unsure what type of hosting you need? It may be in your interest not to worry yourself with it. An agency will know the best type for you and will scale your hosting as and when you need it.
Option 3 – website hosting with a web agency
The last option is to let an agency host your website. They’ll find the best website host server for you based on what you and your website need.
Plus, they’ll set everything up for you too.
Cost-wise, this is a little bit more than using the web host provider direct, but with the extra cost comes an extra level of service.
The pros of hosting your website with a web agency
Support when you need it most
The developer at the agency who built your website will know a fair bit about hosting and the ‘back end’ of a website.
(The ‘back end’ refers to the technical matrix-looking code that websites are made of – we know, we’re doing everything we can not to make a childish joke too).
Nobody likes being spoken to in technical jargon. If something breaks with your hosting, your agency developer will be able to explain to the web host what’s wrong using technical language.
Leave the geeks to it, basically.
If something goes wrong, you know who to call
Not ghostbusters. Come on. Let’s take this seriously.
If your web developers are as nice as the team here at White Digital, you should have a great relationship with them. If you need help, your developer should be a phone call away.
Can you say this is true for a web hosting company?
The problem is, if your website host does their job properly, you’ll never need to call them. So when something does go wrong, you won’t know who to call.
And when you do call, it may take a while to explain your situation and get your website back up and running.
Some of our clients do a lot of business through their websites – so every second counts.
Your web agency has a vested interest in your website being ‘live’
Chances are, the website agency who built your website will leave a little note at the bottom of your homepage that says something like: ‘website built by White Digital’:
No website agency wants anyone to see a website that’s ‘gone down’ with their name on it. It just doesn’t look good, does it?
It’s like a builder putting a sign on a wonky wall saying: ‘Micky the Bricky built this’.
Web agencies want to make sure you’re happy so you tell other people about them – so they’ll be quick to contact the web host to get your website back working ASAP.
Security
Internet hackers are coming up with more devious ways to break into your website every single day.
Website agencies will work with your website hosting provider to make sure your site is secure. Plus, if the worst does happen, they’ll be on-hand to work with the web host to put everything back to normal.
So which website hosting route is the best?
That’s for you to decide!
Hosting your website yourself gives you ultimate control, but is extremely expensive and time-consuming to set up.
Sourcing a web hosting provider directly will save you some cash, but if something goes wrong, you’ll have to spend time sorting it yourself.
Letting a web agency handle your website hosting means it’s one less thing for you to worry about.
If you’ve read this article and have decided you’d prefer a website agency to sort it for you, click here to get in touch with us now and Charlie will get back to you with your options.