Web hosting is one of the most important investments you can make when running a website. The success of your hosting solution relies on a few key criteria that we cover in this article.
First, what exactly is web hosting?
To better understand how important web hosting is to the continuity of your business operations, let’s first look into what it actually is.
In the simplest explanation, web hosting is a server (a hardware computer) where all of your website files are stored. Although there are many types of hosting out there, these are the top three:
- Shared
- Dedicated
- Cloud
- Managed hosting (this is what Honest provides)
The most common type of hosting, that most self-serve hosting companies offer, is shared web hosting. Simply put, shared hosting allows many businesses to store their websites on the same server. It’s a fine solution for getting started at a low cost of entry, but introduces risks and challenges as your web traffic starts to scale, such as speed, bandwidth, uptime, and reliability. Since you are sharing the server, as the title “shared hosting” would suggest, the continuity of your website is dependent on other businesses and their utilization of the shared server.
For faster and more reliable websites, many businesses, particularly those who are experiencing and/or looking for growth, choose dedicated hosting. Those businesses who are pursuing extra reliability often go with cloud hosting – if one cloud fails, another steps in to carry the load and maintain the website’s uptime.
For businesses that are looking for the “full package” so to speak, the best option is Managed Hosting, which is what Honest provides.
What is Managed Hosting?
Managed hosting is when the hosting company handles the setup, administration, management, and support of a server and/or application. Management services vary from host to host but typically include OS updates and patching, 24/7/365 support, network infrastructure and hardware management, basic security measures including virus and spam protection, and monitoring and remediation of anything that could affect the performance of the server.
It’s the singular responsibility of the managed hosting company to ensure their client’s websites and applications stay up and running at all times, and these guarantees are typically backed by a Service Level Agreement stating how the managed hosting company will ensure that nothing goes wrong. In the same way that you work with contractors to scale more efficiently and effectively, you can outsource the management of your hosting to eliminate the need for in-house hosting infrastructure or experts.
Why is your choice of web hosting important for your website?
Getting your hosting infrastructure right means more traffic and bigger revenue. Here is a breakdown of some of the key reasons why it is so critically important to go with Managed Hosting over a lower level option.
Speed
Web visitors hate waiting. If your site load time is too slow your visitors will bounce. Not only is this bad for business, but it is bad for your long-term SEO strategy. Google penalizes sites with slow speeds. Your managed hosting provider can ensure you have the best infrastructure for the scale of your business, while adding a service level component to ensure that your site is properly monitored and managed to always maintain optimal load times.
Reduce Risk & Prevent Cyber Attacks
Your managed hosting provider will ensure that your tech stack is always updated to ensure that vulnerabilities in code and site architecture are quickly and effectively resolved, cybersecurity threats and attacks are identified and remediated before they cause harm to your business, and the risk of down time is effectively removed through site analyst oversight and review.
Access to Skilled Experts and Web Developers
Unless your business is a large scale tech or media company, like many organizations you very likely do not have a full-time IT systems team. Your Managed Hosting provider not only provides reliable, fast, and the most up-to-date server technology, but they should also be able to provide a team of web developers, technical experts, and support staff to help you with the technical needs of your website. Not all hosting providers are the same, so it is critically important to go with a proven and reliable Hosting company, like Honest.