We have had a few customers ask us the question: How do we choose a web host for our business; can we use just any host?
To help all our valued customers out we decided that it was time to detail how to choose a web host.
At Omekatech we like to provide as much information as possible to all our followers and detail some of the possible answers to your questions. When you are looking at a hosting provider it comes down to four S’s:
- Speed – how fast your website loads
- Security – how secure and safe is my website
- Scalability – how easy your website can grow as your audience grows
- Support – how easy is it to contact someone when we have issues.
The last item you must consider is your budget.
The confusion to most users looking for hosting is the wide range of prices. Hosting can range from a few dollars a month to thousands of dollars.
Now that you have the above knowledge lets start with some basics:
1. How much hand holding will you need:
When you are looking at hosting you need to decide how much help you will need. From experience most companies we have dealt with need everything done for them. You will need Customer service to assist you getting your website up and running. Look for companies that provide support. Depending on the type of support you are willing to pay for will depend on how quick response times are. Also consider where the Hosts support company is based. Are you talking to a foreign support person or is the support coming from someone in your home country?
- If you are only looking at non-managed support then the vendor may answer questions about basic configuration, but it won’t be your systems manager.
- If you need a lot of hand holding, we would suggest delegating the management of your site completely therefore you need to have a managed service. This is where it gets more difficult in choosing a host. If you want your website completely managed, then you need to make sure the host also has website building skills. Most hosting companies offer just hosting but do not provide any website building and maintenance skills. Managed services will make sure your site is configured correctly, makes sure all security patches are up to date and makes sure any plugins used in your website are up to date. They will also manage backups.
2. How much traffic do you expect:
Most hosting providers generally charge based on the size of your website and how much bandwidth is used?
- Bandwidth – the measure of how many bytes you serve over a given period. Bytes is the measure of traffic on the internet. Be honest with yourself. For a new website bandwidth would be very low. As you grow your bandwidth would increase. If you are planning a promotion and your product and services, go viral then your bandwidth would be high.
- Size – this is calculated on the number of pages your website has and the type of content on your website e.g. videos, pictures etc.
3. Understanding Server types:
Shared Servers, Virtual Private Servers (VPS), Dedicated Server & Cloud Servers
- Shared servers – this is the cheapest form of hosting. This is where one server is running hundreds of websites. When you come across cheap hosting take into consideration how many websites that they are running on their servers. How well your website performs depends on how much load the other websites are putting on the server. In a Shared server environment, you are restricted to the server capabilities, so you may not be able to run specialised programs. Remember you are sharing the server with multiple websites. Ask the host for details on the numbers of websites they run on each of their servers. Also ask them if you can move the website from one server type to another as your website grows.
- Virtual Private Server (VPS) – This is a virtual machine running on a single server. Hosting providers generally run multiple VPS’s on a single server. Performance is always better than the shared server option above. You will need to be familiar with basic server maintenance and management, though for a service fee you can have the host manage this side of things.
- Dedicated Server – If you are planning on a large website or you don’t want your website performance to be impacted by anyone else’s website then this is the choice for you. This is when you rent a physical server that resides in the hosting providers data centre.
- Cloud Servers – These are giant public clouds provided like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web services. They can build whatever configuration you need. The biggest benefit with cloud services is that you can scale your website at any time. You just pay for what you use.
4. Unlimited Offers:
Some hosting providers offer hosting packages with unlimited offerings of storage and bandwidth and all you need is a few dollars. If you come across these deals always look at the terms of service in details. When you come across these unlimited offerings service providers will control how well your website performs or could take your website offline if it goes over a certain usage level.
5. Choose a Portable CMS System:
Most hosting providers are very good. There could be management changes, acquisitions and technology changes that can alter you hosting plans. Ensure you have a good backup in place just encase anything happens with your host.
6. Own your domain name:
We recommend that you own your own domain name, that way you can change hosts at any time.
Here is a story about our business:
In the early days I was more concerned with saving money as I was on a tight budget. I looked for a host that was cheap and promised me everything. I was developing a business that I believed would take off over time, so I took up one of their unlimited packages. I had already spent a small fortune on my custom-built website using at the time a CMS system called Joomla. At first the host was fantastic. My package had unlimited bandwidth, storage and as many email addresses as I wanted. I hosted my website with them for several years and then I started to notice my website was running slower and slower. I questioned this and they told me that it was fine and that is how it is. I started doing research and I found that my website was not actually hosted in Australia where I believed it was, but it was hosted in South Africa (who owns my data on my website now?) At the same time my website appeared offline several times and then at one stage a new page displayed as the index page. I contacted the Support number and they told me that my website had become infected with a virus. I asked them how this was possible and why their antivirus did not prevent the infection. I managed to clean the site myself and get it back online. At this stage I decided that it was time I moved all my websites away from this budget host and to more expensive host. I concluded that cheap is not necessarily better.
I looked around and decided that it was time to look at a host that also did web development. That way I would have piece of mind that my websites were being looked after by the host and that they would guarantee up time and my websites being secure and up to date. After 6 years with my current host I can safely say that my websites have never been down and are currently 100% up to date. All my websites have been built using WordPress and a Brandable theme by the host and web developers.
Omekatech has partnered with the web developers to provide hosting and web development packagers. The data center that the host users is in Brisbane with a backup in Sydney. They are in a secure location and only accessible by certain people. Data sovereignty is key to my business and I have piece of mind knowing that my websites are all physically located in Australia. All our web host packages require a website to be built by our web developers / host so that we all know that the website is free of any vulnerabilities. Each of our packages also includes Site care which keeps WordPress and plug ins up to date. We have put controls and limits around our shared servers preventing us from over selling hosting on our servers. We limit the number of websites that will exist on any of our servers which means you get the best speed, piece of mind that your site will not go down due to overloading and we provide professional advice from start to finish and we are always there to help you when you need it.
Contact us for a quote for a new performing website that will knock your socks off.
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