So what is hosting and why do I need it?

A website is basically just a collection of files that are interpreted by a web browser to display what you see on your screen. This collection of files is stored on a computer known as a web server which has specific software to enable websites to run. Depending on the features that your website has there may be certain applications and configurations needed on the server e.g. database support. Even the largest corporate entities rely on third party hosts to provide the specialist knowledge, expertise and infrastructure required to effectively manage the housing and running of their website. Therefore choosing hosting that is right for you is imperative.

How do you know good hosting when you see it or more importantly how do you know what good hosting is?

Commonly, website hosting is organised on your behalf by your web developer or a dedicated IT staff member. Some web developers have their own hosting while others purchase hosting through dedicated web hosting companies for their clients.

Not every website needs a Rolls Royce hosting service but they all need a reliable, cost efficient service that comes with some form of support. So here are a few key things to look for when choosing a hosting service for your website.

• Cheap is nasty – beware someone offering the cheapest web hosting available because an inferior service backed by inferior support is sure to follow. Hosting suppliers charging bargain basement prices will generally spread resources as thinly as possible based on a need for volume in order to generate income. The result is over utilised technical resources, lack of support staff, slow, overworked and outdated systems.
• A quick visit to some of the online forums dedicated to hosting will soon show the same bargain basement hosting providers constantly cropping up with unfavourable comments about slow systems, unscheduled outages and the inability to contact support people.
• Choose an established and reliable option – if the hosting is being organised for you by someone that has only been around for 6 months are you sure they won’t disappear and your website along with them – it happens – frequently. The business failure rate of new web developers and designers is high. Look for someone who is well established with a proven track record and good industry contacts.
• All hosting should provide basic features such as email services, a reasonable storage allowance, adequate data allowance and reliable support. Check to ensure there are contact phone numbers and not just email contacts for support.
• You should only ever host your website in a recognised data centre that has physical as well as virtual security measures in place, power redundancy through AC, UPS and onsite backup generators, industrial standard cooling and fire suppression systems, full monitoring systems, multiple tier one network providers and redundant routing and switching.
• Ensure that there are sufficient options to allow you to expand and upgrade as needs arise. Although your website may be fairly straightforward now that may not always be the case and being able to easily add features later can save a lot of time and money. Entry level content management systems like WordPress may not suit your business just because they are popular.
• If your web developer or an IT staffer is organising the hosting for you ensure they are conversant with the different requirements a website may need now and in the future and how that integrates with the services provided by the hosting provider they use.
• Do not allow your web developer to open a hosting account on your behalf and then leave you to manage the account. Make sure that they will deal with all the technical aspects of the account and especially with all configuration necessary to get your website running from the host servers.

Note: It is a common misconception to think that by paying a little more for your hosting service you are just adding to the bottom line of the hosting provider. Quite the contrary; in fact the cheaper hosting providers usually skimp on infrastructure, support, and security in an effort to squeeze every possible dollar out of their resources resulting in an inferior service, while providers prepared to fund the stability, security, backup, monitoring and personnel for a leading data centre need to charge a little more to do so.