What is web hosting, exactly?
It’s a term you’ve heard before, but you’re not certain how to host a website, or even what it a web host really does.
In this post, we’ll tell you the most important things that you need to know about web hosting.
We’ll also fill you in on why investing in professional hosting services is such a crucial step for your Irish business — and how they help the world’s most popular websites to function.
We’ll even tell you what you should look for when you’re ready to find a hosting platform that’s right for your company.
Isn’t it time your website did more?
Read on to learn how to make it happen.
So, what is a hosting provider?
The good news is that it’s much less complicated than you might have initially feared. In short, hosting platforms allow your website to exist online.
They make sure that other people who are searching for your company and the services you offer can access your website. Your website contains numerous files, photos, user data, and internal pages. You need somewhere to “store” all of that information.
Your web hosting provider collects all of your site’s files and stores them on a physical or cloud-based server.
There are many different types of web hosting options.
You can have your own private server so that your website is the only one on the server. This means that you won’t have to worry about your site’s performance being impacted by a sudden surge in traffic to another site on your server.
You can opt for more affordable shared hosting platforms, one that offers you more than one dedicated IP address, and much more.
Now that you can answer the question, “What does hosting a website mean?”
Let’s speak a bit more about why it’s something that your Irish business simply must have.
First of all, working with a web hosting provider greatly improves your site’s overall security. Hackers certainly show no sign of slowing down in 2019, and it’s your responsibility to protect not only your clients’ data but also your brand’s reputation.
A hosting service scans your site activity for suspicious behaviour, sends you alerts when there’s a problem, and installs and updates your anti-malware and anti-virus software. It also runs backups of your website, so that even if there is an issue, your site can get up and running again as soon as possible.
You’ll receive your own domain-specific email address, complete with email defense features like spam filtering and quarantine, virus scanning, and even IP blocking.
A domain-specific email address means you won’t have to use your personal email for your business — and makes you look much more professional in the process.
You’ll get the technical support you need from a quality hosting platform, as well. This way, if there is a problem, you can get it fixed as soon as possible. Especially if your site has gone offline or possibly been hacked, you don’t have any time to waste.
You’ll also enjoy a higher overall website performance, whether accessed on a mobile device or desktop computer.
Your website will load faster, which means your customers will spend more time browsing it. They won’t have to deal with a website that goes down because of a sudden spike in traffic or another issue.
You’ll get monthly data transfers, unlimited storage space, and so much more when you opt for professional hosting services.
Isn’t it time that you made the switch?
Let’s quickly go over the most important things to be on the lookout for when selecting a hosting provider for your business.
First, ensure they have the proper experience. Speak with past and current clients, and see what they have to say about working with the provider.
Ask them if they’re able to guarantee an uptime, or the average percentage that your website remains online and fully functioning. Most providers aim for a 99 percent uptime.
Then, ask about their payment plans, and the costs associated with different hosting packages. Ensure that you’re able to pay for the services you need now. You don’t want to pay for services that you really don’t have much use for at the moment.
However, that doesn’t mean you want your hosting services to stay the same. You need to search for scalable hosting solutions.
What sorts of features are you able to add on later, as your website grows? Can you get more storage space in the future? How is data migration handled? What sort of email services are provided?
These are things that you’ll need to take into consideration before you make any kind of a final decision.
We hope that this post has helped you to get answers to common questions like, “What is web hosting, and what can it do to improve my Irish business?”
Regardless of the size of your company or the industry you work within, we know that you want scalable hosting solutions that you can trust.
In addition to excellent security, you’re also looking for a hosting provider that offers features like SSL certification, application installations, and much more.
We can offer your business all of that and much more. Don’t settle for anything less than the best.
Get in touch with us today to learn how our hosting services can take your company’s website to the next level.
