Hosting is an important part of your website setup, so when your hosting company has some downtime, it is very frustrating!
So what separates a good web host from a bad one?
Well, firstly I think it is important to understand that there is no such thing as 100% uptime for a web host. Every host will (or should) update software for security flaws and as such, I believe the server should be taken down during that time. Please correct me if I am wrong!
We all make mistakes in our respective lines of work, and as such, there are likely to be mistakes made in web hosting – those mistakes being power-outages, software or hardware failure for example.
When these things happen, it can be very frustrating for a website owner. It can mean loss of revenue for an online shop, or loss of visitors which could affect advertising revenue.
It is therefore important to choose a host who has a good uptime record.
But while it is frustrating to experience downtime, I believe it can be offset by a good host providing information and making sure their customers understand what is going on.
There is nothing worse than encountering a problem and not knowing if your hosts even know about the problem, let alone have an estimated time for fixing the problem.
A good host will keep you informed of what is happening – even if they still can’t find the root of the problem. A status update of “still looking into the cause” instils a confidence that the support team haven’t just nipped down the pub!
I have always worked to this philosophy myself. People like to know what’s going on, even if you have nothing new to tell them. A quick phone call or email to confirm nothing’s changed but you are still working on the problem goes a long way to keeping your customer happy.
So next time your web host goes down, check and see if their own website provides a status update or way to contact them to find out what’s going on. It’s should be a standard feature of website hosting for website owners who are serious about their business.
I have recently been researching some amateur theatre websites, a lot of which are hosted on free webspace.
During my research I have come across a lot of sites that were originally hosted on free web space that stopped being updated five or six years ago, and now have a website with its own domain. However, no mention of the new website is made on the old free hosted website, so it looks like the amdram society no longer keeps a website.
I started the Blackmore Players website back in 2000 and used free webspace while we were exploring the validity of having a website for the drama group – the following year I bought a domain and web hosting to get rid of those annoying ads you get on free web space.
However, once the new site was setup, I took the old site down and added a page that linked to the new website.
If you have moved on from using free web space, it is important that you let people know about your new website so don’t just leave your previous site hanging around as it may end up being the first port of call for someone searching for your company/group. Make sure you let people know about your new site by telling them that you have moved and letting them know the address!
Choosing a web server is an important task that can impact the effectiveness of your website, so it is important that you are not solely price driven.
A server that continues to experience downtime, even if it has limited but regular downtime, can have a negative effect on your search rankings.
Search engines constantly send their spiders out to look for web pages, and if those spiders happen to try and access your website pages at a time when your webserver is experiencing downtime, you have lost out on getting your new content spidered, and if the spiders keep coming back and finding your website can’t be accessed, they will soon visit less often and could decide that your site no-longer exists and is not worth adding to their results.
An unreliable webserver can undermine all of your efforts on the internet, not just your search engine results.
Consider the effect of sending out an email marking shot offering a fantastic deal asking people to visit your website. If your webserver then experiences downtime just after the email has been sent out, not only will your email be ineffective, but your customers will be left wondering why you have sent an email inviting them to visit your website, when the website is not available.
It is easy to research the large companies out there – just Google any webhost name and add “review” after it, to find reviews of those companies. It may even be an good idea to consult a web professional or two to ask their advice. Be prepared to pay for the advice, especially as it may save you embarrassment.
Different people have different companies they love and hate, and ultimately the choice will be yours. So, if you have no idea about hosting or websites, don’t just blindly go ahead and buy hosting you think SOUNDS like a good deal. Talk to your web developer or consult a web professional to ensure that you are buying a good web server package that suits your requirements.
When a company sorts out it’s own web hosting without understanding what they are purchasing, the choice can lead to problems when building the site, and can sometimes even hamper your search engine optimisation efforts.
Shared Windows servers are likely to lack a considerable amount of flexability, while Linux based servers can offer almost complete flexability. But there is much more to consider than that.
The cheapest hosts are usually based in the USA, and again, the location of the server can have an impact on your search engine result positions (SERPs). If you are targeting the UK market, you need to rank well for Google.co.uk rather than Google.com. If your domain has a .com extension and it is hosted in the USA, Google is likely to see the website as an American website and so will not rank the site in Google.co.uk. There is a way to let Google know what geographic area you are targeting, but why complicate things?
In addition, servers in the UK hosted by a UK company, are covered by UK laws. If your business requires a constant online presence, for example you have an online shop, you need to be sure that your site stays online. If you are dealing with a UK company, it is easier to find out about any problems that may be occurring.
Cheap hosts will also only offer a very basic service. To someone who doesn’t know what they need, it can seem like a good deal – until you start asking for services you didn’t know you needed. I have come across hosts that charge for each mysql database you require – and the charge £50 per database per year. If you have an ecommerce website, you will require a mysql database, and suddenly that £2 a month has drastically increased. If you expect a large amount of traffic, the bandwidth allowance is important – in the UK it tends to be the bandwith allowance that pushes the hosting cost up.
Many developers have their own favourite hosts, but most know who to steer clear of. Choosing the wrong host can result in a poorly performing website, and is likely to cost you more in the long run.
Some important things to consider when choosing your web host:
- Server technology you require – PHP, ASP, ASP.net, PERL etc
- Bandwidth allowance
- Databases
- Server location
- Flexability
- Email accounts
You wouldn’t buy a pension without consulting a professional, so why not consult a web professional before deciding on your server? At worst, you will get some different options, and at best, you will save time and money!
Hosting is a real bug-bear of mine. I grew up before the advent of Microsoft, and my introduction to computers was our junior school’s one and only BBC computer, along with out Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum and my friend’s Atari! When we got our very first PC running Windows 3.1, we used Lotus instead of Office!
Microsoft changed computing and made it accessible to everyone. For that I thank them.
However, because it’s a well known name, people who don’t understand hosting will go out and buy Windows hosting because they have heard if it. While there is a need for Windows hosting, most people that are looking to host a simple website only need the less expensive Linux alternative, whether that is Ubuntu, RedHat or any other version.
The ONLY time you need a Windows server is to host sites written in ASP or ASP.NET.
Windows servers offer less flexibility to the user and requires much more upkeep due to the constant flow of security patches that need to be installed, hence you pay more.
Like Domain names, you should consult your web professional to ensure that you have the right hosting to help you achieve your goals. Just because you have heard of one server option i.e. Windows, is not a valid reason to choose it as your hosting platform.