Just as your physical place of business needs systems for organizing merchandise, equipment, and supplies, and plenty of space to do so, so too does your website need a place to collect and store its virtual assets. Web hosting services are virtual “landlords” of sorts, providing you with the space to store your data and files, as well as the support to keep it organized and functioning optimally.
The juxtaposition of the terms “domain registration” and “web hosting” is a common mistake, but web hosting is not the same thing as registering a domain name for your website. These are completely different services.
- Web hosting– a reserved virtual storage space to hold all of your website’s data and files
- Domain registration– Claiming a name and registering it on the internet, giving you sole rights to that specific name for a year at a time
At Pixel Fire Marketing, we believe choosing the right host is crucial to the safety and security of your business, as well as the vital visibility that will help your company grow. Let us walk you through the process of choosing a web host.
Benefits of a Good Web Hosting Services
Keeping websites at peak performance requires many behind-the-scenes tasks, such as backing up files, updating, configuring, maintaining, and operating the servers. These tasks must be performed consistently and diligently, and thus require a substantial time investment, as well as considerable computer science know-how. Technical support will help you get through any malfunctions or problems so that your site can be fully operational in no time.
A great hosting service keeps your data and files safe and secure, no matter how your business- and its website- grows.
As technology rapidly evolves, hiring a forward-thinking web host means you’ll have the latest processing speed, the largest memory, and advanced computing capabilities.
As the legal and operational guidelines shift, your site will be kept in compliance with them.
Choosing a Web Hosting Service
Hosting plans are the equivalent of leasing a virtual space. As you may have suspected, each web host has its own unique benefits, costs, and requirements. Not all hosts are the same! This is vital for you to remember as you are making decisions about where to place your company’s site. Do your research and compare:
- Available storage
- Bandwidth
- Email account options
- Security measures
- Customer support options
- Quality of performance
As you consider your options, think practically about your business website needs. What features do you want to include? What interactive customer experiences should it provide? What sort of content will you be uploading? You’ll likely find a variety of pricing and package options based on the amount of visitor traffic you have, the time of day it’s most utilized, the website’s size, and your specific hosting needs.
If you’re looking to improve your website on an already-existing business, running performance
analytics will provide you with great insights to understand how and when your site is being used. If you’re just launching a new business, evaluating the data of similar businesses and talking with web hosting services’ customer support teams can help you get a reliable idea of your needs and the type of plan that would serve your company well. Of course, your company is going to grow as you deliver a quality online experience and excellent products/services, so be sure to choose a package that doesn’t just serve you well today but will adequately provide for where you WILL be.
Can’t I Just Do My Own Web Hosting on GoDaddy?
Yes, you can host your own website, but know that it comes with the risk of security breaches and performance can be less than stellar. If you run into issues with your site, you may be on your own to get it operational again. As is true with anything, “free” usually comes with a catch
Remember that your company’s online presence is likely the first, and sometimes only, interaction potential customers will have with you. First impressions are truly lasting ones, and if you want to build a successful business, you not only need a professional and fully operational company site, but it also needs high visibility, and not every web hosting service can provide that.
At Pixel Fire Marketing, we have helped dozens of companies build, establish, and maintain their websites through Flywheel. In all our years of collaboration with this web host, we have never had a security breach on any of our clients’ sites or any of the other issues we’ve been describing here. Flywheel has provided us with consistent, quality experiences that give us confidence to recommend them to you. If you work with Pixel Fire to develop your company site, the same peace of mind is available to you. Give us a call today, and let’s get your business running online!
