Web Hosting, What Is It And Why Do I Need it?
Web Hosting is the service of a company providing space on their servers to host your website in order to make it visible on the internet. In today’s world, it has become a must-have. Thanks to the giant companies online shopping is the way of the world, whether you like it or not. So, as a company, you need a website and an online presence (even just a Homepage), or you will disappear. Google, Yahoo, Bing, and other search engines are the most used search engines to find businesses. Most cities don’t even print a phone book anymore so if you are not online you are really hoping for only repeat customers and referrals, which are great but they are coming from any search engines.
Web Hosting is typically measured in the amount of space you are given on any particular server and the bandwidth or the amount of data transfer you are accessing from the server. So, a site that is just mainly informational uses less bandwidth than an online store where people are interacting more often. Just like a storage room you can purchase if you are only storing a few boxes you can get the small cheapest room, but if you have all your parents old furniture that you don’t know what to do with, you will probably need the more costly giant room; so basically, more content equals more space.
Who Should I Host With?
Web Hosting is a very vital part of your website, all of your files have to live somewhere and not all “somewheres” are created equal. There are so many options today that you can go crazy trying to compare the differences and narrow it down to which company best fits you.
In my opinion, the most important things to look for in your hosting company are:
- Are they a reputable company that has been hosting sites for several years or more. A new company may some great deals to try and get started and that is all fine and good but until you have been hosting websites for several years you may not have come across some of the many issues that can arise and know how to effectively handle them.
- Do they have cloud service offerings? Again, issues happen with servers and if your server goes down you want to ensure that your files are backed up in the cloud so that if the worst does happen your site is safe and sound and ready to be brought back online.
- Can you talk to an actual person? As much as the digital world is taking over there is nothing more assuring that being able to talk person to person if you need to. Many of the big Web Hosting companies either do not have telephone service, or they are not in the same country, or the telephone service operators are also the sales department and are trying to upsell you as they help with your issues.
- Are they going to lock you in with a contract? Handing over your files to your site is scary enough as it is, the last thing that you want is to be tied to a company that you are unhappy with.
You Get What You Pay For.
With so many Web Hosting companies out there, it can be intimidating to even know where to start. There are some really cheap options out there today. Some companies have offerings for under $5 a month. Here are PC Magazine’s Top 5 for 2020: Host Gator, Hostwinds, A2 Hosting, DreamHost, and Accu web hosting. Their list is actually a top 10 and has listed pros and cons and is a good place to start your search.
Nextfly Web Hosting
At Nextfly we pride ourselves on the ability to be a one-stop-shop for all of your website’s needs and our midwestern style hospitality. We offer a wide arrange of services from web design, development, marketing, search engine optimization, web hosting and more.
Our Web Hosting services include:
- Onsite and offsite (in the cloud) storage
- personal service, if you call a person will be helping you and we have direct access so we can fix your issues right away without having to gain 3rd party access.
- No contracts. We offer yearly and month-to-month payment options and you are free to go at any time if you are unhappy.
- Speed Issues. With direct access to the servers we are able to speed up any slow running issues right away.
If you are still unsure about Web Hosting feel free to give us a call and we can help walk you through what you may or may not need to fit your specific site. You can also click HERE to look at our Web Hosting plan options. We look forward to earning your business.
