Every business understands the importance of having a website. A website not only helps your clients understand what you stand for, what your services are and a lot more about your business but also helps act as a marketing platform for your business. In essence, a website opens a window so that new customers can learn about you. A good website should always be accompanied by a robust web hosting option. The problem is, there are so many options and so much jargon that it is easy to get lost in it all. Do not be afraid though, selecting the right host is pretty easy.
The Different Options Out There
Taking price into consideration, and assuming that you do not have a huge budget for your web hosting, a good place to start is shared hosting. As the name implies, shared hosting is where a hosting company takes a server and divides its resources so you have many different hosting accounts on one server. This means that your business might be sharing a server with hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of other small businesses. This is the best option for web hosting small business if you are looking for a good starter option as it has some perks that those new to hosting might be happy to have.
One of these perks is that you do not have to configure or set the server up for yourself. Once you pay for the hosting, the hosting company takes care of setting the server up for you. This might include configurations such as allocating RAM, space and even CPU power. Some companies will even go as far as installing CMS software, such as WordPress and Drupal, for you. In addition, you can have your email set up just the right way. The second perk is that should something go wrong, a simple message to the hosting company will have them working on fixing it for you.
Dedicated Hosting Works Better
Being a small business does not mean that you cannot have a dedicated server especially if you have a huge number of visitors interested in your business. In some cases, you might need dedicated web hosting depending on the nature of your business, for example, if you are a media company. A dedicated server is where you get a full server all to yourself. It is a bit pricier than getting shared hosting but you get the full computational power of a full server dedicated just to you and your business. One of the downsides of dedicated hosting is that you have to take care of things yourself.
In most cases, you have to hire someone adept at I.T to help you set the server up. This includes everything from allocating the space needed for your various websites to setting up any software you might need. In addition, should something go wrong with the configuration of the server, you have to get your own help or pay the web hosting company to sort it out for you. One of the biggest strengths of dedicated hosting is its isolation. If a shared hosting server is hacked through one website, all other websites on the same server could be compromised. Such risks are minimized when you have dedicated hosting.
You Have Options
If you are looking to get online and do not need the computational power of a full server, then shared hosting is for you. It is much cheaper than dedicated hosting and the hosting company will come to your rescue should something go wrong. On the other hand, if you need the power and space of a full server and can take care of the server yourself, then dedicated web hosting might be the best option for you.