What's Better: Professional Web Hosting or Self-Hosting?
As a small business owner, you know what it’s like to lose money unnecessarily, and you’ll do whatever it takes to avoid it. So when you hear that you should spend more money to pay for a web hosting service, rather than using free or self-hosting, you probably feel a little skeptical. While both options offer pros and cons, I generally use and recommend professional hosting services, due to the following six benefits, which I've found significantly outweigh the costs.
1. Constant Support
If you run a website in conjunction with your business, you can bet you’ll run into a problem at some point. With free or self-hosting, it’ll be up to you to find the error and determine the solution. Meanwhile, you’ll be losing business while your website is down. With a web hosting service, you have tech support at your fingertips -- and they’ll be much more likely to find and resolve the problem.
2. Reliable Servers
What’s more, with a web hosting service you can count on reliable servers. Companies keep their servers maintained and running as well as possible to avoid crashes, slow loading times, and long maintenance periods.
In addition, web hosting services will monitor the server for you. “Server monitoring is simply critical for your organization,” says Boney Pandya of Sitepoint, a website that provides content for web professionals. “It’s a process of constantly scanning the servers to search for any irregularities or potential failures.”
Essentially, a service will catch and fix small errors on your website before they turn into big problems.
3. Web Security
One of the biggest reasons web hosting can be so beneficial is the added security. Most web hosting services will guarantee a secure service by running security audits, automatic updates, spam filtering, virus scans, and firewall configurations.
BlueHost blogger Brittany Warnock shares in this blog post, “Your website can only be as secure as your web server is. Make sure your host runs suPHP, which is a tool that allows PHP scripts to run only with the owner’s permission.”
For optimal server security, choosing the right service revolves around ensuring the best security systems possible for your server.
4. Included Storage and Backups
The amount of storage a company needs will always fluctuate, and a web hosting service can help accommodate those needs. Generally, the service comes with managed storage to help you keep and organize necessary files, and sort through and delete the ones you don’t need.
Furthermore, you can expect a backup system to prevent lost data. “Lost data can be extremely costly for a company,” Pandya points out. “It is therefore essential to have a process that regularly backs up your data.”
Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to losing data, and a web hosting service could be the solution.
5. Reduced Operating Costs
Though using a web hosting service may seem like a costly expense at first, if you think about it in the long run, it’s the most efficient and affordable option for a website. Businesses that choose to use a free hosting service must hire personnel to manage it, from a web designer to a full-time admin. The costs for hiring in-house employees per year can be astronomical, and far more than the cost of paying a hosting service.
6. Boost Rankings and Improve Profits
Finally, small businesses can count on a web hosting service to improve their overall rankings, effectively bringing in more revenue. Quality web hosts offer better hardware and better Internet connections than most private servers, and thus faster speeds and reduced load times for hosted websites. Correlation studies have shown that faster load times result in better organic search visibility.
Speed also significantly adds to the quality of your website because the user experience is much better when websites load and respond quickly. Google wants to offer only high-quality websites in search results, and if you have a secure, speedy, well-designed, and well-maintained website, your rankings will significantly improve — and you’ll see the difference in conversion rates, sales, and revenue.
As you can see, the most affordable web hosting option now may not be the most cost-effective option down the road. With the right web hosting service, your business will reap the benefits for years to come.
