A Comprehensive (Beginners) Guide to SEO
Our 8 part guide on all aspects of SEO, from how search engines work to the effects of UI and UX.
Whether your business is large or small, you will find that establishing an online presence is vital. Connecting with clients in the B2B and B2C markets is made that much easier and streamlined when you have a web presence. This can include a company website, blog, or e-commerce platform. All the data that goes into building these platforms, including written content, images, videos and coding, require storage.
Website hosting is a service that allows businesses to have their websites files stored on external servers owned and managed by hosting companies. They keep their servers running 24/7 so websites are always accessible. Cloud-based providers have increasingly become the norm, providing stable and consistent access to the sites they host. At Phoenix Media, we offer this service as an annual fee, which is based on the size of the website and the amount the support required.
While it is possible to host your sites locally on your own computers and servers (self-hosting), there are several benefits associated with hosting your website with us that make it the better option.
- Consistent Accessibility
We have contingencies in place to ensure reliable uptime and loading speeds of websites. This can includes having backup servers at separate locations and power backups in case of electrical failures. You do not need to worry your site will go offline just because of technical or other difficulties. This factor can also impact your sites SEO ranking and therefore efforts to grow visibility and drive online traffic.
- Improved Security
Websites are often attacked by different kinds of malware and other malicious activity. Web hosting providers invest heavily in security to ensure the sites and the users that access them are kept safe.
- Easy Monitoring
Cloud-based web hosting allows us to monitor the status of websites conveniently from just about anywhere they have secure internet access. With local hosting, it may not be as easy to organize for safe remote access. Working with a hosting provider that has set up the necessary infrastructure gives you greater freedom of movement, knowing that if and when you need to access your site, you can.
- Technical Support
Many problems can arise when running a website. Often the problems are technical and without the requisite knowledge, you may find it difficult to effectively run the site. Here at Phoenix Media we provide the technical expertise needed to ensure your site is reliably kept online and safe.
- Affordability
It is quite expensive to maintain a server that has the capacity to support multiple users. The cost and technical expertise needed to keep it running 24/7, secured, and loaded with multiple features and tools is more than most businesses can afford. Web hosting providers extend these services at a fraction of the cost and take care of support needs and server maintenance.
Before you choose a website hosting plan, you first should understand the different forms of web hosting to discern which provide will best meet your needs.
Shared Hosting
This service allows businesses to share the same server with many others. It is the most affordable type of hosting that can see even thousands of sites being hosted on a single server. The more sites that are accommodated, the cheaper it is as every client contributes to its maintenance according to the amount of space taken up.
Virtual Private Servers (VPS) Hosting
This works similar to shared hosting, but the files are stored in a virtual dedicated space and supported by dedicated resources. While to some extent accessing these resources relies on physical servers, the virtualization process ensures your content is kept separate. You do not have to worry about risks associated with sharing hardware. It is a more expensive service that provides access to a higher level of resources and guarantees superior site performance.
Dedicated Hosting
This service allows for the hiring of an entire server just for your business. You do not share it with any other client, but get to enjoy maximum storage capacity, security, and performance. You can customize your server however you want and will be able to support many more users. It is the most expensive type of hosting that calls for higher maintenance and management costs.
Cloud Hosting
As the name suggests, everything is done in the cloud. This is a virtual environment where your website and its content is hosted and managed. It is a flexible environment as data can be easily transferred between cloud servers if there is a problem. The uptime is high ensuring high performance for your site. It is also very cost-efficient, reliable, and easily accessible. Its pricing is also pegged on the level of resources used from month to month, ensuring you just pay for what you use.
Managed Hosting
This is primarily used by those that opt for WordPress websites. Here you have your website hosted on a dedicated server, but do not maintain the same level of administrative authority over it. Issues of security and maintenance are left to the provider, while clients are left to manage content through File Transfer Protocols (FTP). WordPress managed hosting leaves you to focus on growing your site while the provider takes care of managing the server, delivering greater performance.
When it comes to web hosting, there are multiple factors you have to consider when deciding which provider to engage. Stability, security, and cost are often top considerations. Concerns such as email support, user-friendliness and scalable services should also be factored in. More so when you consider that your business will grow and the web hosting services you use will need to keep up with the additional demands that go along with it.
At Phoenix Media, we provide affordable website hosting options in Thailand, along with an excellent support system to help keep your site updated and worry-free. So if you are looking for some help with hosting you website, or you just have some questions, feel free to get in touch with one of the team today.
