All websites have one thing in common. Their presence on the Internet is thanks to a server, somewhere, that is connected to the Internet and storing the site’s files to be served upon request. A website can exist on the Internet without a domain name, but no website gets on the Internet with a host.
And yes, it matters where you host. Hosting outages are common talk among web developers, and they are always disruptive. Some hosts have lower processing limits than others. Some hosts are hacked more than others. And some have really crappy customer service.
To that end, I am often asked for my hosting recommendations. I usually respond the way I respond to most “what’s the best _____?”-style questions:
It depends.
That’s not a cop-out answer. It really does depend. There are many factors that change the answer dramatically:
- What is the site’s purpose?
- What do you expect the traffic to be?
- What do you want the traffic to be?
- Is it primarily mobile?
- Is it image-heavy?
- Do you need on-site e-commerce?
- Will you be using a CMS and if so, which one?
- Are there any particular security requirements?
- Will you be hosting email?
- What can you afford?
On top of all of those variables, the qualities and performance of the major hosting providers changes almost as frequently as WordPress updates. Which means that any recommendations I made here would probably be outdated in six months and embarrassing in a year. Luckily, the essential hosting features that all small businesses need are fairly consistent, whether it’s a one-man shop or an international manufacturing operation.
Things you want in a web host
- 24-hour support, preferably phone support
Nothing is worse than having your site go down, sending an email and … waiting. The Internet is open 24 hours a day. Your web hosting company should be too. - Auto-backups
Backing up is hard to do. You have to get everything configured and then … wait, strike that. Backing up isn’t hard to do. In fact, as far as preventing dire amounts of stress without a prescription, it’s one of most effective methods out there. In an ideal world, you’d backup your site locally, then on “the cloud”, and then backup your dual backups with an auto-backup from your web host. In the real world, using a host that does auto-backups will mean you might have a useable backup despite having never gotten around to setting up your other backup systems.A note of caution? Auto-backups are like boxes of chocolate: you never know what you’re gonna get. Before you actually need the backup, check to see if everything is actually being backed up. - The latest versions of PHP and MySql
WordPress uses these. And so do a lot of other programs. One would think this would no-brainer, but I am continually surprised by how long some hosts wait before updating their libraries. I know upgrading the mass server systems isn’t quite as simple as the WordPress one-click upgrades, but still. Ideally, the most current versions would be enabled by default, but you must at least have the options to upgrade. - Third-party hosting
I don’t believe in hosting one’s own web development clients for many reasons, but primarily because it puts the client in the precarious position of being tied to their web developer, for better or for worse. If something happens to the client-developer relationship, the site hosting becomes one more issue to be worked out, and more often than not it works out in the favor of the party who has all of the files. Whether it’s a small web dev shop or a web-o-matic website maker, the freedom to part ways without sacrificing the site is essential.
Things you don’t want in a web host
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-3j4-4N3Ng
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