A reliable site is important if you want to offer the best services to clients. The last thing people want to see when looking for more information about a business is a server error or similar issue that prevents them from accessing the website. When this happens, they’ll head straight to a competitor. To keep your website online you need to ensure you get the web hosting right and stay on top of it. Here are five tips to help you get it right.
1) Purchase the domain
Purchasing a domain rather than leasing it is important because domains can prove to be valuable assets. When you are the owner, you can make changes far more easily, whether it is to the design or the site or where it is hosted. Remember to purchase the domain and have it registered in the name of the business rather than to an individual. Domains are typically registered for between one and ten years so you’ll need to keep track of renewals if you don’t want to risk losing it.
2) Understand the location of the site
Website hosting comes in one of three ways; sites are either on your own server, via shared cloud servers or on a dedicated cloud server. The first option is typically the most secure but also the costliest. The second is the cheapest but can make your site prone to problems, especially if there are issues with other sites on the server. The final option offers the best of both worlds, including security and cost savings although you’ll still need to contact someone if there is a problem.
3) Purchasing an SSL certificate
An SSL certificate is essential if you want to increase the security of your site. They are more important when you want people to purchase online because they protect credit card and log-in details. On top of this having the certificate can reward you in terms of search engine rankings because Google appreciates sites that have them.
4) Separate email hosting
Having your email on a different server is important for several reasons. Most importantly, it ensures that if the site goes down at all you’ll still be able to receive and send business emails. This means that messages will get to you even if the server with your site on it fails.
5) Backing up your data
This is very important, especially if you use an external web design company. Some will automatically back up your data but others won’t; you’ll need to check this to know if you need to do it yourself. Keeping a back up provides security if there is ever a problem and means you’ll have the data if you ever encounter issues with the provider.
Website hosting will range in price depending on the type of service and the amount of bandwidth you need. You should always make sure you factor the cost to host the site into your budget or you could find your bills are higher than you expected. If you want affordable website hosting, we can help you to find it. Just get in touch to find out more about our cheap website hosting.