Whew! The year flew by really quick and here we are at the end of summer and ready to head back to school. That includes students and adults headed back to University. With that in mind, many new prospective businesses owners may be feeling the inspiration from the start of a new school year to jump start their online business.
During this type of year hosting companies see an influx of new customers to purchase internet real estate to furnish their new blogs, online stores, and business websites. With the right hosting company, you can set up your hosting package and new website right after you drop the kids off to school.
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Why Get Hosting
These days everyone has a space on the internet carved out for them. Whether it be a social media presence, a blog, an online store, a thriving web community, a podcast or a virtual resume. No matter what type of online presence you wish to have it is all upheld by internet hosting.
Web hosting is the best way to have complete control of your internet presence and with a plethora of options to suit your budget and internet needs anyone can purchase internet real estate.
You can use your web hosting to create a new blog about sending your kid off to preschool, high school or college. High school and university graduates can create branded websites to begin building their personal brand and look more attractive on the job market. You can host your own podcast on your website, open a new business catering to parents, students or build the new Amazon. The sky is the limit with internet hosting.
The right plan can scale with you as you continue to grow your venture. What plans are afforded to you?
Let’s dive in.
Types of Web Hosting
Web hosting comes in 3 major varieties. Each type is suited to the needs of your website and tailored to your budget.
Shared hosting
In a shared hosting environment, you rent space within a shared server where other websites are hosted. All of the server resources as dispersed with your website and others. Imagine occupying a cubicle in a larger office space with other employees. That’s what shared hosting looks like.
Due to the shared nature of this type of hosting the price point tends to stay low. However, new technological advancements have allowed for shared hosting to be scalable; allowing you to enjoy value for your money as your website grows.
Shared hosting is recommended for brand new websites and brands that don’t already have an internet presence and which to start small and then scale.
You can add a myriad of tools and services to improve your overall experience and help your website run better. Add on security features like website monitoring, SSL Certificates, web backup and more.
VPS Hosting
The term VPS stands for a virtual private server. VPS hosting is as the name describes it is a virtual server with privatized compartments that each have the own server resources while existing in a shared environment.
With VPS you get the affordable pricing that a shared server provides but with the horsepower of a dedicated server where all the key components of the server’s resources are dedicated to your website alone. Which also includes an added security measure as it is a private server and since only 1 website is hosted in the virtual compartment there is no risk of infections from other vulnerable sites.
VPS is also scalable and can grow with your business and website. As your audience expands so can your VPS plan. In addition, you can add layers of protection with SSL certificates, website monitoring, web backup and more. You can speak to your hosting provider about adding customizable features to the server.
If you wish to upgrade your shared hosting to a more powerful hosting solution but don’t want to break the bank then VPS hosting is the choice for you. What’s more, is VPS is a great choice for first time online store owners that wish to have a fast loading site that packs a mad punch at the server level straight out the gate.
Managed or unmanaged VPS
With VPS you have the option of having a managed or unmanaged server. The difference depends on your technical skills. If you’re tech-savvy and wish to have complete control of your server and its resources and management then opting for unmanaged is the way to go. However, if you’re lacking in the technical department or just want to focus on running your business and furnishing your website with content then leave the heavy lifting to your hosting provider and opt for managed VPS.
Dedicated Hosting
With the reputation of being the most powerful server in internet hosting, a dedicated server environment ensures that your website operates on an entire server by itself. Imagine large branded websites like Amazon, that has an infinite amount of web pages, product pages and millions of user accounts on a dedicated server.
With your dedicated server, you rent the entire server from your hosting provider. With a dedicated hosting environment, you’re free to customize the server to suit your needs. This includes hosting websites, converting the server into storage, a gaming server, etc.
The only drawback with a dedicated server is the maintenance and price point. It is the most expensive internet hosting option and requires a certain level of technical savvy.
Good news is, if you want the power of a dedicated server with the affordable price rate of shared hosting then VPS hosting is the answer.
Odds & Ends of Hosting
Now that you’re up to speed with the various hosting environments there are some other odds and ends you need to know before building your website.
When purchasing web hosting you want to ensure that you also purchase adequate tools to help keep your website safe from cybercriminals and ensure that it’s secure. It’s recommended to purchase an SSL Certificate. Google flags websites that don’t have one as unsafe so you want to ensure you have this level of encryption.
Website monitoring is also essential to ensuring your website is always experiencing optimal uptime, is being monitored for any breaches in security and to keep track of how your server resources are being used.
Finally, you want to ensure that you have a website back up purchased as well. It’s better to be prepared for anything, and sometimes hackers manage to get behind your defences and destroy your hard work. With a backup copy of your website you can always restore it until the breach can be patched.
You also want to ensure that you choose a memorable domain name that speaks to your personal brand or company brand. It’s always advised to purchase your domain along with your web hosting from your preferred hosting provider.
Finally, you want to have an easy, clean website builder with an easy to use interface so that you can build an aesthetically pleasing, functional and responsive website.
