Do I need Business Web Hosting?
Do I need Business Web Hosting?
Business web hosting services are designed to offer all users a higher amount of uptime and greater level of reliability and in some cases can offer users up to 100% guaranteed uptime for their website. Business web hosting services aren’t strictly designed to be used by businesses but more for those who wish to host mission critical websites which can’t be down for any period of time meaning that you will get both businesses and individuals using business web hosting services. Business web hosting services normally come with the same features that most web hosting packages have, although it is important to note that your web hosting provider will be using specialist technologies to ensure the reliability of your web hosting provider and to ensure that there is always going to be at least 1 server available to serve your website. Business web hosting packages can range in price, but although the resources available with each package may differ the whole aim of the package will always be the same – to provide you with a stable web hosting service – meaning that all packages will be hosted on the same servers. Business web hosting is only worth considering if you are running a website which is receiving a lot of visitors and you can’t afford for it to be down, as otherwise you will be wasting money on a web hosting package which you simply don’t need; it is important to note that some web hosting providers may even require identity verification to ensure that they are only supply genuine customers with business web hosting services. When selecting a business web hosting provider you should ensure that you choose a reputable web hosting provider that is able to offer you 24×7 web hosting support, as by doing this you know that they should be able to meet their uptime guarantee to you but that if something does go wrong then you can quickly and easily contact their support team.
What are the main features of Business Web Hosting?
Business web hosting services generally come with the same kinds of features that you would expect from any ordinary shared web hosting account, the only difference being that the SLA/uptime guarantee that your web hosting provider is offering you will be greater than that which is offered for shared web hosting services. Business web hosting packages are hosted on high specification servers, with more than one server being used in most cases to ensure that all websites hosted will remain online is the primary web hosting server involved crashes or is made unreachable for one reason or another. Business Web Hosting packages are also fully managed meaning that you can contact your web hosting provider’s support team if you find that there is an issue or you have an enquiry about your web hosting account; this also means that if there any issues with either server involved in the cluster that hosts your business web hosting package, your web hosting provider’s support team will be notified and should be able to respond to the issue in a reasonable amount of time. The other main feature of Business Web Hosting is the fact that it is designed mainly for businesses, meaning that you are unlikely to get a Business Web Hosting service if you are running a small website. In summary, the main features of Business Web hosting include:
- 100% uptime/SLA – the uptime guarantee/SLA offered by many web hosting providers ensures that you don’t have to worry about your website going down on you, and most web hosting providers offer a compensation package meaning that if a website which you are hosting on a Business Web Hosting package goes down, you are entitled to some form of web hosting account credit or can claim for any loss of income caused by the period of downtime – although most Business Web Hosting providers claim to offer 100% uptime, this only normally applied to their own web hosting servers and not the actual network
- Fully managed web hosting service – most Business Web Hosting services are fully managed which means you can contact your web hosting provider with regards to any issues or enquiries that you may have about your web hosting account, your web hosting provider’s support team should then be able to see to your enquiry in a fast and acceptable manner to reduce any downtime that the issue concerned could be causing – most web hosting providers also offer 24×7 web hosting support which will allow you to contac them at any time of the day and on any day
- Exclusivity to businesses – in order to maximise the performance of Business Web Hosting services you will find that only those who are running small or medium sized businesses will be allowed to purchase Business Web Hosting packages as this ensures that only those who need such web hosting services are provided with them – in some cases web hosting providers will carry out strict verification procedures and this will help to ensure that only legitimate Business Web Hosting accounts are provisioned as this will help to keep spammers and other malicious attackers at bay.
The main features of Business Web Hosting services show how they are designed to offer the best web hosting service possible, and by doing this web hosting providers will able to satisfy Business Web Hosting customers more easily. The fact that Business Web Hosting services are exclusive to businesses coupled with the high uptime guarantees and SLAs offered by many web hosting providers means that Business Web Hosting is the more reliable and cost-efficient web hosting solution available to most small and medium sized businesses. Although larger businesses may have their own team to manage their web hosting package, small and medium sized businesses may not be able to afford dedicated IT staff which could cause problems when it comes to managing their web hosting package; however, as most Business Web Hosting services are fully managed you needn’t worry about this as your web hosting provider will manage your web hosting account for you.
What are the advantages of using Business Web Hosting?
There are many advantages of using Business Web Hosting services, and you are only likely to be able to make the most of such benefits if you are looking into hosting a website for a small or medium sized business on a Business Web Hosting package. Not only will you be provided with greater uptime, but you will also be offered a higher level of web hosting support that won’t be found with lower level web hosting packages. Business Web Hosting services come with the same standard feature set that is found with shared web hosting packages, the only difference being that there may be other features available to you to help you make the most of your web hosting package. Business Web Hositng is also much more secure than your average web hosting package, and this means that the server which your website is hosted on is likely to be more secure; this is done as most business websites are going to be favoured targets of hackers and malicious attackers as it will cause the website owner a loss of income, although if the correct measures are in place then this shouldn’t be a problem. In summary, the main advantages of Business Web Hosting include:
- Uptime and reliability – with any Business Web Hosting package you should be able to expect an increase in the performance and speed of your website which will benefit you in the long term, this will also mean that your web hosting package is going to be more reliable and the uptime that you are going to experience will be greater than what you will get with any other form of web hosting – as you are most likely to be using Business Web Hosting for the hosting of mission critical websites that provide you with a source of income then you will be able to appreciate just how important it is for your website to be up
- Features – although you will find that any Business Web Hosting package comes with the same standard feature set found on your average shared web hosting package, you will find that some web hosting providers will be able to offer you features that you can use to make the most of your Business Web Hosting package – such features can include search engine vouchers which you can make use of to promote your website through search engines and other advertising methods, you may also be offered a fully managed web hosting service which would mean that you wouldn’t have to worry about the management of your web hosting account
- Security – as most businesses who are using Business Web Hosting services are going to be processing some form of confidential data through their website it is important for them to be sure that their website is being hosted in a secure web hosting environment in which the data that is being hosted can’t be compromised in any way – most web hosting providers use advanced technologies on their Business Web Hosting servers to ensure that the data which is stored on the data can’t be compromised by a malicious attacker, although it is still down to website owners to ensure that they are using secure and reliable code as well as SSL certificates where appropriate.
Such advantages have helped to make Business Web Hosting very popular. Most businesses have a lot of money to spend when it comes to IT and web hosting isn’t an area that they should try and cut costs in, especially if their website provides them with a source of income; as many businesses are now realising the importance of the web within their business and trading activities, many are starting to invest in more secure services such as Business Web Hosting.
What are the disadvantages of using Business Web Hosting services?
There can also be disadvantages to using Business Web Hosting services, although the disadvantages are only likely to affect you if you are running a resource demanding website as this is something that web hosting providers don’t like. One of the main disadvantages of Business Web Hosting services is the cost; more web hosting servers are required for Business Web Hosting services in order to increase the efficiency of the web hosting service, and this alone can push the price of a Business Web Hosting package up by quite a bit, but for most businesses you can’t put a price on a website reliability. Business Web Hosting services can also be unreliable at times if your web hosting provider doesn’t monitor the activities of websites which are being hosted, since at the end of the day Business Web Hosting is just a more reliable form of shared web hosting in which extra web hosting servers and technologies are used to increase uptime. The fact that Business Web Hosting is specifically for businesses can also affect some people since you may be an individual who requires reliable web hosting services for your website – in this situation you should contact your web hosting provider to see if you are eligible for a Business Web Hosting package. In summary, the main disadvantages of Business Web Hosting include:
- Cost – this is one of the main disadvantages of Business Web Hosting as more resources and research is needed to ensure that a Business Web Hosting service can meet the expectations of those who are hosted on it meaning that it should be as reliable as possible and should continue to serve websites even when there may be a high load or if a single server has crashed – however, as most businesses have a large IT budget and rely on their website as a source of income you will find that most businesses are willing to purchase a reliable Business Web Hosting package at any cost if they know that it is going to provide them with a higher rate of uptime than a shared web hosting package at a cost which is lower than that of a dedicated server
- Reliability – although Business Web Hosting packages are designed with reliability in mind, you may find that the speed of your website can be affected by the performance of other websites which are being hosted on the same server or cluster as yours since at the end of the day, Business Web Hosting is still a form of standard shared web hosting – however, if your web hosting provider monitors their web hosting servers thorougly then you shouldn’t face any sort of problem with the reliability of your Business Web Hosting service and should find that it is the most reliable web hosting package you have ever used
- Exclusivity – the fact that Business Web hosting is primarily for businesses may put some people off as they may find that they are not eligible for Business Web Hosting services, even though they are running websites which provide them with a source of income and are unable to host them on shared web hosting because they need the reliability offered by Business Web Hosting – in such a situation you should contact the web hosting provider concerned as they should be able to offer you a similar solution which can provide you with the reliabiltiy that you need.
You will find that the disadvantages of Business Web Hosting will only affect you if you are very picky about what you want from a web hosting package, but in short Business Web Hosting can offer you the reliability and uptime that you need if you are running a website which is mission critical or provides you or your business with a source of income. In the long run you may find it more beneficial to upgrade to a dedicated server as this will offer you the reliability of Business Web Hosting as well as the advantages of having your own server, but you should only consider this once your website become too resource intensive for a shared web hosting package.
In conclusion, you will find that you need Business Web Hosting if you are wanting to host a mission critical website that requires as close to 100% uptime as possible; such websites will include online shops which provide you or your business with a source of income. Business Web Hosting is not for individuals who are looking to hosting a moderately busy website and most web hosting providers reserve Business Web Hosting packages specifically for businesses who have been verified.
