Websites must have Web Hosting – which company to choose
Ok, there are a bunch of web hosting options out there. So which one do you choose? First of all, why do you even need a web host anyway? Let’s back up again, what the heck is a web host?
Wikipedia puts it this way “web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their website accessible via the World Wide Web.” So in other words, if you want a website that is publicly accessible, then you need a web host.
So which do you choose?
To answer this question we would first ask, what’s important to you? Are you starting out and need a low cost option? Are you an established business who wants to add an e-commerce store? How many people do you anticipate visiting your website daily? Do you appreciate local customer service?
We’ve worked with companies of all sizes and they each come with a different web hosting solution. Some we’ve worked with are Hostgator, Bluehost, Siteground, Godaddy, 1&1 Web Hosting, and Network Solutions. Many of these companies are great. Godaddy for example, calls to check up on you, has US based customer support and their web builder has grown by leaps and bounds in the last 5 years. But here’s the thing with these companies, they’re huge. You’re just a number in their vast list of customers. You also do need a little technical knowledge to use them for the most part.
What about Wix?
Wix, Squarespace, and Weebly. Ok, these guys are web builders and when you sign with them they control your domain name as well as your hosting. Yes, they’re easy to use, but they pretty much own you. In some cases you don’t get personal customer service support either. We will write about each of these in a more detailed blog post at a later time. For now the short answer is, if you must use one of these sites purchase your domain name separately from GoDaddy. Then at least you can easily switch if you decide you don’t want to use them.
So what’s our recommendation?
We actually have our own sister company Purrfecthost.com. To keep our costs down and pass that savings on to you we have streamlined our systems which includes hosting your small business website ourselves!
Is it safe? Yes, it’s not a 10 year old server we have in our back room. It’s actually part of another larger company GreenGeeks.com. This arrangement allows us to offer secure shared hosting to our customers with the support of a larger team, and still be your extremely approachable customer service. We can manage email for you, add subdomains, and lots of other technical stuff that the big boys do, and not charge an arm and a leg to do it. We are also monitoring any changes in our technology, and offering those upgrades to you. For example, we now offer free wildcard SSL. Premium SSL is also available for an annual fee.
Love DIY?
If you like to do things yourself, that’s great! When you purchase hosting with us we set you up with C-panel Access, WordPress pre-installed on your site, and Beaver Builder drag and drop web builder if you would like to use it. You are free to build your site as you like. This option starts at $60 per year. Add an e-commerce store for only $99 per year.
So why host with Purrfecthost.com over our competitors? We are a family. We want to take care of each of the entrepreneurs who host with us. We regularly monitor your website to make sure it is showing up correctly and is secure. We update all the main plugins that we install for you. We are available Mon-Fri if you have questions about how to do something, or need to upgrade something. And we are planning a series of DIY instructional videos so that you have all the info you need to build a site that looks great, and shows up in search.
Want to join the club and get 3 months free? Sign up now at purrfecthost.com. (use promo code Circletownblog)