Latest Mailing Database · Marketing knowledge
Choose Web Hosting Around the Site You Need to Run
Web hosting provides the environment in which your website runs. Choosing it requires more than comparing storage space. Consider who maintains the software, how failures are handled and what a recovery would involve for your actual site.
Understand who manages what
Shared hosting, managed hosting and a virtual server divide responsibility differently. Ask who handles operating-system updates, application updates, backups and incident response. A server with more control also requires someone capable of managing that control.
Describe the workload
List the application, database, expected traffic patterns and any background tasks. Include file delivery, ecommerce and email requirements where relevant. Resource limits can affect a site even when the advertised storage allowance is large, so ask about the limits that apply to your workload.
Check recovery before buying
Ask what backups contain, how long they are retained and how restoration is requested. Keep an independent recovery plan appropriate to the business. Test a restore on a safe copy rather than assuming that the existence of a backup means the site can be recovered quickly.
Plan the move as a separate task
Record DNS, certificates, files, databases and any mail services affected by migration. Test the new environment before switching public traffic. Keep a rollback route and verify forms, logins and transactions after the move. The hosting decision is incomplete without a workable transfer and maintenance plan.