Web Hosting Essentials
John Scaramuzzoin Hosting
Welcome to my first blog on Web hosting. Since I’m a big sports guy, I relate this “blogging” debut to a rookie getting called up to big leagues. So, forgive me if I have “opening day” blogger nerves but I hope you’ll find the post informative when choosing a hosting option.
There are several aspects to having a successful web site, but one of the most important components is having a dependable web hosting company. Once you’ve made your investment developing a great looking site, and you’re running your entire business on-line, the last thing you need is for your site to be down or hacked or be incredibility slow. So, it’s important to choose the right hosting company that has the features you need for your web site to be running efficiently 24×7x365. Here are three important factors when evaluating hosting solutions:
- Reliability
- Redundancy
- Scalability
So, let’s break down each of these items to identify the important features of each one.
Reliability Features
- It’s important to utilize the same company who developed the site
- 24×7x365 Technical Support & Monitoring
- Web Analytics to provide important data about your site’s usage and traffic patterns
- Test and Production systems so you can review/test your site prior to releasing it to production (Live)
- Industry leading hardware and software providers – some companies use “white boxes” which are custom built servers made from scratch. You want good warranty support on your servers and your software from industry leaders
Redundancy Features
- State-of-the-art data center that includes multiple Internet connections, redundant air conditioners, UPS, diesel generators
- Daily, Weekly & Monthly backups
- Offsite backups
- Dual power supplies in your server
- Dual firewalls
- RAID systems for disk storage in your servers
Scalability Features
- Web and application servers that are separate from your database
- Your bandwidth can be expanded to meet your site’s evolving needs within a few business days
- The ability to go with dedicated servers
- A Content Management System (CMS) which allows you to have multiple authors for your web content
The bottom line is that your hosting company needs to be able to grow with your business as well as having all of the features needed to manage and monitor your web site. So, when considering hosting options don’t forget these handy tips, and if you need help just gives us a call.
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June 3rd, 2008 at 11:07 am
I tracked back your blog from the Bassett Furniture site. That’s a great site so I wanted to learn more about the company who created it.
Can you expand upon the statement in this article that says, “It’s important to utilize the same company who developed the site.”
Why is that important? If the company who is creating my website is going to charge $1600 per month for hosting and another hosting company would charge $500, why should I choose the $1600 option? Shouldn’t my web development firm be able to host where I want them to — especially if both facilities offer the same hardware/software and licensing is included in the price?
June 4th, 2008 at 5:21 am
I appreciate the compliment about the Bassett site design - we’re very proud of that design. Your question is a very good one and perhaps my statement was painting too broad of a picture.
In general, you certainly can use different firms to perform your site design/web development and then have another firm host that site. This certainly works very well with static sites the majority of the time.
My perspective in this article was stemming from the fact that far too often company owners have site issues that become a finger pointing contest between the development firm and the hosting firm as to why the site is down. Additionally, the Bassett site is another example of why it’s easier to deal with one firm. This is an example of a very large dynamic site which are often very complex due to the following reasons:
• Multiple databases interfaces
• Back office integration
• Content Management - very important for Search Engine Marketing
• Data and Network Security issues
• Configuration Management for all of the hardware and software utilized
The bottom line is that you certainly can work with a different firm for your hosting options but it usually requires good coordination between the two firms to ensure everything operates smoothly.