August 4, 2022
About Hackers And Cold Hard Cash
We all know that web hosting is the thing you pay for to make sure your website has a place to hang out on the internet.
Thing is, even though it seems that websites hover in the ether all connected by a mysterious web, the hosting that keeps them there can’t happen without physical resources.
This is where servers come in. I don’t know about you, but I know exactly what servers look like because I have watched Space Jam: A New Legacy and Fall, Sky Fall.
I wonder how many small or medium businesses would be on the net if owning a server farm were the only way to host their websites. But of course you don’t need an entire data centre. You only need a server, and not necessarily even a whole server.
Own It! Sometimes this isn’t the best advice.
When it comes to hosting, you have choices. Do you:
a. Purchase and run your own server?
b. Use a web hosting service?
But . . . why pay a hosting company when you can have your own server?
I can think of 2 reasons: hackers and cold hard cash.
Purchasing and running your own server just to host your own website is expensive and can make your life complicated. A server isn’t something you set up and forget. It requires maintenance. If you don’t handle with care, your apps and website could get sluggish or crash. Either way you look at it, it’s going to cost you time and money.
And then there’s the small matter of security.
If it has ever happened to you, you’ll know that being a victim of hacking is more than just inconvenient.
“A single attack — be it a data breach, malware, ransomware or DDoS attack — costs companies of all sizes an average of $200,000, and many affected companies go out of business within six months of the attack.” Techtarget
Well, that’s scared me. Let’s talk about something positive.
3 Benefits of using a (reputable) hosting service provider
Option b is to make use of a web hosting service. Put simply, you rent space on servers that they own and maintain and get the benefit of their security and optimisation features at a price you can afford.
Small, simple site with moderate traffic? Choose shared hosting which, you will be surprised to learn, is a single server shared between multiple users.
Online store selling ice to Eskimos? Choose a hosting package with features tailored for ecommerce like inventory management and payment processing functionality.
Most SME’s needs can be met by a managed web hosting package . . . unless, of course, you’ve always dreamed of owning a farm.
Roll credits.