Any business of nearly any type wants to be on the internet today to be taken sincerely. While this is just another cost of business lost in the vast budgets of big companies, for a small business it may symbolize a major expense and one that must be cautiously allocated as cheaply as possible. One method to decrease website expense is the use of web hosting.
The benefits of web hosting can be considerable for the small or medium size business, but there are also some risks and disadvantages to think about. By definition, web hosting involves a third party in your business, so you want to decide very cautiously. Have a less than reputable or ethical hosting company could because you troubles.
For example, one thrifty form of web hosting is the shared domain, where the provider partitions a server into sections and companies have their own little piece of the server with an exceptional name, but truly part of one domain. These tend to be the slightest expensive and cost is one of the prime advantages of web hosting, and as such a benefit to small, cash-poor companies and new start ups.
The disadvantage is that you have no control over who is sharing that space with you. If one of the other users is a criminal running a scam, or an immoral marketer spewing e-mail spam to unhappy victims, the entire domain may be blacklisted or blocked by others. You could be completely ethical and honest, but your site would be labeled as disagreeable along with the real violators. Be very cautious about rules domain providers make and how well they implement them.
Another of the advantages of web hosting is a reduction in the costs of hardware, equipment, and its maintenance. As the hosting company has the servers and will be in charge for repair and replacement, you don’t have to worry or put out the cash. The disadvantage is those if they are slow with repairs or don’t improve outdated equipment your site may bog down or even go offline.
There are advantages of web hosting in reducing staff costs as well. You don’t require hiring someone to administer the equipment or trouble shoot problems when they take place. IT support personnel do not come cheap, so this can be a vast savings to the smaller company. The disadvantage is no control at all over the qualifications of the people the hosting company does hire, and hesitation about how much of the time they will be available or how rapid they will respond.
A business will require thinking whether or not the advantages of web hosting at present outweigh the disadvantages. At some point, it may be preferable and more practicable to host and maintain a site within, but in the starting, web hosting can mean the difference in being able to have a web presence or not, and should at least be well thought-out.