Find Top Web Hosting Services Near You

Web Hosting Services

If you’re thinking about creating a website for your business, one of the first things you’ll need to do is choose a web hosting service to accommodate your site. Choosing the right web hosting service is crucial as it can minimise the risk of your site going down and other technical issues. Thankfully, there is a large number of web hosting companies offering a range of services to help your website thrive.  

What is a web hosting service?

Web hosting services are vital for every business that has a website as it essentially provides a safe and secure home for your site and makes it available for people to find and view. While there’s a long list of free website hosting services to choose from nowadays, any business that wants to create a reliable and authoritative online presence should carefully weigh up the various services available and choose a company that can fulfil all of your needs.

What services do web hosting companies offer?

Web hosting companies offer a range of services to suits different needs and budgets including:

• Domain name registration: Every website needs a unique name, i.e. “www.savvysme.com.au”. The cost of domain name registration largely depends on the extension, e.g. “.com”, “.com.au”, “.io”, etc. Some domain names are free, but they usually include the hosting provider name in the address, e.g. “www.[example].wordpress.com”.
• Email hosting: Email hosting is just like web hosting except it safely stores your email data. Having your domain in your email address creates a professional and coherent brand image.
• Website security: Another key service is website security including SSL (secure sockets layer) security, network monitoring, access restriction, malware removal, backups and operating system updates.
• Web hosting: An online hosting service to house your site and make it available to view online.

There are many different types of web hosting services to choose from. Web hosting companies can advise you on the type of solutions best suited to your needs and future growth plans. We’ve summarised the different option available below:

• Shared hosting services: Shared hosting is when your website is hosted on a server shared by other websites. It’s the cheapest and easiest service to manage, but it does come with higher security risks and limited customisation options. This option may be suitable for websites with low traffic.
• Virtual private service (VPS) hosting: VPS hosting is an upgrade from shared hosting as it provides a site with a private virtual server within a shared system. It is more secure than shared hosting and gives you the ability to run custom apps.
• Dedicated hosting: Dedicated hosting provides you with your own server, making it considerably more technical and expensive as you need an expert to run it. However, it is the most secure and private option and gives you more control and flexibility. It may be more suitable for ecommerce sites and businesses that need high-functioning servers.
• Reseller hosting: Reseller hosting is mostly used by businesses that want to host clients on their website. It lets you sell web hosting plans under your business name so you can earn additional revenue. 
• Cloud hosting: Cloud hosting is similar to shared and VPS hosting, except it doesn’t need a physical server. Using a remote, online server means there’s a low risk of losing data and also makes it easy to scale your website up and down.

What are the advantages of hiring a web hosting company?

There are many benefits of hiring a web hosting company:

• Tailored solutions to meet your needs
• Dedicated account manager to support 
• Deal with technical issues fast 
• Don’t lose out on prospective customers
• It’s cheaper than hiring an in-house team

A one-size-fits-all web hosting solution just doesn’t cut it, especially if you have a unique online business model or heightened risk and safety requirements. Web hosting companies can provide custom solutions to meet all of your website needs. One of the biggest benefits of hiring a web hosting company is that you are usually assigned your own dedicated account manager to support you with all queries, questions and technical issues. 

If your site or emails goes down, having dedicated support on hand to deal with your issues quickly can be the difference between gaining and losing potential customers, and profit and loss. If someone visits your website and it takes too long to load or doesn’t load at all, they’ll simply turn their backs and find one that delivers what they are searching for. 

A web hosting service is also a much cheaper option than hiring an in-house team. While large companies and organisations with high-server requirements might need a dedicated team of hosting specialists, it’s not necessary for small businesses that can outsource for a fraction of the cost.

How do I choose the best web hosting service?

Many small business owners make the mistake of thinking all web hosting services are the same, which can be an expensive and time-consuming mistake. The right type of web hosting services for your business will depend on things like:

• Type of business: Is it a blog? An ecommerce store? A website for professional services? The type of website has a direct impact on things like bandwidth requirements, security and server configuration settings.
• Bandwidth allowance/data traffic: You need to think about the number of bytes required to effectively transfer your site to all visitors.
• Scaling and upgrade options: Will your server provide enough room for your site to scale and grow?
• Control panel: Do you need the ability to manage certain aspects of your hosting account in-house?
• Email requirements: Do you need email account hosting in addition to your website? If you do, make sure you choose a service that has all the features and functions you need.
• Technical support requirements: What level of support will you need for your online business to function at its best? Are you happy to take on some of the work or do you need someone to handle everything?
• Server location: It’s recommended to choose web hosting services that are based in or near the country your business is based.

These are some important things to consider to help you in your search to find a web hosting company. While you don’t need to be an expert, it will steer your conversations in the right direction to help you determine which companies can best meet your needs.

Once you’ve found a company that ticks everything on your checklist, make sure you do your homework on the company by reading online reviews and testimonials from other small businesses. Choose a company with a great reputation that can back up its claims. 

We have a range of web hosting companies offering all types of web hosting services here on SavvySME. Simply answer a few questions about your business and we’ll introduce you to the right professionals. You can also browse our web hosting articles or check out the helpful Q&As.