But selecting the right type of hosting solution to get your brand online can be daunting. With so many different solutions and providers to choose from, it’s often tricky to narrow down your options and decide which one is really best for your business’ needs.
We spoke to UKFast, the nation’s largest privately-owned hosting provider, to shed some light on your IT infrastructure and where to start.
Shared hosting, or public cloud hosting, is a service whereby physical servers are segmented into multiple virtual servers. The resources of these virtual servers are then dedicated to you. Popular amongst small businesses because of the cost savings allowed by sharing the resources of a larger server – such as storage, processing power, and memory and disk space – shared hosting is perfect for small to medium businesses that have light to average web traffic and don’t require intricate, bespoke server configurations. Public clouds are also ideal for start-ups because, as your business grows, you’re able to adapt your hosting environment with ease to ensure scalability and agility.
Dedicated cloud hosting, or private cloud hosting, is one or multiple physical servers that have dedicated resources only for you. Everything, from the hardware to the network connection, is all yours.
This hosting option cuts the ‘noisy neighbour’ issue that shared hosting brings in the competition for resources, meaning all the resources can be used to power your website and applications.
Compared with shared hosting, dedicated hosting can be more costly as you pay for the dedicated resource, as well as the expertise to maintain it but this type of service is ideal, and often essential, for those with higher performance or strict security requirements. Dedicated hosting allows for complex customisation and for specialist applications to be run.
Finding the right hosting partner can be complex. Your website is your pride and joy, so who should you trust with your big business venture?
Your website needs to carry you through any peak periods of intense traffic and scale as your organisation expands.
That’s a big responsibility so it’s really important you do your research and find a hosting company that is transparent about what it provides and how it will help you grow as a business.
Transparency from the beginning is essential so you are aware of all costs. Another major thing to look for is how your hosting provider treats you – having a dedicated contact available at the end of the phone really helps with any queries or problems you may have.
Once you’re up and running online, it’s important to make sure you and your customers are protected. Online security is more important than ever as cyberthreats become ever more sophisticated. If you’re not an IT expert, it’s helpful to focus on getting the basics right:
UK-based and family-built, UKFast have two decades of expertise in cloud technology and dedicated hosting. Their focus on providing high levels of service and security has earned them life-long loyalty from customers across a broad range of business sizes and sectors.
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12 Feb 2024
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