Somewhere in the world there is a book of business commandments and this is probably in the top ten spot. Honestly, I hope it’s in the number one spot of the business commandments. When it comes to web hosting it can be really tricky and confusing for a person just starting out. Trust. I use to be there and confused too. First, before we get to the number one rule of web hosting lets break down what it is and what is not.
Website Hosting is:
is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their website accessible via the World Wide Web.
Website Hosting is NOT: your domain name that you purchased separately from the hosting company such as Host Gator or Go Daddy Hosting. This is one of the most popular thing I get asked in a consultation with clients about to launch their sites.
When your company is listed on a third-party shopping cart such as Squarespace, Bigcartel or Bigcommerce they provide the hosting on their company servers.
Website Servers are:
may be used as a part of a system for monitoring and/or administering the device in question. This usually means that no additional software has to be installed on the clients computer, since only a web browser is required (which now is included with most operating systems).
Website Files are:
what your visitors and potential customers actually see when going to your site, for example, your products and services. The site files are the same as any other file you normally use, like a .jpg photograph or .mp3 music file. Though, website files can also be .php files or .html files; PHP scripts or html pages respectively.
Now you have the break down of what website hosting, servers, and site files are. Let’s get to the number one rule of website hosting.
Thou shalt NOT let your website designer or web developer scam you into “their own “dedicated” server”. This is something a plethora of them do. Charging $15+ a month to have you on a server they purchased through Go Daddy Hosting, Host Gator or another company. They are putting hundreds of clients on one server that is also dedicated to whoever the hosting company has put on there. Which can cause crashes and security issues.
Instead of getting on their servers you can purchase it from one of two companies mentioned above for a fraction of the cost. They have 24/7 tech support to help you and much more. It’s not hard to buy your own hosting and a majority of these companies have simple step by step guides if your site is built on WordPress.
This post is brought to you by several of my coaching clients who have been scammed and had to sue or experienced nightmares from the horrible process of getting their company site back. Follow the number one rule of website hosting, so you don’t have to go through these struggles.