It is the start of a new year, and with that comes a renewed desire for companies to push on and improve the amount of success that they are privy to. Some believe that the best way to make this a reality is to upgrade their existing operating systems, so that their technical capabilities are far superior to those of their competitors. Others think that if they expand their catalogue of goods and services, they will be destined for greatness. Although there is no one right answer, you mustn’t overlook switching to a different server set-up.
You may be wondering about what the difference is between the numerous hosting options which can currently be taken advantage of. It is here that the catalyst2 team can offer some much-needed assistance. The phrases ‘Magento hosting’ and ‘DDOS protection’ may not mean very much to you, and these are things which we deal with on a daily basis. Below, you can find a comprehensive guide to the most popular hosting options and the benefits which are attached to them.
Cloud Hosting
If you had not already noticed, there has been a drastic upturn in the number of cloud-based solutions which are currently available on the market. Originally made popular by smartphones, as a way in which to store data virtually, they have since evolved significantly. One of the latest developments which is slowly-but-surely emerging as a popular investment is cloud hosting. Easily the most flexible type of agreement that you can enter into, this is an ideal choice regardless of the size of your company. If you are a start-up with very little capital to work with, this ensures that you do not waste what little funds that you have. Conversely, should you be trying to seize a bigger market share, this solution can be of great assistance.
In some of the other hosting packages that you will learn about further down, it is the lack of scalability which truly lets them down. Month-after-month, you will find yourself playing the same flat rate, regardless of the traffic which you are receiving. However, you do not have to worry about your finances being drained with a cloud server. With a click of a button, you can immediately decrease the amount of power which is used.
One of the primary reasons that websites suffer downtime is due to power cuts – they cannot be controlled and can occur for a variety of different reasons. It may be that a tree has fallen during a storm, subsequently severing important cable connections; perhaps updates are going ahead which cannot be avoided. These types of issues will never catch your attention when you are taking advantage of a cloud-based system. By not being based in a single location, it can immediately draw upon resources from hubs across the country, and this can prove to be invaluable going forward.
Magento Hosting
There will undoubtedly be some of you reading this that are under the impression that you are already in possession of top-of-the-range hardware, and this means that there is no room for improvement when it comes to your website – this could not be further from the truth. If you do not have the necessary precautions in place, a short power-cut could prove to be your downfall. Thankfully, there is an easy way in which to safeguard yourself against these types of situations, and that is to invest in Magento hosting in the UK.
In case you are slightly ignorant about website platforms, allow us to provide you with some much-needed context about how this can be implemented into your online set-up. Primarily, this is a service which is best-suited to e-commerce companies, as the main benefit which can be enjoyed is the streamlining of sale processes. You should also be aware that, as standard, you can expect Magento sites to come equipped with disaster recovery options and regular back-ups. This means that if you are unfortunate enough to be the victim of a hack, or find that your power remains off for an extended period, the results will not be crippling.
Were you to enlist the help of a reputable company for this type of venture, such as catalyst2, you can also expect intense coverage by a team of experts. Once informed of your expectations and objects, they will seek to make adjustments and improvements that will serve to increase the chance of success. Whilst some may argue that this is not a traditional server, there is no denying that it can be an indispensable asset going forward.
VPS Servers
For many companies, this is the option which immediately piques their interest – this can be attributed to both the price that it is available as, as well as its proficiency when deployed correctly. Virtual Private Servers, or VPS for short, have seen their popularity skyrocket in recent years, and it is not hard to see why. These virtual machines are meant to allow companies the chance to install bespoke software onto their website, without having to worry about the detrimental impact that it could have on other firms. Since this is not a physical entity, this is an option which presents a viable alternative to dedicated servers in terms of price. As such, you do not necessarily have to be a large business to take advantage of it.
Contrary to popular belief, investing in a UK-based VPS means that you can significantly improve the level of security that your website has. In recent years, the number of criminal hackers prowling around online has soared, and this only heightens the need for protection. Though you may advocate that buying an SSL certificate should more than suffice, the fact of the matter is that there are tools readily available which can circumvent this software. Should they hide their IP addresses, it will also mean that it is incredibly difficult to determine where the attacks are coming from. If you are storing confidential information which stems from your clients, you need to be proactive in your defence.
Most technical experts would agree that the biggest draw of VPS, in comparison to the other web hosting options which feature on this list, is the level of control that you are provided with. You will be issued with a control panel that ensures that, at the end of the day, it is your firm that makes the decisions regarding how your website performs. Whilst you may opt to enlist the help of outside technical support, there is nothing wrong with entrusting these types of roles to those individuals that have proven themselves within your in-house IT department.
Dedicated Server
If you are part of a multinational corporation, or are heavily reliant on the business transactions which take place online, you will undoubtedly want to make sure that your website is continuously running well, and does not encounter any performance issues. Whilst this is potentially achievable using the options listed above, the most prudent move for you to take is to come to a contractual agreement with a company that can provide you with a dedicated server. As the name suggests, what sets this option apart is that you are not forced to share any hardware with other companies. Instead, you are allocated a single server, and this can be used in any way that you see fit.
There are countless benefits associated with pursuing this course-of-action; first-and-foremost, we want to draw your attention to the fact that it can do wonders for the rankings that your website achieves on popular search engines. If, for instance, you were tied into a shared option, websites that feature explicit content could hurt the way your site is perceived by algorithms. This, in turn, could drastically harm your potential for turning a profit. Should you wish to avoid this potentially catastrophic outcome, you may wish to source a first-class dedicated server to take advantage of.
Though you may not realise it, there are a plethora of additional benefits which can be enjoyed when engaging in a dedicated server service. You can expect to have the attention of a team of engineers who have the ability to increase CPU performance levels as-and-when it is required. This ensures that if you are experiencing a particular rush, which could occur if you are offering a promotional sale or launching a flagship product, you can tweak things so that loading times never falter. Without a fully-functioning website, you run the risk of losing customers to your competitors, and that is something to try and avoid at all cost.
How Can You Get In Touch?
The fact of the matter is that there is not a single server option which is suitable in each-and-every situation. As a business, you need to determine how reliant you are on your website – this information can then be used to decide the amount that you wish to invest in a server provider. For example, if you are a local company, it would be a waste of your finances to hire a managed dedicated server, as the chances are that you will not receive the traffic necessary to make this a worthwhile venture. For those of you that are still struggling to decide on what the best course-of-action in your particular circumstances, it could be that you need to enlist the help of catalyst2.
There are few firms which operate in this industry that can profess to having over twenty years worth of experience – however, that is exactly what you get when you come to catalyst2. Formed in the year 2000, we have since had the privilege of working with thousands of clients; this has been made possible by the vast array of services that we provide. In case you have not come across us in the past, you must understand that ours is a company that is built on a foundation of stability. With an exceptional network uptime rate of 99.997% over the past fourteen years, you can be sure that your website will not be going down anytime soon. If you’re still a little unsure of our credentials, spending some time going over the wonderful testimonials that we have received on Trustpilot may be just the confidence boost that you need.
If you have any questions about VPS hosting in the UK, or want to enquire in general, we would love for you to get in touch. As a top-tier hosting company, we take great pride in providing exceptional customer service to our customers, prospective or otherwise. For those of you most-comfortable writing to companies, you can send us an email at sales@catalyst2.com. Should you prefer to ring us directly, you can do so on 0131 516 4975 – we cannot wait to hear from you.
