As the years have gone on, you might have noticed a change in the number of companies that are investing heavily in their websites – this is not a coincidence. Far from it, this is actually a strategic plan which is in-line with the trends seen around the globe. With the incredible advances that have been made in the technological sector, particularly in regards to the way in which the Internet can be used, firms are realising that this can become a fantastic way in which to generate business.
If this is a course of action that you would be interested in pursuing, first-and-foremost you will need to get a state-of-the-art website built. Once this is completed, you will need to get it hosted; this is certainly where problems can arise. Although it is certainly the website building that you will focus the majority of your time and money into, a poor host could undo all of the hard work. Having been operating in this field for more than two decades, catalyst2 is an accomplished hosting provider. This means that we have the knowledge necessary to highlight why it is that rather than utilise free hosting, you should instead opt to pay for the service.
Hosting – What Is It?
Understandably, if your understanding of the technical world is somewhat lacking, the term ‘web hosting’ could be a slightly foreign concept to you. Should this be the case, we will gladly provide you with a much-needed summary of what these services are, and why it is that they are considered to be essential. In its most basic form, this is a way in which website’s are made available on the Internet; without a host, your website will be shut-off, and none of your customers will be able to access it. Though you may question the need for this, it is designed to stop illegitimate sites from becoming commonplace amongst high-profile search engines.
It is only in the past thirty years that the Internet has truly taken off as a phenomenon. Prior this, websites would only be used as a way in which to offer educational content, as well as provide communications capabilities in the form of email. However, throughout its existence, the Internet has utilised at least some form of hosting. Initially, this was done by a company purchasing a server, which they would run in-house. Whilst it was effective to some degree, loading times were nothing short of atrocious, and it was quickly established that methods would need to be developed in order to improve the state of affairs.
The emergence of dedicated web hosting companies was certainly hailed as a positive thing at the start, it was not long before debates began to emerge in relation to whether or not free hosting could be seen as a long-term solution. Smaller firms certainly looked at this as being fantastic for their business, as it means that they did not have to stretch their relatively thin budget. From a reliability perspective, however, this type of service was certainly lacking. If you wanted to enjoy top-tier results, you would be better-off increasing your expenses and paying for the service.
Looking At Free Hosting
Compiling a list of the negative aspects of free web hosting services is something which is rather simple to do – this is down to the fact that there are countless drawbacks that you will be forced to experience. First-and-foremost, you will likely have to submit to having a barrage of ads placed on your site, as this can allow the provider in question to still be able to turn a profit from the service. Although this, in itself, is not the end of the world, it can hinder the overall experience that the visitors to your site are part of. Should you be attempting to cultivate a professional brand and reputation, you can be sure that this is a major obstacle to try to overcome. This is easily one of the main factors which, when taken into consideration, causes companies to investigate the possibility of switching to a paid service.
Due to the sheer number of companies that you will likely be sharing your elected hosting provider with, do not be surprised if you find that support as-and-when you need it is not forthcoming. To put it simply, as the company in question is not being paid, they have very little reason to invest much time into trying to resolve any problems that you are faced with. This is in direct contrast to the situation that you are put into when you are taking advantage of a hosting service which requires monthly payments.
When you consider how important your website is when looking at how it can contribute to the overall success of your business, the last thing that you will want is to be subjected to regular outages. Downtime has been cited as being a major issue that can cause catastrophic damage to the image of a company. Unfortunately, this is something which you can expect on a regular basis when you decide to try your luck with free hosting. The equipment that they possess is usually not up to the required standards, and can easily be overloaded with demand. If you realise that the time that your website is offline is money lost, you will begin to formulate an understanding as to why so many organisations advocate that paying for hosting, in the grand scheme of things, is a worthwhile venture.
Paid Hosting Options
In direct contrast to free hosting, paid hosting offers a fantastic array of benefits for you to be able to take advantage of, all of which should not be taken for granted. Take, for instance, ads – rather than them being forced upon you, you can instead pick-and-choose when you would like to sell ad space. By hand-picking the firms that you believe are legitimate and well-reputed, you can ensure that there is no risk that you will harm your brand. You can view this as a way in which to make supplemental income as well, as each click will allow you a share of the profits. In a way, you can view this as a shrewd method in which to cover the costs of the money that you spend on the hosting, making it a cost-effective method.
Should you be someone that places a lot of value on first-class customer service, enlisting the help of a renowned paid hosting provider is something which simply comes across as being common sense. You need to consider the fact that the firm that you are working with is being judged on its ability to satisfy your needs. If the website hosting falls below par, you will not only take your business elsewhere, but also likely leave a poor review which will reflect negatively on them as a company. As an example, if you were to decide to work with catalyst2, regardless of the time of day, technical support would be on-hand to tirelessly try and resolve any issues that you are facing.
The shared hosting systems that are typically found from free hosting contractors are not particularly well-known for their security. This is unsurprising, as with so many websites using them, it is relatively easy for cyber criminals to infiltrate using their state-of-the-art software. This, in turn, can have severe ramifications on a user’s willingness to visit your site, particularly if there has been a recorded number of incidents related to leaked information. One of the best ways to ensure that you do not have to face this obstacle is to take advantage of paid hosting. The dedicated servers which are usually deployed are equipped with firewalls and other means with which to protect your site.
A Round-Up
Any web developers that have been around long-enough in this industry will testify that if you want to enjoy sustainable success, the packages included in paid hosting are far-and-away the best options available to you. Take away the monthly costs which you are paying, and the savings still make this an incredible investment to make, for the safety and success of your business. It is worth noting that the majority of high-level providers will offer you a money-back guarantee clause, in the eventuality that something goes awry. This should give you the peace of mind that the expenses that you are enduring are not in vain.
Whilst, from a financial point of view, it is partially understandable as to why you and your company might want to entertain the idea of free hosting, in practice it is simply not sustainable. The number of problems that you can expect to face is something which will cause you undue levels of stress and hassle, which is what you will want to try and avoid at all costs. As time elapses, the successful manner in which your website operates will be able to increase your potential profit margins. This, in turn, means that you can begin to develop your website further. This is a cycle that, in practice, has shown time-and-again to be excellent – there is a reason that paid hosting firms have seen an enormous growth in demand.
Gone are the days where, at any moment, your website could suddenly cease to function in the manner that it should. If the traffic should begin to increase, the control panel that you have access to makes it easy to boost your power levels; alternatively, you can leave this responsibility to your hosting provider. When you first make the switch, it will immediately become apparent that the smoothness of your operations will pay dividends in the months and years to follow.
Start Your Journey Today
Web hosting in the UK is continuing in an upward trend in relation to its importance and value; companies are coming to the conclusion that rather than trying to look after things in-house, a more successful approach is to engage in web hosting plans provided by professionals. As you will no-doubt be aware, there are hosting offers available left-and-right, which can cause issues when trying to locate the hosting solution that is best-suited to your organisation. When searching for what you would consider to be the ‘perfect’ hosting option, it is vital that you assess the credentials of the provider in question, and this is where catalyst2 is able to shine.
For those of you that have become sick-and-tired of looking for a UK web hosting company that has proven itself to be of the highest order, and has a pricing structure that is competitive-yet-affordable, it is hard to look past catalyst2 as the ideal candidate. Whilst we initially built a reputation for being home to wonderful web hosting services, our capabilities have slowly-but-surely evolved to keep up with the demands of our client base. Now, whether you require a website builder or a support team that can consult, we are there for you.
As you can see from the ever-growing list of Trustpilot testimonials that we are in possession of, we are routinely able to exceed the expectations of our audience. Reliable hosting is something that should never be taken for granted, and here at catalyst2 we simply want what is best for you. For those of you that have questions, be they about WordPress hosting or the operating systems that we use, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We are more than happy to discuss matters in-depth with you – all you need to do is choose your preferred method from those described on our website’s contact page.
