As a business owner, you understand that having a website or application is essential to success. What you may not realize, however, is that behind-the-scenes infrastructure is just as important. Whether you run an eCommerce site or a development agency with multiple web apps, servers play a crucial role.
More and more businesses are using public cloud providers for their server needs. However, these services can be complex and time-consuming to manage, especially for small businesses with limited resources. This is where we come in.
What is Managed Hosting?
Managed hosting is a kind of web hosting where an entire server is dedicated to host a single website or application. This is in contrast to shared hosting, where one server hosts multiple websites. Although managed hosting is often more expensive, it offers greater personalization, security, and flexibility.
Managed hosting takes websites to the next level by giving businesses the option to lease dedicated hardware from a service provider, including servers, storage, and networking hardware. Because you have sole use of these resources, it’s referred to as a single-tenant solution.
As a business owner, you need your website to be available 24/7, but the process of maintaining one yourself and ensuring uptime is costly and time consuming. This is where the magic of managed hosting comes in.
Managed hosting offers a variety of services including OS updates, network infrastructure and hardware monitoring, basic security measures (e.g. virus and spam protection), and more. This way, you can focus on running your business and leave the hosting to the experts.
Managed hosting is a great solution for anyone who wants to improve their website without investing the extra resources.
The Tradeoffs of Unmanaged Hosting
While managed hosting promises a hassle free experience, unmanaged hosting leaves you responsible for administering the server remotely. This includes, but is not limited to keeping up with software upgrades, patching, security, and monitoringÂ
Even though you’re spending valuable money renting space from a hosting company, managing your own website is largely a do it yourself experience. Hosting companies are only responsible for maintaining the physical environment of a server, leaving you to fend for yourself when it comes to protecting your investment.
The Consequences of Unmanaged Hosting
Leaving your website in the hands of unmanaged hosts can have disastrous consequences, like your server going down, making your customer base unable to access your website.
While this is a nightmare scenario, it’s far from the last problem that can arise. Other common issues include:
🔹 Slow-Loading Website
When your website’s loading speeds are slower than usual, you risk a drop in lead pipelines, resulting in high bounce rates..Â
🔹 Cyber Security VulnerabilitiesÂ
Cyber exploits hit your company hard, causing major problems that could have been avoided had your software been up-to-date with patches.
🔹 Website Crashing
Your new website is getting a lot of attention from the press, but your website cannot handle the traffic and crashes. This causes a lot of inconvenience for your potential customers and reflects poorly on your business.
Benefits of Managed Hosting
As a business owner, the last thing you want to spend your time and money on is server management. That’s why fully managed hosting services are the best solution. With these services, you can focus on running your business, while someone else takes care of the server maintenance.
🔹 Reduce Risk
In today’s digital enterprise, risk reduction falls on everyone in an organization. From employees who choose not to open suspicious emails to accountants who ensure financial information is shared securely, protecting your operation is a team effort.
However, effectively reducing your exposure to online risks is not easy. It takes constant oversight and maintenance to ensure that…
- The OS is updated and security patches are applied
- Cyber security threats are identified and remediated
- Good traffic is able to flow while suspicious traffic is stopped
Outsourcing this part of the job to a managed hosting provider is a great way to ensure the job gets done correctly and consistently.
🔹 Keep Up with Business Growth
As your company grows, it’s essential to have a reliable managed hosting provider who can help you adjust your hosting resources as needed. Good communication with your hosting team is cornerstone to ensuring that your IT infrastructure can support upcoming growth and product launches.Â
🔹 Up-To-Date Technology
As technology continues to develop, many companies are struggling to keep up with the latest advancements. This can result in missed opportunities for improved efficiency and customer service.
Working with a managed hosting provider allows you to take advantage of the latest technology without having to make a large investment. This way, your company benefits from advances as they happen while your competitors fall behind.
🔹 Affordable Access to Skilled Experts
The hosting industry is very familiar with the skills gap. They are able to attract a large number of talented individuals who enjoy the challenge of working with multiple customers.
Managed hosting providers invest in keeping their team educated and up-to-date on the latest IT threats and opportunities. With every problem they solve for another customer, they are learning new ways to improve your hosting as well.
Why We’re The Best
As the owner of a WordPress site, you know how great of a platform it is. With an array of templates, plugins, and tools available, WordPress makes it possible for businesses large and small to create professional websites. In fact, 43.9% of all internet users rely on WordPress.
But as with any WordPress site, failing to keep up on essential web maintenance, plugin updates, and cyber security threats will create problems for your operation down the road.
Not to worry – we got you.
With our partner WP Engine FlyWheel we provide the world’s fastest hosting, providing daily back ups, fully managed updated plug-ins, monthly reports, and guaranteed uptimes to keep your website awesome.
Let’s connect hello@truaxmarketing.com.
