How do I choose the best web hosting for my business?
4th February, 2016 in Advice, Hosting
There are so many web hosting services available on the market, how would you know which one is perfect for your business? This blog will help simplify the decision of choosing a web hosting provider for your business.
Is it fast?
If you've got a brand new website and it's not running to the optimal speed then you have to consider, how does it affect your business? Research shows that over 40% of people will abandon your website, if it takes more than 3 seconds to load (Kissmetrics). Not only could it lose you customers but could also damage the reputation of your brand. Having a fast and reliable server is vital in the world of E-commerce.
How safe and secure is the server?
Knowing that your data/files on your website is safe and secure is pretty much essential. You can never compromise on the security of your website, as it isn't just your business that will be affected but also your customer's details that could get compromised. All of our server packages feature increased server security at no extra cost.
Does it provide a backup?
There's nothing worse than your server going down with an unrecoverable issue, especially if your business depends upon eCommerce. If your web hosting provider does allocate you with a backup solution then you should feel a lot more at ease, knowing that all your files are all backed up and recoverable. At Amity we take it two steps further and other three daily backups for complete peace of mind: one with the hosting company, one on Amazon S3 and a final one on our own dedicated server.
Does it come with regular maintenance & updates?
Websites are similar to cars, they need regular maintenance in order to fully function for use. By ensuring that your website is also regularly updated, you can stay on track with the progress of your business and not have to worry about continually updating your website. Each of our packages include regular server updates and additonal support from our team. To find out more about the specific support time per month for each server package, you can contact us at theteam@amitywebsolutions.co.uk or phone us for a chat on 029 2088 6582.
Is it monitored?
A good web hosting provider will frequently monitor your website to identify any issues and resolve them as quickly as possible. This part of hosting is sometimes overlooked, as there are lots of cheap companies online who can't offer this service. Each of our server packages come with monitoring features: our standard package includes monitoring your website every five minutes and with our premium packages we monitor your site every minute, enabling us to get your site back online before your customers even notice.
Load Balancing
If you have a particularly resource-intensive website that attracts lots of visitors, they may be pushing the server to it's limits, resulting in slow responses and potential downtime. With load balancing you can have two or more servers servicing your website and/or database in turn, managed by a "load balancer". That is, another server controlling which server the traffic goes to; perfect to spread the load across multiple servers. It's also great for uptime because your site does not have to be taken offline whilst one of the servers is undergoing maintenance.
Extra features
These are just some of the additional extras that we provide with our web hosting packages:
- Email accounts if needed
- additonal website optimisation to speed up page load time
- upgrades on your website content management if applicable
- Standard hosting- £360+ vat per year
- Premium hosting- £720 + vat per year
- Own Cloud/VPS - prices start from £195 + vat per month
- Own dedicated server- prices start from £395 + vat per month
Recent
22nd November, 2017 in
Amity is pleased to announce it's sister web design company has launched in Newport. http://nettlofnewport.co.uk will design & build, host & support and digitally market websites for customers in and around Newport, South Wales, using Amity as the technical backend. Nettl will also offer design & print material for marketing & exhibitions.
Did you know that approximately 96% of people leave a website without taking the action the website owner would like them to complete? Whether it’s buying a product, signing up to a mailing list or requesting a callback, the vast majority of people visiting your site do not do it!
28th November, 2016 in Advice
When did you last check the speed of your website? According to Google’s guide for webmasters, a good eCommerce website should load fully in under 2 seconds...
If your business isn’t currently using social media, now is the time to consider why that is.
25th October, 2016 in Advice, Amity News
December is the perfect time to kick-start campaigns and refresh your marketing. Even if the nature of your business isn’t remotely festive, your customers will appreciate the goodwill of a seasonal offer to two, or simply a friendly ‘Merry Christmas’ message.