Introduction

Website Hosting. That ambiguous, mysterious thing that you need to pay for when you have a website. You know it’s important, but you’re not entirely certain why, or what it’s even doing for you. And you definitely don’t know why some companies are paying $22 a month for it and others are paying $500.

Today we’re going to lay it all out in the open. We’re explaining what hosting is, what the different categories of hosting are, why the distinctions between them are important, and how IFC’s hosting is a little different. (And by different, we of course mean better.)

What is website hosting?

Imagine you just checked into the cutest little B&B. You loved the hosts so much, you never wanted to leave. They always had the perfect room set aside just for you. If you ran out of toothpaste, they would replace it right away. The Wi-Fi was never down. And they just took really good care of you.* 

Website hosting is basically like that! Even though it seems like your website gets magically pulled from the aether to appear in peoples’ browsers, it actually resides on a physical server somewhere on the planet. In fact, we say, it is “hosted” on that server. This is website hosting.

(Psst! If you’d prefer to watch Tony’s video explanation of website hosting–complete with explosions–you can do thathere.) 

Not all website hosting is created equal 

So if hosting is like having an idyllic little B&B for your website where it gets to live and be taken care of…you're probably still wondering why the price seems to vary so much from company to company?

Not all website hosting is created equal. There are not only different types of server options, but there are also different service options. Some hosting situations are less like high-class B&Bs are more like cheap youth hostels (or worse). Choosing one over the other depends on your budget, your goals, and the experience you want for both you and your customers.

1. Server Options

Shared Website Hosting

Shared hosting is like the youth hostel I mentioned earlier. A lot of people are packed in. No one there is looking for bells and whistles. Security is fine, bordering on downright terrible.

With Shared Hosting, multiple customers rely on the resources from a single server, sharing those resources across the server. It’s more affordable, but this method is also more prone to performance problems and security issues as you have no control over how other customers will use your server. When one website is using a lot of resources, it can slow or crash the other sites on the server, leading to all sorts of problems for you and your customers.

Dedicated Website Hosting (IFC uses this)

Here we’re back to more of a B&B situation with “quality over quantity” reigning supreme. A place where each guest feels truly secure and cared for.

With Dedicated Hosting, you have an entire server to yourself. It’s more expensive than Shared Hosting, but it offers the best in performance and security standards because you (or in the case of IFC clients, we) are in control of everything.

2. Service Options

Not only are there shared vs. dedicated servers–there are also hosting service options. Let’s take a look at those.

Unmanaged Website Hosting

Unmanaged (or self-managed) hosting means the customer is responsible for managing and maintaining the speed, performance, and security updates of their own website platform and server. This is both time-consuming and overwhelming if you don’t have a dedicated IT person on staff.

Managed Website Hosting (IFC provides this)

With managed hosting, the hosting provider takes care of server management, website platform updates, plugin updates, and maintenance. An expert who understands websites and hosting going in everyday and making sure everything is working in your favor? It’s worth the investment for peace of mind.

What about IFC’s Website Hosting?

At IFC, we exclusively offer dedicated servers and fully managed hosting for our clients. As an advanced agency partner of WP Engine (the industry leader in WordPress hosting), we currently own 5 dedicated servers housed at the state-of-the-art Google Data Center in Council Bluffs, IA. This means that as a hosting client of IFC, you get the benefit of the fastest page speeds in the industry-backed up by the highest security standards in the business. We also provide a CDN (content delivery network) by default, something most other hosting providers do not, which means your website is even snappier on our servers.

Plus–high quality hosting isn’t just about having a faster, more secure site. A faster, more secure site comes with dividends of its own. (You may remember our post about the 5 Hidden Costs of Website Downtime?)

Additional benefits of website hosting with IFC include:

In addition to fully managed hosting on dedicated servers, we also include…

  • Direct tech support. No waiting on chats or getting put on hold. We are your direct link to website support and updates.
  • WordPress core and plugin updates. You’re not responsible for updating your website and ensuring those updates don’t break your website, we are.
  • Rolling daily backups for 30 days. We’re ready to restore your website in a click if needed.
  • SSL included.
  • 99.9% uptime.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You are now website hosting experts! You now know your hosting options, the benefits of certain types of hosting, and how investing in them are good for both your own peace of mind, and your customer’s experience with your company. 

If you weren’t hosting with us before you read this and super secure, fast, managed-for-you hosting sounds like a win-win, get in touch today.