It’s easy to understand that your business needs a website, but it can get confusing and bewildering to hear that every website needs a domain name and a web hosting service.

What ARE these things, and what do they do?

Well, like the street address that tells people where you live, a domain name helps customers drive directly to your website. We’ve explored how to choose the perfect domain name for your brand in a previous blog, but in this article we want to explain what web hosting is, why you need it and why supported hosting is a good idea.

What is Web hosting?

Web Hosting is the business of providing the storage, connectivity, and services necessary to serve files for a website. Web hosting is the space for your website; Think of a web hosting company as a type of landlord, they rent physical space on their servers allowing webpages to be viewed on the Internet.

Why do I need web hosting?

The short answer is that without it, no one (apart from you!) will be able to see your website. You need web hosting in order for your website to be live. Web hosting allows the world to have access to your site. Web hosting gives your website a place to live. The way to get your website hosted is by paying a web hosting company such as GoDaddy, Heart Internet or 123-reg who will store your website on one of its servers which is the physical equipment that displays websites to visitors.

What is supported hosting?

Some companies, including Happy Heart, offer supported web hosting which, in addition to providing somewhere for your website to live, includes value added services and additional back-up for your site. The offerings vary from supplier to supplier but the last thing you need when your server is down is to be left in an endless telephone queue, only to be bombarded by unintelligible techno-speak once your call is finally answered.

If you are looking for a supported option then check out what you are getting included, for example The ‘Happy Heart Hosting” supported package offer provides a dedicated, personal service with straightforward explanations, advice and solutions to any problems or questions you might have.

In addition, it includes spam licensing Askimet and additional back-up which gives you peace of mind and a super-reliable web hosting service. So, before you buy web hosting, it’s worth considering not just what the cheapest option is, but what you’re going to get for your money, including the reliability of the web host and the customer care they deliver when things aren’t working or you need help.

Looking at the bigger picture, some things are well worth paying for, and if you’d sooner get on with the business of running your business than tearing your hair out trying to fix problems with your website server, then a supported web-hosting package will be worth every penny to you.

If you want to chat your web hosting options through please Contact me for more information about our web hosting packages.