Don't let your web developer host your website
Never let the developer building your website host it for you too. Never. End of story. We get it — you need a new website, you're told they'll take care of everything. You don't need to worry about a thing. Sounds great, right?
An unfortunate, but common tale
The most common complaint we hear from website owners is they feel like they don't have control over their own website. They don't have access to any information and have never been provided with login credentials for their host. When they request something, it takes too long to receive it. Ask for a simple change and they are faced with an excessive quote for what instinctively feels like very little work. Often website owners will end up paying far more in "minor requests" than the cost to build the entire website. Worst of all, if they want to move their website elsewhere, they can sometimes be faced with leaving a passive-aggressive provider that plays hard-ball and makes the transition slow and difficult.
We understand. You have no idea how often we hear this. We can almost predict it from the frustration in a potential client's voice. It doesn't need to be this way.
Types of website hosting
To understand better options, it's important to get familiar with some of the basics of web hosting, including the common types. Here's a breakdown of the differences between shared, dedicated and VPS hosting.
Shared hosting
Shared hosting is the most common form of hosting and is offered most frequently to new website owners. As the name suggests, when you use shared hosting you are sharing resources, like CPU, RAM and storage space. It's a cost-effective option because the server resources are shared amongst all users on that server. You're probably all paying the same fee even though your usage may differ significantly.
The downside of shared hosting is that if another website on your server receives a spike in traffic, it can impact the performance of your website. Less reputable providers may also overburden a server with too many websites and you may find that your website performance leaves a lot to be desired. Shared hosting is typically provided as part of a package from a website developer. Often the server is owned by them, or the server is owned by another party but the web developer has full administrative rights over that server. This is a common scenario where your web developer has control over your web server — but it's your website, so wouldn't you want control over the web server it resides on too?
Dedicated hosting
Dedicated hosting is at the opposite end of the spectrum compared to shared hosting. Rather than sharing resources, you have one server that is dedicated to your website only. Sound expensive? It is. On the upside, you have full control over your resources and can customise everything to meet your individual needs, but the flip side is that it costs a lot more.
VPS hosting
Wouldn't it be great if there was something between shared hosting and dedicated hosting that had the benefits of both? Introducing VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting. VPS hosting sits on the same hardware as other users just like shared hosting, with one major difference — your domain is the only one allocated to your particular virtual compartment. The means you get your own operating system, dedicated storage space, scalable CPU, scalable RAM and bandwidth. In short, you get all the benefits of dedicated hosting without the need to pay for a dedicated server. And the price? You might be surprised to know that VPS hosting is about the same as what you'd pay for shared hosting — possibly even less. Plus, you can have your own dedicated VPS service all under your management without being under the thumb of your web developer.
Maintain control with independent hosting
Be wary of cheap shared hosting services bundled as part of your website development. You're probably not going to get the best performance out of your website and, if you decide to change providers, you may have difficulties getting the information needed to migrate your hosting seamlessly. Sharing server resources with who-knows-how-many other websites is never a good idea, especially when you can have dedicated server resources for a comparable price with VPS hosting.
Hosting recommendations
We recommend the following minimum requirements for your hosting:
- Use an independent, reputable and globally recognised hosting provider like Amazon Web Services (our recommendation), Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud. Don't use hosting servers that are owned or primarily controlled by your web developer.
- The hosting master user account, or owner account, is held by your business, registered under an email address controlled by your business.
- Keep your username and password secure. A password manager like Dashlane is excellent for encrypted password security and never forgetting passwords.
- Ensure your web developer has separate login credentials. Don't ever share usernames or passwords. It's not only a very bad idea, but it's also a breach of obligations to your hosting provider.
- The login for your web developer has permissions sufficient to perform their role — nothing more.
- You can remove any user (including the web developer) at any time and add new users as required.
Your web developer can implement a master user account on your behalf and get everything set up using temporary credentials. Before paying for your site, ensure the master user account is transferred to your email address and you have selected your own password. This will ensure that nobody can take ownership of your hosting account.