For those of you that are experienced website builders, it will come as no surprise to hear that getting your page online is not as simple as clicking a button. There are various processes which have to be taken care of in order for a successful outcome to come to fruition. Web hosting companies are slowly-but-surely becoming highly sought-after, and there is a good reason for this. After all, these types of firms are able to revolutionise and optimise the way that your website operates, and this change can be primarily attributed to the hosting options being offered.
Cloud hosting is typically regarded as one of the most exciting prospects in the technical world currently. Whilst it is true that there are various other options which can be taken advantage of, the benefits of this type of service truly elevate it to another level. Here at catalyst2, we have invested a significant amount of time and effort into refining our cloud capabilities, and as such we are ideally-placed to provide a comprehensive guide to everything that you need to know. If you would like to hear our thoughts on the matter, feel free to continue reading below.
A Brief Introduction
When it comes to locating a flexible type of server which can be tweaked in a moments notice, and does not force you to break the bank to afford it, the only service that you need to know is that of cloud hosting. At first glance, you may be slightly sceptical of its capabilities, not least because of the amount of media coverage that cyber attacks and hacks have had in recent times. The catalyst2 team are pleased to be able to shed some light on the matter; these packages and plans, contrary to popular belief, feature some of the most advanced security measures. The sensitive information of both you and your clients will be well protected, and you won’t need to lose any sleep over fear of being compromised.
Although you may not realise it, cloud hosting is a relatively simple service – the account manager that you are assigned to will have a control panel, and this can be used efficiently-and-effectively in order to maintain and improve performance levels as-and-when it is required. Should you be looking to transition from an existing arrangement to a package which involves the cloud, you will undoubtedly be glad to learn that the process is not only simple, but incredibly easy.
As you may expect from a system which predominantly utilises the Internet, backups take place on a regular basis. Disaster recovery has become an increasingly prevalent service over the past decade, and this is because the alternative is nothing short of catastrophic. If you were to lose your data, there is no-telling as to how long your website would be down. This, in turn, could lead to you losing business on a daily basis, and cause your revenue and income to plummet simultaneously. Understandably, you will want to do all that you can to avoid this type of situation – this is why cloud hosting comes in tandem with a failsafe that ensures that you won’t have to deal with this scenario.
What Are The Alternatives?
Should this be your first time exploring the possibility of getting a website live for your company, it is important that you have a well-rounded understanding of the market; most notably, you should recognise that cloud hosting is not the only option available. The truth of the matter is that there are a plethora of potential packages that could fulfil your requirements. It is vital that you ascertain what you are looking to achieve with your website, as well as the budget that you have to work with. With this information, you can decide the best course of action for your firm, and subsequently improve the results achieved.
Arguably the most prominent type of option that has been taken advantage of in recent years are virtual private servers, or VPS. These have often been regarded as a cost-effective solution which are suitable for small or medium-sized businesses – the reason for this is that they are not adept at handling heavy amounts of traffic. Due to the fact that you are loaded onto a server with a variety of other websites, the performance that you can expect can be described, in a word, as ‘average’. When you are looking to keep your overheads to a minimum, this is ideal. However, it is important that you keep in mind that there is not much flexibility to be had, and you are unable to load bespoke software onto the server, meaning that your website will most-likely be relatively basic.
If you are looking for a package which is regarded to be a luxury service, you need look no further than a dedicated server. As the name suggests, this type of package is something which is solely available to you and your company. Most web hosting reviews that you will find will be in relation to this, and the reason for that is the proficiency which it exhibits when put into practice. Not only this, but this type of service also includes frequent monitoring – this means that should there be a surge of traffic, power can be diverted in order to maintain performance levels. Often equipped with the most advanced security measures, including firewalls and anti-virus software, you won’t need to spare a second thought to being hacked by criminals. However, you should note that dedicated servers do not come cheap, and therefore you should only go down this route if you have the capital necessary to pay for the upkeep.
As you can see, there are a number of possibilities open to you when you are looking to get your website up-and-running. It is certainly true that there is nothing inherently wrong with either of the options mentioned above; that being said, neither VPS nor dedicated servers can match the accessibility which is exhibited by cloud hosting. Once you have weighed up the pros and cons, it will become apparent that the newest package has the edge, hence why it is seeing its popularity rise year-after-year.
Outlining The Benefits
The fact of the matter is that cloud hosting has an ever-growing list of selling points – after all, if it did not it would not be being implemented far-and-wide. Firstly, we believe it necessary to draw your attention to the reliability which these plans exhibit. Any successful firm will tell you that downtime can be crippling, particularly if you are operating in a fiercely competitive industry. Thankfully, this is something that can be avoided with ease – the way in which to do this is to engage in cloud hosting. The reason for this is that, rather than relying on a single piece of hardware, you are instead able to take advantage of servers based in a variety of locations. This means that should there be a blackout in one area, your website can begin operating from a different server. Downtime will become a thing of the past, and you can be sure that you will be able to reap the rewards going forward.
Most individuals that operate in the tech world would advocate that the most important selling point associated with cloud hosting is the price tag. When you are trying to source a cost-effective solution, in regards to running a website, this is where you should turn to. Once again, we must point out the overheads, or rather their lack of. Rather than paying for the upkeep of a VPS or dedicated server, you are instead siphoning off resources from an array of servers. In essence, you are simply paying for the energy that you use. If you are expecting a rush of users, you can invest more so that you can take advantage of numerous CPU cores. Conversely, if you are in a bit of a lull business-wise, minimal spending will keep things ticking over.
You should not overlook the not-inconsiderable safety measures that come as standard with cloud hosting. If you have ever partaken in shared web hosting, you may have noticed that you are liable to poor search engine results – this can be attributed to being compromised by the other websites that you share with. For example, if they feature explicit or adult content, this could lead search engines filtering you below your competitors. This is not a problem that you will encounter should you decide to go down the route of cloud hosting.
Why Choose catalyst2?
Were you to come round to the opinion that cloud hosting is indeed the right avenue to go down, the next natural step would be to locate a firm which conforms to your expectations. It is here that catalyst2 comes into the picture – our credentials speak for themselves. Since 2007, we have been able to achieve an uptime for our clients of 99.997%; you will be hard-pressed to source a competitor which can match this incredible stat. Regardless of if it is cloud hosting that interests you, or instead you believe that a dedicated server would be more suited to your situation, the speed of our services never fails to amaze.
Understandably, if you have not come across catalyst2 in the past, you may be wondering as to why it is that we stand head-and-shoulders above the rest of the industry. In truth, this can be put down to the experience which we facilitate for our clients. This can be described as being smooth, seamless, and hassle-free. Should you have some trouble in believing this, we suggest spending some much-needed time perusing through the ever-growing list of testimonials on our Trustpilot page. We have no-doubts that these will convince you that, going forward, we are the company that will cater to your every need.
Need More Information?
If you were to scour the Internet looking for cloud hosting providers, it would quickly become apparent to you that this type of service is on the up-and-up. Companies across the country are seeking to take advantage of innovative technological solutions, and cloud hosting plans have definitely become a viable alternative to traditional hosting. Whilst you may be harbouring some doubts, heed the words of a firm that have built up a reputation for offering the best managed cloud hosting in the country. For those of you that have not come across us in the past, allow us to introduce ourselves – we are catalyst2.
When you are trying to find the business which provides the best web hosting in the UK, there are various factors that you need to take into account – for example, the amount of experience they can boast to have, and the catalogue of services which they have to offer. In the case of catalyst2, you won’t be disappointed in either department. Having been established at the turn of the century, we have since spent the last twenty years finessing our web hosting services. To us, it does not matter if you require a cloud plan, or you are entertaining the idea of engaging in a dedicated hosting option. Our sole mission is to achieve total satisfaction for our clients, and we won’t cease until this becomes a reality.
Whether you are a small business that is looking to expand their online capabilities, or a multinational corporation that is set on cutting the loading times of their users, you can be sure that we can offer you assistance in some capacity. You will be thrilled to hear that aside from the various types of hosting that we are proficient in supplying, we are also renowned for the level of customer service available. Should you wish to discuss your queries with one of the catalyst2 representatives over the phone, you can do so by calling 0131 516 4975. Alternatively, we also have an email account that you can write to, which is sales@catalyst2.com; we look forward to hearing from you.
