by Kevin | Aug 28, 2022 | web hosting
Difference Between Web Hosting and Cloud Hosting?
With the Internet becoming more and more central to our lives, it’s unsurprising that demand for web hosting services has increased so significantly. There are now over 10 million websites worldwide, with a whole range of different users creating them: from individuals and small businesses to universities, companies, governments and more. If you’re looking to create a website as part of your company’s online presence or just have personal blog you want to set up quickly and easily, then web hosting is something that you need to be aware of. Web hosting is essentially the server space where your website will reside. It’s effectively the home for all your website files, images, videos and other such content once it’s live online. With so many providers out there offering varying packages and prices, let this blog post serve as your complete guide to choosing an A2 web host provider.
What’s the Difference Between Web Hosting and Cloud Hosting?
Web hosting is the general term for “offering server space and bandwidth so that a website can be accessible to the public”. A cloud hosting service, on the other hand, is a form of server hosting in which the hardware is not owned or operated by the service provider, but by a third-party: an ISP, a data center or a cloud computing service. This means that the provider simply rents out server space on hardware owned by someone else. This is why they are often cheaper to use than dedicated hosting. A dedicated server is when the company provides you with your own machine. This is more expensive than a shared hosting solution, but offers a lot more freedom and control.
The Different Types of Web Hosting
There are a variety of hosting services designed to provide reliable and fast hosting for your website. The most common hosting types include Shared Hosting, Virtual Private Server Hosting (VPS), Dedicated Server Hosting and Cloud Hosting. Here’s a quick overview of each type of web hosting: – Shared Hosting: With a shared hosting account, you share a server with other website owners. This means that you’re sharing the same hardware and bandwidth, which could be an issue if your site becomes very popular and causes a strain on the server’s resources. – Virtual Private Server Hosting (VPS): This is a type of hosting that lets you have your very own server. You rent the server with a certain amount of resources, such as RAM and storage, and you can use it to host your own website or run your own applications. – Dedicated Server Hosting: This is a more expensive option used by larger companies that need full control of the server and the amount of resources it can provide. You can host pretty much whatever you want on a dedicated server, which is why it’s a good choice for businesses that handle sensitive data. – Cloud Hosting: Cloud hosting is a newer form of hosting that is rapidly gaining in popularity. It involves using a remote data centre to run your website using shared resources. The advantage of this is that you don’t have to worry about upgrading your server to accommodate your growing traffic.
When to Choose a Dedicated Server
A dedicated server is ideal if you want full control over the hardware and software that your site is hosted on. The good thing about a dedicated server is that you won’t share it with anyone else, so you won’t have to worry about your site getting knocked offline due to another user’s over-usage. You also won’t have to worry about any data caps or data transfer limits if you’re hosting on a dedicated server, as you have direct access to the hardware and can control how much computing power and bandwidth you’re using. If your website is particularly sensitive or you’re storing a lot of data, then a dedicated server is a good choice as you have complete control over the hardware. This means that you can make sure that your data is stored securely.
When to Choose a VPS Hosting Service
A VPS hosting service is a good choice if you need the power of a dedicated server but don’t want to pay the high cost of renting a whole machine. VPS hosting gives you more flexibility, as you can scale up your hardware whenever you need to. As you only share the resources with a few other users, you also won’t have to worry about your site going down during periods of high traffic. VPS hosting is a good option if you need a lot of computing power and want to be able to upgrade your hardware whenever necessary.
When to Choose Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting is a highly scalable solution that can easily adapt to your growing traffic. It’s a great option for websites that experience a lot of traffic spikes. You can also quickly scale up your hardware to accommodate heavier loads and you don’t have to worry about upgrading your server. Depending on the provider you choose, cloud hosting can be very affordable. However, some providers charge extra for more advanced features, such as access to the server’s console or the ability to transfer your data to another location. If you anticipate your traffic growing significantly, it might be a good idea to choose a provider that offers a managed service. This way, you can rest assured that your provider will take care of any issues that crop up.
Conclusion
Web hosting is the foundation of any successful website, so it makes sense to choose your provider carefully. You’ll want to make sure that your host has enough server capacity to handle your traffic, as well as the flexibility to scale up as needed. Your host should also offer good customer service, a reliable uptime and a variety of sign-up offers, such as free domain names or free credit for server resources. Hosting your website on an established platform with a reputable provider will give you peace of mind as you build your online presence.
by Kevin | Aug 4, 2022 | web hosting
Due to its overall simplicity and convenience, static websites are excellent means of publishing various kinds of content requiring a fixed display of information such as blogs, landing pages, or personal portfolios. They allow for the publication of data similar to printed media without the need for intricate knowledge on database configuration or web programming – making it scalable, manageable, and cost-effective.
When it comes to hosting your static website on the cloud, you have both free and paid ones available. While these services have a good number of similarities including port speed, security, and network bandwidth; there are noticeable differences in key specialty sets offered such as disk storage capacity, data transfer limit, additional scripting support, and many others. Numerous companies provide cloud hosting services, but in this article, we will be discussing the top 3 of them, namely AWS, Digitalocean and google cloud storage.
Amazon Web Services
As one of the leading platforms in the industry, Amazon Web Services offers a broad range of features to help you develop and host your static websites. By employing its cloud services, users are ensured of reasonable operational costs and extensive site development versatility.
Deploying their cloud-hosting service for your static websites begins with setting up a valid AWS Account. While AWS hosting services are paid, they offer free 5 GB data storage and different free utilities for the first twelve months of usage. Afterward, static websites are configured through AWS Amplify, via its Amplify Console. This component provides a git-based workflow for continuous deployment of the static website to be uploaded on the app. Upon purchasing a domain and final in-app configuration process, your static website shall be available for viewing.
DigitalOcean
Partnered with several industries leading businesses such as Docker, Github, Slack, Hashicorp, and many more, DigitalOcean offers developers excellent cloud-hosting services ensured with reliable flat-pricing structure, word-class service, and security up to international standards. Deploying DigitalOcean’s cloud-hosting service for your static websites is comparatively similar to AWS, if not a bit more streamlined.
Using DigitalOcean’s platforms involves setting up an account both for DigitalOcean and Github. Github hosts your static websites by pushing codes to newly created repositories, which shall be deployed towards DigitalOceans App Platform service for viewing. App Platform, by default, provides SSL support but can be customized depending on the developer’s needs. While users are encouraged to pay for their cloud-hosting service to enjoy their platform’s full feature set, you may deploy up to three static websites for free.
Google Cloud Storage
As one of the leading figures on cloud-based technologies, Google cloud-hosting services are readily available for developers looking for an easily accessible platform for their static websites, free of charge.
To deploy their services, it is essential for users to properly configure their Google Cloud Console by ensuring the creation of a GCP project, setting up their billing accounts, and ownership and management of a top-level domain. The set-up process begins with developers connecting their domain to their cloud storage, followed by creating their Google cloud storage bucket. Files to be included to their websites are then uploaded with access control models tweaked depending on user preferences. Finally, after testing the working condition of the registered domain, your static website will be readily available for use.
Amazon Web Services, DigitalOcean, and Google Cloud Storage provide some of the industry’s best cloud hosting services. Although these are the top three cloud-hosting platforms, you may also go through the features of other cloud hosting companies and see which one will suit you the most.
by Kevin | Aug 4, 2022 | web hosting
Whether you are a blogger, an e-commerce seller, or a business owner, choosing the best web host can be confusing for you, but first, let us understand how an ideal web host should be.
An ideal web hosting service should offer 24/7 assistance, endless bandwidth and storage, augmented malware protection, online store tools, Google tools for websites, and most importantly – a free domain. Some even offer free extended support for PHP like IONOS.
Here are five essential tips in choosing the best web hosting service for you:
Know your needs and find out the correct package for you:
First, you need to ascertain your website’s needs and find the correct package suitable for you before making a decision. You have to make sure that your chosen web hosting provider is compatible with your site, and the services they propose have everything you may need.
Know if it is reliable and always available:
Weak servers can sometimes cause your website to be unavailable for viewing. Outdated hardware is the main reason for this. The traffic on your site would be lesser than what you desire. Your connection with readers or customers might tamper just because you did not give them a smooth reading or browsing experience.
Know whether the offered services are suitable for its price:
There is always a long list of services offered by every single web hosting company, but are they perfect for their price? They should be.
We sometimes opt for the cheapest one with convincing offers, but the host’s quality is always essential. It would be best to find a host that could assure you that you are getting what you want for a reasonable price.
Know whether you can reach their customer service 24/7:
Being a customer yourself of many other things, you should know firsthand that it is annoying not to have reliable customer service when you need them. It is of great importance that you choose a web hosting service that offers 24/7 live support that includes live chat and prompt email response.
Know if backing up your site included in their offer:
We would not always know when there are cyber threats to our site, and having a backup option should be one of your priorities in choosing a host. Be it daily or weekly, you should always have this kind of choice to save yourself the headache of starting up from scratch when unforeseen hardware malfunctions happen on your end.
Choosing the best web host should not be a problem for you by now, as these tips will guide you in making the right decision. Many web hosting services are out there in the market, and different websites always have different needs.
by Kevin | Jul 27, 2022 | web hosting
Kinsta is a managed WordPress hosting provider that does everything you will need to get your website up and running. In this article, we’ll take a look at how you can use Kinsta – its features, plans, and other resources you might need.
About Kinsta
Kinsta has been working with WordPress now for over 10 years. During those years, they have partnered with thousands of businesses to manage high-traffic blogs and provide the companies with the fastest speed and stability for their sites. They are suitable for everyone – from startup companies to bigger companies.
Features
When looking at a managed hosting provider, it’s vital to browse through their features first. This gives you an idea about their capabilities and expertise in the WordPress hosting providing field. Let’s take a look at Kinsta’s offered features.
State-of-the-art technology
Kinsta has a targeted focus on speed. That is why they make sure to only use the best technology to ensure your site loads within seconds. They utilize Nginx, MariaDB, PHP 7.4 to ensure high availability.
Hassle-free site migrations
Moving from one domain to another? Don’t worry. At Kinsta, they take care of all the processes concerning site migrations. They will assign a temporary domain for your site and make sure everything’s spotless before launching.
Secure network
No worries about security issues as Kinsta will handle everything. From both passive and active security protocols to daily backups, and many more. You also get DDos detection, hardware firewalls, SSL support, uptime monitoring, etc.
Uptime checks every 2 minutes
All Kinsta’s hosted websites are being checked every 2 minutes. That’s about 720 uptime checks per day for each of your sites. This is to make sure everything is up and running smoothly and quickly. They also address any issue they spot in the uptime checks.
Google Cloud Platform
Kinsta ensures fast and secure transport of all your data through the Google Cloud Platform. With Google Cloud, you can utilize their hyperscale data centers to reach users worldwide. They use a secure-by-design infrastructure to combat security threats.
Powerful, intuitive platform
Although Kinsta’s platform is designed to be highly intuitive, it certainly is developer-friendly and more powerful than it seems. You get an overview of your sites with their dashboard. Moreover, you get to track valuable analytics in just one place. This includes visitors states, response times, and bandwidth usage. With the platform, you can even create SSL certificates and many others using the tools that are conveniently located on the dashboard.
24/7 reliable tech support
Kinsta makes sure to maintain their 100% solve rate. Thus, they make sure no issue goes unnoticed. With their proactive support and 24/7 monitoring, they are able to resolve any issues that arise quickly. Moreover, their WordPress experts are quite adept in troubleshooting and maintaining your websites.
Available Plans
Kinsta’s plans are inclusive of free migrations and a hack fix guarantee. Their plans start at $30. In all plans, you can choose from one of the 24 regional data centers of Google Cloud. Moreover, you get access to Kinsta’s tech support to help you out with any issues you may encounter. If your site is coming from other hosts, they also handle your site migration.
Starter
At $30 per month, you are entitled to 1 WordPress install, 25,000 monthly visits, 10 GB of disk space, and free SSL and CDN. The Starter plan, as well as the other plans, all come with hack and malware removal, staging area, self-healing technology, multisite support, automatic daily backups, automatic DB optimization, manual backup points, and backup retention.
Pro
With the Pro plan, you get 2 WordPress installs, 50,000 monthly visits, 20 GB of SSD storage, and 100 GB free CDN. You also get 2 free migrations. On top of these, you also get site cloning, SSH access, and white-labeled cache plugin. The Pro plan is $60 per month.
Business
Their business plans all come with unlimited migrations from other host providers, site cloning, SSH access, and white-labeled cache plugin. This plan is suitable for eCommerce and membership sites. Kinsta currently offers 4 Business Plans (at $100, $200, $300, and $400 per month). As you go up the plan, you get more WordPress installs, monthly visits, SSD storage, and CDN.
Enterprise
There are 4 Enterprise plans currently offered at ($600, $900, $1,200, and $1,500 per month). All Business plan features are included in the Enterprise plans. You simply get even more installs, monthly visits, tons of SSD storage, and CDN.
What to use Kinsta for
So now you have a good idea about the specific services and features Kinsta offers. However, you may still not know exactly what the are for (or how they can help you). First and foremost, Kinsta is known for its turbocharged speed. You may be wondering how they make that possible. They utilize a cloud-based infrastructure that’s specifically tailored to boost your site speed. Moreover, they use Google’s private fiber network that reaches about 10,000 terabytes of data per second! Thus, you are ensured the highest performance.
Kinsta has also partnered with KeyCDN, a CDN provider in Switzerland that’s quite known in delivering topnotch CDN services. CDN or Content Delivery Network is capable of bringing down site load times up to 50%. It can also offload up to 70% bandwidth requests as well as preventing your site from getting traffic surges.
If you’re looking for developer-friendly tools and intuitive interface, Kinsta gives you what you need. From one-click tests of plugins and codes, caching, and updates management – you can easily handle everything in one place.
If you currently own a WordPress site but want to look for a hosting provider, Kinsta is one of your best bets. Being in the field for over a decade, you know that they certainly know what and how to do the job and get the results that you want. If your top priority is speed, Kinsta is simply the right place to go to as they have all the best tools to make it happen.
by Kevin | Jul 19, 2022 | web hosting
About Flywheel
Flywheel has been around the managed WordPress hosting industry for quite some time now. They are known by many designers and agencies for giving affordable yet powerful services and tools to bring websites to the next level. In the company’s own words, Flywheel is thoughtfully built for busy creatives.
Features
Just what services and tools does Flywheel offer? Keep on reading to find out.
Flywheel is dedicated to providing services that are specifically tailored to WordPress sites. Thus, if you’re using WordPress to host your site, Flywheel will optimize all aspects to make sure your site’s performance and security are in their best.
Auto-healing technology
If you haven’t heard of it before, auto-healing or self-healing technology enables your site to fix itself in any event of failure. This ensures a more stable site with improved uptime and performance. You also get less site crashes with this technology.
Content delivery network (CDN)
If you haven’t heard of it before, auto-healing or self-healing technology enables your site to fix itself in any event of failure. This ensures a more stable site with improved uptime and performance. You also get less site crashes with this technology.
Flycache
Flywheel’s own caching technology is compatible and optimized with WordPress themes and plugins.
Google Cloud Platform
Experience site load times quick as lightning with Google Cloud Platform. Some of the large companies taking advantage of this platform include Spotify, eBay, Coca Cola, Sony Music, and even Apple.
Staging Sites
One-click staging sites are a thing with Flywheel. Move themes and plugins as you go. No need to manually copy themes and plugins from a test server. Moreover, you get to test WordPress updates as they are released. In some cases, updates don’t go as well as intended. With the staging site, you can verify the version first before applying it.
Demo Sites
Flywheel allows you to create your site absolutely free of charge. Once the site is ready to go live, you can either make the payment or transfer ownership to a client. The demo site is production-ready. Thus, you will get exactly what you see on the demo site when it goes live.
WordPress updates managements
WordPress regularly releases updates to keep your site up-to-date. Flywheel gets on top of these updates to ensure your site is eternally secure from any threats. If you don’t know it yet, it is crucial to download and install WordPress updates as soon as they are released. Flywheel will take care of it for you.
Auto backups
Backup is key! Flywheel conducts nightly backups of all your sites and keeps them on a server for a month. If ever you need to revert back to an old version, you can do so with just one click!
Seamless workflow
With a highly intuitive dashboard that’s quite easy to navigate, you can expect a more streamlined workflow. The dashboard shows you all the features you will need so you won’t have to waste time looking for it on Flywheel. You also get to collaborate with your clients or teams when creating the site.
Topnotch security
In a rare event that your site gets hacked, Flywheel will take care of it. No added expenses to you just like how it should be. But for the most part, Flywheel is equipped to protect your WordPress site from malicious malware and hackers.
‘Round the clock support
Flywheel’s team of experts is ready to answer any of your queries and concerns anywhere you are, no matter what time of the day. In the rare event of service failures, Flywheel has in-app support that makes it convenient for you to submit tickets. They also created tons of resources and guides to help you navigate WordPress better. Moreover, Flywheel makes sure you’re talking to real experts and not robots who don’t provide answers and solutions.
Plans
Now, let’s take a look at the plans Flywheel offers – the services included as well as the prices. Hopefully, you will find a plan that’s suitable for you. All Flywheels plans are billed per year. You even get 2 months for free if you sign up!
Tiny
Flywheel’s Tiny plan is ideal for small and simple installs. You have a provision for 1 WordPress site, 5,000 monthly visits, 5 GB of disk space, and 20 GB bandwidth. All of this only for $15 a month.
Starter
The Starter plan is Flywheel’s most popular single-site plan. For $25 a month, you get hosted for 1 WordPress site. You also get 25,000 monthly visits, 10 GB of disk space, and 50 GB of bandwidth. For just $25 a month, you get such an excellent plan.
Freelance
If you are currently growing your client list, the Freelance Plan is the perfect plan. At $96 per month, you get hosted for up to 10 sites. You also get 100,000 monthly visits, 20 GB of disk space, and 200 GB bandwidth.
Agency
Want to bring your business to the next level? Avail of Flywheel’s Agency Plan. With this plan, get hosted for up to 30 sites. You will get 400,000 monthly visits, 50 GB of disk space, and a whopping 50 GB of bandwidth.
If you think that none of the plans above suit you or your business’ needs, you can create a custom-built plan. Whatever features and services you need, Flywheel can create the perfect plan for you.
If you’re looking for a delightful-Managed WordPress hosting provider, go to Flywheel. If you’re up for fast speeds and a boosted performance, you simply can’t go wrong with Flywheel. Apart from this, they also offer a bunch of other features that will help you with your WordPress site.
