Every day, thousands more websites are added to the internet. Some are put up by serious business owners, others are perhaps designed by those who want to tout their hobby or pastime, and others are just pure…well, you know what. Nevertheless, the World Wide Web – as it was once proclaimed – is filled with a variety of sites that grow in number constantly.
With the number of websites and web hosting companies spread throughout the planet available to site owners, one might think that the task of managing your own web hosting is a no-brainer. A proverbial piece of cake. However, as technology continues to evolve and as the internet becomes bigger and bigger, there are a number of reasons why handing this chore over to a team of web hosting experts (we know a guy!) might just be the best move you can make.
Indeed, not everyone is an expert or has the time to become one. Back in the days of yore when Photoshop first arrived en masse and everyone was oohing and aahing over the app’s capabilities, many graphic designers were worried that their expertise was going to lose its value because “everyone will be a designer”.
While many more people now have experience with visual design and some have become quite good, Photoshop and other similar tools did not turn everyone into a designer. Same with iPhones and cameras. Handing someone a tool doesn’t automatically make them an expert and many website owners simply don’t have the time it takes to learn what they’d need to master to make their site attractive and lucrative.
Thank goodness there are still experts who can do the job for you!
Five disadvantages of hosting your own website
As we poll our customers about their experiences with managing their own sites, we see some common denominators as to why they ultimately decide against it.
1. Time is the largest deterrent to hosting your own website. How much effort should you put into the technical aspect of your business website, when your expertise is in your products and services.? Would you paint your company van because you picked up a spray gun at auction? Of course not! Many business owners or managers barely have time to keep up with their other all-important responsibilities and find that website management comes last on their list. This is a huge problem, especially for companies that garner much of their business via the internet.
2. And speaking of time…website owners often find that they have the inability to handle website downtime in a timely manner. When your website acts up (and it will), do you want to be on the phone with your web host help desk at 10pm on a Saturday night, worried that several hours of downtime will have a huge impact on your business? Furthermore, you can be sure that they guy who gets the 10pm shift on a Saturday night isn’t the customer service hero in his company. When your website is hosted and managed by a team of professionals, they take on the responsibility of troubleshooting when things go wrong…no matter what day and what time it might be.
3. We’ve all heard the adage “time is money”. It’s true! If you’re the marketing expert or the product expert for your company, do you really want to spend time fixing or updating the website? Of course not! Your precious time needs to be spent on activities that make you money. However, many business owners believe that hiring a team of professionals will be cost-prohibitive. But for only a few dollars more than you would spend on a cheap web hosting plan, our team at Watershed9 will monitor and maintain your website. This way of doing business will save you hundreds of dollars in the long run, and those panicky “Where did my website go?” phone calls will be eliminated.
4. It’s a fact that a site monitored and maintained by a group of web hosting professionals will produce better search results. Having your website consistently observed and scrutinized by experts also ensures your site never gets flagged for security issues or speed-related problems. And because downtime will be reduced in the event of a problem, you can rest easy knowing that your customers can always find you online.
5. I hate even numbers… not sure what 5 is yet…but just a short 10-minute phone call with Watershed9 owner David Neale will likely uncover another key point or two as to why you should hire us to handle your website management. For more information and to schedule a no-obligation chat with David or one of our other web hosting professionals, call 604-337-1449.