Identifying Essential Elements of a Hosting Solution for Your Clients

Introduction

Many businesses and individuals can be hesitant to contract a developer to design their website because they are concerned about the investment. However, as a developer, you know that an online presence is more attainable than ever with the vast array of online solutions offered by Web hosts. Identifying the right solution for your clients will help you gain their business, build trust, and maintain relationships. But what should you be advising in order to find the best hosting solution to fit their needs?

Reliability

Business websites understandably place a larger emphasis on technical requirements such as reliability, security and scalability. Selecting a reliable hosting provider with an impressive uptime guarantee is essential. One of the most beneficial elements that a host can offer is geo-redundancy for its entire hosting environment. In the past, a website owner may have experienced downtime caused by routine maintenance or an unexpected failure which can deter customers away from the business. With a geo-redundant solution, data is stored on two separate servers, in two different geographically located data centers. Therefore, should something directly affect one data center or server, the hosted data and applications are automatically switched to the second server. This ensures that a business website is constantly operating with no downtime and is always accessible.

For businesses that seek traffic overseas and need to guarantee positive experience for such visitors, a content delivery network (CDN) is a crucial element. Some hosts have incorporated this feature directly within their hosting platform. For example, 1&1 recently partnered with CloudFlare to provide two options for optimized user experiences. The Mirage™ feature automatically checks the type of connection and screen size that a website will be viewed upon in order to properly evaluate that the images are being displayed effectively. Images will be optimized for display regardless of whether the website is viewed through mobile, desktop, tablet or laptop devices. On the other hand, Railgun™ boosts the connection and delivery speed for dynamic Web content which was formerly unable to be cached, ensuring optimal load times.

Mobile Optimization

According to InMobi, 50% of the average global mobile Web users now use mobile as either their primary or exclusive means of going online. It is critical for website owners to optimize their website for mobile viewing.

For those using a Web hosting package, the 1&1 Mobile Website Builder can be employed by anyone to create an entirely new website or simply convert an existing design. The tool allows easy adaptation of links, graphics, colors and text so no business will miss the opportunity to participate in the growing trend and popularity of mobile usability. For those with a MyWebsite solution, mobile optimization is automatic.

Security

Research commissioned by 1&1 has recently found more than half of US consumers (54 percent) feel concerned about the risk of their details being compromised every time they input them on the Web. Ensure you have a Web host that offers options for both you and your customer’s online security. For example, SiteLock consistently scans websites for coding vulnerabilities and informs the website owner of their current online security level. To best illustrate a company’s commitment to online security, trust seals can be displayed to strengthen consumers’ confidence in offering personal data on a website.

However, it shouldn’t stop there. The chosen Web host should maintain a team of experts to ensure routine security monitoring. At 1&1, we use a security team to monitor customer’s servers and operations 24/7 to ensure no abnormal activity takes place. Should a Web server be affected, it will be instantly isolated or shut down and the customer will be automatically informed of the issue at hand. Customers will be advised with instructions of which sections or elements of a website or database need to be fixed and steps of how they can best do so. When issues are remedied, the Web server can be rebooted and made accessible again. This not only prevents the customer from getting more severely impacted, but also safeguards against the risk of the website’s visitors clicking on an infected image or link.

Support

Another important aspect for customers is access to high quality support, especially for those that may require extra assistance with site setup. With the ever-changing environment of the Internet, this knowledgeable team will be able to assist you quickly and efficiently. Because many new businesses are established as a second form of income, a 24/7 support line is key.

The Solution

With options to fit the needs of those who have never launched a website, to Web professionals familiar with content management systems and server management, 1&1 provides a solution for all skill levels.

Many individuals, however, possess a higher level of technical knowledge and prefer to create a website from scratch. In these cases, our shared hosting platform allows those users to leverage a CMS, like WordPress, to create their website and make it more unique and personalized. With this solution, a little coding and HTML knowledge is recommended for seamless and efficient site creation.

Around one in four websites built using a CMS are built with WordPress. 1&1 Web hosting is built with this in mind encompassing a portfolio which offers an optimized workflow and improved experience for these users. The new interface caters to the needs of both novice and expert users of the popular CMS. A simplified installation process as well as a new WordPress plugin, exclusive to 1&1 customers, delivers seamless integration of popular applications in addition to more than 40 Click & Build apps. Additionally, a new WordPress plugin, exclusively available to 1&1 customers, enables a WordPress project to be configured in just three easy steps.

Keep these topics in mind when consulting with current and potential clients. It is important that they too are fully informed of these important features of on online presence so they can better understand your decisions and end results.