The Advantages and Disadvantages of Hosting Your Own Website

If you are a company building its own website, you will need a web host. Some decide to do this internally, whilst others find a third-party server to host their website. Both of these have their advantages and disadvantages depending on your IT skills and your internet connection. If you are unsure if hosting your own website is right for you, here are both the advantages and disadvantages of doing so.

Advantages of Hosting Your Own Site

If you host your own site, you can have complete control over your site. This means you have the ability to manage the amount of space you have and how much you need to provide the best website possible for your customers. You are also not bound to a third-party server, meaning you do not have to finish a contract if you wanted to change or upgrade your server. You can also select your own hardware, meaning upgrading your system will be completely down to you and the hardware you choose.

Disadvantages of Hosting Your Own Site

Unless you have a very high-speed internet connection, your new website will be slow. You will have to purchase broadband that can react quickly, so your website works efficiently for customers. If you have a lot of traffic through your website, your internet connection may not be able to deal with this. You also need the technical skills to start and maintain your server. If you are unsure of how to deal with a server that has gone down, it may mean hiring a professional to diagnose and fix the problem, including ordering new parts. This can be costlier than using a third-party server. The computer that hosts your website has to be running constantly, meaning higher electricity bills. This also means if you have a power cut, you are responsible for getting your server back up and running. If you live in an area which has power cuts often, it will not be beneficial for your business if your website is often down.

What Is Best for My Business?

If you have the technical skills and know-how to start your own server and maintain it, it may well be worth using an in-house server. If you do not have the skills or money to pay for an extra computer to host as a server, as well as a higher speed internet connection, it may be more cost effective to use a third-party server. Many companies provide VPS web hosting, which can cost very little and is great for small business who are just getting started with simplistic websites. This also means you do not need to be responsible for any downtime that your website has, and if this does occur, the business hosting your website will have experts on hand to deal with this quickly and effectively.

There are several reasons why hosting your own website may be the right choice for you, but there are many more disadvantages. Hosting your own website can be technical and if you are unsure, it is best to leave it to the experts.