But business owners aren’t experts at everything. They don’t always know the severity of a problem when it arises and rarely do they know how to fix it themselves. This is especially true when it comes to their own website. Most owners have no idea what type of expertise is needed or how to eliminate problems before they become an issue.
While it may sound easier to hire a webmaster for your company to host your website in your own office, it’s much more difficult than it sounds.
Since most business owners aren’t aware of what is really needed to run an effective website that continues to draw in customers, here are eight reasons why you shouldn’t host your own website.
1. When You Host Your Own Website, You Need to Handle and Maintain Server
Handling and maintaining servers means having the right type of hardware to be able to accomplish the task. But that doesn’t mean you can pull an old computer out of the closet and use it.
To ensure your website remains online, you’ll need to purchase hardware that has sufficient processing speed, RAM, and the right operating system. This hardware is expensive because it is designed to run 24×7 and handle constant traffic. Traditional desktop machines are not designed for this strenuous workload and will suffer hardware failure much faster than an enterprise server if they are used to host a website. Without the right enterprise server hardware, you’re bound to run into a ton of technical issues that will take a lot of time and money to clear up.
On top of the significant costs of purchasing an enterprise grade server, you will also have to keep a supply of replacements parts on hand. Even the best servers will experience hardware failure, so it is critical to have plenty of spare parts in your office. The cost of replacement parts are also significant.
2. You Need to Keep on Top of Software Updates
When you choose to host your own website, you’re responsible for choosing which software to use. Then you have to find someone who understands how the installation process for both the software and applications work.
You’re also responsible for maintaining and updating the software to avoid technical issues or having your site compromised by hackers. It’s a lot of work and it’s easy to make mistakes.
3. You May Not Have the Time
A typical business owner is busy. They’re already wearing many hats and they’re overseeing everything within their company.
But one way to quickly get in over your head is to take on projects you’re not an expert at. Yes, there are times when knowing how to fix things is a great tool and skill to have, but learning these skills takes time. That’s time a successful business owner doesn’t always have.
Good business owners know the importance of time-management and delegation. They also know the benefits of outsourcing tasks to the experts.
4. You’ll Need a High-Speed Internet Connection That’s Redundant
When most people need a connection to the internet, they’ll call their local internet providers like Comcast or Optimum. But consumer grade internet is not sufficient for you to host your own website.
Every server hosting a website should be connected to the internet through redundant connections to enterprise grade networks like the ones used by ServerMania. These networks are designed for optimal performance for users around the globe. They also carry an uptime guarantee and teams on standby to repair issues as they arise.
As you can imagine, these types of connection are very expensive. It is also often not feasible to setup these connections in the area that a traditional office may be located.
5. It’s More Expensive Than You Think to Host Your Own Website
Even if you try one of those “free” website hosts, you’ll soon learn that there’s nothing free about them. There are always extra costs involved, even if that extra cost is that your website looks terrible.
The right software and hardware are expensive. So is hiring a great graphic designer or a content writer. Not to mention, most business owners have little idea about what website analytics are really telling them. Which means a lot of money is being wasted with little to no rewards.
If that’s not enough, the time and energy it takes when something goes wrong to figure out where the issue is and then fix it can affect a business’s bottom line in many ways.
6. Your Website May Not Look or Run as Well as It Could
If you host your own website, you had better know exactly how to create a great looking website. It has to be engaging, pleasing to the eye, and of course, user-friendly.
You need to include calls to action, eye-catching photography, and videos that inform and entertain. Do you know how to do all of that?
What about the speed of your website? Is it running fast enough so customers can easily navigate through your site and purchase goods and services quickly? Would you even notice if your website was beginning to slow down?
What about links? Broken links can be hugely problematic to a website. Is your SEO working for you? Are you up-to-date on the latest SEO changes so that search engines are finding your site and pushing it towards the top of the list?
Lastly, are you aware of how quickly all of these things change? It’s hard enough for a marketing professional to keep up, let alone a busy business owner.
7. Your Security Probably Isn’t as Good as You Think It Is
Even a huge company like Equifax can get hacked. If their site can get hacked, then yours can too. If you host your own website, you may miss out on critical server security updates that will expose your website to intruders.
Unless you enjoy keeping yourself up at nights wondering if you’re going to be the next site hacked, it’s easier to let the professionals handle your website security.
8. When You Host Your Own Website, You Have No Support
Picture it: it’s 2:00 am and your website just went offline. Would you know what to do to get it back online by morning?Or think about what would happen if you had a 50% off sale and so many customers came to your site at once that your site goes down. Can you handle that loss of income? Or the angry customers who now can’t shop? How long would it take you to figure out what happened and how to fix it?
Outsourcing your website hosting to an external provider means all you need to do is pick up the phone and get their professionals working on it. Most of the time, you’ll have their support even if you don’t realize it.
