Best Australian Web Hosting for Small Business

The number one question we get from our clients is, “What is the best Australian web hosting for small business?” We get this question a lot. Maybe it’s because we’ve been around for a while, so we have become a bit of a trusted source for hosting on the Gold Coast. The small business market seems to have the most questions when it comes to hosting needs and this simply may be because small businesses don’t always have a dedicated in-house IT resource, and therefore require our expertise. Regardless, we are just happy that we can help the small businesses answer their questions about finding the ideal web hosting needs for their sites.

When a small business client comes to us and asks us to help them decide between shared, dedicated or VPS, we always need to consider several factors before determining which one is best for a particular business. In our opinion, if you are looking for the best Australian web hosting for small business, a VPS is the best choice, and in this blog we will cover why.

What is a VPS?

A Virtual Private Server or VPS is a type of dedicated hosting in which a virtual private server runs its own copy of an operating system, and customers have user-level access to that operating system, allowing them to install almost any software that runs on that operating system. In many cases, a VPS is functionally equivalent to a dedicated physical server, except that it is more easily configured.

VPS Is the Best of Both Worlds

A VPS is the best Australian web hosting for small business because it provides you with the best of both worlds when it comes to your hosting needs. As mentioned, much like a dedicated server, a VPS has its own operating system, disc space and bandwidth, and has a physical server that resides in a data centre. This server is divided into various virtual servers, each virtual server represents one client. The space acts as a dedicated server but is in fact part of one big physical centre. The functionality is similar to dedicated hosting but the software component makes it easier for it to be configured by the user. Virtual private servers have all the benefits of a dedicated server plus the flexibility of adding resources as your needs grow, without the dedicated server cost.

How Does VPS Compare With Shared Hosting?

As mentioned, the functionality of a VPS is similar to dedicated hosting; whereas with a shared environment, it’s not uncommon for a hosting provider to oversell their space and put several customers on their web services, which will cause problems for all customers. This will impact the uptime and performance of all sites on the server, and if another site crashes the server, your site will go down too. This is something you don’t have to worry about with a VPS.

Most small businesses, especially start-up’s, will agree that the biggest advantage to a VPS is that it is easy to add more resources when needed. As a new business owner, you may not know what the future holds for your website, nor do you want to pay for resources that you don’t need. You also don’t want to find yourself unprepared and have your site crash due to a spike in traffic. A VPS will allow you to add or reduce resources as you need them, and only pay for what you need. When you use a VPS, you have full access to your hosting environment, allowing you to make your own configurations, saving your business the time-consuming task of making every single change through your provider. Something not possible with most shared environments due to the security limitations of having numerous companies on one server.

What Benefits Will a Small Business Enjoy With a VPS?

Speed

Forty-seven percent of consumers expect a web page to load in two seconds or less, and forty percent of people abandon a website that takes more than three seconds to load. A VPS will provide you with better performance than that of shared hosting.

Cost

A VPS is less expensive than a dedicated host and slightly more expensive than shared hosting; however, the advantages that come with a VPS will actually help you save money on internal resources. What’s great is that you will only pay for what you need, so you aren’t paying for resources that you aren’t using.

Scalability

A VPS allows you to scale your resources to accommodate spikes and lulls in traffic. It’s extremely easy to add resources and when doing so, you won’t impact your site whatsoever. In a shared resource solution, your site can be impacted by problems with other sites’ scalability issues.

Security

A VPS is similar to a dedicated server because it’s like having your own server and you aren’t impacted by the security issues of other sites. Your hosting provider will also provide the security updates for you, ensuring that your site is protected and secure at all times.

Expertise

Probably one of the biggest benefits, especially for a small business owner, is the additional resources that come with a hosted VPS. In addition to the 24/7 customer service you will have, your provider will become an extension of your IT team. As a small business owner, you may not have the luxury of an IT department, so the additional expertise and hands will be appreciated.

When Is a VPS Good for My Business?

If you still aren’t sure if a Virtual Private Server is the best Australian web hosting for small business solution for you, here are some use cases of how a small business can benefit from a VPS.

• You are a start-up and unsure of how much traffic your website will receive
• You are expecting an increase in traffic in the near future – i.e.: seasonal spikes in traffic —  and unsure of how much, and what, resources you will require
• You are a growing start-up or business with the need to increase resources
• You are in a fast-paced industry and need to configure and make changes to your site often and in a timely manner
• You require a redundant infrastructure and disaster recovery
• You don’t have an IT department and can benefit from a provider’s 24/7 support and customer service
• Your website has grown too large and can’t be handled on your shared hosting plan
• You are currently experiencing a slow site due to a shared hosting provider

So if you have decided that a VPS solution will work for you, it’s time to talk to your hosting provider about whether an unmanaged or managed solution is best for you. An unmanaged solution is when your hosting provider provides server side assistance, but doesn’t assist with server performance, installations, and back-ups, etc. In a managed hosting scenario, your provider will take care of all server maintenance, software updates, installations, and security. Regardless of which solution you choose, it’s important to get clarity from your provider as to what responsibilities each party will have in this partnership.

Finding the Best Australian Web Hosting for Small Business

Since 2002, StudioCoast has been providing exceptional customer service and technical know-how to clients. StudioCoast is dedicated to innovation and providing small businesses with managed VPS hosting services to deliver industry leading performance at an affordable price. If you would like more information on how StudioCoast can get your small business started with a Hyper Windows VPS solution, contact us today.