These days, it’s virtually impossible to run a successful business without a website. Does your company’s website or blog work the way you want, or is there room for improvement?
Website hosting is one of the main factors that directly influence a brand’s image and reputation. After all, it’s your company’s storefront on the Internet and it must give off a good first impression.
Web hosting providers allow your site to live on the Internet and be accessed by people around the world.
Currently, there are over 367 million registered domain names around the world, with more coming online all the time. Of those domains, over a third (37 percent) use shared hosting services to stay online.
While shared hosting is the most affordable option, it doesn’t allow for as much customization, nor does it work for sites with lots of visitors.
Instead, managed hosting is often the best solution for companies that want more control over their website experience. Fortunately, finding a managed hosting service has never been easier.
With that in mind, let’s dive into the world of managed hosting and see how it can work for your business.
What is Managed Hosting?
First of all, you need to understand what hosting is. This term refers to an online system that allows people or companies to “save” information such as videos, images, or anything else you can access on the Internet.
It is what ensures that your current or prospective customers will be able to access your website.
Hosting providers are companies that offer you a slot on their servers and allow customers to access your content online.
Managed hosting means that the company in which your site will be hosted will be responsible for managing and maintaining the server.
In this service, there are two types of management:
- Active – When the service provider solves any problem before your request, that is, their action is proactive.
- Passive – When you need to request adjustments to the service provider.
Why Is Managed Hosting Important?
Your website is essential to your business. You can use it either as a simple tool to convey the company’s information or as a mission-critical service like your eCommerce store.
In addition to ensuring that your site runs quickly, efficiently, and with the least amount of downtime possible, hosting takes care of the heavy lifting.
If your hosting isn’t powerful enough to handle the complexity of your website, then your visitors will experience the same problems as a slow computer.
For instance, approximately $2.5 million dollars are lost every year by eCommerce websites as a result of slow-loading pages.
You will find that as your site gets more visitors, it becomes increasingly sluggish if your hosting isn’t efficient.
You can generally handle more visitors with less powerful technology when you have an efficient server rather than a powerful one.
Downtime is another important consideration.
Your website’s server needs to be updated or repaired periodically, just like any computer. Malware, for instance, can cause it to crash randomly or cause other damage.
In order to succeed, you cannot have a website that is constantly down due to a server problem.
The whole point is to give you the confidence you need to focus on selling or providing the services and products you set out to provide.
Poor hosting makes it harder for you to focus on other tasks, so the less worry you have about your website, the better.
What Are the Benefits of Managed Hosting for E-commerce?
Monitoring and support are essential for an eCommerce website.
A good hosting service is crucial to your eCommerce website’s security, speed, and performance.
This is because eCommerce websites require constant monitoring of their servers, networks, and databases, and any issues can be resolved instantly.
The following are some advantages of managed hosting that make it possible for eCommerce sites to thrive in today’s highly digital world:
- Speed of eCommerce websites
- Protecting and securing data
- Accessibility and availability
- A cost-effective solution
- 24/7 support on-demand
- Expertise in technical matters and server expertise
- Hosting environment customized to your needs
Managed Hosting and Unmanaged Hosting: Which One Is Best?
In an unmanaged hosting service, it is the provider’s responsibility to set up hardware, install an operating system, and keep the system and network working.
What will be your responsibility? Install what you need and set up the whole site so that it starts working properly. To do this, you will need to install applications, additional software, firewalls, and run backups.
How do you know which is the best option for your company? To answer this question, we will analyze, the characteristics of each hosting service.
Unmanaged Hosting
In this type of service, you will have to:
- count on a specialized team experienced in server management because your company will do all the software and hardware administration;
- be aware of security issues;
- update software so that everything works well;
- access everything on the server, including hardware.
Because of this, unmanaged hosting is recommended for those who know how a system works and need to have different settings than those offered by servers.
Managed Hosting
With managed hosting:
- you won’t have to do the software and hardware maintenance since this is a service provider’s responsibility;
- security issues are handled by the service provider. Most of them even offer a free SSL certificate included in some packages;
- your efforts can be focused on your business strategy, such as your Digital Marketing campaigns and increasing traffic to your website.
Thus, managed hosting is suitable for those who are not experts in the subject and wants to have time to focus on business growth.
How Does Managed Hosting Impact Your Business?
Now that you know the difference between managed and unmanaged hosting, let’s break down all the ways managed hosting can improve your business operations.
Reduced costs
At first, it may seem cheaper to go with an unmanaged or shared hosting service. However, you can’t just look at the amount you’re spending each month to host your site.
Instead, you have to look at the value of a managed host and determine whether it’s more cost-effective to do everything yourself or to let a hosting service provider handle the back-end work.
Given what a managed host can do, it’s often far cheaper to outsource this work than to hire and retain a full-time staff. First, you would need developers to fix bugs and update the programming.
Next, you would need IT services to monitor the system and make sure everything runs smoothly. Finally, you have to worry about cybersecurity, so you need a separate team for protection and threat elimination.
24-Hour customer support
No matter how tight your website is, there are bound to be problems and glitches that pop up. With a managed host, you can access a support team any time of day or night, no matter what.
These professionals can help you troubleshoot any issues and help you resolve them as quickly as possible.
Basically, with a managed host, you get peace of mind. This kind of confidence and reliability isn’t possible with a DIY hosting plan. With other options, you’re often left to figure things out on your own.
Even if you do receive assistance, it often takes a lot longer to hear a response and fix the problem.
Data backups
If you’ve ever lost a ton of data on a hard drive before, you can appreciate the value of backing everything up onto an external drive or server. Not only can backups help recover information if a system breaks down, but it’s also handy to protect against cyberattacks.
Every day, there are roughly 1.7 million ransomware attacks. During these attacks, hackers hold a company’s data and website hostage until they’re paid a ransom.
So, having everything backed up regularly means you can bypass these demands and continue service uninterrupted.
Enhanced cybersecurity
As we mentioned, if you tried a cheaper or unmanaged hosting service, you would have to hire a cybersecurity team to monitor your site and prevent attacks.
Fortunately, managed hosting providers do this automatically so you don’t have to worry about anyone hitting your website or damaging your reputation.
Additionally, having this level of protection can instill confidence in your customers. When they see you have a cybersecurity certification, they’re more likely to trust your brand and buy goods and services.
What are the 10 Best-Managed Hosting Options On the Market?
After you decide to hire managed hosting you need to know which are the best options on the market. This way you will be able to establish a partnership with a company that meets your requirements.
Here are the 10 best-managed hosting options.
1. DreamHost
If you don’t have a web presence at all, then DreamHost can help you with every aspect of building and running a website.
Not only can you purchase and register your domain name, but you can also build your site and manage it from the same platform. Plus, DreamHost has affordable managed hosting plans, although you can choose from other hosting options if necessary.
You can also access marketing and promotional features for additional fees. This way, you can handle practically all of your online practices from a single dashboard.
Pricing
$19.95/mo Basic, $29.95/mo Plus, $79.95/mo Pro
Pros
- All-in-one hosting and website solution
- Affordable managed hosting plans
- Can purchase domains and emails separately if need be
- Access to design, marketing, and other services
Cons
- Not a very intuitive layout or program design
- Live chat sessions can take a while to hear answers
2. Hostinger
Hostinger is another web host that caters to businesses both large and small. However, it’s mostly aimed at startups and smaller brands, thanks to its affordable pricing and easy-to-use interface.
In addition to hosting, Hostinger also provides comprehensive email tools, domain lookup, and an integrated website builder. For the most part, Hostinger is centered around building a WordPress site, but you can host any kind of website through this platform.
Pricing
$14.99/mo Business, $24.99/mo Cloud Startup, $49.99/mo Cloud Professional
Pros
- Affordable hosting options
- Website builder provided
- Domain lookup
Cons
- No domain registration
- No phone support
- Managed hosting on WordPress sites only
3. Hostgator
For the most part, Hostgator is designed for startups and small businesses who just need a simple website and a place to host it. The shared hosting plans are super cheap, and you can also purchase your domain name through the platform.
However, when it comes to managed hosting, Hostgator lacks the same tools and comprehensive support you can get from other providers. Plus, as you advance through the various hosting plans, you’ll wind up spending a lot when you need extra bandwidth and storage space.
Pricing
$5.94/mo Starter, $7.95/mo Standard, $9.95/mo Business
Pros
- Free domain purchasing for the first year
- Integrated cybersecurity tools
- 99.99-percent uptime guarantee
- Affordable managed hosting options
Cons
- Can be expensive for business hosting
- Site speed isn’t the best
- Relatively slow customer support
4. WP Engine
If you’re going to run your site on WordPress, you might as well use the official WordPress hosting site, WP Engine. This provider has everything you need to make sure your site runs as smoothly as possible.
Not only do you get access to a ton of WP tools and features, but you get enhanced cybersecurity and lots of information about every facet of your site. Overall, WP Engine is very comprehensive, but there is a bit of a learning curve.
Pricing
$20/mo Managed WordPress, $60/mo WooCommerce Hosting, $600/mo Advanced Solutions
Pros
- Tons of resources on how to run a WordPress site
- Ideal for running an e-commerce platform
- Tons of plugins and themes are available
- Free website migration
Cons
- Only works for WordPress sites
- More complex interface than other managed hosts
5. GoDaddy
GoDaddy is one of the largest and most well-known website hosting providers out there. Because of its name recognition, GoDaddy has one of the largest server networks in the world.
So, you can be sure your site will load quickly and accurately, no matter where your audience is.
As far as managed hosting, GoDaddy only offers this option with WordPress. But, if you’re going that route or you want to run an e-commerce business with WooCommerce, GoDaddy can be an excellent choice.
Pricing
$8.99/mo Managed WordPress, $34.99/mo Managed WooCommerce
Pros
- Intuitive user interface
- Domain registration
- Help with building an online storefront
- Integrated website builder
- Enhanced cybersecurity features
Cons
- Limited customer support
- Only one managed hosting option available
6. Stage by Rock Content
If your website is content-heavy, you need a managed hosting provider that can handle the amount of storage space and bandwidth necessary to deliver that content to users around the world.
Fortunately, Stage uses a content delivery network (CDN) to make that happen. Even better, Stage also has tons of marketing and success tools to ensure your next campaign gets the most traction.
Overall, Stage is the best hosting provider, available in our Content Cloud, for those who are focused on content marketing and all the benefits it entails.
Pricing
$69/mo Starter, $139/mo Growth, $279/mo Grow
Pros
- Comprehensive content marketing solutions
- Faster site speed with a content delivery network
- Access to a full suite of services
- Better site management than other providers
Cons
- More expensive than other providers
7. Bluehost
Like DreamHost, Bluehost is another all-in-one hosting platform. Whether you’re a startup or an established business, you can buy a domain, build a website, and host it all from the same dashboard.
For managed hosting, Bluehost only does WordPress. However, if you’re running an e-commerce store, this option works well because you can have a managed WooCommerce website.
Pricing
$19.95/mo Build, $29.95/mo Grow, $49.95/mo Scale
Pros
- All-in-one hosting solutions
- Excellent for WooCommerce businesses
- Domain registration available
- Access to professional web design
Cons
- The dashboard can be confusing and hard to use
- More expensive than other hosting services
8. SiteGround
Unlike other web hosting providers on this list, SiteGround just does site hosting and nothing else. However, you can decide which package you like based on what you’re trying to do with your site.
For example, you can run an e-commerce store, a reseller website, or just a regular site for your brand.
SiteGround has decent pricing for managed hosting, but it’s not as adept at WordPress as other providers like Stage or WP Engine. Overall, if you just need to get your site up and running, SiteGround can work pretty well.
Pricing
$14.99/mo Startup, $24.99/mo GrowBig, $39.99/mo GoGeek
Pros
- Affordable managed hosting plans
- Excellent customer support
- Intuitive interface
Cons
- Slow site speeds compared to other providers
- Not as good at WordPress hosting
9. InMotion
As with SiteGround, InMotion Hosting is just a web host and nothing more. However, since site speed and usability are often critical for SEO and conversion rates, you’ll be happy to know that InMotion is one of the fastest hosting providers out there.
Also, managed hosting is pretty affordable when you pay by the year, and you can scale up or down your hosting plan, depending on your needs.
Pricing
$39.99/mo Pro (other options available in annual installments)
Pros
- Multiple affordable hosting options (not managed)
- Works great for reseller sites
- Comprehensive customer support
- Excellent site speed
Cons
- No extra features beyond hosting
10. Kinsta
Finally, Kinsta is an international web host with data centers in practically every country. If you want more control over your network and want to maximize your possibilities with WordPress, Kinsta is an excellent choice.
However, there is a pretty big learning curve, so if you don’t know what you’re doing, Kinsta can be pretty overwhelming. While you can get extra help, you’ll also have to pay extra for the privilege.
Pricing
$20 – $320/mo for Managed Hosting
Pros
- Comprehensive hosting tools
- Build the best hosting platform for your needs
- Choose your data center for better speed
- Access to a global data network
- Full suite of WordPress hosting options
Cons
- Long learning curve for beginners
- Can be expensive for larger companies
Get the Best of Managed Hosting
Investing in managed hosting brings many benefits to your business. Through this type of service, you will be able to count on quality support at any time and still be able to reduce your operational costs.
If you’re a content-heavy brand that’s trying to reach new audiences by producing high-quality content, you need to use Stage.
Our website hosting service is designed to ensure your followers can engage with your material, no matter where they are. Plus, you can get access to some of the best content marketing tools so you can supercharge your next campaign.
If you’re ready to see what Stage can do for your business, contact us today! We make it easy to migrate your existing site or build a new one from scratch.
