When it comes to designing and building a new website, there’s plenty to think about. What images will look best on the homepage? What’s the easiest way to layout the navigation? What tone of voice should we use for the written content?
Something slightly less glamorous (but just as important) is hosting and maintaining your website once it’s gone live.
Web hosting is critical for keeping your website up and running, while maintenance keeps it secure, up-to-date and performing its best.
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What is website hosting?
Website hosting is a cloud-based service that provides space on a server to store website files and databases. Websites are essentially made up of files (for things like images, text and video), and hosting is where those files are kept.Â
When someone types your web address into a browser, the host delivers the files from its server to their device. Without hosting, your website isn’t accessible on the internet.
If you’re hosting your website with Bubble, we can help with the following options:
- Managed website hosting: Hosted on servers made for WordPress websites for the best possible performance, we’re able to offer a 99.9% uptime guarantee.
- VPS website hosting: Virtual Private Servers offer a single-site solution (so, you aren’t sharing the server with hundreds of other sites). This means that if you have a high volume of website traffic visiting your website that requires the bulk of the server resources, VPS hosting provides additional flexibility and peace of mind for growing businesses.
What is website maintenance?
Website maintenance is the ongoing process of keeping your website up to date, secure and running smoothly. It includes things such as security and plugin updates, browser compatibility checks, backup maintenance, site performance health checks and emergency recovery.
At Bubble, we offer comprehensive web maintenance plans, applying the latest security updates and features to your website, plus daily backups allowing us to restore to a previous version if needed.
We can also provide you with direct access to our web support team, who will be on hand to help through our ticketing system with any queries you may have, such as forgotten passwords, assistance publishing site content and graphical changes.
Why is hosting and maintenance important for your website?
Here’s why professional web hosting and maintenance is so important and the benefits you can expect.
Reliable, fast site performance
Your hosting determines how quickly your pages load and how often your website stays online. Good hosting gives your visitors a smooth user experience and prevents the slowdowns that happen when you’re stuck on an overcrowded or underpowered server.
Protection for your business and your customers
A secure website isn’t optional. Outdated software, weak hosting and missed updates can open the door to malware, data loss and hacked pages. Maintenance and regular updates keep everything updated and backed up, while quality hosting adds another layer of protection behind the scenes.
Ongoing support that keeps unexpected costs and downtime to a minimum
Websites need care. Plugins break, browsers change and small issues pile up. With a maintenance plan, you have a team on hand to fix things quickly, handle updates and answer questions. It means problems get solved before they turn into bigger headaches.
Do websites really need maintaining?
Yes! If you’ve made a significant investment in a new website, it makes sense to protect that investment. And that’s what web maintenance is all about.Â
Here are some of the risks of not maintaining your website…
Your website slows down
Outdated software, heavy plugins and ignored performance issues make your website sluggish. Slow sites frustrate users and push them straight to a competitor. (Not to mention how bad slow loading speeds are for your search engine rankings!)
You become a target for cyber attacks
Hackers look for weak points, and an unmaintained site is full of them. Old plugins, missed updates and no backups leave your website open to malware, data loss and hijacking.
You lose organic traffic
Search engines expect a website to be fast, secure and functional. When your site breaks, loads slowly or shows errors, your rankings can drop – and organic traffic goes with it.
You look less credible
Trust is key for converting visitors into loyal customers. Broken links and security warnings send the wrong message and aren’t user friendly. If your website feels neglected, visitors assume the same about the business behind it.
You can’t scale your website alongside your business
As your business grows, your website needs to grow with it. Without regular maintenance, adding new features or upgrades becomes harder, slower and far more expensive. Plus, VPS hosting gives you room to grow without impacting website performance.
Questions we’re often asked about website hosting and maintenance
How much do website maintenance and hosting services cost?
Costs vary depending on the level of hosting you choose and how much ongoing support your website needs. Most businesses find that the cost is small compared to the risk of downtime, lost data or a hacked website.
Can I do my own website maintenance?
You can handle basic tasks if you’re confident, but it can get technical quickly. Updates don’t always play nicely with one another, and a simple plugin conflict can take your site offline. A professional team handles everything safely, runs regular backups and steps in fast if anything breaks, essentially saving time and reducing risks should the worst happen.
Does the website need to go down for maintenance?
In most cases, no. Routine updates and checks can happen in the background without affecting visitors. If a bigger change is needed, such as major server work or a complex software update, downtime is kept as short as possible and usually happens during quieter hours. We’ll never take your site down for maintenance without telling you first.
How long does maintenance on a website take?
Regular maintenance tasks are quick, but more complex updates or fixes can take longer. A bit like keeping on top of your housework, the key is consistency. Ongoing maintenance means problems are caught early, so you avoid long repair times later.
Protect your website with hosting and maintenance
From performance and security to hands-on support, hosting and maintenance keep your website healthy long after launch day. If you want a site that stays fast, safe and ready to grow with your business, we’ve got your back. Get in touch with our website development team today for a quick, no-obligation quote on a web hosting or maintenance plan or find out more about our web services here.
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