Host With The Most

Many businesses are very discerning about who they hire to design their website and put a lot of time and effort into planning, talking with designers, and getting quotes. Everyone wants a site that has the right aesthetics, functionality, and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to ensure their new site receives traffic and monetizes their business. However, something that is often overlooked is the importance of a reliable web host.

Once the new site is completed and approval has been made to go live, there are variables that can either make the transition seamless or there can be big complications. Having an understanding of the possible challenges can help prevent them, but the most important participant in the process of going live should be your web hosting provider. I say should because usually, web hosts take a very hands-off approach to the services they provide and expect their clients to finish setting up the account and website and email correctly.

Web hosting is a service that allows businesses, institutions or any individuals to publish a website or blog onto the Internet for public viewing. There are many hosting companies large and small, that provide the technologies and services needed for the website or webpage to be viewed online. Your site is hosted or stored, on high capacity computers called servers. When someone wants to view your website (or many people simultaneously), all they need to do is type your website address also known as your domain name into their browser. Their computer will then connect to your web hosts server and your web pages will be delivered to them through their browser of choice (eg Chrome, Safari, Explorer, Firefox).

You will need the following information for a successful site launch:

1. Access to your domain name (URL): Your site address will be maintained by your registrar (a company that you pay to manage the registration of the domain name you own).
   • It is inside the control panel of the registrar that your site address (domain) gets pointed to the new host’s server.
2. Email settings: If you already have email setup on your own domain (Ex. [email protected]) you will need to know your current setup in order to ensure nothing breaks while launching your new site.
   • You can also setup customized emails using your domain if you do not already have any. Emails on your business domain look more professional.

In the early stages of a website going live, records are changed that can take 24-48 hours to completely propagate across the internet. This update can cause strange behavior that can give the impression that the site or email is broken. These record changes can also affect how email clients such as Outlook connect to your email service if records aren’t updated correctly.

Once your site launch is complete, everything should be tested thoroughly. This includes the site, the forms on the site, and email. It is possible that there may be small bugs or issues that need to be addressed.

If you run a business that is actively marketing and have been receiving traffic to your site, a small hiccup such as emails going down is an urgent matter where business can be lost if the problems are not solved quickly.

If launching a site sounds difficult or beyond your own abilities, that is perfectly normal. It is unreasonable to assume people would know how to launch a site unless they are well versed in the process, familiar with the site, and the hosting environment. Our favorite host handles all of this for you so the launch is as smooth and painless as possible.

Because web hosting is such a technical field, the differences between hosts often are not explained and you are often never told what you are paying for or show how your own site performs on one platform vs. another. On top of that, each host has different hosting plans which are just as vague, you just have to assume that paying more gets you something better. This approach is much like renting a car, you are provided price ranges for Economy, Full Size and Luxury but never know what you are going to get until you have already signed a contract and driving off the lot.

Commercials and advertisements from companies like GoDaddy show business owners being successful and happy that don’t mention a single fact about the product they are selling. The unfortunate fact is that hosting companies offer a hands-off approach to the services they provide, they expect you or your web designer to use the tools they provide and unless something is wrong with the hosting system itself, support is very minimal.

This is because most large hosting companies such as GoDaddy, Network Solutions, Hostgator are really just marketing companies trying to grab up as many clients up as possible. Their strategy relies upon the general public’s lack of knowledge about hosting. Once onboard for a cheap introductory rate, their goal is to upsell you on the dozens of other services they offer and hit you with a steep price increase after your first year. Many of these upsells like SSLs that secure your site should be included in the original price. Switching services can be hard as you have to migrate your site again and go through the entire launch process once more which is complex and if done wrong can result in your site and email going down.

That is why I partner with companies that are focused on doing one or a few things very well and have gone above and beyond to show their clients that they are their top priority by working with them through every step of the process, being available to answer any questions and working directly with web designers to and teaching them the ins and outs of their hosting platform. My Host with the Most is an expert in WordPress sites and WordPress hosting and they have built their entire system around WordPress. They offer free migrations, free optimizations and a management service at a bargain compared to the industry standard. This service is hands on and ensures any issues on your site are resolved before they can negatively affect your business. This includes daily backups, security scans, weekly updates, fixing broken links, ensuring your contact form submissions reach your inbox, and the site performs well among a host of other small checks and balances. If anything happens to break, they will fix it at no additional cost while other hosts would tell you the issue is not hosting related. These guys actually care about your business and your site.

Most of the larger hosting companies have a systematic, automated approach to troubleshooting problems. You have to wait in chat or on hold for a long time before reaching a real human that can help solve your problem. If they are unable to resolve it, your issue will get placed into a ticketing system among thousands of others until someone higher up the ladder is available to take a look.

When I design a website for my clients, that is not the service I want for my clients. Often simple issues can take days to resolve.

So I think “The Host With The Most” is not a big company that has the most clients, but a smaller company who is hands on with their clients, that you can reach on the phone, text or get an immediate response by email.

If you want to know the company I recommend my clients to and work directly with that company is Overhaulics (overhaulics.com). The services Overhaulics provide and the speeds at which they provide them are second to none. Did I mention they are also very affordable?  There is no ticketing system, just direct contact and instant access to real people.

Advantages of Overhaulics:

• Use the latest and fastest technology
  • Faster sites show up higher in search engine results
• Hands-on approach to managing sites
  • Will login and fix issues while most hosts won’t touch sites and just ensure they stay up and running.
• No up-sells (everything you need is included)
  • Included SSL, Security, Backups, Content Delivery Network, and more
• Direct access to real people
  • No hold music, no chat queues, no ticket systems
• Fast response and resolution time
• Proactive issue resolution (fix issues before you know you have them)
  • broken link scanning, email deliverability, and more

The owner’s name is Kyle Gordon, his email is [email protected] and his cell number is 720-979-6697. Yes, you read that right, the owner has no issues giving out his personal cell phone number and answering calls. This makes Overhaulics in my professional eyes, The Host with the Most. I believe I am serving the industry by sharing this resource with you. Even if you believe you are unhappy with your current hosting setup, call Kyle and see how he can help you.