You have most probably seen the adverts for those all-in-one hosting and website creation services plastered across the web, and TV advertising segments these days. They promise simplicity, beauty, and bespoke website creation at a reasonable price.
Why would anyone need anything different? Well, as it turns out, these ‘one size fits all’ services are not all they are cracked up to be.
Beware of… sales pitches!
The usual sales pitch is quite an enticing one. Who does not like simple to build, attractive looking websites? The truth is these services can be useful for some, but they aren’t perfect for everyone.
For those looking for ultimate control over their website and its performance, it is best to look elsewhere, and to web hosts that allow customization when it comes to the servers on which your website resides. This sort of customization means you can scale up the level of performance depending on your website needs.
If you are expecting heavy traffic, or need particularly snappy performance from your host, you can increase the RAM, CPU cores, and bandwidth to suit. If you aren’t expecting such a heavy footprint on your site, you can obviously select a package that is reflective of that too.
The best hosts have plenty of options, and it’s worth checking out customer feedback, such as that seen on the Hostinger hosting review, to see just how varied the service can be, and how happy the current clientele are with the service.
Easy to enter, hard to leave
When it comes to the all-in-one services, their initial simplicity can sometimes end up being something of an anchor around your neck. Having a website builder, domain registrar, and host, all in one package sounds wonderful, but should you ever decide to leave the service and move onto another host, many of these services make it as difficult as possible (and in some cases completely impossible).
Your domain name being linked to your host (in such a way that it becomes difficult to separate them) might be a good thing for simplicity, but down the line, it can mean that there is simply no option to move onto a service that responds better to an increase in traffic, should you suddenly find yourself needing it. It also means you are generally stuck with the selection of templates on offer when it comes to the aesthetics of your site.
Here’s the thing: If you ever wish to move on from this look (which becomes increasingly generic with each website that is created using it), you might just be out of luck. To start again you not only have to build a new website, but also buy a new domain name and direct your traffic their instead.
There is also the issues of marketing tools. Sure, some of these all-in-one solutions have the basic tools on offer, but when it comes to SEO options, you are often limited. The same goes for the use of apps and extensions within the websites. Some of these platforms allow for 3rd party apps and extensions, while others do not.
There is no hard and fast rule that encompasses all these platforms, but in general, they act far more like ‘walled-gardens’ than the more customizable web hosts that allow you to design your site elsewhere, and use their servers to run the backend.
Convenience comes at a price
There is also the price to consider. The all-in-ones are notoriously expensive when you consider the ‘bang for your buck’. Yes, they promise simplicity, but all that comes at a price. If you are expecting a low volume of traffic, and only need a very simple site, then they can indeed be a useful tool for you to use.
If however you have slightly loftier ambitions, it would be a good idea to look elsewhere. This is especially true if you value SEO, wish to have the ability to move your site from one host to another, or need the ability to scale the performance of your site at any point during the lifetime of your hosting.
On the subject of scaling, customizable hosting solutions not only give you the option of choosing the amount of RAM, CPU cores and bandwidth available to you, but also the type of hosting you would prefer too. From shared hosting plans, VPS hosting plans, and all the way to cloud hosting plans; there is an option available that will suit your needs.
To conclude…
So before you go for the biggest name or simplest looking platform, it is worth shopping around when it comes to web hosting. Using a customizable host will mean that your domain isn’t tied into the service for life, you can scale to your needs, and is often cheaper.
A little effort in finding the right one can mean a lot less hassle down the road. Take the time to decipher just what you want from a web host and choose one accordingly.
