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While there are definitely benefits to hosting your website on your own servers, and the benefits of doing so can far outweigh the risks, there are some risks that you do indeed need to consider. When considering these risks, you also need to consider ways in which to minimize them. If you are going to forego traditional website hosting services and host your own website, make sure to keep the following in mind… The Benefits of Hosting Your Own Website Obviously the most notable benefit of hosting your own website is that it offers you the highest level of control over the equipment that your site is hosted on and allows you direct physical access to your site’s server, something that you don’t get when you opt to utilize a hosting service. When it comes to hardware specs, you make all the calls. Processor, speed, memory, storage, and bandwidth are all at your sole discretion. And when you consider the fact that you can get a 500 GB hard drive for less than $100, it becomes apparent that hosting your own site isn’t exactly cost-prohibitive either. Since you have easy access to and control over your hardware when hosting your own website, modifying the hardware or making changes to the server that your site is hosted on is well within your control — another thing that isn’t so easy when utilizing a hosting service provider. Instead of having to coordinate with the provider’s staff to make changes to your site’s servers, you can make and implement changes without needing to rely on anyone else. However, it is not always clear skies and rainbows when hosting your own website. There are drawbacks that you need to consider as well. The Drawbacks of Hosting Your Own Website One of the primary drawbacks of hosting your own website is the fact that your DSL or cable provider may not be hospitable when it comes to supporting your account for purposes of website hosting. In fact, some companies prohibit doing so. As such, you will want to be sure you aren’t breaking any rules if you decide that hosting your own site is the way to go. Another consideration is that many DSL and cable service providers oversell their services, just as hosting providers do, which means that your server may only get a fraction of the speed you have been promised. That can affect the performance of your website. In addition, if your provider changes your IP, as most do since they usually provide dynamic IPs unless a static IP is specifically requested, it can cause problems for your website. There is also a lack of redundancy to consider, since only larger companies usually have redundant internet connections when hosting their sites on their own servers, as well as alternative power sources. If your power goes out during a storm or if you have a problem with your ISP, your website is going to go down and you may not even know about it until hours after the fact. Overcoming the Drawbacks of Hosting Your Own Website with Website Monitoring Service If you are intent on hosting your website on your own server and want to overcome the drawbacks of doing so, one of the best ways to go about it is to enlist the help of a quality website monitoring service. While a website monitoring service can’t completely eliminate the added risk of website downtime that can be caused by hosting your own website, it can drastically reduce the website downtime that your online business experiences. Not only will a quality website monitoring service notify you of performance issues that can hint toward a future episode of website downtime, the service will also alert you the moment your server and/or website become unavailable and go offline. A quality website monitoring service can even alert you as to the reason your site is offline, helping you to correct the problem in a more timely manner so you can get your site back up and running as quickly and seamlessly as possible. While website monitoring services are actually a critical component of any profit-driven website, it is even more crucial for self-hosted websites to partner with these businesses. Since you’re the one in charge of all aspects of your website and server when you decide to host your own site, you are also solely responsible for ensuring that your site remains up and running at all times. Without the help of a quality website monitoring service, downtime can take a significant chunk out of your online business’s profits. Fortunately, with a quality website monitoring service in place, you can minimize the risks and manage the drawbacks of hosting your website on your own server, giving you the added control you desire without the significant added risks. Alertra is a leading provider of website monitoring and alerting services. We monitor the availability and performance of Internet-connected devices. Alertra website monitor provides timely alert notifications and access to detailed reporting. We offer monitoring service to all sizes of businesses right from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies.
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