Web Hosting & Maintenance

What is the deal with web Hosting & Maintenance? 

When it comes to websites there are two terms that you will hear a lot of… hosting and maintenance! These two terms are extremely important and well worth spending a little time understanding.

• What do you mean hosting? You are free to register your domain and take out a hosting package with pretty much anyone but please take into consideration that this may cause some issues and delays. When you host your website with The Marketing Designer & Co it’s easy for us to get what we need when we need it, to continue building your website instead of waiting for “Dear John” from whatever call centre to provide your cpanel details or explain why something isn’t working. When it comes to websites there are two parts to what you see. Part ONE is hosting. Your website sits somewhere on a server that is owned by your host (ie the people you pay for your .co.za or .com domain). The server your website sits on comes with its own settings and what it allows or does not. If the designers and the hosts are not one and the same it can cause a bit of hassles and delays. It’s not impossible though, just expect that there might be some hiccups along the way. Part TWO is WordPress. It is responsible for what you see online. Within WordPress there are all sorts of settings that make the site function. We as your web designers have full access to build and shape your website but this does not mean we can change settings on the main server.
• Why the big fuss about maintenance? Owning a website is like welcoming newborn to the family. You don’t just have a baby and expect baby to fend for themselves! You make sure you wipe their face, comb their hair and look super cute at church on Sundays – ha ha. The same applies to a website… not only do you need a backup of your website (lets just avoid ever losing your website if/when the shit hits the fan – trust me it often does) but there are plugins that need to be updated to keep your site fully functional. A maintenance plan takes care of exactly this. A maintenance plan does not include custom updates or adding new content, but rather maintains the overall function of your website.
• Can I have a maintenance only plan? The answer is yes. We are happy to assist with the maintenance of your website even if we do not host the site ourselves and/or did not complete the initial build. We would however need to assess your website prior to commencing a maintenance agreement. Should you wish to have a hosting plan only – without any maintenance assistance (really not recommended) we can also assist.