No, and here are the reasons why you don’t want Cybervise to host your website.
One of our key values at Cybervise is to make sure that all of our website customers independently own their websites. We do not want to create a relationship where you as a website owner are forced to do business with us because we are the only gateway to your website files.
We feel strongly that the website developer or webmaster should not be the hosting company for the business website. We have had many website owners come to us for help because they feel “held hostage” by their current web developer. What often creates this relationship break down is when web developer also acts as the website host and the owner is forced to go through their developer to make any changes on their website. Cybervise does not want to create this scenario. We would rather be viewed as an asset and a strategic partner, not a forced expense.
Reasons Why Your Webmaster Should Not Be Your Web Host
- Web Hosting is not their core business. – Web hosting is not something that should be done on the side or on a part-time basis. Business are very concerned about the security of their business website and the security of the customer information often found on that website. You need a company that is focused on up-to-date website security requirements and have the technical skills to help you when a breach occurs.
- If you are going to host a website, you need to provide hosting support. – Most professional hosting companies provide 24/7 support. Most website development firms are not setup to provide this level of support. What happens if your website goes down on a Sunday? Can you call and get in touch with an actual person? That’s the level of support a business website needs.
- Website owners lose control of their website. – When a website developer hosts your website, they control access to your website. That includes controlling YOUR access to your website. Every time you want to add something new to your website, you have to run it by them first and they have the chance to say no. If you are finding that the website is not growing with your business and you are getting a lot of resistance to your ideas, that is a sign that the hosting situation needs to change.
- Businesses change and so do business relationships. – Maybe it made sense for your to work with this developer early on, but now you need different expertise? Maybe your developer has decided they don’t want to host or support your website anymore? If you were hosted at a 3rd party account, this would not be a big deal. When your developer is the host, this is a big deal. You will need to move your website to a new host in order to make this change. The move will disrupt your website for a least a 24 hour period, depending on your business this could be a minor glitch or major revenue lost. Plan ahead, insist on getting your own hosting account.
- The only way to solve the problem is to start over. – Some day you may find yourself at the point where you no longer want to do business with this developer. When they are the host, they are in control and the only way you may be able to regain control will be to build a new website on another hosting account at another vendor. That’s why hosting at a 3rd party site is so important and the only way you can ensure that you won’t lose your website investment.
Plan ahead. Take the time to establish your own hosting account independent of your website developer or webmaster. If your developer proposes hosting for you, insist on them using your account. Need more advice? Sign-up for our Free Website Consultation.
