In this article we will be going into detail regarding what the 99% of businesses who currently have what we call ‘standard’ website hosting are getting (or not getting) for their money.
Firstly we must clarify what we mean by standard website hosting. If you do a Google search for ‘website hosting’ you will get results showing websites such as 123-reg, Fasthosts and Rackspace offering hosting packages for websites, these basic packages range in price but are usually around £5-£10 per month. This is what we mean by standard web hosting, and the vast majority of websites live on the internet use a service that is similar to this.
Now you may think you are being a shrewd business owner by using such a service, after all it sounds like your getting a great deal, and all for less that £10 a month, winner. Well, sadly this isn't the case, and you're actually leaving yourself in a rather vulnerable position. Let me explain why.
Let's Do A Little Test
First you need to find the IP address of the server that your website is hosted on. This is easy, go here http://www.ipvoid.com/find-website-ip/ add your website url and it will give you the IP address of your server.
Now go here https://dnslytics.com/reverse-ip and paste that IP address into the search bar and click enter.
After you have completed these steps you will more that likely be faced with a massive list of hundreds, maybe even thousands of website addresses.
These are all websites that share the same exact server as you do. This is an issue, if any 1 of those websites gets hacked there is a chance that the server will fail, this will bring down your website, and these is nothing you can do about it.
When you pay less than £200 a year for hosting you will be hosting your website on a shared server, along with hundreds of other websites.
Cheap Hosting Provides Little Protection
You may think that your £10 a month means that you are getting security featured as standard, unfortunately you would be wrong to think this. Cheap, shared server hosting packages only provide the most basic of security features (if you are lucky), features that can easily be circumvented by hackers.
In this day and age, services such as proactive threat detection, 24/7 monitoring and DoS prevention are essential if you are to stand a chance of avoiding even the most simple of hacking attempts. Cheap solutions don't provide these services as standard, its as simple as that.
If you want to lean more about common hacking techniques you should read our arcticle on the subject - https://www.miltec-security.co.uk/thought-leadership/common-website-hacking-techniques
So Your Server Is Vulnerable, What About Your Website?
Having a server that incorporates tight security features is only half of the real battle. You need to couple that with equally tight on-site security. Again, unfortunately this is an area where a traditional cheap hosting provider will fail to provide.
Hosting providers wont touch your website. You may find it difficult to even get advice from them.
So remember, you might have the most security server in the world, but it your on-site security isn't up to scratch then you are still very vulnerable. Keep you website updated, change your passwords regularly and keep on top of any third party modules your site may use.
In Summary
What looks like a good deal on the surface probably isn't. It’s really worth paying that bit extra and getting a service that actually protects your business.
If you want some more information about how to protect your website and your business then please get in touch!
