Why You Should Never Allow an Agency to Host Your Website

When setting up a website, one of the crucial decisions you'll face is where to host it. While some businesses opt for the convenience of letting their digital agency or web developer handle hosting, this approach often presents pitfalls.

Websites are hosted on specialized computers called web servers. Web servers are typically housed in data centers. Data centers are expensive (multi-millions) facilities requiring technical staff, which makes it impractical for many organizations to have their own. Very few agencies have enough clients to justify the cost.

I once worked at a large college as a Webmaster and was responsible for maintaining four different servers. Two were web servers, another a specialized library server with its unique database, and another highly specialized portfolio server. Each required an in-depth understanding of how the software works, how users access them, and their individual performance requirements. Very few agencies have staff with this type of experience.

Frankly, one of the worst offenses I've seen in digital agencies is when they offer to host your website for you. They claim that they host the site on their hardware while they do not. Instead, they partner with a web hosting company through a reseller program. The agency earns a commission and does not host your website. It merely marks up the service they pay for and passes on the extra cost to you.

Agencies that claim to host your website are almost always lying to you, What else are they lying about?

Here's why entrusting your hosting to a specialized provider rather than an agency is a wiser choice.

Reasons to Avoid Hosting with a Digital Agency or Web Developer

1. Potential for Conflict of Interest: If there's ever a dispute or disagreement between you and the agency or developer, they have direct control over your hosting. This could mean downtime or other issues that directly impact your business.
2. Limited Expertise: Digital agencies and web developers specialize in design and development rather than hosting. A dedicated hosting provider will have specialized expertise and resources to ensure optimal performance and security.
3. Scalability Issues: If your website grows and needs more resources or different hosting solutions, an agency may not have the infrastructure to support it, leading to potential performance issues.
4. Cost: Agencies mark up the cost of hosting. You will always end up paying more for the same level of hosting you'd get directly from a dedicated hosting provider.
5. Limited Access: Depending on the agency's policies, you might not have full access or control over your hosting environment. This could make it challenging to make changes or troubleshoot issues.
6. Single Point of Failure: If the agency or developer goes out of business, experiences internal issues, or even changes their focus, it could put your hosting at risk.

Reasons to Use a Dedicated Hosting Provider Like A2 Hosting (or similar services):

1. Expertise: Dedicated hosting providers specialize in hosting. They have the knowledge, infrastructure, and resources to provide optimal website performance.
2. Better Security: Hosting providers often offer specialized security features, regular updates, and dedicated resources to prevent breaches.
3. Scalability: As your website grows, dedicated hosting providers can offer a range of options, from shared hosting to dedicated servers, to accommodate your needs.
4. Cost-Effective: You can often get a better deal by going directly to the source, and you'll find a broader range of price options suitable for your budget.
5. Uptime Guarantees: Many hosting providers offer uptime guarantees, meaning they're contractually bound to ensure your website is accessible a specified percentage of the time.
6. Customer Support: Dedicated hosting providers typically offer 24/7 customer support, specialized in resolving hosting-related issues.
7. Independence: Hosting separately from your developer or agency means you maintain complete control over your website. If you ever want to change your website's design or developer, you won't have to worry about moving your hosting as well.

Example: You hire an agency for a complete design, development, and hosting package. A year later, you wish to redesign the website with a different agency. If your website was hosted by the first agency, transferring the site, its databases, and other configurations might become cumbersome and potentially costly. On the other hand, if you had your website hosted with a dedicated hosting provider, you could seamlessly work with any agency without involving the hosting aspect.

While agencies may lure you with the convenience of a one-stop shop, entrusting a dedicated hosting provider with your website offers long-term benefits and flexibility, making it the wiser choice for businesses prioritizing stability and growth.

Also see our article, It’s OK to be a (Web) Control Freak, for additional critical information on securing your digital property.

Need (Legitimate) Web Hosting?

West Bay Web uses and recommends A2 Hosting. We trust them with our own hosting and almost always recommend them to our clients.

Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, A2 Hosting offers hosting plans for every budget and every need.

• Fast web servers.
• Super reliable - 99.9% uptime.
• Fantastic customer support! Real humans are available 24/7/365.
• Servers are optimized for security and speed.
• Free account migration - no hassle in moving your existing website.