One of the most popular ways to get your business’ product or website online is by using dedicated hosting solutions.
There are so many options out there to choose from when selecting a server for your small business. Today we’ll take you through some of the must-have features you should look for when considering dedicated hosting.
Features to Consider When Choosing Dedicated Hosting Solutions
1. Variety of Operating System Options
The first and foremost feature you should want from a dedicated hosting provider is a large selection of choices for your server’s Operating System (OS).
The Operating System you select during setup will impact your business for years to come, so it’s important that your server provider allows you to configure a server to your exact specifications.
From the latest Windows Server OS to one of the many server-designed Linux distributions, options should be widely available.
Many industry leading server providers like VPS House even allow you to specify a custom Operating System during checkout. This means we can either install the OS for you, or give you IPMI access to load up the OS of your choice from your own computer.
Be sure to add OS choice to your checklist before buying hosting, it will ensure you have the perfect Operating System for your needs.
2. Security Like Steel
The web can be a rough place for the people who don’t take the right amount of time to properly secure a server.
Hacker, viruses, and many other malicious threats to your companies security, and by proxy reputation, are out there. So you need to make sure your server is protected.
Review your prospective web host to see which security measures they have in place in their data center, and when interacting with their support team. No request submitted to their team should be processed before you are properly verified.
You should also consider which server management services the provider has available. When bundling server rental with server management, the cost savings can be incredible. This will allow you to outsource your server management tasks such as securing a server to the pros at an affordable cost.
3. Easily Upgradable Servers
Sometimes as your website gets bigger and more complex, or additional features are implemented, your current server specifications can’t quite keep up in terms of speed and functionality.
You don’t want bad load times creeping up when multiple people are on your site, all because your server can’t keep up. Responsiveness and speedy web pages are vital for keeping your business SEO friendly. So don’t cut corners on this.
Look for a provider that has a variety of server options like Hybrid, Cloud, and Dedicated Servers. This means that you have plenty of upgrade pathways to choose from as your needs grow.
When looking at a hosting company, then, be sure it’s easy to upgrade to a new server at any time.
Extras from Expert Hosting Companies
There are a few other things you might want to look for in good dedicated hosting solutions. We’ll take a look at those now.
1. Custom Quotes
Certain tasks such as machine learning and AI require specific hardware to accomplish the task. Cookie cutter server packages may not fit the bill in these situations.
If this is the case, you’ll want to make sure your hosting company has a service for customising the type of components going into your server and allows you to build a custom quote with their sales team.
Custom quotes will often distinguish a budget server provider from a professional hosting company. A professional web host can easily work with their suppliers to order in a server just for your specifications, while a budget provider will just try to force you into a pre-built server.
2. Server Management Solutions
Should you run into any trouble whilst working with your server, you should be able to get good support in troubleshooting the issue.
A quality dedicated hosting solution should include a variety of server management packages to choose from.
Paying extra for these types of services can be expensive for smaller business. So with that in mind, be sure to check with the provider’s sales team to arrange a package suited for your budget.
3. Tips & Tutorials for Troubleshooting
Nothing feels worse than being stuck on a problem you just can’t solve. Especially when your pages deep into google, or other documentation, trying to figure it out.
A great bonus feature of a hosting company, is an extensive and easy-to-follow library of tips and tutorials.
These libraries should be bursting with relevant, easily explained information for the type of projects you want to run on your server.
Maybe you need troubleshooting tips and tricks, or pointers on how to properly configure that web app framework you want to use.
Whatever it is, there should be something to help you avoid that customer support team.
4. Multimedia Manuals
You shouldn’t limit these things to just blog posts though. It’s even better if the tutorial comes in video or audio forms!
These could be using a handy YouTube channel, or maybe a nice professional Vimeo page. In any case, you want these multimedia manuals to be easily shareable among your coworkers or colleagues.
In Summary: For You Server
So in summary. For your server, OS choice, advanced security, and ease of upgradability are absolutely essential to making good dedicated server hosting solutions.
Also, look out for hardware customisation, sufficient support services for your server, and handy tutorials.
If you have any more specific questions about us or our services, be sure to orto view our current offers and contact us.