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Web Design Vs Web Hosting?

Are Web Design and Web Hosting the same thing?

Short answer: No.

Do I need web design and web hosting?

Short answer: No. Web design services and web hosting services are two different industries. They’re both “website” related and that can make it confusing. Let’s start with definitions.

Web design definition: Website design is the process of creating and developing a website that is displayed on the internet. Website design often is seen in the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) development of a website.

Web hosting definition: Website hosting is the location of the files, content, and images of a website. Sometimes called a website server, this is a computer that houses and displays the website for a website visitor.

One of the main differences is that a website design is a one-time creation that can be used for months or years. Once you have a website designed, you can put it online and make changes to the design. Website design usually has a one-time price that can range from $2000 to $6000 for an average site.

Website hosting is an ongoing process and has a fee that can range from $5 to $100 per month. Website hosting is evaluated by website speed and average uptime.

Website Hosting Warnings

There are many red flags to watch out for when looking at website hosting.

This isn’t always the case, but you often get what you pay for a web hosting service. Affordable website hosting will cut costs by putting too many websites on one server. This would be similar to opening every program on your computer. Too many things going on your computer will make it run slowly. This is the same way with website hosting servers.

Don’t fall for the marketing gimmick, this is a useless bit of confusing language. Every website host keeps your website online as much as possible. There is no benefit to them to have your website down for maintenance or server repairs. These things do happen and regardless of what the guaranteed uptime is, repairs need to happen.

Some website hosts will take on anyone who will pay. This means a foreign spammer might be sharing a server with you! When a search engine like Google looks at your website and sees the spammer, they may associate you with that spammer. If Google thinks you are a spammer, your website will never show up in the Google search results, all because of an association with a spammer and because your website host did not take necessary precautions to protect you.

A website host that never upgrades their hardware and software will quickly find themselves with a server that is increasingly slower and slower. This becomes a tech support nightmare because their customers constantly complain.One of the biggest and most well known hosting companies in the world has a reputation for not updating PHP, a scripting language, because it would require them to update the hardware across their server farm. As a result, their hosting customers are at a disadvantage and are forced to use outdated software which is susceptible to exploits and hackers (search “php injections attacks” to see the type of devastation that can occur to a website).

This is another marketing gimmick. If you read the terms of service you’ll find that the “unlimited disk space” is limited by server capacities, maximum file size and other clauses rendering the unlimited, limited. One of the hosting providers that we use offers unlimited hosting but they don’t allow you to have backups of your website. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.Here is an email they recently sent, keep in mind, this is for unlimited disk space:

We appreciate your cooperation on addressing disk usage. I like to inform you that, total disk usage is reduced to “119G”. Please note that, Using a shared account as a backup/storage device is against the Acceptable Use Policies. 

Please review the following backups and remove them for further review:
34G /home1/server/client.com.tar
38G /home1/server/public_html/client.com/wp-content/updraft

Web Host TOS Warning

How Much Should Website Hosting Cost?

Website hosting from an affordable website hosting company can be purchased for as little as $5 per month. This fee, depending on features and speed, can go up to $100 per month or more!

How much you spend will depend on your needs. The faster your website loads, the better it is. Neil Patel has said that over 50% of mobile users will leave your website if it takes longer than three seconds to load (neilpatel.com). That is a very clear sign that you need a fast loading website, that often starts with your website hosting service.

At CalTechWeb.com, we’ve found that a moderately priced website hosting ($20-50 per month) will do the job for most small businesses with less than 10,000 website visitors per month. As a business grows (10,000+ site visitors per month), a larger hosting plan should be considered. CalTech Web includes web site hosting services with all of our packages and that website hosting package is on a fast host!

Who Needs Website Hosting?

Every website needs hosting. If your company wants to succeed online, you will have an online presence, a custom website design, a domain name, and search engine optimization. This is a requirement and how the internet works. If you want a website, your online business must have hosting. CalTech Web doesn’t offer standalone hosting, but it is included with every package.

Are Web Development Services the same as Web Design Services?

Short answer: Yes, mostly.

The longer answer is that these terms are usually interchangeable. The exact definitions would be different. Website Development refers to the underlying code of a website and can include a Content Management System (CMS). See our small business web design playbook for details on the best CMS. With website development, you would also expect any web services to be included in the development service.

Website Design is the front-facing part of the website that a visitor will see when they visit your website. Custom website design will also include graphic design, might include logo design and will guide you from the planning to the website launch. All websites should incorporate responsive website design. Talk to your website designer to see if mobile friendly responsive web design is included in their web design packages.

Many of our customers already have a business website, we jump in to give them a custom web design that is mobile friendly and responsive. With multiple custom plans, a quick website consultation is a great place to start. We are a California-based web design firm that focuses on building a website that will excel in online marketing. We also offer free website maintenance with every web design package!

ONLY $99 per month!

No design fees.No hourly rates. No hassle. It’s that simple.