Author Intro: Today we have a guest post from Daren Lch. Daren is the founder of WebHostingDeals.org. He has been working with a team of experienced webmasters in reviewing web hosting services. Daren believes that a good host has to be reasonably priced with good quality. You can find out his works at WebHostingDeals.org.
It’s the 21st century — you can live in France, sell your products online in the United States and host your website in Russia! You can update the products on your website while working in a café in California and your server might be across the world in China. The digital age has made web hosting a hot industry and companies in every country want a slice of the pie.
But do you actually want to host your website in another country? Isn’t there some benefit in having your server nearby? Or at least in the same timezone? Well, overseas hosting can actually work out really well for you…but be careful — not everyone can benefit from hosting in another country. There are a few things you need to consider before you outsource your web hosting.
Better Price, Better Service
A huge benefit of overseas hosting is — it’s cheap! But we all know that a lower price usually means lower quality too. Don’t worry if you live in the United States or Europe, hosting your website somewhere else can be much cheaper simply because of reduced overhead, not because the service is worse. The lower taxes and cost of living in some countries lead to lower web hosting costs. For example, it’s much less expensive to operate a web hosting company in Pakistan than the United States, but you can still get a similar web hosting plan.
And how about customer service? Well, that’s a tricky question. Overseas web hosting companies usually have highly-trained, attentive service technicians because they know they have to compete with U.S. web hosts. But even if they’re good at their jobs, technical support at an overseas company might not work for you. First, you’ll have to be sure that they have 24/7 support because of the time difference. Otherwise, their operating hours could be in the middle of your night! Second, you need to call them up and make sure they have someone who speaks your language. That fantastic 24/7 support won’t matter if you can’t understand it.
Boost Your Ranking
Did you know that the country where you host your website can affect your Google ranking? If someone searches for your website in China and your website is hosted in China, then your Google ranking will be higher than if your website is hosted in the United States. You already know that search engine optimization can affect your website traffic, so it’s really important that you consider your audience before choosing a web host. If you sell most of your product in another country, consider hosting in that country as well.
Don’t Make Your Audience Wait
Speaking of audience, you’ll want a web host that doesn’t make them wait while it loads. If your website user lives across the globe from your server, your site will be a lot slower for that person than the customer located down the street. So again, you need to consider who is trying to use your website — you’ll want your website to load very quickly for most of your customers. If they have to wait, they will move on to a faster website.
So as you can see, hosting overseas can be either good or bad. Like I always say, you have to do your research first! Here’s a little cheat sheet to help you prioritize.
Consider overseas hosting if
- Your website’s audience is in another country than the one in which you live.
- Money is a bigger concern than timezone.
And stay local if
- You can’t find an overseas web host whose technical support staff speaks your language.
- You want to support your local economy.
- The people searching for your website live in the same country as you.
Bottom line: Yes, the location of your server matters! But it doesn’t need to be near you — it just needs to be near most of your website users.
About The Author: This is a guest post from Daren Lch. Daren is the founder of WebHostingDeals.org. He has been working with a team of experienced webmasters in reviewing web hosting services. Daren believes a good host has to be reasonably priced with good quality. You can find out his works at WebHostingDeals.org.
