Managed versus Unmanaged Website Hosting in Essex: What Sounds More Sensible?

 When exploring the right hosting plan for websites, a common and tricky challenge often faced by agencies, freelancers, and developers is whether to choose hands-on control or managed hosting experience. With this post highlighting the pros and cons of each, followed by a few questions, you will eventually figure out the best solution when renting server space for your website to be accessible on the Internet. So, keep scrolling down and gain clarity over the matter.

Features of Managed Website Hosting

As the term suggests, managed hosting involves professionals taking over day-to-day responsibilities on your behalf. If you are juggling between server setup and monitoring or software updates and security, a helping hand proves to be not only convenient but also time-saving. Here are a few points for you to understand about managed website hosting in Essex and places elsewhere:

Ø  Accompanies dedicated support with experienced professionals tackling complexities and resolving issues

Ø  Follows security protocols, like security audits and firewalls, all of which are integral to managed hosting

Ø  Secures servers by adding the latest features to handle potential vulnerabilities

Ø  Provides flexibility for server resources to scale up with the growth of business

Features of Unmanaged Hosting

Here, an expert hosting provider is entrusted with zero power. So, it’s the user who takes ownership and controls the server. In other words, every aspect of website hosting, right from initial setup to software installation and backup, is your responsibility. Enclosed are a few features of this choice worth checking out:

Ø  Users shoulder the complete responsibility of administration

Ø  Users have the liberty to fix issues by utilising their in-depth technical insights

Ø  The user settles the server configurations

Ø  Users enjoy the scope of manually tailoring the hosting environment to suit their requirements

Managed and Unmanaged Hosting: A Quick Comparison for a Better Understanding

Which one do you think will cater to your needs between the two? Let us view the differences based on a few factors below:

n  Security: With managed web hosting in Essex, you are assured of regular updates and timely threat management. Therefore, you can expect a more secure site. However, with unmanaged hosting, the entire responsibility to check for vulnerabilities and security patch updates comes down to the user.

n  Price: Since the hosting provider takes care of everything and provides additional services, managed hosting is a bit on the higher end. Unmanaged is definitely cheaper due to the coverage of fewer services.

n  Server management: It’s not applicable in managed hosting, as the provider administers the server. You are certainly in charge of updates and backups for server management under unmanaged hosting.

n  Onboarding software: Under managed hosting service, it’s optimised to provide improved service in WordPress and other platforms. Unmanaged hosting involves generalised support with onboarding software less optimised for specific platforms.

n  Hardware maintenance: It is usually taken care of by the hosting provider under managed hosting, but it is the responsibility of the user when opting for unmanaged hosting and the maintenance of tools, networks, and control panels.

n  cPanel: While the prior offers a pre-built control panel for the execution of various tasks, the latter demands the setting up of tools and control panels.

n  Level of control: As already discussed and evident, you have limited control over the site with a managed hosting service as opposed to an unmanaged one.

n  Support: With a managed hosting plan, you are entitled to 24/7 customer support, but with unmanaged hosting, you only receive basic support.

After examining the key differences between the two, it’s time to make an informed choice.

Which is the Smarter Pick Between the Two Hosting Choices?

When anticipating expert support for technical issues, go for managed hosting. It’s invaluable for organisations lacking a dedicated IT team or those looking for experts to shoulder the burden of server management. In the long run, it proves more cost-effective since everything is covered, starting with automation of updates, expert management and security measures. You can save a lot of time and resources by hiring in-house IT personnel. In addition, managed hosting stands for robust security measures. So, there is no chance of cyber threats for businesses conducting online transactions and working with sensitive information.

When seeking managed website hosting services in the UK, approach Sprout Media, a web design agency in Essex. You can focus on day-to-day business tasks without worrying about interruptions in network management, security patches or software support by entrusting the responsibilities to this team. Think about it today and get your project rolling!