Between website design, online marketing, and managing customer requests, you have enough on your plate trying to run trying to manage your business’ online presence. With all the time, energy and resources invested in your web presence, the last thing you want to deal with is website downtime.

Downtime is time lost, and if you are relying on a “shared hosting” solution for your website, then it may not even be the end of your worries. Hardware and software setup, technical issues, and traffic surges are all problems you might be stuck dealing with on your own.

That is why the market for managed web hosting services has been growing over the last several years. With the already considerable demands of running a business, it’s not hard to see the appeal of outsourcing web hosting duties.

But what is managed hosting? And what makes it so preferable to shared solutions?

Managed Web Hosting Explained

Managed hosting is a service model where a client leases servers or cloud space from an administrator. The service provider is responsible for the day-to-day upkeep of the server system.

It’s a bit like having a rental property for your website. If the roof of a rental home starts leaking, it is the landlord’s responsibility to fix it. Likewise, the provider of a managed hosting service is usually responsible for duties like server maintenance, security, resource monitoring, and network configuration.

This arrangement has substantial benefits to the client.

Minimal Downtime

Even a short period of downtime can cause steep financial losses by way of lost productivity or sales. The exact dollar amount varies depending on the scale of your business, but even conservative estimates suggest the loss could be as high as $8,600 for an hour of downtime.

Managed hosting providers monitor their systems on a constant basis. This enables them to proactively detect irregularities, vulnerabilities and potential points of failure early on.

By keeping on top of potential issues, they are able to fix small issues before they become big issues.

Strong Security

Managed hosting providers understand the need to protect their client’s security. New leads, in particular, are rightfully wary of unfamiliar sites, and any suggestion that security is to up to par will likely translate to business lost.

Consequently, managed hosting providers understand that their business relies on making ensuring the security of your business.

Any good hosting service will be well-equipped to deal with hacking attempts, run constant scans for malware, and conduct regular audits to probe for potential vulnerabilities.

Allow Clients to Focus on their Businesses

The long and short of it is that managed hosting services provide hands-off web solutions.

Either running a business or running a website would be a huge endeavor on its own. For small businesses that can’t afford to hire an in-house tech team, trying to do both at the same time is often just not feasible.

Relying on a managed hosting solution gives business owners the benefits of their own team at a fraction of the cost.

Managed Hosting is an Investment in Your Business

If there is a downside to managed web hosting, it’s that it will cost you money. So many small businesses rely on shared hosting because it’s simply cheaper in the short term.

But the cheaper solutions leave you vulnerable.

They don’t boast the security necessary to protect your business around the clock. They don’t offer the means to monitor and prevent potential issues on your behalf. And when something does go wrong, it’s usually on you to fix it yourself.

The lower initial cost translates to a greater expenditure of time and effort and leaves you susceptible to lost productivity and profit. Managed hosting takes those worries out of your hands so you can concern yourself with making money.

To learn more about increasing your website leads, compelling site design, and growing your online business, check out our other articles on increasing new leads and improving your website user experience.