What does hosting mean?
If you’re hosting a party, your friends use your place for an event, right? Website hosting is the same — your website uses a server to store its files.
Just like you need an actual house at your home address to call it home and keep your belongings, your website needs a server to store its files and database. So, your host is kind of like the house, and your domain (such as healthy-pixels.com) is your address.
Launching with existing hosts
When onboarding new website projects, a critical question is: “Do you have hosting?”
If the answer is no, the client is responsible for either sorting it out themselves or purchasing it for an additional fee through Healthy Pixels.
Either way, I’m more than happy to work with the client, of course. But I’ve seen quite a few cases where hosting has introduced unnecessary roadblocks — sometimes even delaying the launch by several days.
Here are some examples:
Case study 1: Delayed launch
Starting point: The client wanted to keep their hosting and domain together, so they had their IT provider set up hosting to accommodate the existing domain.
Challenge: Since the IT provider had multiple clients on the same hosting account, they couldn’t give me full login access. When the hosting wasn’t set up correctly, it led to a lot of back and forth. The website launch wasn’t a priority for the IT provider, so their responses were slow and their attempted fixes didn’t resolve the issue. Without the right setup, I physically couldn’t upload the website.
Result: The launch was delayed by three working days — plus a weekend in between. Had I had access, the site would have launched on day one.
Case study 2: Cheap ain’t cheap
Starting point: The client had a domain with a cheap provider and wanted to stick with them for hosting because, well… they were very affordable.
Challenge: Oh, so many! First, we couldn’t bypass 2FA and had to call support. Then the initial hosting plan, which looked fine at first glance, didn’t include an SSL certificate (which really should be standard), so we had to upgrade. The FTP details didn’t work, so I was back on chat support — only for the agent to leave before resolving the issue, and I had to start over with a new one. We then ran into database configuration issues that caused a cascade of errors.
Short story: Cheap ain’t cheap when you factor in the time spent just trying to make it work.
Result: Angry Monika (at the host, not the client), and a much tougher launch than necessary. For the client, the 2FA issues ate up time, and they ended up having to upgrade to a pricier plan just to get the essential SSL certificate.
Case study 3: Slooooow DNS move
Starting point: On the day of launch (which was important due to an event the next day), I was told the client’s domain and website were both set up through SquareSpace.
Challenge: The website had been built in WordPress — an immediate red flag, because you can’t host a WordPress site on SquareSpace. The client agreed to set up hosting through Healthy Pixels, and we began updating the DNS settings. But the process was slow. I’ve found this kind of change usually takes under an hour, but according to what I found online, SquareSpace settings can sometimes take up to 48 hours to update. So we waited. The full day.
Result: Panic. The client was stressed about not being live in time, and I spent my date night refreshing the browser until I could finally launch the site around 9 PM, in time for their event.
What to look out for in a host
It’s easy to go for the cheapest option because hosting can feel quite abstract. But as we’ve seen, cheap isn’t always as cheap as it looks.
Compare a few options — if one is significantly cheaper than the others, that could be a red flag. Read reviews (the good and the bad), and watch out for complaints about upselling, hidden fees, unclear pricing, or slow site speed. Always make sure an SSL certificate is included.
Feel free to ask me for advice — I may have experience with the provider or can vet them quickly. Or, just go with hosting through Healthy Pixels, and our lives will be a whole lot easier!
Bonus: Healthy Pixels hosting runs on green energy, helping reduce your website’s carbon footprint.
Sound overwhelming?
Don’t let choosing a host stop you from getting your website live. A professional website is a key trust builder for any business. While it might feel technical, it shouldn’t be a barrier to being seen as a credible, established business.
Get in touch today — I’m happy to guide you through every step!
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