Web Hosting vs Email Hosting

What is Web Hosting?

When you hire a web hosting service, you are renting space on a secure server to store your website files, which allows visitors 24/7 access to your website. Your web hosting service is responsible for the performance, reliability, and security of your website.

Sounds simple enough, but when you start looking into web hosting services, you’ll find there are different types of web hosting, as well as a wide variety of service packages out there. When trying to figure out what you need, you’ll want to consider:

Types of web hosting. The type of web hosting you need will depend on the size of your website and how much traffic it gets. If you want a small, low maintenance website, shared hosting may be best for you. If you plan on growing your website and increasing its traffic, it may be worth shelling out a little extra money for space on a dedicated server. Check out our guide on Types of Web Hosting for more information.

Scalability and migration. When your website grows, so does your web hosting needs. If your web hosting plan can’t keep up with your website’s needs, it might be time to upgrade your service. If you switch web hosts to do this, you will have to migrate your website. Some hosting services help you do this, but some don’t.

Resource limits. Web hosting packages often include a certain amount of CPU (processing power) and RAM (memory) your website can use, as well as the amount of space you get on the server. If you reach your limit, your website’s performance may suffer. Before you commit to a web host, make sure the provided server resources can accommodate your website.

For more information on web hosting check out our Complete Guide to Web Hosting.

What is Email Hosting?

Like web hosting, email hosting involves renting dedicated server space. However, instead of using this server space to store your website’s data, it’s used to send, store, and secure your email messages.

Hiring an email hosting service goes a long way in building your company’s brand and credibility. While there’s nothing wrong with using a third party domain (like Gmail or Outlook) for personal use, customers may get suspicious of a business that does not use a domain-based email address.

Not only is the domain of your business email important, but you want to make sure to choose an email host that also makes your messages accessible, When choosing an email hosting service, you’ll want to consider:

Types of email hosting. There are several different types of email hosting, and the one that’s best for your business will depend on your individual needs. There are some email hosts that offer free email services. These services typically do not include an email at a unique domain and often include ads. They also mine and sell your data (which is why they’re free). Paying for private email hosting allows you to use a unique domain and secure your personal information.

You’ll also want to choose an email host that offers other features, like an email inbox, email forwarding, and support for POP 3 and IMAP.

Scalability and storage. Your business may be small now, but over time you may end up needing emails for multiple employees. It’s important to choose an email host who offers multiple hosting plans with transparent and affordable upgrade options so that you don’t have to switch hosts later. The upgrade should provide more storage for your emails, more email addresses, and the tools you need to manage multiple email accounts.

Security. Finding the best secure email provider for your business email is of the utmost importance. Cyber attacks target small businesses because their seen as an easy mark. You want an email host who provides essential security features like encryption, authentication, multi-factor authentication, and strong spam filters. A good spam filter will catch most phishing

Check out our Complete Guide to Email Hosting for information on all things email hosting.

Using Web Hosting and Email Hosting Together

You can use your domain for both with your web host and your email host, even if you are using different providers. It’s also just as possible to use the same provider for both your web hosting and email hosting. Whatever you choose, you’ll just want to make sure it accommodates your business’s website and communication needs.

Separate hosting is a good idea for large websites that experience high traffic and businesses that rely on consistent and frequent communication. Separating your web host from your email host ensures that if one goes down, the other will still operate. Plus, hosting separately will make it easier to switch web hosts in the future without disrupting your email service.

Combined hosting is a great for small businesses, especially those just starting out. It’s nice to have everything you need is in one place, and often when purchased together, these services are cheaper. Keeping hosting together is a good option for users interested in managing their domain, website, and email from one account and with one bill.

Keep It Simple with Northwest

We offer more than just email hosting. As your registered agent, we can help you establish a professional business identity for your business with a domain, website, and a business phone number. Plus, you’ll be able to manage all of your services from one account.

Email Hosting with Northwest

We offer monthly email hosting plans designed to accommodate businesses small and large. Our 3 packages offer a range of storage options, inboxes, and daily sends so that you can pick the one that’s best for your business.

All of our plans include 1 free domain and 24/7 customer support from real people.

GET EMAIL HOSTING WITH NORTHWEST TODAY