In this article we help you choose the best host for your website. To assist you in making an informed decision, we will refer to the features of our various hosting packages and what we recommend you use them for.
- Web Hosting: used for more than 80% of websites
- Cloud Server: used for around 10% of websites
- Jelastic Cloud: used for some 7% websites
- Very High Availability Hosting: used for around 3% of websites
Here are the three essential factors to consider for the creation, hosting and publication of your website
There are three vital elements when it comes to creating your own website and putting it online: a domain name, a hosting package and a content management system (CMS).
- The domain name is the address used by visitors to access your website (www.yoursite.com). How to register a domain name
- The hosting platform is the server on which your website’s pages are stored and from which they can be accessed by visitors online around the clock. Compare hosting packages
- The content management system (CMS) is a software application that has been installed on your hosting platform (WordPress, Drupal, Typo3 for example) to easily create and modify web pages without necessarily knowing how to code. It is therefore an alternative that you fully master compared to turnkey services sold as a subscription with dedicated support such as the famous CRM HubSpot.
Infomaniak has simplified these three elements as much as possible. With our Manager, you can easily associate your domain name with your hosting package and install the CMS of your choice with a single mouse click and without needing any prior knowledge.
Your website needs to be fast and accessible to everyone, today and tomorrow
When you create a website, you want everyone to be able to use it, quickly and easily. That is where your hosting package comes in. The hosting platform ensures that your website is available 24/7.
From showcase websites to e-commerce shops, the diversity of web content is infinite. And while some sites have to serve a significant number of users, others receive a more modest flow of visitors.
Therefore, depending on the content they serve, websites require access to different amounts of IT resource, such as computing power (the CPU), storage space (the disk), volatile memory (RAM) and even the speed of their connection to the Internet. So, choosing a web hosting package is quite like deciding which computer to buy for your desktop.
- It has to offer the performance and appropriate technologies for your needs.
- It should be able to grow as you become more successful.
Having served web users for more than 25 years, Infomaniak has developed a range of hosting packages that are perfectly capable of growing with you and keeping up with new technologies. So your site will always enjoy the best performance, whatever its usage level or future development trajectory.
What is the best hosting package for your website?
At Infomaniak, we don’t simply view hosting as a resource. Our hosting takes the form of a service that can be adjusted at any time depending on your needs, preferences and budget.
Web hosting: our flagship service for professionals
Suitable for SMEs and discerning individuals, Web Hosting is the best choice for more than 80% of all websites. It allows you to install the most commonly used applications with just one mouse click, and to use a range of professional WordPress themes free of charge.
Entirely optimised and managed by Infomaniak, Web Hosting offers a powerful, scalable turnkey solution. By allowing several websites to share the streamlined hardware resources of a single server, we can make its price extremely attractive. As your needs grow, Web Hosting can be upgraded to a Cloud Server with a single mouse click, giving you access to dedicated resources.
And to further optimise the use of the server’s resources, the database and email processes are separated out onto other servers. Web Hosting lets you operate up to 20 websites for the same basic price. It also delivers a wide range of professional web tools (storage for video and podcast hosting, a newsletter distribution tool, etc.), all developed by Infomaniak to help you succeed online.
- Key attributes: ease of use, professional-grade performance, responsive support, lightweight and scalable (option to migrate to a Cloud Server in a single mouse click).
- Limitations: the available technologies are defined in advance.
Cloud Server: guarantee dedicated resources at the best price
The dedicated resources provided by our Cloud Server make it the most powerful, advantageous and flexible professional hosting package. Made to measure, the Cloud Server gives you access to extra technologies (node,js, mongoDB, FFMPEG, memcache, opcache, varnish, etc.) and supports adjustment of processing power according to your needs.
Cloud Server is the latest generation of service, replacing the “dedicated servers” and “virtual private servers” (VPS) of yesteryear. Businesses and other organisations benefit from scalable dedicated resources that let them manage all or part of their services online. This hosting package is particularly well suited to sites that have a predictable and constant resource requirement over the course of the year.
Powered by Open Stack and the latest technology infrastructure, Cloud Server literally breaks through the hardware constraints of a single computer to consolidate and allocate dedicated resources in the Infomaniak cloud.
- Key attributes: ease of use, made to measure, increased performance, dedicated resources, scalable, responsive support, more economical than a dedicated server or VPS.
- Limitations: less suitable for sites that receive more significantly variable levels of traffic over the year (compare with Jelastic Cloud).
How to choose your Cloud Server
- Managed Cloud Server is just as easy to use as the Web Hosting package, from which you can migrate to a Cloud Server in a single mouse click.
- Unmanaged Cloud Server allows you to manage your server completely by yourself, using a Windows or Linux operating system of your choice (Debian, Ubuntu, openSUSE, Fedora, etc.). In contrast to our managed package, it requires good technical capabilities to be able to exploit its full potential.
Jelastic Cloud: dynamic, made-to-measure infrastructure, with your choice of technologies to give you complete flexibility
Usage-based billing, flexibility in terms of software resources and processing power: the adaptability and on-demand pricing of Jelastic Cloud make it one of the most powerful and competitive hosting solutions on the market.
Install, deploy and use a massive range of the latest technologies with a simple mouse click, this new type of hosting is truly revolutionary. It is impossible to list all the options of this highly versatile solution, so here are some of the things it lets you do…
Jelastic Cloud transforms traditional web hosting. It smashes the boundaries of hardware limitations to provide entirely dedicated and infinitely extensible virtual resources. Its software environment is also completely virtualised, and operated through an intuitive GUI. This lets you create all types of architecture in a matter of seconds, on the fly. So you can implement the latest technologies (Kubernetes, Node.js, Java, Docker, Ruby, PHP, etc.), clone development environments or even create redundant websites (e.g. WordPress cluster).
There is no point provisioning server resources that your website may never use. So Jelastic Cloud uses the Infomaniak Cloud infrastructure to deliver dynamically scalable resources on demand. This unique feature is perfect for sites that have variable resource usage over the year, such as e-commerce, festival sites, seasonal events, and sites for specific purposes such as sales or Black Friday. Jelastic Cloud automatically adjusts its resources to guarantee your website’s availability and responsiveness, even under peak traffic loads. Furthermore, you will only be billed for the resources that are actually used.
- Key attributes: extremely flexible, wide range of supported technologies, horizontal and vertical scalability, dedicated resources, usage-based billing, made-to-measure, responsive support.
- Limitations: less well suited to sites that have stable, predictable levels of resource use (see Cloud Server instead), requires basic technical expertise.
Very High Availability cloud hosting backed by an SLA
Very High Availability Cloud Hosting is the ultimate when it comes to web hosting. It uses technology deployed by the busiest websites in the world.
The essential purpose of Very High Availability Cloud Hosting is to guarantee complete, permanent availability of websites or online services, in all situations. Very High Availability Hosting relies on redundant architecture at all levels, to rise to every challenge. So no matter what happens, your website and online services will continue to work optimally, without interruption.
Very High Availability Hosting uses at least six servers located several different data centres managed by Infomaniak to synchronise and replicate their data at all times. “Load balancers” dynamically distribute traffic accessing the sites and applications to the available servers in order to allocate resources and optimise performance across the entire infrastructure.
Infomaniak works closely with its customers to offer this level of service. Such cooperation allows us to put in place made-to-measure architectures to meet every demand. Our customers retain their flexibility and increased scalability at every stage of their project.
- Key attributes: the highest industry standards, guaranteed availability underpinned by an SLA, made-to-measure architectures, scalable, responsive support, more economical and secure than self-hosted infrastructure (from CHF 699 per month).
- Limitations: despite the rapid deployment possibilities, the limits of the architecture require in-depth discussion between Infomaniak and the customer.
Discover Very High Availability Cloud Hosting
Not sure what hosting package to choose? Here is our advice
If you are hesitating between Web Hosting and Cloud Server
We recommend that you start with the Infomaniak Web Hosting package. This professional-grade hosting solution is recommended for 80% of the world’s websites and gives you all you need for a successful project. Depending on your site’s popularity, you may subsequently migrate to the dedicated resources of a Managed Cloud Server package with a single mouse click.
If you are hesitating between Cloud Server and Jelastic Cloud
Why not take the Jelastic Cloud free trial. You can try out a range of different architectures and technologies to decide which is the best match for your project.
Do you need a domain name before ordering your hosting package?
Not at all. Infomaniak gives you a preview link to allow you to access your hosting platform. However, for various practical reasons we recommend that you buy your domain name and attach it to your hosting package before starting to create your website.
If your site attracts significant traffic do you need to choose a Cloud Server package to meet the demand?
Not necessarily. The Infomaniak Web Hosting package easily supports a high number of visitors if the website has been correctly optimised. All Infomaniak’s hosting packages also enjoy unlimited bandwidth.
The best technologies are already bundled with our Web Hosting
Choosing a top-class web host means a high level of service, and also gives you peace of mind. You cannot go wrong with Infomaniak! Your web hosting will automatically benefit from the best technologies to make your life easier:
- Maximum security thanks to Patchman Security Scanner
- Back up and restore your sites with a single click
- Create websites using professional WordPress plug-ins and themes (Elegant Themes)
- Webmail and a professional collaboration suite from WorkSpace
All Infomaniak web hosting packages are continually updated and improved with the best technologies on the market, without any additional cost to you.
Do you have questions about choosing your web hosting?
Your satisfaction is our priority. If you are unsure about which web hosting package to choose, or you have additional questions, please contact our support team who are available every day.
Whether you are an absolute beginner, a geek or an expert: Infomaniak guarantees you the advantages of scalable, easy-to-use tools that are among the best performing and most comprehensive on the market.
Learn more
- Compare all of Infomaniak’s web hosting solutions
- Discover Infomaniak and our hosting solutions (interview from websiteplanet.com)
- Register a domain name at the best price
How to protect your online presence and manage your domain names properly
Wednesday November 29th, 2023