This post is all about the importance of having a reliable blog host. I was prompted to write it, after watching some of the world’s biggest blogs totally fail to cope with the traffic from their coverage of Apple’s iPad launch.
Here’s what happened AND what we can learn from it!
Blogs, bandwidth and the iPad launch
Every technology blog knew that Wednesday was going to be a monumental day for traffic, with the Apple iPad about to be announced to the world. However, many of the world’s leading technology blogs literally ground to a halt, having not provided enough bandwidth for their iPad coverage. Many top tech sites were impacted to some degree. Worst was ZDNet, which they admit was down for several hours.
However, some tech sites planned ahead effectively and will have gained tens of thousands of new readers as a result. That’s because when a reader in unable access a reliable service from a site, they go and find a working alternative!
This is a great example of what happens when a blog is either down or too slow to use.
What does this mean for bloggers like us?
Sure, that $5 a month hosting package might seem like great value in the short term, but if it’s so slow and unreliable that it’s stopping people from being able to actually read your blog, it’s a waste of $5! It will also slow down your progress in developing the blog. It’s hard to build a readership, when your content is hard to access. And it doesn’t stop there. Putting your blog on an unreliable host can also impact your search engine performance; if the blog is consistently down, when search engines try to crawl it!
If you are serious about developing your blog, I very strongly suggest you invest in the most reliable host you can afford. Forget wasting your time and money on having kick-ass SEO and wonderful content – none of this has any value, if your site is down or too slow / unreliable for people to bother with.
This does not have to cost a fortune either! Some of the less expensive providers are hundreds of percent more reliable than equally priced competitors.
Quick Tip for finding a great blog host
The best way I know for finding a reliable host, is to email the owner of a site, which you visit regularly and which tends to load quickly and reliably. Ask who they use and what their experience has been. For those of you that are interested, I use CSNewmedia (affiliate link) for hosting this blog and they provide me with exceptional value for money. A fast, reliable and surprisingly inexpensive service.
Photo: Gizmodo
Forget having kick-ass SEO and wonderful content – none of this has any value, if the site in question is down or too slow / unreliable to use.
Great advice Jim! We’ve seen this problem first hand many times. Successful blogs using “cheap” hosting, and when the traffic spikes a bit, their blog is slow, or down with MySQL database errors.
I use the word “cheap” not to mean inexpensive, rather to indicate hosts that are not geared towards robust business hosting services. Choose a host that understands your business, and has the resources and level of support you’ll need to be successful.
Think of your host as an extension of your website, blog, and/or business. They are your partner. If they are not operating at 100%, then neither will your website.
If you’re serious about taking your blog or website to the next level, make sure your host is equipped to help you succeed by providing a reliable service backed up by outstanding customer service when the inevitable problems crop up.
Rob Mangiafico´s last blog ..Why We’re in the ISP Business (Internet Solution Provider)
It never ceases to amaze me Rob, when I see businesses try and ’save’ money, by using cheap/unreliable hosting providers.
It’s pointless.
If someone wants a blog-based business, they need to treat it like a business and stop screwing around with the bargain bucket guys.
A good thing to think about. We sometimes tend to be short sited and forget to plan for the success we are working for.