Let’s face it; domain hosting, website hosting and email hosting is a dark art. All those cells, codes and settings can make the mind boggle.
When things go wrong, it can be a complete cluster to fix. Things to go from bad to worse in an instant and you can lose hours in a black hole endless of troubleshooting.
By trusting an expert to look after your domain, website and email hosting you can relax, knowing a trained expert is taking care of everything.
We use and resell the highly reputable hosting services of SiteGround which are commonly available to everyone. However, by purchasing your domain, website and email hosting with myWPmate, you get a complete managed service that includes set up, troubleshooting and repairs (should anything go wrong along the way).
A complete hosting service suitable for small businesses.
From
Excludes purchase of new domains of which fees vary.
All fees include GST & can be wrapped into a managed website bundle, including website design fees and website maintenance & customer care.
Getting your email and website online involves several pieces of hardware and software that are calibrated remotely via the internet. Below is a simple diagram explaining these elements.
Web address or URL
Hosting control panel that stores & controls your website, email & SSL
The platform that operates your website, i.e. WordPress, Shopify
Design software, tools & apps that make your website more functional & powerful.
The web design, graphics, functions and code that run your website.
The actual text & images that are displayed on your website.
Our managed hosting service includes built-in fees for set up, support and handling of your account.
Ongoing Website Maintenance and Care is subject to separate costs, and relates specifically to your website.
Every website has a domain name (the URL or www) that is used as the address to actually find the website on the internet. Our domain name is www.mywpmate.com.au
A hosting company connects that domain to a website control panel.
The control panel is where we typically take over if you already have your own hosting.
The SSL certificate is also located here as well.
The SSL certificate is a small authentication process that creates a higher trust factor in the eyes of many web browsers. You will see a small padlock next to the domain name of a website that uses the SSL.
At the control panel, we install WordPress: the web platform or application that runs your website.
Inside WordPress we install small Plug-In ‘apps’ that are used to increased the functionality of your website (for example, e-commerce, social media connections, SEO capability, language translation, CRM connection, etc…).
Another plug-in is Elementor, this is our preferred website builder.
Inside Elementor we design the website.
This is the graphics and layout; or the visual style of your website. We call this the Theme. And inside the Theme, we insert your content to make the theme come alive.
The content is all of your marketing images, logos, messages and text.
To explain the relationship between all of these parts, we have developed the following little diagram to cut through the jargon.
We typically provide this diagram to our clients, because each part of the hosting and website attract upfront and ongoing costs, that we must pass through to our clients.
Obtaining the login details and password to your domain hosting allows us to install and edit small pieces of code that are important to your website. This gives us greater control of your website and the web design process.
Whilst we only access this occasionally, it is the essential first step of our service to you.
Redesigning an existing website can be a more complicated process.
Often the client has misplaced or forgotten the user name and password for the domain hosting; this information is essential for us to begin the web design or refresh process.
Sometimes, a third party is holding the login credentials and charging an on-selling fee to do so. Obtaining the login credentials can involve an uncomfortable conversation, but factually, you as the owner of the domain has all rights to hold these login details (and administer their own costs).
Typically the third party administers the domain on behalf of the client, adding their commission but without providing any added value.
The responsibility of the third-party host is represented by the dotted responsibility delineation line in the above website hosting diagram.
And whilst this is a common practice, it reduces the control we have in accessing the hosting control panel to make changes to the website. In the event of an outage or technical problem, the third party can add complications and time to the troubleshooting process.
We typically advise our clients to review the cost and value of any third party hosting, and most often we find cost savings in the process.
Removing the third party reduces the potential for extended delays, should a service outage occur (effectively removing the dotted line from the above hosting diagram).
By removing the third party, myWPmate has more control to jump into the control panel and remedy any problems, immediately as they occur.
In many ways, creating a new website is the simplest avenue for us.
We start by finding a hosting service and we search for a domain name that suits your business.
We recommend SiteGround for both the purchase of a domain and hosting.
Not only is it one of the cheapest available services on the market, independent sources have suggested it is the fastest and most secure service available at this time.
When we begin the web design process for a new website, we have two options:
Either way, we will request the user log in and password for the domain so that we can access the domain control panel. This is necessary for both website set-up and ongoing maintenance.
Therefore the password should be unique enough so that you are happy to share this with us.
Should you have any further questions about domain hosting and the associated costs, please don’t hesitate to contact us for more.
my WordPress mate is a complete website design service and digital marketing company servicing Hobart, Launceston, Tasmania and available where ever you are.
We are WordPress & eCommerce experts who focus on the development of cohesive branding, engaging storytelling and an initiative user journey through sound website design principles & website traffic generation tools like Google SEO.
Everyone needs a mate that does websites.
