One of the first decisions web design agencies need to make is to choose the platform on which they’ll build, develop, and launch the websites and applications they create.
Managing that hosting environment isn’t something that many agencies want to be doing day to day. There will come a time, however, when an agency must decide on a strategy for web hosting and whether they will incorporate hosting into their own suite of services. That decision will often take one of the following paths.
No hosting
The agency informs customers that they must seek out their own web hosting service provider. The agency takes no responsibility for supporting the hosting platform in any way.
Referral
The agency recommends a hosting provider that meets their technical needs, but the customer must set up a working relationship directly with the hosting provider.
Hosting offered
The agency has a preferred hosting provider and opts to include web hosting as a part of their own services. They may, however, allow their customers to choose their own provider if preferred.
Hosting included
The agency requires that all customers use the agency’s preferred hosting provider and include hosting as part of their overall service. The customer may not even be informed of the hosting provider used, and hosting may be white labelled under the agency brand.
Whichever decision is taken will have an impact on the agency in both a commercial and operational capacity. It is therefore crucial that the decision taken is going to be a beneficial one for the business.
Stay tuned for part two of our series on the opportunities and challenges that web hosting presents to digital agencies. As we’ll delve into how website speed, capacity, and availability could affect your agency’s reputation and marketing results.