Before setting up your website you need to ask yourself whether the site will be making use of international or local hosting. International hosting has usually won the argument in the past with cheaper packages offering more bandwidth, but you may be pleasantly surprised with recent developments in the local hosting industry. Maybe even enough to bring out your ‘proud South African’ streak and motivate you to move your website’s hosting to a local server. Join me as I have a look into what the South African web hosting market can offer you and why it may be a good time to start hosting at home.
It is essential to identify your businesses’ needs before making a choice between hosting locally or internationally. Identifying your needs will ensure that you choose a hosting solution that not only provides your website with a home on the internet, but will encourage your business to grow and flourish. I have broken down a few key points for you to consider when pondering the benefits of hosting locally.
A Question of Bandwidth
One of the main differences between local and international hosting is the amount of bandwidth you receive. South African hosting has traditionally left users with less bandwidth at their disposal – when compared to international hosting packages of the same price. South Africa has less bandwidth capacity than most other countries which is worsened by the fact that the industry was monopolized by large telecommunications companies in its ‘formative years’. Therefore higher prices have always seemed to be the norm.
In late 2004 claims were made that prices offered by South African ISP’s were as high as 286% and 480% more expensive than a comparable offering from an Egyptian ISP! Reassuringly times have changed. Due to a more competitive market prices seem to be decreasing and South African consumers can look forward to more bandwidth for their buck in years to come.
The Need for Speed
This allows local hosting to really shine. Hosting your website in South Africa means that it runs about 3 times faster than if the site is hosted internationally. A definite win for South African web hosting! The increase in speed when hosting locally as opposed to international hosting can be attributed to the unfortunate telecommunication bottle-neck we have in South Africa and not to the inferiority of international servers (that are usually even faster than local servers). The slow line speeds and expensive packages offered by Telkom also mean international pages are served slower than locally hosted pages. Hosting locally therefore means having a website that loads considerably faster for local users – allowing visitors to your site to browse with greater ease. Increasing visitor satisfaction.
Quality Support
Hosting locally can also increase your access to and the quality of support. Many international hosting companies offer support services for their South African clients, but lack the local knowledge to provide a truly exceptional support service. Using a reputable local company to host on a South African server means you have easier access to quality support. Most South African hosting companies provide 24/7/365 telephone and/or email support and several cite turnaround times for support queries as 1 hour.
More Uptime for your Target Market
Do you want to host a website aimed at the South African market? Using a South African server to host your website will allow optimum access for South African users. Preferential loading times and higher server uptime will ensure that your website functions best for South African users. Greater server uptime for locally hosted websites is not a result of shortcomings on the side of international server, but instead a direct result of the operation of South African ISP’s. Local ISP’s loose their link to international servers more frequently and with greater ease than to local servers. Thus it stands to reason that if your target market consists of South Africans – rather than international users – a locally hosted site will ensure optimum access to them.
Should you?
Considering whether to host your website on a South African server as opposed to an international server still remains a choice that we all have to ponder at some stage. And it would seem that the outcome of this competition is becoming less of a one horse race. With the South African ISP market getting more competitive and the days of exorbitant bandwidth pricing becoming a thing of the past it would seem that South African hosting is turning into a viable option.
Hosting locally on a South African server will ensure more uptime for your website, preferential loading time and faster browsing for South African visitors, greater access to trusted support and optimum access for your target market. Hosting your website in South Africa also holds benefits with regards to Search Engine Optimization as search engines such as Google will determine their search results based on your websites locale. Could now be a good time to reassess your website hosting and make the switch?
Links
For local hosting I recommend you take a look at Lusion Technologies. Lusion is a South African web hosting company that offers great deals on local hosting packages. With exceptional support and near flawless uptime they will definitely be able to give your website the edge.
Tags: South Africa, South African web hosting, web hosting, ZA Hosting
