The websites we browse today are very different from those we used 10 or 15 years ago. At the beginning of the current century Internet users used to find text and some images on the web pages they visited. Today’s websites use extensive databases, have social networking tools, embed videos and various functions. This changes the way we create and manage the websites.
Nowadays most public websites are Web 2.0 generation. They use user-generated content and are interoperable. Today’s website is integrated and works well with a number of 3rd party services and systems. Unlike the websites use used to use in first decade of the 21st century, the websites of the 2nd and 3rd decade are mobile friendly and easy to use on various portable devices.
The process of creating websites, the web page management, the maintenance, troubleshooting and technical support have always been a something that web designers and web developers used to do. Website owners usually used web hosting service providers just as online repositories for their web pages.
However, automation panels, such as cPanel, CentOS Web Panel and many other similar software applications have made the management of web hosting accounts and the server-side website maintenance relatively easy. When the server automation technologies started flourishing, the expectations were that most people would be able to manage their own website themselves, without using professional services.
Content Management Systems & Client-Side Support
The website owners have taken certain level of control over the process of website creating and management with the introduction of Content Management Systems (CMS) such as WordPress. WordPress, for example allows the website owners to create, publish and edit content using a visual interface, similar to the most popular Office programs such as Microsoft (News - Alert) Word. However, the CMS have increased the management effort. The maintenance process of a simple WordPress blog requires a lot of work, such as securing the website, regular updates of the software applications (plugins) and of the WordPress itself, update of the themes (visual design templates of the WordPress based websites), etc. Some of the workloads look simple, but on the backend there is a lot to do. For example, sometimes software updates fail, which makes the websites to stop working properly.
There are two ways to get any technical administration and support for a website - to use the web designer who created it or to use Managed Website service.
At the time when any website owner needs technical support, one would find that their web designer is busy working on the next project. Many web designers do not offer technical support and maintenance services, simply because they make more money out of creating websites. This made many website owners to use a technical support for their client-side applications from the companies that host their websites. There are certain benefits of doing so.
What is Managed Website service?
The CMS based websites have databases and a lot of content. Other websites use simple HMTL code. If someone wants to have a simple, few pages website, simple HTML is always a better option, as it does not require software updates and regular technical support. A HTML based website opens faster on a web browser than any average CMS based site. However, if the site owners need to publish a lot of content, they definitely need to have a database and to use a CMS.
In both scenarios Managed Website Hosting, a service which outsources the technical and system administration of the website to the hosting provider, is a very good option! The difference between Self-Managed Web Hosting and a Managed Website Hosting is that when someone uses a Self-Managed service, the web host provides them with a server-side support only. Server-side support is restricted to support of the hosting environment and does not include support of the installed applications and the websites.
When the website owners use a Managed Website their web host provides them with out-of-the-box solution, which includes full website management and system and technical administration of the web hosting account and any installed applications. This means that the Managed Website providers administer everything on any given website and hosting account - HTML code, Meta Tags optimization and other SEO tasks, CMS and database management, software updates and etc. They are also responsible for the security of the website and all software apps. Some even do certain website design and coding work for they customers.
The good thing about Managed Website Hosting service is that the small business owners save a lot of time and effort on technical administration and can focus on growing their business, while the Managed Service provider, who have the expertise to manage websites and servers does the rest.
Leslie Wilder a creative writer & blogger, who is residing in Nashville the capital of U.S. state of Tennessee, I’m also a self-proclaimed happiness junkie, and someone you would generally consider confident and well balanced.
