DOES SERVER LOCATION MATTER?
In the 21st century, managing your website – even when your site’s server is located halfway across the world – is easy. Today, you can operate a business out of Switzerland, market products to a US audience, all while using a hosting provider whose servers are based in Hong Kong.
But even after saying all this, is offshore hosting really the only route you want to take? What about the benefits of hosting your website locally? We ask this because in truth, not all website owners will benefit from overseas hosting, and for some, it can be a detrimental decision to any business.
Despite what a majority of offshore hosting providers may say, server location does matter. It matters so much that anyone with experience dealing with overseas web hosting companies are bound to have come across at least one of the following issues:
• Quality – Although hardware and prices have improved across the board, the hosting industry is still riddled with low-quality web hosts selling cheap services. Many of these web hosts tend to be based in developing countries where the IT infrastructure is inferior to that of the United Kingdom’s.
• Culture – Choosing a web host based outside the UK means you need to take into account things like time differences, language barriers, and the overall work environment and how it may impact your relationship with the hosting company. Ask yourself, “Will communication be a problem?”, “Am I confident that any potential technical glitches or server issues will be handled promptly and effectively?”
• Data – Certain countries have agreements with other countries and transnational organizations regarding the access of information and data from outside their own jurisdiction. Everything from search and seizure to data disclosure and the intercepting of communications is possible if you choose a hosting company based in a region where data privacy laws are weak or nonexistent.
• Trust – Some of the more unscrupulous overseas hosting providers have been known to disappear overnight without a trace, leaving customers to wonder what happened to their data and personal information.
UNITED KINGDOM HOSTING BENEFITS
Although the United Kingdom’s internet infrastructure is currently in a rebuilding phase, the UK has almost always been considered to have one of the largest, most reliable infrastructure systems in the world.
Billions of pounds are currently being poured into the UK’s digital infrastructure in an effort to expand internet access, increase the number of fiber-optic and undersea cables present, and to eventually reach 5G capability.
Here’s a quick list of benefits that come with going local and doing business with one of the best United Kingdom VPS providers in the country:
1. Performance – If you plan on using a UK domain extension such as .co.uk, or plan on building a website targeting a predominantly UK audience, then there are performance benefits that come with choosing a web hosting company who is also based in the UK. The reason for this is that, although we like to see the internet as wireless or cloud-based, its most basic functions are entirely dependent on data traveling through wires. Your site’s data must make its way through a network of wires all the way to end-user’s device. Put simply, the shorter the data’s journey, the better your website and applications will perform.
2. Search Engine Advantage – Years ago it was revealed by Google’s own Matt Cutts that server location does bear weight on a website’s ranking in the search engine. In other words, a UK server is likely to perform better on Google.co.uk as opposed to Google.fr. Likewise, a website using a server based in Hong Kong targeting a UK audience probably won’t rank as well as a website based in the UK targeting local users.
3. Easy Weather – The UK isn’t exactly known as a country with the best weather. But, when it comes to hosting your website in any country, the UK is one of the best places to store servers. While some offshore hosting companies are forced to cope with earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, or even tsunamis, the worst that can happen to a UK data center is a heavy rainstorm.
Despite the hype surrounding offshore hosting providers, we hope it’s clear there are definite advantages to hosting your website in the United Kingdom. Here’s our detailed list of the top 65 best UK VPS providers in the country.
