Website Hosting vs Website Maintenance

They are one in the same right?!

Website hosting and website maintenance may sound similar, but they’re two different animals. We’ll help make sure you know which one you have.

What is website hosting?

Website hosting is your site’s home on the Internet. It’s a server in the cloud that may be shared with other websites (shared hosting) or may be reserved just for you (dedicated hosting). Think landlord and rent. You rent server space, and your website lives there.

You don’t have to do anything to keep the server running. As a tenant, you just relax. It’s the hosting providers responsibility to maintain the server, like your landlord maintains the parking lot.

Gotcha, so what exactly is website maintenance?

The landlord manages the complex, but you buy the furniture, paint the walls, and host the party in your apartment.

Website maintenance is all the things that must be updated, fixed, and maintained within your actual site. (Nothing to do with the server) Content changes, design updates, development, coding, security, and updates – that all falls under website maintenance.

If you’ve designed your own site, you typically deal with all of the site maintenance yourself (installing security patches, codeing, changing content, etc.). If you’re not a web developer, this is usually more trouble than it’s worth. Just like upgrading your kitchen when with limited experience (Not fun.)

A web developer usually offers to provide ongoing site maintenance – providing ongoing support and updates as you move forward. Designing and maintaining your own site may look like you’re saving money on the front end, but in the long run, it’s really not worth it.

In summary, website hosting is like maintaining the apartment complex while website maintenance is like maintaining whats inside the apartment.