Hosting questions, answered plainly
Plain-English answers to the hosting questions people actually ask, written by the dijitul team. We have been running websites for UK businesses since 2006.
Hosting an old websiteThe best host for an old website is one that will keep older PHP versions running safely, move the site for you and fix …Old PHP being removedWhen a host removes an old PHP version, check which version your site uses, take a full backup, then test it on a newer …Moving host without downtimeTo move a website without downtime, copy the site to the new host while the old one stays live, test it, lower your DNS …Developer disappearedIf your web developer has disappeared, secure the domain name first, then the hosting, then the website files and databa…Managed vs unmanagedWith managed hosting, the host looks after the server for you: updates, security, backups and monitoring. With unmanaged…What is Plesk?Plesk is a web-based control panel for managing websites, domains, email, databases and SSL on a server, without using t…Small business hosting costA UK small business should judge hosting on the total yearly cost, including backups, SSL, domain, migration and support…Is cheap hosting worth it?Cheap web hosting is fine for hobby sites and test projects, but for a business website it often costs more over time th…What hosting should includeGood web hosting should include server space, daily backups with a clear retention period, free SSL, DNS management, sec…How often to back upMost business websites should be backed up at least daily, with backups kept for at least two weeks and a copy stored aw…Why a website is slowMost slow websites are caused by large images, too many plugins, an old PHP version, no caching, a slow database, or ove…Do I need a dedicated server?Most small business websites do not need a dedicated server. You may need one for very high traffic, large databases, st…Hosting an AI appWhere to host an AI app depends on whether it calls a hosted model API or runs its own model. API-based chatbots and too…Choosing a UK web hostChoose a UK web host by checking who supports you, what backups and security are included, which PHP versions run your s…Who hosts a website?To check who hosts a website, look up its IP address and DNS records, then find who owns that IP. A WHOIS search shows t…Best ecommerce hostingThe best hosting for a UK online shop is managed hosting that supports your shop software's PHP version, includes daily …Website hackedIf your website has been hacked, put it into maintenance mode, change every password, restore a clean backup from before…Do I need UK hosting?No law says a UK business website must be hosted in the UK, but hosting close to your visitors helps speed, and knowing …Not secure warningBrowsers show 'Not secure' when a page loads over plain HTTP, the SSL certificate is missing or expired, or the page pul…Rebuild or keep old siteKeep an old website running if it still brings in work, can be made secure and does not need big changes. Rebuild when i…Hosting renewal price riseIf your hosting renewal price has jumped, check what the plan includes, ask your host for a better rate, then compare th…GDPR and web hostingHosting is not GDPR compliant on its own: you, as controller, must use a host that acts as a processor under a written d…Cheap web hostingCheap web hosting is fine for hobby sites, but for a business it usually costs more in lost enquiries, hack clean-ups an…Web hosting cost UKUK web hosting runs from a few pounds a month for budget shared space to far more for a dedicated server, because four d…WordPress hosting costWordPress hosting in the UK is advertised from a few pounds a month, but managed WordPress hosting, where someone applie…Fully managed hostingFully managed web hosting means the host runs the server and does the ongoing work: security patches, software updates, …Managed WordPress explainedManaged WordPress hosting means your host applies and checks core, theme and plugin updates, keeps off-site backups, wat…Leaving GoDaddyTo leave GoDaddy safely, list every product and renewal date on the account, copy the email first, move the website seco…Leaving IONOSTo leave IONOS without drama, find out who holds your DNS, copy every record in the zone, build and test the site on the…Leaving 123-RegTo leave 123-Reg, move one piece at a time: copy the website files and database completely, test the site on the new ser…Moving a WordPress siteTo move a WordPress site to a new host, copy the files and database, test on the new server while the old one stays live…Where is my site hosted?To check where your website is hosted, run three free lookups: whois for the registrar, nameservers for who controls you…Hosting old PHP safelyAn old PHP 5 or PHP 7 website stays safe when it is contained: its own user and PHP-FPM pool, a current operating system…PHP version unsupportedA "PHP version no longer supported" email means the PHP project has stopped issuing security fixes for that version, not…Rebuild or re-hostRe-hosting changes where an old bespoke PHP system runs; rebuilding changes what it does. If the system still does its j…Old OpenCart shopsYou can keep an OpenCart 2 or 3 shop trading safely by freezing the shop code, keeping the server around it current, loc…OpenCart requirementsOpenCart needs a PHP version matched to its oldest extension, database strict modes that suit older queries, raised PHP …WooCommerce hosting needsA WooCommerce shop needs hosting that keeps the basket and checkout out of the page cache, gives the database room for c…Slow WordPress siteA slow WordPress site is nearly always one of five things: oversized images, a misbehaving plugin, no caching, a bloated…WordPress site hackedA hacked WordPress site is almost always recoverable. Copy everything before you touch it, change every password that ca…Website backups explainedA website backup you can rely on lives off the server it came from, goes back far enough to cover a problem you did not …What your host should doEvery web host, at any price, owes you a working server, a straight answer about whether their side is at fault, your da…Shared, VPS or dedicatedMost UK businesses need a managed account on a well-run shared server, not a VPS or a dedicated machine. Shared, VPS and…UK vs overseas hostingFor a British business, server location matters, but speed is the smallest reason. The bigger ones are where customer da…What 99.9% uptime meansA 99.9% uptime guarantee allows up to 8.76 hours offline a year, or about 43 minutes a month, and usually pays out only …Hosting and SEOYes, web hosting affects SEO, but it can only hold a site back, not push it forward. Slow responses, repeated outages an…Best web hosting UKThe best web hosting in the UK is the kind you never have to think about: updates done, backups kept, problems fixed by …
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