Hosting & Support services are crucial to the smooth running and long-term maintenance of the websites we create here at Mackman. To prove the value of Hosting & Support, let us talk you through the importance of webcare…
At 3pm on Wednesday 10th February 2016, our hosting partner suffered a global failure due to a power outage that knocked out their systems. This resulted in a number of our client websites going down.
Our technical team was incredibly quick to react to the issue. Immediately work began on restoring connectivity to the affected sites as well as restoring our own internal email system, which was also knocked out as a result of the failure. This, therefore, involved a lot of early starts and very late finishes for James and Adam.
As a result of this quick reaction, we were able to produce a list of all of the affected clients and get in touch with them to let them know about the situation and what we were doing (or had done) to fix it.
Some of our clients noticed the issue and reported it to us. However, a lot of others had no idea anything was wrong until we got in touch with them. Thankfully, by which time we had already started to implement a solution.
This pro-active action was made possible because of our clients taking advantage of our Hosting & Support service.
What is Hosting & Support?
It is a package that is included with all websites that we create and is designed to ensure that you are able to use your site pro-actively. We frequently tailor our Hosting & Support service to meet each clients exact requirements, with the entry level of Hosting & Support including;
- Responsive email, ticket and telephone support for your website during normal office hours
- Performance monitoring
- Bug fixing where necessary
- Configuration and version monitoring
- Daily virus and malware scanning
- Professional hosting
Other add-ons that customers frequently incorporate to enhance their Hosting & Support include:
- A ‘Browser Guarantee’, enabling us to ensure your site continues to render in the currently supported versions of the main browsers (Safari, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome)
- Website and database back-ups for disaster recovery purposes
- 24/7 performance monitoring – auto website load test every 15 minutes
- Regular review meetings (business performance, website performance, analytics, feedback, enhancements and development)
- Daily broken links scan and fix
- Regular health check
- Content support
- Priority support
- Search Engine Optimisation
- Email marketing
- Seasonal design changes and face-lifting
So, how does it work?
It is almost a form of breakdown recovery for your website. However, unlike the same service with cars, Hosting & Support is administered automatically as and when your website needs it.
In a car, if a component breaks or stops running correctly, the chances are that you won’t spot it unless you have diagnostic skills. The fault is noticed in a standard service/MOT or, the worst case scenario, your car breaks down. Imagine how much easier life would be if your car was constantly monitored for possible faults or incompatible parts, and was then automatically fixed without you even being aware of the issue. That’s exactly how Hosting & Support works.
The value of Hosting & Support
The value of Hosting & Support is in how responsive and pro-active it allows us to be when an issue, however minor/major, crops up. Rather than having to get in contact every time we spot an issue, and then having to bill each instance separately, Hosting & Support gives our team the time to do what they’re good at – providing solutions – and allows you the time to do what you’re good at – growing your business.