Jordan - Chief Troublemaker

Jordan joined Decibite in 2017 to join forces and make the platform more powerful than ever imagined

Jordan Sukenik is nearly done his BBA from the University of Regina and is eager to take Decibite to the forefront of cloud hosting. In recent years, he has participated in business case competition where he has won awards for his accounting analysis work.

Currently, besides Decibite, Jordan holds the position of Director of Business Development for VoIP phone system provider, binaryPBX. Alongside this, he is the Founder & CEO of management consulting company Willow Castle Business Group.

According to a CNCB survey, many small businesses do not have a web presence. Instead, they do things the old fashioned way, relying on word of mouth. Those that do have some kind of online presence don't have their own website domain. They turn to social media sites, creating a Facebook pages and Instagram accounts to host their digital business. Websites today are cheap to startup.  Decibite is currently holding a promo for Domain and hosting at just $1.50 

That's less than a cup of coffee. And with so many free themes, plugins and resources, one can have a beautiful, efficient, customer ready website on a tiny budget. 

If it's become easier to own and operate a website, why are so many small businesses still hesitant to host their own domain? 

When you have your own domain, no one can take your subscribers from you. You own the site and thus you own the list. Even if you change your business location, or move your domain, you can take your list with you. As long as you back up your list, even a cyber attack can't put you out of business.

Choosing the right hosting platform is critical to the success of your website. In the past, people would start out with free hosting, realize that having your own domain was a far better idea, and then graduate to shared hosting.

But web site owners today are given more choices in terms of web hosting. Customers can now choose among shared hosting, VPS also known as a virtual private server, or a dedicated server.

Technology has opened up a world of resources and options, and as great as that is, it can also be confusing if you aren't sure which direction to go in. Options that were prohibitively expensive before are now affordable to all. You can host anything almost anywhere but sizing is important. Too big and you are overpaying, too small and you run out of resources which can cause your page to go offline. Everyone is different and will have different needs as well as goals for their website.

Sounds confusing? Don't worry we've got you covered. In order to decide which web hosting platform best suits your needs, consider the following information.

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting allows hosting companies to put a large number of users on the same server. Decibite puts 200 shared hosting accounts on each dedicated server. Think of shared hosting like sharing a family computer. Even though everyone has their own stuff, on their own profiles, and can’t look at other people’s stuff, what one person does on the computer affects everyone. For example, if your brother is mining bitcoins in the background, your Sims game might be choppy.

Pros

• Affordable

  Other than free hosting, shared hosting is cheaper than any other hosting option. Reputable hosting companies charge between 3-10 dollars a month for this type of hosting. Keep in mind however that the average price is 9 dollars and companies that charge 3-4 dollars are offering a promo deal; once you renew you are charged the full price. With Decibite, the 7 dollars a month fee is the full price which is still below average. If you are on a tight budget (around $100 a year to allocate to hosting) shared hosting may be the best option for you.

• Convenience

  This may be the number one reason why people choose shared hosting. It's very easy to get started and requires little technical knowledge or skill. If you can blog, you can operate a shared hosting site. The hosting company will take care of everything. Thus you don't need to hire an IT professional or spend time learning how to manage and protect your server. You don't need database or PHP knowledge. The only thing you need to know is how to use the dashboard of the shared hosting company. Shared hosting uses dashboards like cPanel to manage the web files and database. Wordpress, Drupal, phpBB, and other web technologies can be easily installed and maintained with the Softalicious package, or you can upload your own code and manage the files/database directly. Decibite's shared hosting is connected with Wordpress. If you already know your way around Wordpress you'll be in business in minutes. Shared hosting is the easiest way to get a project up and running quickly.

Cons

• Limited Resources

  Remember what I said earlier about hosting being similar to sharing a family computer? If one family member downloads games that take up 80% of the space, that only leaves 20% for everyone else. This is similar with shared hosting. Because everyone is one server, everyone is essentially competing for resources. Your server's resources are shared among other websites on that server, therefore your website could slow down if other websites on the server get a spike in traffic. If a site uses up 80% of the memory, all the other websites only have 20% to access.

• Security

  Although technology has improved and made security tighter for shared hosted websites, it's important to note that adverse affects on one site could affect yours. The “bad neighbor effect,” is when one website experiences a malicious attack that then spreads to the users on that server.

• Limited Customization

  Unlike other VPS and dedicated hosting options, where you are free to customize your site as you wish, shared hosting allows for very little customization. Very often you aren't able to modify system files nor do you have control of the performance of your web hosting. For those who want to get creative with their websites, or add different multimedia, shared hosting can feel very limiting.

Best Uses

Shared hosting is great for low traffic websites or sites that are not updated frequently. For example, if you have a business offline and simply want a web presence to offer quick to find information for your customers ie a menu, or contact information then a shared hosting plan is a great choice.

It also works well for users who want to do light blogging under their own domain. Example, if you are traveling and want to update friends and family of your adventures but want to ensure that you retain full rights to the content you are posting (using facebook or instagram automatically gives them rights to your content) shared hosting will also suit your purpose.

Shared hosting is also perfect for portfolio/resume sites. If you are a freelancer, having your own domain will boost business but you may not want to invest the time and money into a VPS or dedicated server. You may have limited needs for your website besides it being a place that displays your work therefore the budget friendly, easy to use benefits of shared hosting will work for you.

Shared hosting is also highly recommended if you aren't technically inclined. You may be hoping to build a small online business and would like to learn more about website building in the future, but in the meantime you need a website that is easy to operate. Because Decibite uses wordpress which is one of the best blogging and website platforms, you can have an attractive, functioning, easy to use website without dealing with any technical hassle. Keep in mind that if your business takes off or your site goes viral you will need to upgrade to a VPS, but for web business beginners a shared hosting platform can be a great start.

VPS Hosting

A virtual private server is a bridge between shared hosting and dedicated hosting. Because it is shared hosting that mimics dedicated hosting it offers a lot more freedom and is more secure. This makes it the ideal choice for many customers. For those that aren't sure what VPS actually is think of it like living in a townhouse. Even though everyone resides on the same physical property and have to share disc space, RAM and processing power, you aren't affected by what other people do with their webspace. It is bigger and gives you more control than shared hosting (which is like living in an apartment). VPS also lets you install the programs you want.

Pros

• Control

  VPS gives you a lot more control over your server than with shared hosting. Much like a dedicated server, you have root access, are able to use scripts, install additional modules, and work directly with the server's operating system. VPS lets you do what you want within your website without it affecting other websites hosted on the same server.

• Easy to upgrade

  With VPS you can gradually scale up and increase resources as needed. This means you can start with a small environment but instantly upgrade.

• Powerful and secure

  If you need a robust, reliable web hosting solution, virtual private servers offer both. They are placed on very powerful physical servers which are made of top-of-the-line hardware components. This makes them more stable than shared hosting with more extra features than dedicated hosting within the same price range.

Cons

• Price

  While VPS is cheaper than dedicated hosting plans, it is more expensive than shared hosting. For those on a tight budget, virtual private servers may seem expensive at first glance; however, if you have an online business that requires access to more resources it may be better to spend more up front.

• Technical knowledge required

  Even though most VPS hosting providers, such as Decibite, offer technical support and handle server maintenance they still require you to know more technically in order to get the best use out of them. You don't have to be a technology wiz, but you should be able to install and uninstall software or be willing to learn.

• Not a dedicated server

  A VPS is great, but it is still not a dedicated server/cloud. If you plan to operate a huge business portal with resource hungry applications a dedicated server will offer more power than a virtual private server. A dedicated cloud is a dedicated server or collection of servers that provide VPS on dedicated hardware. No hardware sharing here, only the network.

Best Uses

VPS platforms can be used for a wide range of uses but the most common are online businesses that get traffic beyond 10,000 page views a month, handle transactions directly from the site, and need to run multimedia software.

For example, if you have a crafting business where people can order products directly from your website, you will need a stable, fast, and reliable platform but as a single proprietor you may not need all the resources of a dedicated server. In this case, a virtual private server is perfect for you.

VPS also works great for organizations, profit or non-profit, that require their site to host files and other media such a video content.

However, VPS isn't just for business uses. If you torrent frequently, you can use a virtual private server as a seedbox. This helps to free up home bandwidth and keeps it running 24/7

It's also a great platform to test software, operating systems, frameworks and other server setups that aren't ready for live deployment. Anything that runs on a server can be run on a VPS. 

Dedicated Server

If VPS is like a townhouse, a dedicated server is like having your own detached house. You have full control over it and you don't share the property with anyone.

Pros

• Complete control

  Dedicated servers give you full control over the information and media shared, stored or accessed on the website. Because the system resources are not shared, it can not be slowed down by other websites. Dedicated servers are recommended for websites who are truly focused on the user experience. If you have a site that completes frequent financial transactions or hosts a large forum with many emails being sent daily then a dedicated server may be your best option.

• Security

  You can sleep easy with a dedicated server. They offer high level security because you are the only one that can access your dedicated server. Not only do they offer the highest level of protection from malware and adware, but they also come with a dedicated IP and network port which offers you better privacy and security.

Cons

• Price

  Dedicated hosting is more costly than other hosting options. What you get for the price makes it worth it but it may be out of some customer's budget.

• Even more complex

  Setup, maintenance, and repair of such servers can be a challenge for website owners. Even with round the clock technical support, hosting a website on a dedicated server requires you have to have knowledge and skill in server mechanics, IP routing, mail exchanger records, etc. If you do not have the knowledge then you can hire a dedicated server administrator to maintain things for you.

• Hardware failure

  Dedicated servers also have the issue of a hardware failure. With VPS the hardware is more abstracted from the OS so your VPS can run on one computer while the data is stored on another. Hardware failure is mitigated in many ways and often easier to recover from than dedicated servers.

Best Uses

Dedicated servers are not recommended for individual bloggers or low traffic websites (less than 10,000 views per month). Instead, those with mature start ups, large e-commerce sites or websites drawing in large amounts of traffic (over 1,000,000 a month) will benefit from a dedicated server.

A dedicated server is also the best option for those who use a large quantity of high quality media. Video sites and those looking to backup thousands of high quality photos will also benefit from a dedicated server.

If privacy and security are key concerns for you and you want to run a ton of resources then you should consider a dedicated server.

Consider your needs carefully when choosing a hosting plan. Ask yourself what your short term and long term website goals are. Do you simply need a web presence or are you planning to take on a big business venture? What are you technical skills. Are you willing to learn website operations or do you plan on relying on IT professionals? The more you define your objectives the easier it will be to choose the right hosting platform.

Why another cloud provider?

Why any new business?

It feels like hosting is becoming a commodities market where products are homogenious. One cPanel server is much like another in the same way one field of coffee is like another. With website hosting it can be hard to differentiate providers, especially when one conglomerate owns many popular brands. One 30ms ping is the same as another, so how can a new provider stand out? Obviously the answer is service.

When everything is working as it should all clouds are equal, but when one cloud has a problem it can take down half the internet with no recovery ETA. I guess that makes the world big enough for at least two cloud providers. I am not a fan of waiting on hold, or bouncing messages back and forth with support agents. When something needs to get done the LAST thing you need is to be locked out by a support desk. My solution to this was to in house as much of our operation as we can. If I am the one who can fix everything I don't need to wait on anyone. Works great for me, but what about you?

Being able to offer hosting to our support clients is a necessity. Running the hosting in house allows us to have control over our costs, processes, security, and every other aspect of our operation. Not only can we provide a more reliable product utilizing the hybrid cloud, we can also provide cost savings by using our cloud first. This feels like a win win.

At the end of the day, if you can't fix the problem yourself you need someone to be on the other end of the phone ready to jump into action (if they are not already monitoring and working on the situation). If you don't already have that person please Contact Us