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U.K. & Canada Web Hosting: Benefits of Foreign Web Hosts
Because the U.S. is such a major player in the online world, it is often assumed by U.S. businesses that their Web sites need to be hosted by U.S. Web hosts. This, however, is not the case. The World Wide Web is, indeed, global, and it is possible to have your Web site hosted on a server in another country. This is especially desirable when the foreign Web host is offering packages that are cheaper than what is available in the U.S.
Foreign Web hosting
The main benefit of foreign Web hosting is price. In many cases, it is possible to get a good price on Web hosting in another country. You can usually get the same level of service as well. Indeed, some foreign Web hosts will go out of their way to make sure that you have superior service; they are trying to earn market share in the world of Web hosting.
There are things to be wary of, however, when going with foreign Web hosting. First of all, time zone differences can mean that "middle of the night" means something different to you and your host. You will need to make sure that you are on the same page when it comes to server upgrades and other issues. It is also worth noting that custom and language can be a barrier to a certain extent as well. You will need to evaluate your needs based on how often your will be working directly with your Web host, and whether or not you can have good communication.
Finally, it is worth considering that location does matter when it comes to Web hosting. While you can have your ecommerce Web site hosted from anywhere in the world, the speed at which your customers access your Web site can be affected by location. If you are hosting in India or Pakistan, you might find that your customers have some slowdown – whether they are primarily in the U.S. or primarily in Europe. It's just the distances involved.
U.K. Web hosting & Canada Web hosting
One way that many businesses are solving the challenges of foreign Web hosting, while taking advantage of lower prices, is to turn to the U.K. or Canada for Web hosting needs. Both the U.K. and Canada offer the proximity of infrastructure to Europe and the United States to offer maximum service. And this can be important, since most online customers are located in Europe and the U.S. Having the server location closer to the customers means faster download times.
Price remains an advantage with U.K. and Canada Web hosting as well. While packages from these countries do cost more than packages from Pakistan and India, in many cases they still cost less than what many U.S. Web hosts offer. It is also worth noting that cultural and language barriers are reduced when U.S. businesses go with Canada & U.K. Web hosting (although with U.K. hosting the time zone issues may apply to some degree).
In the end, you need to do what is best for your business. You need to determine the kind of Web hosting that will work best for you, and be the most cost efficient. In some cases, that may mean going with a foreign Web host.
HostPapa is a great example of the benefits of using a Canadian web hosting company.
1&1 Web Hosting is also a great example if you are looking for a host in the U.K.
Related article: Cheap vs Free Web Hosting