We’ve recently upgraded all our customers’ websites onto a new UK-based cloud hosting platform as part of a major series of improvements being introduced. It means our customers can benefit from the reliability and performance at no extra cost.
OK – this might sound a bit technical – but trust us, this really has made a noticeable difference to our customers’ websites!
What does cloud hosting mean?
Our brand-new cloud infrastructure is the future of website hosting and means that your website is stored with multiple copies across different web servers, meaning that if one piece of equipment (such as a hard drive) fails, or the server’s operating system crashes, then another web server will instantly take over running your website. There’s no longer any single point of failure. This ensures your reputation is not harmed and prevents loss of business or website traffic.
Read more about the technical aspects of our hosting and the other benefits you receive.
What are the benefits to me?
Reliability
As your website is now stored across four separate web servers, it means downtime has been virtually eliminated! Since we started migrating our customers’ websites about three months ago, we’ve consistently achieved 100.00% uptime for most accounts, which is exceptionally rare and something that many other web hosts can only dream about! Of course it’s very hard to promise they’ll never be downtime (not even Google or Facebook manage that!), however this system is as near to perfect as you’ll currently find! Previously our server uptime was still a pretty good 99.9% availability, but we believe your website deserves better and our investment in this new platform really does ensure you have first-class hosting!
Speed and Performance
By spreading the load across a number of web servers, we can direct your visitors to the fastest machine available and this means your website will load quicker. If you have a big spike in visitor numbers, such as after a mail-out to your subscribers or if your company gets a mention in the press, our cloud hosting means your website performance shouldn’t suffer as the traffic will be balanced over several web servers. Some quick benchmarks in our local area of Southend show that we now consistently have the fastest web hosting compared to dozens of competitors!
Backups
Previously full website backups were taken and stored away from the web server on a weekly basis. Now, we’ve introduced full nightly backups for every single one of our customers’ websites, with an advanced facility for us to roll-back websites to any day within the past thirty days at a quick click of a button. A secondary set of backups are taken and stored at our base in Southend-on-Sea in Essex.
Green hosting
Last, but not least, we’re ensuring that Primary Image does its bit for the environment and the data centre we have chosen, located in Leeds, is putting lots of measures in place to reduce its energy usage. In particular, the data centre is designing a new innovative cooling system to use natural outside air to reduce the temperature of its server rooms, as well as continuing to use A-rated energy efficient equipment.
There’s lots more info for our existing customers on our Web Hosting page.
If you currently host elsewhere and are interested in having high performance cloud hosting for your website, find out more on our web hosting page or get in touch!
Mike founded Primary Image in 2010. He specialises in the WordPress website platform and speaks regularly at national web design conferences. Mike became a member (MCIPR) of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in 2015.