Website hosting allows you to create and maintain your website and domain. A server location is the geographical location of the data that creates your website. Servers are located all around the world, and do not have to be located within the area that you yourself are located.
Why Does Web Hosting Location Matter?
The location of your web hosting servers can impact many aspects of your website, including:
- GDPR
- Usability and website performance
- Marketing costs
- Search rankings
GDPR & Web Hosting Locations
Not all countries have to adhere to GDPR laws, therefore depending on where your web hosting is located, user data might be sold to third parties. Therefore, we recommend hosting your website within the UK – to ensure that it complies with GDPR laws.
Website Performance & Web Hosting Locations
When a user visits a website, the data has to be fetched from the servers. The further away the servers are located, the longer it takes for the website to be loaded. The longer it takes for a website to be loaded, the increased likelihood of a user bouncing off your website to visit a competitor. However, having web hosting located within the UK ensures that your website is responsive, which in turn builds trust with visitors and forms a positive business connection.
Costs & Web Hosting Location
Although web hosting itself might be cheaper in different countries, it might not be better. Apart from the other issues that we have discussed, having your website located within the UK can also decrease your marketing costs. Having good quality web hosting can make your website quicker – which in turn makes it more user friendly. And what does this mean? It means it ranks better in Google! Which in turn, results in you not needing to spend money on other marketing activities – such as ads.
Search Rankings & Web Hosting Location
Which brings us nicely to Google. Search engines like Google can tell where your servers are located, and use this information to rank search results. For example, if a user searches for something whilst being located in Birmingham, the results will show companies located within this area first. This helps visitors to find local results, but also means that more users = better rankings, helping with your overall website performance.
How to Find a UK Based Server Company?
Here at Ballyhoo, we have our own servers based right here in the UK. All of the websites that we manage and create are located on these servers, meaning that they are safe, secure, and promote quick website load speeds. Want to know more? Give us a call now on 0121 295 5352 for more information.
