7 min readWith thousands of options available, web hosting seems like an easy decision. Naturally, it’s not. Deciding where to host your website is often a more critical question than price. For hosting your website, you can use either domestic or foreign hosting services. Both of these options, domestic and foreign hosting, have some of the benefits, and we are here to discuss them in detail. You can select either domestic or foreign web hosting depending on your online business needs. There are many web hosting companies available in the market that are offering amazing hosting deals to their customers, you can approach any of these companies to start your hosting experience. In this article, I am going to share with you some major differences between domestic and foreign hosting, so you can have a better idea about both types of hosting and it will also help you to make a better web hosting decision for your website. While starting your online business, the first thing that comes to your mind is Web hosting. The overall online performance of your website is very much depending on your web hosting decision. Therefore, web services selection has become the most essential & critical aspect of starting your website. However, selecting a company for getting web services is not easy. There are many things that you should keep in mind to guarantee that all of the services provided by the company are reliable and top-notch. Furthermore, the most intimidating fact about choosing foreign & domestic web hosting services is the selection between “international” & “domestic” services. However, before you get started with your web hosting, whether it is Windows Hosting, Shared Hosting, or Linux Hosting, you should spend a few minutes to make sure that you are selecting the best host provider.

Web Hosting – Domestic or Foreign?

Pricing

It’s not a secret that the lowest prices on servers usually belong to servers held overseas. If you want a low-price server solution, look overseas. Of course, there are some benefits to paying more for your server regardless of its location, but pricing is always a concern and for those trying to keep costs as low as possible, overseas may offer more bang for the buck. Domestic web hosting solutions are cost-effective as compared with foreign web hosting services. The domestic web hosting provider has to operate the servers from a smaller distance and therefore can offer many benefits to its connections. While, as far as the foreign service provider is concerned, the overall cost of technology and support to the foreign land turns out to be very expensive and prices for the services are also very high.

Legal Issues

Increasingly, there are legal concerns about where a server is located and the website it is hosting. Russian companies, for example, might soon find themselves in a legal bind about protecting information and be forced to store server information in Russia. With every changing law regarding internet use and information security, do your research on what your company requires before making any specific decision.

Customer Service Availability

If you choose to host your website somewhere across the globe, be sure you are comfortable with their peak and non-peak customer service hours – especially if they aren’t offering 24-hour customer service in a staffed call center or something like that.

Language Concerns

Working in a different country means you may be trying to communicate in a language that is not your native tongue. For some, this isn’t a problem as they find a common middle ground. For others, you may find yourself most comfortable working with someone who can not only speak a fluid version of your native language but send emails and messages easily as well.

In-house Support

It’s easy to put 24-hour customer support on a website, especially if you take a rather loose definition of support. The less expensive a company is, the more likely they are to outsource their customer service issues as well. If having an in-house customer service department is essential to you, regardless of location, you may wind up paying a bit more. Research this well and get specifics – customer service isn’t always the same as a dedicated in-house customer service team.

Technical Support

As discussed above, a domestic web hosting service provider functions from the local areas and therefore they are available willingly if you need any assistance or technical support. You can get domestic web hosting services with 24/7 support because the local service provider is geologically nearer to the website. A good foreign web hosting provider offers a variety of support approaches, for example, phone, email, and live chat. Ensure that your web hosting service provider is offering fast response times. Most of the time, cheap servers have weak technical specifications, and it can also restrict some customers or the server may go down when the traffic on the website is high. As some of the clients need a lot of space to place their data, servers with poor specifications turn out to be slow when there is a higher load of data.

Contribution to Economy

When using domestic web hosting services, you are contributing to your local economy. It is very good for the development of your country’s economy and also brings a lot of advantages to the business. Domestic hosting also allows you to develop the economy. So, it can be said that domestic hosting companies transfer services and as a result produce more returns for your country.

Data Privacy Laws

There is no doubt that the country’s data privacy laws are very important to consider while getting web hosting because the data and information of your client and business are based on it. In case, you are getting the web hosting services from the international service provider, they may be involved in some national security cases and going to shut down for not following the national laws. You may lose data access because of the hosting country’s laws that will be functional against you. One thing that you should know about the law is that laws change, and there may be some laws that affect your web hosting. The security level is also determined by the laws, and some countries offer low-cost maintenance of the server, they do not have sufficient laws that defend users online. So, in case of any law changes, it might upset the server owners, and to avoid this you have to get a little knowledge about the country’s data and security laws, from where you are going to get the web hosting services.

Load Times

The more distant your server is from your target audience, the greater you can expect the delay in loading websites. If you’re targeting customers in Canada, but hosting your websites in Asia, that’s a long way for information to ping back and forth around the globe. Will it work? Sure. Will it work quickly? That’s considerably less sure.

Technical Limitations

Again, regardless of location be sure you’re getting what you think you’re paying for. The richer the content of a website, the more RAM, processing power, and disc space you’re going to need to fulfill your business needs. Some websites may need dedicated servers to control their traffic without any delay or downtime. Remember that distance will slow websites, compromising on other limitations may hurt your site very much.

Additional Features

Every server company offers something special to customers. When all is the same between the two servers, check and see what special features and options they may be able to offer you. Larger companies that handle different functions may be able to cross-promote and offer additional incentives and features regardless of their country of origin. Others may be able to take advantage of law regulations overseas or some countries offer you more features.

Reputation

Your company hinges on its reputation. Your reputation can very well come from the quality and ability of your website and supporting services. Therefore, your reputation may be directly tied to the reputation of the server company you choose to work with. If you are building a long-term, high-quality website that you hope has significant staying power in your industry, seek out server companies in your industry with a reputation to match your own, or what you hope to have someday. One thing, you should always keep in mind is that the performance of a website is essential for its long-term success. If the version of your website is good, it will drag traffic to the website and it will also improve your conversions and profits. With domestic web hosting service providers, you can rest assured to get optimal performance your website will be more user-friendly, & loading speed will be high.

Know Your Web Hosting Needs

Niche websites have their communities and server companies may be part of these communities as well. Some server companies specialize in specific fields while others take a broader business model. If you are working in a particular niche, especially one that has legal limitations or regulations, finding a server company that already understands your specific needs for that website and that particular industry can be a huge relief. Often these specific companies are overseas where regulations may be a bit looser or at least easier to work with.

SEO-Friendly Web Hosting

Finally, it’s important to realize that your service company is going to affect your rankings on websites like Google and Bing. A website hosted in China, for example, will not only load faster in China but will also be ranked higher in search results for those who are looking up keywords in China. Hosting your website on a server in China, but focusing on customers in the United States and Canada means that your website is considerably lower in the rankings or not ranked at all. It’s generally a good idea to host your website in a country where you expect more traffic by improving the SEO. Web hosting is a competitive business, so companies who are surviving in the market are doing something right. Of course, the real rub is finding the match between what you need to be done and what the web hosting companies specialize in doing, no matter their global location.

Conclusion

In this article, I have discussed some of the major differences between both domestic and foreign web hosting, so you can make a better choice about your web hosting services in the future. Website development and running an online business is complex. There are many web hosting companies in the market offering amazing hosting deals to their customers. The domestic web hosting provider has to run the servers from less distance so they can offer many benefits to its connections. The foreign web hosting provider offers a variety of support approaches, like phone, email, and live chat. The security level is determined by security and data laws, and some countries offer low-cost maintenance of the server, but they do not have sufficient laws that protect users online. The heavier the content of a website, the more RAM, CPU, disc space, and other resources for effectively managing the website functions. If the website performance is good, it will drag traffic to the site and it will also ensure the long-term success of the business.