The one-time, fire-and forget-solution?

If you just want a good, fast, secure server without breaking the bank, New Local Media can help you find what you need, if not provide it. But if you're doing anything worthwhile on the web, there is no one-time solution. Even with managed hosting packages, someone has to put in the time maintaining your webserver, mail systems, and applications. Making upgrades to software, managing email accounts, taking backups, and other tasks are necessary to keep secure and healthy. As browsers and coding standards change, your website will also need to keep pace. And when visitors to your site contact you about a technical problem they're experiencing, who will respond and handle it? Want someone you can call on to be looking out for problems, nipping them in the bud, or fixing them before you know there's a problem? 

With a good host, an initial security audit, and everything locked down when you launch a website, that's a good start, and it's where New Local Media starts you. (If you need advice on hosts, take a look over here.) But if you don't have the means to update and maintain your site's software or handle the inevitable unexpected problems that arise, then you'll run into problems down the road. That is why most New Local Media clients requesting an estimate for development of websites and applications critical to their business or organization will be offered a managed web/mail hosting and support plan tailored and priced to their needs.

This may include:

• The host of your choice or a discounted package from trusted hosting partners.
• Unlimited email and webmail with mobile device support.
• Timely upgrades and backups for installed applications, content and data.
• Proactive security and performance monitoring, disaster recovery, and on call support.
• Need SEO/SEM and marketing resources? How about visitor traffic analysis reports that don't leave you asking "what does that mean?" but instead suggest relevant strategies for improvement.
• Need something else? Let's define a service/support package that makes the most sense for you.

Do I really need it?

Creating unnecessary dependencies in clients is not a good thing, and sometimes that is what happens with hosting + design packages--you get vendor lock-in, and in the worst cases, you're not really in control of your domains or data. (I've seen a few cases where "web design firms" held clients hostage by buying domains for the client while never actually relinquishing ownership of the domains, or not until considerable pressure was exerted to make them do so.) At the other extreme, website owners without a maintenance and support plan don't have time to deal with hosting and domain renewals, software upgrades, spam and other email-related problems--so when those things need to be handled, balls get dropped, things break, and help is needed.

That is why it's often preferable for clients who need ongoing support--and better support than a hosting company's call center--to purchase a hosting and service package as part of a web development project. If New Local Media is building your site, you can use any host you want as long as it's minimally adequate for your project's specs and business objectives, but you will be prodded to do better than "minimally adequate" and plan for ongoing maintenance needs for the following reasons:

1. Security. Your installed web applications will become vulnerable to attack over time if they aren’t updated in a timely fashion. If threats do emerge, you'll want someone to notice and respond. You'll want secure backups to be available.
2. Support. When you need something done with an application or the mail system, you have a question, or you just get stuck you'll want someone to call on.
3. Performance. A fast site gets used more and performs better with search engines.
4. Scalability. If you grow, you'll need to scale up as you resource needs increase from new applications or increased traffic.