Keeping your site happy
Your website needs a safe home and ongoing TLC.
Hosting that is fast, safe.. and local!
I provide premium hosting through Storm Internet Services, a local (Ottawa-based) ISP and hosting company.
Unlike the larger hosting companies, who offer barebones hosting and charge for ‘extras’ like security features and backups, with Storm, your SSL certificate is free, and nightly backups of your entire site and extra security measures are part of your hosting plan.
Storm boasts a 99.9% uptime and takes extra measures to ensure a fast loading speed.
Ongoing support you can rely on
Your website is launched, and it’s doing its job. But, like your employees, if it’s not treated well, it will start to slack off.
Your website needs ongoing tender loving care to keep it functioning at its best, and most importantly, to keep it safe from malware and hackers.
But most business owners are too busy to give their site the TLC it needs. Fortunately, I offer a website care plan that does just that, so you can focus on running your business, and trust that your website is in good hands.
Ongoing support you can rely on
Your website is launched, and it’s doing its job. But, like your employees, if it’s not treated well, it will start to slack off.
Your website needs ongoing tender loving care to keep it functioning at its best, and most importantly, to keep it safe from malware and hackers.
But most business owners are too busy to give their site the TLC it needs. Fortunately, I offer a website care plan that does just that, so you can focus on running your business, and trust that your website is in good hands.
What’s Included:
Hosting:
SSL Certificate
This is what puts the lock symbol at the left left of your url in the browser, and the ‘s’ in https in your url.
An SSL certificate is required by Google. Without it, your website will rank lower in search results, and come with an ‘insecure’ warning.
Unlimited Disk Space
Have a lot of images on your website? No problem. Have an e-commerce site with lots of products? Go nuts.
Disk space is the amount of storage room you get on your host’s server. Most hosting companies only allow a certain amount. Storm doesn’t.
Nightly Backups
Storm takes nightly backups of your entire website, so if anything goes wrong, it can be restored without you losing a lot of changes or updates.
Fast Loading speed
Storm using FastCGI, which executes time-consuming code once, rather than every time it is loaded.
This is the equivalent to having your car already running when you’re ready to go somewhere, rather than having to start it up every time you get in.
WordPress and PHP Updates
When WordPress is updated, you can rest assured your website won’t be the last to find out.
PHP is the language your website uses to speak to both browsers and the themes and plugins that are on it. If your PHP version gets too out of date, your website will not be able to communicate effectively with newer themes and plugins, and its functionality and security will waver. But with this hosting plan, you can rest assured that won’t happen.
Up to 25 Email Accounts
Having a professional email address that matches your domain (ie: info@yourwebsite.com) is great.
Having professional addresses for all your employees or departments is even better.
Hosting comes with up to 25 email accounts; more can be added for an additional fee.
Website Care Plan:
Theme & Plugin Updates
Nothing opens your site to hackers and malware quicker than outdated themes and plugins.
Updates don’t just increase functionality, they fix security issues and keep the code in line with modern practices (which are constantly changing).
At the beginning of every month, I will update your theme and plugins and check the site for any issue that arise as a result of the updates (ie: new plugin conflicts).
Security Monitoring
Even the best hosting and website-building practices aren’t always enough to keep a site 100% secure.
I monitor any suspicious activity on your site, and if something goes wrong, I’ll restore it for you from the most recent backup.
Website Changes
Up to one hour per month for minor changes and updates to your website (includes content updates, adding pictures, etc.).
Detailed Monthly Reports
Clients on my maintenance plan can opt for a monthly report on what’s been done to keep their site updated and secure.
Reports also include Google Analytics data of page views, site traffic, and more. View a sample report.
Priority Support
If you’re on my maintenance plan and have a technical issue or need minor changes or updates, you will get expedited service.
Site Optimization
While I’m logged into your site to do the updates and security checks, I will also clear out any spam comments and optimize your site for an added layer of security and functionality.
Discounted Rates
Get a discount on both my hourly rate and my retainer packages. Learn more here.
3 Plans to Choose From:
Hosting
- Safe, secure and reliable hosting through Storm Internet Services.
Hosting & TLC
- The best of both worlds! A safe, secure home for your website and the ongoing care it needs.
Website Care
- The ongoing TLC your website needs to stay safe and secure.
Need a domain?
.com Domain Registration
$30/year
.ca Domain Registration
$40/year
Frequently Asked Questions:
Are there any setup or cancellation fees?
If I build your website, there is no charge to set up your monthly maintenance and hosting.
If I did not build your website and you are transferring it to me for hosting and/or maintenance, there is a $100 +HST setup fee.
You are welcome to cancel your hosting/maintenance plan with me at any time. There are no cancellation fees.
Do I have to pay monthly?
Payments can be made monthly, or several months or up to a year at a time. It’s entirely up to you.
Sign up for both my hosting and maintenance plan, you get one month of maintenance for free!
What if I've paid in advance and decide to cancel?
You’re welcome to cancel your plan at any time, and I will refund you for your unused months.
And remember, if you change your mind, you’re always welcome to come back.
Does the monthly time roll over?
Sorry, but no. The hour expires at the end of each month.
Why should I sign up for a website care plan?
Regular maintenance is imperative for the security of your website.
Without a website care plan, your site is more likely to experience:
- Slower loading speeds and reduced performance
- Security holes created by outdated themes and plugins, making it incredibly vulnerable to malware and hackers
Plus, if your hosting company doesn’t provide regular backups, you won’t have a restore point. In the event your site gets hacked, you could lose your content, access to your site, and your Google ranking.
If you’re someone who isn’t overly tech-savvy, having a geek like me in your corner is invaluable. Being your trust webmaster is a role I take very seriously.
Isn't all hosting the same?
No, absolutely not. With hosting, like with many things, you get what you pay for.
Most large hosting companies are more about the bottom line than customer service. They will cram as many sites as possible onto a single server, they won’t update the PHP version unless you ask, they’ll give you the barebones hosting at a reduced rate and then sell you the features that really should be included in all hosting plans (like SSL Certificates and regular backups), and some of them don’t even offer refunds if you decide to cancel.
Sandfire Design and Storm Internet Services are different. Together, we offer safe, reliable and secure hosting with top-notch customer service.