In March, Web Hosting Canada surpasses 30,000 active clients continuing an unprecedented growth as Canada’s premier web services provider. We wanted to recognize this moment and to say thank you to all the Canadian businesses, entrepreneurs, and organizations that have chosen to trust us with their online projects.
Each client has a unique story of how they started with an idea, and devoted time and effort to bring it to life online. To quote the Great One (Wayne Gretzky) “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” and our clients are taking those shots. One such story is Craig Stephens, who created Long Ride Home, dedicated to showing the struggles and strength of Canadian Soldiers and First Responders. Another comes from Alena Tuchina and Sean Frederick, co-founders of Bash Creative, a Toronto based digital design agency that offers a unique approach to website development and brand marketing. We thank them again for sharing their stories with us.
Do you have a story to share? Reach out and you may be our next Spotlight story!
In their own unique ways, each one of our clients help Canada grow and thrive, both online and off. And in WHC’s humble opinion the World could use a little more Canada. That’s why we’re having a special promotion: register your next .CA domain name for 3$ by using coupon 30K. Only available for the first 300 registrations, so act fast and start your new project today! Limit of 1 coupon per client.
As WHC grows, so does our team. If you have a passion for helping Canadian businesses achieve their online goals, are looking for a rewarding career and are in (or open to moving to) Montreal, then you may be just who we are looking for! View our available openings and start being part of the difference.
And last but certainly not least, let us know how we can make WHC even better. Share your feedback by getting in touch or using the comments below. We want to hear from you!
Thanks again and as always,
Happy Hosting
Web Hosting Canada partners with top technology companies around the world to bring you best-in-class service, performance and security.
cPanel
cPanel provides website owners and system administrators with powerful control panels, allowing users to fully manage advanced technical configurations with just a few clicks.
CloudLinux
CloudLinux is on a mission to make Linux more secure, stable and scalable. With more than 450 combined years working on Linux, CloudLinux combines in-depth technical knowledge of hosting, kernel development, and open-source software, with unique client care expertise.
Canadian Internet Registration Agency (CIRA)
CIRA is a member-based not-for-profit organization, best known for managing the .CA Internet domain on behalf of all Canadians, developing and implementing policies that support Canada’s internet community and representing the .CA registry internationally.
LiteSpeed
LiteSpeed is dedicated to enabling a faster Internet and lowering infrastructure costs through innovative software solutions, such as LiteSpeed Web Server and LSCache.
Imunify360
Imunify360 is a next-generation Linux security solution developed specifically to ensure comprehensive security for online infrastructure. It uses herd immunity and a six-layer approach to provide total protection against attacks.
JetBackup
The leading provider of data backup and migration software, JetBackup helps protect hundreds of thousands of WHC website owners from errors and catastrophic data loss through its automated, self-serve backup and restore systems.
Weebly
Weebly is a website and eCommerce service founded on the belief that anyone should have the tools to take their business from idea, to launch, to growth. Weebly was started in 2007 and currently powers millions of businesses on more than 50 million sites around the world.
Cloudflare
Trusted by over 13 million domains, Cloudflare is one of the world’s largest cloud network platforms. Give your global users a faster, more secure, and more reliable internet experience.
rankingCoach
rankingCoach helps small business owners increase the visibility and effectiveness of their websites on Google and local directories with step-by-step guides, automatic analysis and competitor tracking.
Google Ads
Grow your business by putting it front and center when potential customers do a Google search for a business like yours. As a Google Certified Partner, WHC can offer Google Ads credit to jumpstart new ad campaigns.
Your domain name is your online identity and a key branding element for any business. If chosen wisely, your domain name will stay with you for years, maybe even a lifetime. Your domain name is also an investment. If your online popularity grows, so will the value of your domain name.
It’s safe to say that picking the right domain name is an important part of any new project. So how can you ensure you make the right choice?
We’ll try to answer this question with tips specifically catered to Canadian businesses and individuals in order to help you find a domain name that will improve your brand, drive traffic and increase your bottom line.
What is a Domain Name, anyhow?
Before jumping into how to pick a great domain, let’s make sure we understand what it is.
Domain names like google.com and whc.ca are online addresses, used to access websites for business, news sources and whatever other treasures (or oddities!) the Internet holds.
On a more technical level, a domain name is a string of characters that can be translated into an electronic address (called an Internet Protocol, or IP, address) by computer systems connected to the Internet, using a service called DNS.
Available domain names can be registered for a yearly fee and for a period ranging between 1 to 10 years through a domain name registration provider such as Web Hosting Canada. Once registered, you can renew your domain indefinitely by paying its renewal fees. If you do not renew your domain, it generally gets released within 3 months of its expiration so that someone else may register it.
Understanding the different components of a domain name
A domain name is made up of different parts. Let’s break it down to get a better picture:
Domain Name: The unique address that identifies your website, like “example.ca”. It’s comprised of a name and an extension.
Name: The main part of the domain name, located left of the dot, sometimes referred to as second-level domain or SLD. You can register any name that is available in a specific extension, so you can get creative! It can only include letters, numbers and hyphens, and it is not case-sensitive. It cannot exceed 253 characters (nor would it be practical to have one that long!)
Extension: The rightmost part of the domain name, such as .CA or .COM. It’s also referred to as a top-level domain or TLD. There are more than 1000 TLDs available today, some of which are restricted by profession or geographical location, but most of which are open and available to all.
Subdomain: This is not part of your domain name or domain registration process. You can create as many subdomains as you want from your hosting account, so don’t worry about this!
When picking out a new domain name, you’ll be searching for a name and extension combination that hasn’t already been reserved by someone else. While you can get super creative on the name part, your choice of extension is limited by what is available from registries (the companies that manage domain extensions, such as Verisign and CIRA).
For example, I can make my domain name MyDomainIsSuperCool.ca if it is available, but because no registry has created the domain extension .supercool, I can't have the domain name MyDomainIs.SuperCool
Now that we understand the different parts of a domain name, let's get to the business of how to pick out the best name.
11 Tips for Choosing a Great Domain Name (Canadian Edition!)
1. Include your Brand
Try to include your brand’s name in your domain. It will help make your domain memorable, while keeping it simple and clear.
For example, CanadaGoose.com is a more effective domain name for the Canada Goose brand than would be CanadianWinterJackets.com, despite the fact that the second contains keywords.
2. Make it Intuitive and Descriptive
Don’t keep visitors guessing! Make your domain name more memorable by clearly reflecting what your business is all about, and by making it easy to type. You can do this by including useful keywords that people may use when searching for websites such as yours.
Some examples include:
AffordableHomesInVancouver.ca
LowCostAutoRepair.com
ToysForToddlers.ca
Some useful tools can help you discover the most popular keywords:
Google Trends - Discover what is trending and what related keywords are also trending.
Ubersuggest - Uncover the amount of searches performed per month for a particular keyword and some related ideas.
While you may be tempted to include multiple keywords, in the past few years Google has considerably decreased the importance it attributes to keywords in domains. Having said that, including keywords in domains still provides an SEO advantage when used as anchor texts in links.
Pro Tip: Consider using your brand in your primary domain name, then registering additional keyword-rich domains. These can present information about specific products or services and eventually lead back to your main domain.
3. Aim for the .CA and .COM first
If you’re doing business in Canada, the .CA extension resonates better with Canadian shoppers, while .COM is the most popular and recognized option worldwide. We strongly recommend you attempt to secure both of these, if available.
The .CA domain extension may actually be a better fit for you if you do most of your business in Canada, since it will immediately identify you as a Canadian business, contrary to a Canadian competitor that may be using a .COM domain.
4. Keep it Short, But Not Too Short
Long names can be hard to remember and provide more chances of being misspelled. Try to choose a domain with less than 20 characters for best results, but avoid using abbreviations or slang that may make your domain shorter but harder to spell.
For example, PopularScience.ca is a superior choice to PopularSci.ca, despite the second domain being shorter.
Keep in mind that the shorter the domain gets, the harder it will be to find it available online. Almost all 3 and 4-letter domain variations are already reserved in the popular extensions, and 5-letter domains are quite scarce too.
5. Consider a Bilingual Domain, or separate domains per language
Do you serve visitors in both French and English? If so, try to find a domain that could be used in both languages (quite tough, in some cases) or consider registering two domains, one in each language.
For example, North America’s oldest company, The Hudson Bay Company, separates its website per language over two domains at thebay.com (English) and labaie.com (French).
Also be aware that in some cases spelling in Canadian English can differ from American or British English. Double check that the words you’ve chosen align with your desired market, and consider registering all variants of your domain’s spelling.
6. Get Creative with Domain Extensions
If your domain isn’t available with .CA or .COM, or if you’re looking to stand out with something different, get creative with any of the hundreds of available new domain extensions. Have a look at our domain extension categories, such as ‘Food and Drink’ or ‘Services’, to discover more options specific to your online project.
Some creative examples include:
MontrealContemporary.art
ILoveAll.tech
SuprisesIn.store
IWroteA.blog
ComePlayVideo.games
You’ll notice that the domain availability increase dramatically when you search beyond the “traditional” domain extensions.
7. Make it Easy to Pronounce
In addition to making your domain easy to share verbally in person or over the phone, making it easy to pronounce will also make it more memorable and create a more positive association with your brand. You shouldn’t have to spell your domain in order for people to understand it.
Using numbers, hyphens or slang can lead to misinterpretations when it is heard, and should be avoided if possible. For instance, If someone tells you there are great deals at “get more for less dot ca” would you intuitively think of “get-more4less.ca?”. Probably not.
If you do decide to use numbers, consider registering both the number and the word versions of your domain, for example TopTenLists.ca and Top10Lists.ca
8. Fashion It for Local Search
If you’re targeting a specific area (which you almost always should be!), adding in the city, region or province will help people know right away what area you serve and could increase relevance.
Examples include:
MississaugaPlumber.ca
HockeyFans.quebec
BloorStreetApparel.ca
Pro tip: Once you have your main website up, consider creating additional websites, each with their own specific localized domain, with content specific for that location. This could be particularly useful if you operate stores or cater to clients in different regions.
9. Avoid Trademarks
It’s possible that your domain name could infringe on another businesses’ trademark. Just because you’ve registered the domain name doesn’t mean another business can’t sue you for using it. This could lead to costly legal battles or having to give up your domain name and start the process over again.
As a general rule, don’t include another company’s brand in your domain name, or create any sort of confusion with another company’s brand (including through typos or misspellings). You may also consider checking the Canadian Trademark Database for registered trademarks.
10. Protect Your Brand and your Visitors
Once you’ve chosen your primary domain name, consider protecting it by registering other domains that may be similar. These are called defensive registrations, and they protect you from potential problems, such as competitors — or worse, a hacker — piggybacking off of your success and potentially taking some of your website’s traffic.
Defensive registrations take many forms, but the most common are:
Popular extensions. If available, consider registering your domain in all available “classic” extensions, which include: .CA, .COM, .NET, .ORG and .CO.
Misspellings. Not everyone can spell correctly, and even if they do, there are always typos. Check out most commonly misspelled words, and consider registering popular variants.
Alternatives. Plurals and possessives can be confusing, so if you registered a domain like JoesOrganicFoods.com, consider variants such as JoesOrganicFood.com or JoeOrganicFoods.com
Bilingual. Even if your website is only in English, you may want to enter the French Canadian market eventually, so registering the french translation of your domain is a smart move.
Keep in mind that with an average price tag of 10-30$ per domain per year, defensive registration costs can add up quickly. The amount you’ll want to spend on it may vary on your tolerance to risk, the revenue your website is generating, and the value of the brand you are using.
11. Use an Effective Domain Spinner
Just because a specific domain name doesn’t have a live website, it doesn’t mean that domain name hasn’t already been registered by someone. The best way to accurately determine if the domain is truly available for registration is with a provider’s domain availability search tool, often also called a domain spinner, because of its ability to provide domain suggestions and alternatives.
A good domain spinner should:
Provide fast availability results for your searched domain
Search your domain over multiple possible extensions and provide suggestions
Allow for quick and easy registrations of one or more domains
Minimize unnecessary distractions such as service upsells
Web Hosting Canada’s domain search tool provides fast results and searches through 400 of the most popular extensions, helping you find the best domains for your needs.
Act Now Before Someone Else Does!
Domain names are first come, first served. Every day, tens of thousands of new domains get registered worldwide and once they do, they can no longer be registered by you. While it may be possible to purchase a domain from someone else after they’ve registered it (in what is referred to as the domain aftermarket), such purchases can set you back thousands of dollars depending on the domain’s popularity.
The good news is that there are still limitless opportunities to register a great new domain name and with the tips you’ve just read you should be well on your way to choosing an effective domain name that can help build your online brand for many years to come.
Should you need some extra help picking your next domain name, just give us a call! Web Hosting Canada’s domain experts are available to help 24/7.
Happy domaining!
Save up to 70% over other leading domain registrars
Huge Selection
400+ domain types to choose from
24/7 Assistance
by phone, chat or email, to help you along the way
Simple Management
including DNS, contacts and security
100% Canadian
owned and operated. Unlike others, we only bill in $CA
Trusted Experience
CIRA & ICANN-accredited, with 100,000+ domains under management
Customer-Focused
with a management team that actually listens, cares and adapts
Consolidation
Bring your hosting, email, and domains under one roof
Already have domain(s)?
Move your domain(s) under one roof and experience the WHC difference!
Bring domains to WHC
Also need web hosting?
Most of our hosting plans come with a free domain name for the first year.
Get a free domain
Buy more, save more!
Can't get enough domains? Join the Domain Club and save BIG.
Get better pricing
10 Tips to Pick a Great Domain Name
1
Include your brand in your domain. It will help make your domain memorable, while keeping it simple and clear.
2
Make it intuitive and descriptive by clearly reflecting what your business is all about, and by making it easy to type. You can do this by including useful keywords that people use when searching for websites such as yours.
3
Aim for the .CA and .COM first. If you’re doing business in Canada, the .CA extension resonates better with Canadian shoppers, while .COM is the most popular option worldwide. We recommend you attempt to secure both of these, if available.
4
Keep it Short, But Not Too Short. Long names can be hard to remember and provide more chances of being misspelled. Aim for less than 20 characters, but avoid using abbreviations or slang that make your domain harder to spell.
5
Consider a Bilingual Domain, or 2 Domains if you serve clients in both French and English. Separating your website over 2 domains based on language can improve your visitors’ overall experience.
6
Get Creative with Domain Extensions, such as .art, .ninja, .guru, .tech and 400+ other variations. You’ll notice that the domain availability increase dramatically when you search beyond the traditional domain extensions.
7
Make it Easy to Pronounce by avoiding hyphens, slang or numbers. If you do use numbers, consider registering both the number and the word versions of your domain, for example TopTenLists.ca and Top10Lists.ca
8
Fashion It for Local Searches by adding in the city, region or province. This will help people know right away what area you serve and could increase relevance.
9
Avoid using another company’s trademarks or you could end up having to give up your domain name and start the process over again or worse, having a legal battle with a much larger corporation.
10
Protect Your Brand by registering your domain in all the popular extensions, possible misspellings, common alternative spellings and French variants.
Here's What You Get with Every Domain Name
Complete DNS Control
Easily change nameservers, or create custom A, CNAME, TXT records using your Domain Manager.
Domain Locking
Protect your domain from unauthorized transfer with our security lock.
WHOIS Information Management
Update your domain’s contact information with ease, to ensure it’s always up-to-date.
Protect your domain with more powerful Anycast DNS to help withstand large-scale attacks and increase uptime. Starting at 0.99$/mo.
Domain Names: Your Questions, Our Answers
Domain names like yourcompany.com make it easy for potential customers to find you on the Internet. It maps out a human-readable word or phrase (say, jonathanscafe.com) to a computer readable Internet address (called IP address) allowing your clients and visitors to view and use your website, shopping cart, and communicate with you via email. Everyone can get a domain name. While some domain types have certain conditions (.CA domains require you to be a Canadian, for example) most can be reserved by paying the corresponding registration fees, on a first-come-first-served basis. You can register most domains for up to 10 years, and then may renew them at any given time, at their then current renewal rate. To register your own domain name, simply complete a search and registration form on this very page.
Picking the right domain is a crucial step in getting your website or business online. Here are a few tips to help you pick the perfect domain:
Make it easy to type and easy to remember. Keep in mind that you’ll occasionally give people your domain over the phone or in person. If they can’t spell it out later, they might not find you online! Short and sweet often works best.
Make it Unique. Avoid confusion with your competitors, or you may accidentally end up sending them some of your business!
Use keywords that accurately describe your product, services, or brand. This will help your website get better rankings in search engines such as Google. Your domain could, for example, include the city that you’re operating in, one of your main products, or your brand.
Pick the right domain type. With over 300 new domain endings to choose from, you are now in a unique position to select a domain type that more closely describes your business. You can target clients in a geographic location (.CA or .QUEBEC), by hobby (.hockey, .soccer, .golf) or even with a bit of humor (.lol, .ninja, .wtf). By using one of the new domain types, you are also greatly increasing your chances of finding an available domain with the keywords you need.
Register multiple relevant domains. This could include domain misspellings, useful variants, or geographically targeted domains. And you don’t need to build separate websites for each domain: you can easily redirect them to your primary domain. Several companies choose to protect their brands by registering their domain with multiple popular domain extensions.
Do your research and make sure your domain choice is not copyrighted by someone else. It will help avoid costly legal issues that may cost you more than just your domain!
You can transfer any active domain to Web Hosting Canada by using our domain transfer order form. Before transferring your domain, you will need to:
Obtain your domain’s transfer key (also called AUTH key or EPP code). This is a password that protects your domain from being transferred without your authorization. Ask your current provider for this key, and enter it when requested during your transfer order with Web Hosting Canada.
Unlock your domain. Most domains will be locked with their current providers to prevent unauthorized transfer. You may be able to unlock your domain directly from your provider’s domain management portal or by contacting them directly.
Ensure the email address of the domain’s Administrative contact of your domain is in fact an email address that you have access to, and that any Domain Privacy is disabled. You can view your domain’s current information using any WHOIS lookup tool such as easywhois.com
This information should be requested from your current domain registrar or reseller. If you are unsure who you’ve registered your domain name with, please try to find a payment invoice with the company’s name or identify them by performing a WHOIS lookup and get in touch with them directly.
Once started, a domain transfer may take up to 5 days to complete (.CA domains generally transfer within minutes). You may be asked to confirm your request by clicking on a link that will be sent to you by email, and you will receive an email confirmation from us once the transfer has been completed. You will then be able to manage your domain and update your nameservers from your Client Area.
When you transfer your domain registration, you are also automatically adding one year to your domain’s expiration date. For example, if your domain expires in 2020, its expiry date will be in 2021 after your transfer. This ensures that you do not lose any of the time you already paid for your domain with another provider.
If you have any additional questions about your domain’s transfer, please get in touch with our friendly support team for immediate assistance.
Privacy Protection is a security service that helps protect your private information on the Internet. When registering any new domain, registration authorities require you to submit your personal information including your name, email, phone number, and full address. This information is then made public on the WHOIS database, a massive collection of all registered domains and their owners, intended to provide transparency on the Internet. Unfortunately, this database is nowadays used by spammers, hackers, and identity thieves to spam your email, hack your website, or steal your identity. With Privacy Protection all your private information is automatically hidden and replaced with that of the Privacy Protection service, effectively hiding all your personal information from prying eyes and protecting your inbox for unwanted spam. Privacy Protection is available for a small yearly supplement, and can be requested during your new domain’s order process, or added from your Client Area. It’s strongly recommended for all new domain registrations, and is included for free with .CA domains.
DNS (Domain Name System) is a technology that powers the backbone of the internet, allowing the mapping of domain names to servers that hold the data of your website and email. Before someone can reach your website, they need to communicate with the DNS servers to obtain the actual location of your website’s data. Traditional DNS servers are physically located in fixed locations around the world, often thousands of kilometers from your website visitor’s location. This causes an additional delay before you or your clients can reach your website.
With Anycast DNS technology, your website’s DNS information is automatically copied to dozens of locations around the world (instead of just one), allowing your clients to automatically fetch the information from the location that’s closest to them, thus improving your website’s initial load time.
Web Hosting Canada’s Anycast DNS system has been built from the ground up with Canadians in mind, and includes 10 points of presence in Canada alone, to ensure the fastest possible domain resolution times for you and your clients. There are also points of presence in Europe, Asia, and the US, to make sure even those halfway around the world get near-instant access to your website!
Anycast DNS is included with our Canadian Web Hosting or can be activated by ordering the Domain Manager PRO addon for your domain.
Your domain names can easily be managed from your Client Area. You’ll be able to:
Update your nameservers
Manage your advanced DNS settings (A Record, CNAME, TXT and MX)
Update your WHOIS Contact Information
Manage Privacy Protection
Manage your Domain Lock
With the Domain Manager PRO addon, you can also take advantage of premium features:
Free features with every domain, including DNS Hosting, DNS Record Management and Domain Locking
Useful low-cost addons like Privacy Protection, Email forwarding, URL forwarding and DNS Anycast technology to speed up domain name resolution time worldwide.
Easily connect a new website, blog, or professional email on your new domain through our intuitive Client Area.
The lowest prices in the industry. Pay in Canadian dollars and save up to 40% over competitors charging in USD!
24/7 assistance from real experts, by phone, email, and live chat
Increased trust and offered by a CIRA-accredited registrar that manages tens of thousands of domains every day.
From the WHC blog
The Canadian Guide to Finding Your Perfect Domain Name
Your domain name is your online identity and a key branding element for any business. If chosen wisely, your domain name will stay with you for years,..
As the second largest country on the planet, Canada is not too difficult to find on a map. But what about finding information about Canadians, Canadian..
We all know that website backups are important just like we know that seat belts and safety nets are important: you don’t always need them but when you do, they’re life-savers.
Do the following scenarios sound familiar?
You’ve accidentally deleted or moved an important file.
You’ve upgraded your website and suddenly nothing works.
Your website got hacked.
These are just 3 examples of issues that can happen at any time and that could potentially wipe out months of work if you don't have recent backups.
Unfortunately, not all backups are created equal. So what should you know and look out for when determining your website’s backup strategy? Here are 7 important factors to consider.
1. Backup Automation: Set and forget!
Should you perform all your backups yourself or should they get created automatically, on a specific schedule? Backups that are performed automatically are generally safer because it's easy to forget to regularly do them yourself. That being said, automatic backups can sometimes misfire so having a way to create and download an occasional manual backup (especially before a major update) is also useful.
Web Hosting Canada automatically backs up your web hosting account every night, and provides a simple way to download manual backups, if needed.
2. Backup Frequency: Back up often!
The frequency of your backups will determine how often a backup copy of your content is made and will dictate how much you’ll eventually lose when restoring a backup. Popular choices include monthly, weekly, daily, or hourly.
For example, if your backups are performed weekly and you accidentally delete an important file halfway through the week, your most recent restoration point will only allow you to retrieve that file from several days ago. If you had made any changes since then, those changes would be lost.
If you very rarely make changes to your website, then having a backup created each week is a viable option. However, for most websites it’s best to have daily backups because even though you yourself may not make changes, there could be updates or visitor information (new orders, sign-ups to your newsletter, etc.) that should be recorded daily.
Another thing to note is that creating a backup copy is a demanding operation and may slow down your service during the process, so increasing the backup frequency can also have negative impacts on your website's performance. There can be such a thing as too many backups!
Web Hosting Canada’s web hosting includes nightly backups, allowing you to easily revert to yesterday’s version without substantially slowing down your account.
3. Full or Incremental Backups?
Full backups create a complete and exact copy of your account at a specific point in time, every time. Incremental backups rely on a full backup on the first backup run, then only make a copy of your changes since the previous backup run.
Incremental backups tend to be faster and much more efficient than full backups for most websites, providing you with the same quality of backups but only consuming a fraction of the resources. Despite the fact that incremental backups generally can’t be compressed, they can save over 90% of disk space and run 10 times faster than older, full backups.
For example, for a website with moderate traffic using 10,000MB of disk space, an incremental backup may only require 10MB of storage space whereas a full backup would require another 10,000MB!
Web Hosting Canada provides fast, incremental backups for all its web hosting accounts, ensuring both safety and performance.
4. Backup Retention: The longer, the better!
Assuming your website gets backed up, how long are the backup copies saved for? This period of time is called your backup’s retention period. A longer retention period gives you more time and flexibility to identify issues and correct them by restoring a working backup.
For example, if an important setting on your website is changed and creates problems that you only identify a week later, restoring yesterday’s backup will not resolve your problem. You’ll need to go back several days to find a working copy to revert to.
Keep in mind that as you increase your backup’s retention period, you’re also increasing your data storage needs. For example, if you store a year’s worth of daily backups, you’ll be storing a whooping 365 storage points at any given time.
Web Hosting Canada offers multiple retention points with at least 14 days worth of backups, and more available upon request.
5. On-server or Off-server Backups
On-server backups means that your backups are stored on the same physical machine as your website. Off-server means that it is stored on a completely independent server, possibly even in a different physical location.
The main benefit of off-server backups is that if your primary server completely fails, your backup files are still safely stored at another location and can be used to initiate a restore. Should a more serious issue arise, such as an electrical fire in the datacenter, having a separation between your backups and your primary data maximizes the chances of having a working copy to revert to.
Web Hosting Canada includes off-server backups for all its web hosting accounts, ensuring greater resiliency in case of problems.
6. Self Serve Tools for Instant Results
Another factor to be aware of when choosing a backup service is having the ability to access your own backups when you wish. This is important for 2 reasons:
When you need to restore your site, it’s quicker to do it yourself instead of having to wait on your provider to do it for you. It’s also convenient to quickly compare the contents of multiple backups so you can pick the best version for your needs.
When you access your own backups you can download them onto your own computer to keep beyond the retention period. This is an extra precaution but having one more safety net is a good idea, especially if your backups are on-server.
Not all self-serve tools are built the same. Certain providers will force you to restore a full backup copy even if all you need to restore is a single file or email, whereas others will provide you with full, granular flexibility to restore the specific elements you need.
Web Hosting Canada provides granular self-serve access to file, email and database backups from your control panel, giving you all the power at your fingertips.
7. When a “backup” isn’t a backup: RAID
Some hosting providers may claim that your data is backed up because they use a storage configuration that mirrors content to multiple drives or locations in real-time (called Redundant Array of Independent Disks, or RAID). There are different kinds of RAID setups but one of their primary objectives when it comes to websites is provide a fail-safe in case of hardware failure. They produces real-time mirror copies of your data so that if one storage device were to fail, a second would automatically take over without downtime or data loss.
But let’s say you accidentally broke your website and only realize a few days later. The mirroring will not help because it only contains a copy of the same broken website. What you need is a saved version of your website before it went bust. A true backup, as it were.
Web Hosting Canada provides fast RAID-10 storage with its web hosting platform in addition to daily off-server automated backups, so you get the best of both worlds.
Don’t wait till it’s too late
Why gamble with the safety of your website? Choose a hosting provider that has backups built-in, such as WHC's Canadian web hosting or reseller hosting solutions. If you use a cloud or dedicated server solution consider adding a backup service to your account from your Client Area.
Wondering what else to look for in a hosting provider besides excellent backup solutions? Check out our article on the 13 things to look for in a web hosting company.
Happy Hosting,
