When it comes to finding a hosting solution, developers have specific needs. Whether they are developing websites or applications, they’ll need a hosting solution that provides them with all the resources, features and control required to undertake their development projects and the storage space to keep all the projects they have worked on. Here, we’ll look at five important features that developers should look for in their hosting.
- Putting resources in place
Although each project will differ in its size, scope and complexity, developers will need hosting with the capacity to let them carry out their work unimpeded. This means finding a solution that provides all the server resources you need, including CPU, RAM, storage and bandwidth. You’ll also be looking for exceptional performance from your hosting as it can speed up development time for you and your client, as well as improving how well the application or website performs when you show it to your client during development. Reliability is also key, so look for a hosting that provides a minimum of 99.9% uptime.
Ideally, therefore, a developer needs to shy away from shared hosting and adopt a more powerful solution, such as VPS, dedicated server or for those developing cloud-based applications, cloud hosting. To ensure optimal performance, look for hosting that includes the latest Intel Xeon processors and SSD storage which can significantly boost speed.
You should also bear in mind that you may need to scale up resources beyond what your current package provides. Should there be a need to do so, you’ll want this to be as quick, simple and undisruptive as possible. While the cloud offers unrivalled and instant scalability at the click of a button, if you choose VPS or dedicated server hosting, you need to make sure that your provider allows you to upgrade easily. - Putting you in control
As a developer, the hosting solution you choose must give you the flexibility to work on any type of project. This starts with having control over the choice of the operating system. Not only do you need a choice between Linux or Windows; you’ll also want to choose from the range of these systems to find the one which best suits the application you are developing.
Furthermore, you’ll also need hosting that supports and provides easy integration for the programming languages or frameworks that you need to work with. Solutions that provide 1-click installations for the key software and frameworks you intend to use don’t just save you the time and effort of a manual install, they increase the pace of the development too. - Getting to the root of things
Having root access is also vital for developers as it gives them complete control over their server. This gives you the freedom to configure the server in the most appropriate way for your projects and enables you to install and configure applications, run multiple websites and carry out various other important tasks. - Security built-in
Cybercrime continues to be a major headache for the IT community and developers need to ensure that the applications and websites they are developing are secure. The last thing you need is to have your client’s intellectual property and data stolen from your development server or to hand them over an application that has been stealthily infected with malware. Neither do you want the project having to go back to square one because of infection, corruption or ransomware or stalling because of a DDoS attack.
For this reason, choose a host that provides robust protection, including custom firewall rules, intrusion prevention, anti-DDoS, anti-malware, VPM and application security, to ensure your server is always protected.
For peace of mind and quick, easy restoration, a backup solution is essential for any developer. - Expert technical support
24/7 expert technical support is critical to developers whose projects may have them working with a range of different setups. Having an expert on tap to help you with any issues, regardless of the time of day, can provide indispensable assistance when you need it most. Make sure any hosting solution you choose has this included.
Conclusion
As a developer, you’ll want to provide your clients with a first-class service and to do this, you’ll need first-class service from your hosting provider. You’ll require a high-performance solution that provides you with all the resources to carry out your projects; you’ll want the freedom to deploy the operating system of your choice and have full control over your server; you need the ability to use the programming languages, frameworks and software that the job demands as well as an
