US (dedicated) web hosting for UK target market : am I making big mistake?

phirefly · #1 02-25-2012, 02:35 PM

I've got a new Wordpress directory website...possibly using Buddypres, although buddypress seems to be chewing up the CPU

so may just use simplepress forums.

We have unknown traffic levels (but expect +100k visits per month to begin)...

I know nothing about servers & have zero established revenue streams (although good potential).

I need a managed solution, sympathetic to my lack of knowelege...

I've found a couple of US companies which seem to offer good service & good price - their $dollar price is lower than the £UKpounds price....the result is a massive saving for a startup with little capital & little guaranteed revenue....

So what are the massive downsides if the servers are east-coast?

I could probably also afford a "better" setup than if I purchased in the UK.

Am I making a big mistake?

Any advice appreciated

Whiteshizzle · #2 02-25-2012, 03:03 PM

Generally the difference in loading time is minimal for web servers.

**HostXNow** · #3 02-25-2012, 04:08 PM

Well east coast USA is not bad, say about 100-130ms instead of 10-30ms (UK).

But if your site makes use of JavaScript/Ajax and/or files are downloaded from your site, then you should use UK location, IMO. As pages will load much quicker and downloads will transfer faster.

Local hosting is better for searches/rankings in search engines too.

XTremo · #4 02-25-2012, 04:39 PM

May be worth checking out two US companies who have UK servers.....FutureHosting and Hostdime.

Both are long established quality providers and you'll be well looked after.
And both are very competitive on their pricing!

phirefly · #5 02-25-2012, 04:50 PM

cheers guys!

Yep...as a wordpress (& maybe buddypress!) site I guess it'll use all of those...although I'll also use a CDN & w3 cache.

If I got a UK ip, does that take care of the SEO stuff?

@xtremo - cheers; will check them out!

enigma-servers · #6 02-25-2012, 05:01 PM

Using a UK IP will help in the aspect your site shows up as UK but it will be slower loading times which isn't what you want for UK clients.

You would actually be better off with an EU supplier with a UK IP address.

There's a few big companies out there that have some decent hardware for rental, it's just finding the right one for you.

**HostXNow** · #7 02-25-2012, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phirefly

If I got a UK ip, does that take care of the SEO stuff?

Well even if you have a USA IP you can set Geographic target in Google Webmaster tools ( check http://support.google.com/webmasters...n&answer=62399 ). Using a UK IP might be better though.

XTremo · #8 02-25-2012, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phirefly

If I got a UK ip, does that take care of the SEO stuff?

IP location is only a part of SEO......and in reality a very small part. Certainly nowhere near as important as some people think.
If you had two sites virtually identical in terms of SEO optimisation, then the one with the more localised IP may get the edge.

My main site has completely dominated the search engines for years within my particular area of business....which is predominantly British businesses in Spain. Yet the site has never been located anywhere other than the US.
I would never buy hosting based on location.....only on quality of service.

**HostXNow** · #9 02-25-2012, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iserv

Using a UK IP will help in the aspect your site shows up as UK but it will be slower loading times which isn't what you want for UK clients.

I think what you mean is, using a USA IP will be ok if setting Geographic targeting in Google Webmaster Tools, but you'll get slower loading times from a USA IP due to the extra latency.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iserv

You would actually be better off with an EU supplier with a UK IP address.

Why? An EU supplier is no better than a USA/UK supplier?

Quote:

Originally Posted by iserv

There's a few big companies out there that have some decent hardware for rental, it's just finding the right one for you.

OP is after a Shared hosting account NOT to rent a dedicated server...

XTremo · #10 02-25-2012, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HostXNow

OP is after a Shared hosting account NOT to rent a dedicated server...

He's got Dedi in the header though.

**SajanP** · #11 02-25-2012, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XTremo

I would never buy hosting based on location.....only on quality of service.

This is flat out bad advice. Server location is important because it determines how far the data has to travel before reaching your target audience. This can have major effects on load times for your users.

This is especially worse if you have a forum of some kind where your users will be sending data back to the server.

You seem to think that you are priced out of a UK dedicated server, nobody here has asked you why for some reason.

What sort of configuration setup are you looking at? I ask because if you are going hardware overkill on the box, obviously your budgeted numbers would be off and we might be able to get you in a position where a UK server is financially viable.

You've mentioned what kind of website you are looking to run, however you haven't mentioned what sort of server in the UK you have been quoted for.

Let us know.

enigma-servers · #12 02-25-2012, 05:21 PM

Thought he was after a dedicated server.

I'm saying if he wants UK clients then a UK/EU server would be better to host on rather than US.

When gaming on a UK server I get good pings, when gaming on a US server (depending on location) it can go up to almost 200 MS which isn't that good for a UK gamer. Same aspect for a web host (unless they want "slower" loading times for their clients).

**HostXNow** · #13 02-25-2012, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XTremo

He's got Dedi in the header though.

HAHA - by the time I read all of the posts I'd forgotten about "dedicated" being mentioned in the title of thread.

Cheers

**HostXNow** · #14 02-25-2012, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iserv

Thought he was after a dedicated server.

I'm saying if he wants UK clients then a UK/EU server would be better to host on rather than US.

When gaming on a UK server I get good pings, when gaming on a US server (depending on location) it can go up to almost 200 MS which isn't that good for a UK gamer. Same aspect for a web host (unless they want "slower" loading times for their clients).

Now that makes sense. You never said that before.