Results 1 to 14 of 14
  1. #1

    Location of host

    Hey all,

    I was wondering how important server location in respect of visitor location is. I'm in Ireland and am planning to develop a website that's target audience will solely (for now at any rate) be based in Ireland.

    There are several hosting companies here (and of course the UK), but I am interested in several options in the US (due to the Euro's weakness against Sterling and strength against the Dollar).

    The majority of the time the visitors will most likely be on high-speed connections, but I don't want to neglect anyone visiting on a dialup connection.

    So, how important is server location? Are we looking at slower response times and slower downloads? Or will the difference even be notable?

    Comments appreciated.

    Thanks,

    J.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Northern Europe.
    Posts
    2,573
    I have heard claims that location matters, and of course it does, to some extent. But my personal experience with having sites hosted in the US, when I live in Europe, is very positive. For instance, I have an account with Micfo.
    - Their servers are in Texas, and I typically get a ping response time of less than 25 ms. I think that's good enough for me.
    (Besides, my audience is primarily in the US.)
    Web Hosting Reviews — based on real customer feedback
    77 Ways To More Traffic

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Posts
    56
    I don't think the location of the host will make too much of a difference on speed of page load. I wouldn't worry about it.
    Webmaster Tools at iWEBTOOL.com

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    EU - east side
    Posts
    21,920
    http://www.hostroute.co.uk/compare

    However, don't give the test too much weight. In "natural browsing" few people will realise that the site is in the US or complain about slowness.

  5. #5
    I wouldnt worry about it. As Dan said, during regular browsing most people will never even notice a difference. For gaming servers the difference may be noticable, but other than that, don't sweat it.
    Vertivo :: Affordable Web Hosting Packages and Reseller Plans
    We offer affordable and reliable Linux-based Reseller and Shared Hosting Plans. Accepted: All major Credit Cards and PayPal.

  6. #6
    Downloads will not be slower at all, probably the only diffirence that you will see is the initial lookup between a local host and one thats oversees (~70 ms or so)
    Webair Internet Development Inc.
    Shared Hosting • Managed Dedicated Servers • SEO
    1.866.WEBAIR.1 • www.webair.com • 24/7/365 Support • Adult Friendly
    My comments do not reflect the views of the company or its management.

  7. #7
    Not noticeable. Most sites you visit or more than likely based in the US so theres not much speed difference.
    Looking for Solid Hosting?
    1. State Hosting Features (Space, Bandwidth, Email, Server-Side)
    2. Pricing (How much per month?)
    Then will can decide your host.

  8. #8
    The actual download speed depends on many factors and location is really only one of them. If there is any difference then it would most likely be more noticable on a dial up system.
    Web Design and Development
    www.primostar.com

  9. #9
    Originally posted by primostar
    The actual download speed depends on many factors and location is really only one of them. If there is any difference then it would most likely be more noticable on a dial up system.
    Up until recently I used dial-up, and even then the difference wasn't very noticable.
    Vertivo :: Affordable Web Hosting Packages and Reseller Plans
    We offer affordable and reliable Linux-based Reseller and Shared Hosting Plans. Accepted: All major Credit Cards and PayPal.

  10. #10
    Thanks everyone for your replies. Much appreciated!

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Posts
    1,306
    Originally posted by Moni-Q
    Up until recently I used dial-up, and even then the difference wasn't very noticable.
    The difference should be less noticeable on dial-up, because the limiting factor is usually the dial-up link.

    Your throughput on large transfers will be less when the round-trip time to the remote server is larger. It's the nature of TCP. For typical surfing, not a huge problem; you're more likely to have trouble due to links being saturated, lossy, or down. Of course, the further away the server is, the more links and networks that are usually involved.

    Kevin

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Waterford, Ireland.
    Posts
    141
    Go Local. If your site is a .com and hosted on US servers, it will not be rated that highly when people in Ireland are using the "pages from Ireland" search option.

    Regards...jmcc

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2000
    Posts
    389
    loading speed won't vary much. But keep in mind that some search engines like google will not list your site in the .uk google if the server is in the US! Even if your domain is .co.uk they will still refuse until your IP is UK based. So if this is important for you, you will want to take it into consideration.

  14. #14
    Thanks everyone for your comments,

    I've decided to stay local on the advice given in the last two posts. Thanks to everyone who responded, I feel I have made an informed decision now!

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •