The Pros and Cons of Hosting Your Savvy-powered Web Site

Let me first start off this discussion by stating that we do not offer web hosting to clients.  We are often asked by clients if hosting their own Savvy site makes sense.  Usually these clients have a high-speed internet connection and may already own their own servers.  Before we can recommend that a client host their own site, we ask the following questions:

1) Do you already own Adobe ColdFusion and do you have a server-level database running on a server?  Savvy requires Adobe ColdFusion to be installed on the server and needs access to a proper datebase.  The current cost for ColdFusion as listed on Adobe's site is $1,299.00 for the standard edition.  You may qualify for an educational discount, but it's still an investment.  You can use MySQL for your database (it's free), but you may want to invest in a third-party control panel (budget $200.00) to make administration of your databases easier.  If you want MS-SQL, I won't even begin to decipher Microsoft's licensing costs.  Depending on the load on your web server, you will want to consider having the SQL database run on its own server.

2) Do you have redundant high-speed internet access into your facility?  If you're using a CMS to power your web site, you've decided that your web site is a significant (maybe strategic) resource for your organization.  Without redundant lines, you're at the mercy of every backhoe operator, faulty router or inattentive driver.  And before you agree you have redundant lines, please make sure they don't share the same phone pole or service provider.

3) Do you have a back-up power supply?  What type of power generation is available in the event of a power outage?  If you live along the coastline or in an area that is subject to significant storms, power back-up during a weather event is critical.  After all, a CMS powered web site lets you communicate during a disaster, provided your servers are running and your network is up.

4) Do you have the resources and expertise to manage external servers?  If you're religious about installing updates, managing firewalls and locking down your servers, hosting your own web site may be an option.  If your last backup is sitting on top of your server, you may want to consider using a hosting service.

Most organizations that host their own sites have legitimate business reasons for wanting to do so.  Given today's inexpensive and professional third-party hosting services, cost is no longer a legitimate business reason.  In fact, for most, hosting your own site will increase your costs when compared to third-party hosts.