When it comes to hosting your website and email, it may be tempting to host them both on the same server — it might seem like a simple solution. However, hosting your email on the same server as your website can actually cause more problems than it solves. Avoiding email hosting is a “secret sauce” for keeping our web hosting fast and secure.
Here are several reasons why it’s better to host email on a server that is separated from a web server:
- Website downtime can affect email access. If your website and email are hosted on the same server, any downtime that your website experiences will also affect your email access. This means that if your website goes down, your email will be inaccessible until the website is back up and running. This can be a major problem for businesses that rely on email for communication with customers and clients.
- Website hosting is optimized for websites, not emails. Web servers are designed to handle requests for web pages and other web-related resources, not email traffic. Hosting your email on a web server can lead to performance issues, as the server may not be optimized for the high volume of email traffic that your business may generate. This can result in slow email delivery, lost emails, spam and other issues.
- Email software is generally inferior when using a software stack that is focused on websites. Web servers are typically optimized for running web applications, such as content management systems and e-commerce platforms. Email software, on the other hand, requires a different set of software tools and configurations to function properly. When email and website hosting are combined on the same server, the software stack may not be optimized for email, which can lead to compatibility issues and other problems.
- It’s easier to migrate to another server. If you decide to switch either email or web hosting providers, having your email hosted separately makes the migration process much easier. To move your website, you can simply change the DNS settings to point to the new web server, without having to worry about migrating your email data. This can save you time and effort in the long run. Migrations are not common but are often triggered by urgent issues.
- Separating email hosting can ensure that website’s disk space doesn’t run low. Web servers typically have a limited amount of disk space available for storing website data. If you host your email on the same server, email storage can quickly eat up this disk space, leaving little room for website files. This can lead to performance issues and can make it difficult to add new content to your website.
By separating your email and web hosting, you can ensure that your business’s communication channels remain up and running even if your website experiences downtime, and you can enjoy the benefits of optimized email software and migration flexibility. We can help you set up or migrate your email to Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or other email hosting providers.