Web hosting is the foundation of your municipal website—where your site lives and how it performs. While hosting might seem like a technical detail to delegate, the decisions you make affect security, performance, reliability, and cost. This guide helps municipal leaders understand hosting requirements and make informed choices.
Understanding Web Hosting Basics
Before diving into requirements, understand what hosting actually involves.
What Hosting Provides
Web hosting includes:
Server Space: Physical or virtual servers that store your website files, database, and media.
Network Connectivity: Internet connections that make your site accessible to visitors.
Software Stack: Operating system, web server software, database, and programming language runtime.
Support Services: Backup systems, security monitoring, technical assistance.
Hosting Types
Shared Hosting: Your site shares a server with many other websites. Cheapest option but least resources and control.
Virtual Private Server (VPS): A virtualized portion of a physical server with dedicated resources. Mid-range price and capability.
Dedicated Server: An entire physical server for your website. Maximum control and resources, higher cost.
Cloud Hosting: Distributed across multiple virtual servers, scaling resources as needed. Flexible and modern.
Managed Hosting: Any of the above with vendor handling technical management. Higher cost, less burden on you.
For municipal websites, shared hosting is generally inadequate. VPS, cloud, or managed solutions are more appropriate.
Security Requirements
Government websites have heightened security obligations.
SSL/TLS Certificates
Requirement: HTTPS encryption for all pages.
Why It Matters: Protects data in transit; required for secure forms; affects search rankings; builds visitor trust.
Implementation:
- Valid certificate from trusted authority
- Automatic renewal (many now free via Let's Encrypt)
- Proper configuration (redirect HTTP to HTTPS)
- All resources served over HTTPS (no mixed content)
Server Security
Firewall Protection: Network-level filtering to block malicious traffic before it reaches your site.
Intrusion Detection: Monitoring for suspicious activity and potential attacks.
DDoS Protection: Defense against denial-of-service attacks that could take your site offline.
Regular Patching: Prompt application of security updates to server software.
Access Controls
Secure Administration:
- SSH/SFTP only (no plain FTP)
- Strong authentication
- IP restrictions where feasible
- Audit logging
Account Management:
- Individual accounts (no shared credentials)
- Least-privilege access
- Prompt removal of departed staff
Compliance Considerations
Depending on what your website handles:
PCI DSS: If processing credit card payments directly (most municipalities use redirected payment processors to avoid this).
State Data Security Requirements: Many states have specific requirements for government data protection.
CJIS: If any connection to criminal justice information systems.
For more on security, see our guide on website security for municipalities.
Performance Requirements
Website speed affects user experience and accessibility.
Response Time
Target: Page load under 3 seconds, ideally under 2 seconds.
Why It Matters:
- Users abandon slow sites
- Accessibility standard consideration
- Search engine ranking factor
- Mobile users especially affected
Hosting Factors:
- Server resources (CPU, memory)
- Network quality
- Geographic location relative to users
- Caching infrastructure
Concurrent Users
Your hosting must handle peak traffic:
Normal operations: Average daily visitors Spikes: Election results, emergencies, major announcements, utility bill deadlines
Planning Approach:
- Analyze historical traffic patterns
- Identify potential spike scenarios
- Ensure headroom for 5-10x normal traffic
Uptime
Target: 99.9% uptime or better (8.7 hours maximum downtime per year)
Why It Matters: Residents need access 24/7, especially for emergencies and time-sensitive tasks.
Vendor Commitments:
- Service Level Agreement (SLA) with uptime guarantee
- Credits or refunds for missed SLA
- Planned maintenance windows disclosed in advance
Content Delivery
CDN (Content Delivery Network): Distributes static content across geographic servers for faster delivery.
Benefits:
- Faster load times for distant visitors
- Reduced load on primary server
- Additional DDoS protection
- Improved performance during traffic spikes
Backup and Recovery
Reliable backups are non-negotiable.
Backup Requirements
Frequency: Daily full backups minimum; more frequent for high-activity sites.
Scope: Complete backups including:
- Database (all content)
- Files (themes, plugins, uploads)
- Configuration
Retention: Keep multiple backup generations:
- Daily: 30 days
- Weekly: 3 months
- Monthly: 1 year
Storage: Off-site from primary server (different data center or geographic location).
Encryption: Backup data should be encrypted at rest.
Recovery Testing
Backups are worthless if you can't restore from them.
Testing Schedule: Quarterly restoration tests minimum.
Documentation: Clear procedures for who does what during recovery.
Recovery Time Objective (RTO): How quickly can you restore service? Document and test.
Disaster Recovery
For critical sites:
- Geographic redundancy (multiple data centers)
- Failover procedures
- Communication plans during outages
Compliance and Data Sovereignty
Government websites have specific compliance considerations.
Data Location
Know Where Your Data Lives:
- Which country hosts your servers?
- Where do backups reside?
- Where does CDN cache content?
Why It Matters: Some data may have residency requirements; jurisdiction affects legal access.
Vendor Security Standards
Evaluate hosting vendors on:
Certifications:
- SOC 2 Type II (security controls)
- ISO 27001 (information security)
- FedRAMP (for federal connection)
Audit Reports: Request and review annual audit reports.
Security Practices: Background checks, physical security, access controls.
Data Handling
Understand:
- Who can access your data?
- What happens to data if you leave?
- How is data disposed of?
- What notification if breach occurs?
Scalability
Your hosting needs may change over time.
Growth Planning
Consider future needs:
- Additional content and features
- Increased traffic
- New services and integrations
- Storage growth
Scaling Options
Vertical Scaling: Adding resources to existing server (more CPU, memory).
Horizontal Scaling: Adding more servers to distribute load.
Cloud Elasticity: Automatic scaling based on demand.
Planning: Choose hosting that can scale without complete migration.
Managed vs. Self-Managed
A key decision: who handles technical management?
Self-Managed Hosting
You Handle:
- Server software updates
- Security patching
- Performance tuning
- Backup management
- Troubleshooting
Appropriate When:
- In-house IT staff with hosting expertise
- Tight budget
- Need for maximum control
Managed Hosting
Vendor Handles:
- Server maintenance
- Security updates
- Performance optimization
- Backup management
- 24/7 monitoring
Appropriate When:
- Limited IT resources
- Complex requirements
- Risk reduction priority
Cost: Managed hosting costs more but often provides better value when IT time is accounted for.
Fully Managed Solutions
Some vendors provide complete management including:
- CMS updates
- Plugin maintenance
- Security monitoring
- Content backups
- Support
This approach is often ideal for municipalities—see our website maintenance services.
Choosing a Hosting Provider
How to evaluate options:
Key Questions
Security:
- What security certifications do you hold?
- How do you handle security patching?
- What DDoS protection is included?
- What happens during a security incident?
Performance:
- What uptime SLA do you offer?
- Where are your data centers located?
- What happens during traffic spikes?
- Is CDN included?
Support:
- What support is included?
- What are response time guarantees?
- Is support 24/7 or business hours?
- What expertise does support staff have?
Backup and Recovery:
- What's your backup approach?
- How often do you test recovery?
- What's the restoration process?
- What's the recovery time?
Compliance:
- What certifications do you maintain?
- Where is data physically stored?
- Can you provide compliance documentation?
- What happens to our data if we leave?
Red Flags
Be cautious of:
- Unusually cheap pricing
- No SLA or weak commitments
- Unclear data location
- No security certifications
- Poor support reviews
- Lack of government experience
Government-Focused Hosts
Some hosting providers specialize in government:
- Understand compliance requirements
- Appropriate security controls
- Relevant certifications
- Government references
Cost Considerations
Understanding the full cost picture:
Monthly/Annual Costs
Typical ranges for municipal websites:
| Hosting Type | Monthly Cost | |--------------|--------------| | Quality VPS | $50-$150 | | Managed Hosting | $100-$300 | | Cloud (AWS, Azure) | $100-$500 | | Enterprise/Government | $300-$1,000+ |
What Affects Cost
- Resources (storage, bandwidth, CPU)
- Management level
- Support quality
- Security features
- Compliance certifications
- Scalability needs
Total Cost Considerations
Beyond monthly fees:
- Setup/migration costs
- SSL certificates (often included now)
- Backup storage
- CDN services
- Support beyond included hours
- Staff time for management
See our guide on municipal website costs for full budgeting context.
Migration Considerations
If changing hosts:
Planning
- Document current configuration
- Inventory all content and databases
- Identify integration dependencies
- Plan for DNS changes
Execution
- Test migration on staging first
- Schedule during low-traffic period
- Maintain old hosting briefly as fallback
- Verify all functionality after migration
Common Issues
- Email disruption
- SSL certificate transfer
- DNS propagation delays
- Integration reconnection
Hosting and Your Website Vendor
How hosting relates to your web development partner:
Bundled Hosting
Many web vendors include hosting in their packages:
Advantages:
- Single point of contact
- Vendor responsible for compatibility
- Simplified billing
Considerations:
- Understand the underlying infrastructure
- Know your options if you part ways
- Ensure adequate resources
Separate Hosting
Choosing your own host:
Advantages:
- More control
- Potentially lower cost
- Easier vendor changes
Considerations:
- Coordination between parties
- Clear responsibility boundaries
- Technical expertise needed
At CivicSitePro, we can work with your existing hosting or provide recommended hosting solutions as part of our municipal website design services.
Getting Started
To evaluate your hosting needs:
- Assess current hosting: What do you have now? What works? What doesn't?
- Identify requirements: Security, performance, compliance, budget
- Evaluate options: Research providers matching your needs
- Request proposals: Get detailed quotes with SLAs
- Check references: Talk to similar organizations
Ready to ensure your municipal website has the right hosting foundation? Request a free audit that includes hosting evaluation, or book a consultation to discuss your infrastructure needs.