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Managed Hosting → Understanding Managed Hosting Support
Understanding managed hosting support
In today’s digital landscape, businesses rely heavily on their online presence. Ensuring that websites and applications run smoothly is paramount.
This is where managed hosting support comes into play. It offers businesses the peace of mind that their hosting environment is monitored, maintained, and optimized by experts.
Most web hosts offer tiered support, ranging from unmanaged hosting—where the business handles everything except hardware—to fully managed services where the provider handles nearly all aspects.
In this article, we’ll break down what managed hosting support includes, who it’s for, and how it can help your business stay secure, scalable, and stress-free.
What is managed hosting support?
Managed hosting support refers to a service where a managed hosting provider takes on the responsibility of managing and maintaining a client’s server infrastructure. This includes tasks such as server setup, monitoring, security updates, backups, and technical support.
The goal is to ensure optimal performance, security, and reliability without the client needing in-depth technical knowledge.
What does support include with managed hosting?
Managed hosting support encompasses a range of services designed to keep your hosting environment secure, efficient, and reliable. While the features differ based on the provider, most managed hosting includes:
- 24/7 monitoring and maintenance: Continuous oversight to detect and resolve issues promptly.
- Security management: Implementation of firewalls, malware scanning, and regular security updates.
- Performance optimization: Server tuning and resource management to ensure optimal performance.
- Regular backups: Scheduled backups to prevent data loss and facilitate recovery.
- Technical support: Access to experienced professionals for troubleshooting and guidance.
What makes managed hosting support different?
Managed hosting support offers a higher level of expertise and peace of mind than standard hosting support.
Access to a team 24/7/365
Customer support should be accessible around the clock to help you out or answer any questions you may have about your server or services. Most providers are available to speak with on the phone, text in a live chat, or email.
Liquid Web’s Service Level Agreement (SLA) guarantees that technicians will provide an initial response to tickets or emails in under an hour. But when you need help instantly, you can be talking to someone from the support team over the phone or via live chat in under a minute.
Multiple support levels to suit your needs
Regardless of the managed hosting plan that you choose for your server, Liquid Web will always support the hardware and network infrastructure of the device. Some applications that you need to host may not need a fully managed server, or maybe you just want to get support for the operating system and web server.
Liquid Web has several support levels to provide you with the expertise you need:
- Self managed – Includes monitoring and maintenance of hardware and network infrastructure.
- Core managed – Includes self-managed support as well as installation, maintenance, and support of core software packages.
- Fully managed – Includes core-managed support as well as virus and spam protection, migration assistance, and control panel support.
Fully managed network infrastructure
If you were to self-host using your own servers, you would also have to manage your network. With a managed hosting provider, the network and its infrastructure are already part of the deal. That includes the management of all of the routers, switches, cables, network security, and redundant internet feeds.
Onsite data center technicians
In addition to network connectivity and core software management, Liquid Web support includes managing the data centers, strategically located throughout the world.
Monitoring team and notifications
A good hosting company typically has a team that monitors your server for abnormalities so you’ll never have to worry about it going down. By the time you notice that your server is down, their monitoring team will already be working to get it back online.
Dedicated security team
Rest assured that an expert security team is there to keep your server and the network safe from hackers that might want to steal your data or intentionally attack your server.
Operating system and web server support
With the exception of most self-managed support options, managed hosting includes updates and patches to your server when they are needed, so you have more time to run your business’s day-to-day operations.
100% network uptime guarantee
SLAs should also include a guarantee that your server will always be connected to the network at least 99% of the time.
Easy access to additional services
Additional managed services should also be available to customers. Some of these services include network-attached storage, off-site backups, disaster recovery solutions, and server protection.
While this is just a short list, the best hosts offer a breadth of add-ons that provide real value.
Attentive hardware support
If your server has a component failure (e.g. processor, memory, SSD), onsite technicians should work quickly to get your hardware replaced at no cost to you.
Who should choose managed hosting support?
Entrepreneurs
New businesses looking to establish their presence can benefit from managed hosting support—it’s a cost-effective alternative to hiring an in-house system administrator.
Small-to-medium businesses (SMBs)
If you have an established business and are still growing but don’t have the infrastructure or workforce to house and maintain a server, a managed hosting support team is the best option to meet your needs. They keep your site running smoothly so you can focus on your customers and growth.
Enterprises
Running a large business is stressful enough. You should never have to worry about the additional overhead from hosting your own servers. Using a reputable managed hosting provider will allow you to get the sophisticated hosting environment that you need.
Whether it’s a HIPAA- or PCI-compliant environment, a load-balanced solution, or a single-tenant VMware platform, Liquid Web has what you need.
Freelancers
If you design and develop websites for your clients, managed hosting support can help you take your work to the next level by providing you with your own server support team.
Let them handle the administration of your server so you can focus on your creativity in website design for your customers. You can also offer the same hosting services to your customers, so they don’t have to worry about it either.
Choosing the right managed hosting support provider
Not all managed hosting providers are created equal. The right partner should offer more than just technical capabilities—they should act as an extension of your team, focused on your long-term success.
Here’s what to look for when evaluating providers:
- Industry expertise tailored to your business or application needs
- Clear SLAs with guaranteed uptime and support response times
- 24/7/365 expert support from real technicians
- Proactive monitoring to catch issues before they affect performance
- Strong security measures, including malware scanning and patching
- Scalable infrastructure that grows with your business
- Customizable solutions that fit your tools, stack, or workflows
- Transparent pricing with no surprise fees or hidden costs
The best support providers go beyond basic upkeep—they become strategic partners who help optimize performance, reduce risk, and support your growth every step of the way.
Best practices to consider
No matter who you’re hosting with, these tips can make your support experience better.
- Contact them anytime – There’s no limit to how much support you can get from a good managed hosting provider.
- Describe what you’re experiencing, and where/when you are having an issue – Having this information available upfront will help the support team identify and resolve the issue faster. This may include links on your site or error messages that you see.
- Have your IP address available – You can use our IP address checker to give you a quick read of your computer’s public IP address so the team can search the logs on the server for any indicators.
- They may ask questions about what happened – This isn’t to delay getting your server fixed, but it’s critical to fix it right the first time or permanently. Providing them with more information will only help them investigate further and faster.
- Feedback is always appreciated – Let their leaders know how they’re doing. Both good and bad feedback is important, so they know what they’re doing right and what they need to improve.
Why choose Liquid Web for managed hosting?
At Liquid Web, we specialize in delivering top-tier managed hosting support tailored to your business requirements.
Whether you need the flexibility of VPS hosting, the power of a dedicated server, the raw performance of bare metal, or the ease of managed WordPress hosting, Liquid Web offers fully managed solutions backed by 24/7 expert support. Our hosting environments are built to scale with your business while keeping performance, security, and reliability top of mind.
If you’re looking for a new web hosting provider or are new to web hosting in general, feel free to take a look at everything Liquid Web has to offer, and contact us today!
The best managed hosting for any need
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Additional resources
Managed vs DIY WordPress →
Get a clear picture of the difference so you can choose the best plan for you.
Fully managed dedicated hosting →
A complete guide to managed dedicated servers.
Managed VPS vs unmanaged →
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Jake Wright has been immersed in computers for a majority of his career and is still fascinated in learning new technology. He’s provided support in many IT related fields, including: end user support, networking, hardware, server and system administration, web hosting and training (just to name a few). He greatly enjoys outdoor activities with family and friends when he is not at the keyboard.