Which hosting is better, local or foreign?

[Coolio]

Hi,

I want to know, which type of hosting is better for international audience, is it local hosting or foreign hosting?

For me the pros/cons of local hosting:

pros:

1) of course fast to log in and make changes/updates....not affected by tsunamies or earthquakes....

2) cheaper, can pay in cash...and I feel more comfortable dealing with local companies than with foreign sharks...

3) better control over legalities, since overseas hosts can shut u small Malaysians down anytime for any reason...remember to read the fine print. Sad but true.

cons:

1) they do update/server backup at night in Malaysia...but its daytime in much of the world....so users from oversea will have some problems to access or slow during those times

2) Related to above, but touching on connection speed...we may find it fast here...but like I said depends on your target market and audience. If your market is local...then very good., but what about overseas market? They may find your website slow to access.

2) people check up your server and see .....com.my.....since many of our local host use .com.my and now people's impression of your site could drop...this is the sad truth, but its the reality. I prefer plain and simple .com...enough.

[limcs]

Thank you for opinion.

I would like to add on that another great advantage of using local hosting is to be listed under local search: google.com.my, yahoo.com.my..etc. While that might not give any value if you are targeting all the international audience, but you can get a lot of visitors from the local seach engine.

[chirac]

It depends on the host you select not on the country.Always go with a host which suits all your hosting requirements and which is reliable.