Google Drive is an exceptional file storage tool that could be useful if you were considering stopping using your hosting as remote storage. As a first guideline, we want to tell you that web hosting services are prepared to store websites, blogs, and e-commerce stores, and their platform is not optimized for the static storage of individual files or backups. If you had in mind to use your hosting plan for this purpose, allow us to tell you why it is better to think about an easy-to-use tool like Google Drive.
What is Google Drive?
In short, Google Drive is a cloud-based storage solution that allows you to save files in the Google cloud and access them anywhere, from any smartphone, tablet or computer. You can use Drive on your desktop or mobile device to securely upload files and edit them online, along with all the editing and collaboration options, a concept constantly promoted by Google.
Some use it from the web browser and other people use it by installing the official app on their devices. It is compatible with all operating systems and you do not need much knowledge to operate it. If you haven’t tried it yet, Google Drive is very convenient, and you get it when you open a Gmail account.
Remember: your hosting plan is not a pendrive
As we already told you in the first lines of this note, a web page hosting plan is not prepared to behave like a pendrive in the cloud or remote backup unit. While it provides you with secure storage, security backups and that the files will be under your control, there are different reasons why you should not use your web hosting for this, as tempting as it may be to use up the extra space in your package.
- The files and folders you want to store will be mixed with those on your website and you will run the risk of deleting some (or all) of your site while you manage them, at the cost of not being able to recover it.
- If your site is infected, all the files stored on it will be at risk of falling into the wrong hands.
- The hosting companies that take the most care of the health of their services eliminate or restrict some types of files or files that occupy a certain size to prevent overuse of resources.
- The greater the number of files stored, your hosting could become slower due to possible penalties from the provider.
- And above all convenience: accessing your control panel or configuring the old FTP client to manage your files is a thing of the past and takes a lot of time. Not to mention if you don’t have a technical knowledge base, a compatible device, and you have to set up a connection from scratch.
What are the benefits of using Google Drive
We will mention here what are the advantages of choosing Google Drive so that you can store your files in the cloud, quickly, easily, without risks and with plenty of space. Check out all the benefits and tell us if it’s not worth it! At Google they have already thought of everything.
It’s free and has a lot of space.
By default, Google offers 15 GB of free storage space in Gmail, and this is shared with Google Drive space, so you can use 100% of that space to store files if you wish. If you ever reach that limit, don’t worry, you can always extend yourself by purchasing more space. And if you have to pay for it, it will always be cheaper than changing your web hosting plan.
It is designed for collaboration
Your folders and files are private, but you can apply lots of privileges so others can view, download, or edit them. In just a few clicks you can invite other people to work with you or access them.
Any file created or uploaded to Drive has the option to be edited even by multiple people at the same time, which means you can collaborate with other people in real time.
It has an app compatible with all smartphones and offline access
The Google Drive mobile app is available for both iOS and Android, and is very convenient for anyone who wants immediate access to their files from anywhere. There are no delays. The application allows you to view, download, upload and delete files, all from your mobile device.
Something curious that Google Drive also has is that it supports offline file access so you can open them without having an Internet connection. Something you couldn’t do if you have them stored in your hosting plan.
Find your files easily
If you are someone who needs to store a large number of files, or have a complex folder structure, Google Drive allows file search and can recognize images, text files, and even text in scanned documents, making it even easier searching for files.
The Google Drive search engine is unmatched, and is a huge time saver for the office worker.
Secure storage
Drive files are protected and encrypted by the same security protocol and encryption that Google uses in its other services such as Gmail, Docs, Calendar and others. Always protected by Google, and always with the possibility of allowing or blocking different accesses or privileges for your users or guests to view or edit.
It is integrated with Gmail and the Google suite of tools
If you use Gmail, you can also link your files to your emails so you don’t have to download and attach them later. That is, you can save downloading and uploading when attaching.
In addition, all files that are recognized as spreadsheets, word processor files or presentations can be opened and edited in 1 click, online, and without having to download them first. Isn’t it fantastic?
Does not take up space on your hosting
The storage space of your hosting plan is one of the most precious resources so you can grow with your website. All the data that is stored on your site is saved in the storage that your plan offers, and if you use it for something else, you will be conditioning the free use of that space that is exclusive to your site.
As we told you: expanding your hosting plan is always more expensive and limited than expanding your Google account. Of course, this is not in the hosting providers’ best interest if you know this, but we prefer your comfort and peace of mind. Always!
Can be used as a pendrive on your PC or Mac
This is simply great. When you install the Google Drive desktop application on your PC or Mac, an additional drive will automatically appear, which you can use as you do with any Pendrive, only it is permanently connected. You can paste, copy, or move anything, just like you do with local drives on your computer.
Everything you copy, paste and modify will be reflected in moments on the rest of the devices where you have the app installed, and you can collaborate from them if you wish.
