It’s common for business owners to choose a web hosting company based on cost or have the decision made for them by their web designer.
Unfortunately, if a poor web hosting company is chosen, it can ultimately impact a businesses online success.
With the growing importance of having a strong online presence; this isn’t something that businesses can afford in a competitive internet landscape, especially during Covid-19.
In this article we’re going to look at how a web hosting company can impact your online presence and what to look for when choosing one.
1. Customer Support
Customer support should be at the top of the list.
Being able to access support is extremely important. If 24/7 phone or live chat support isn’t offered this should be an obvious deal breaker.
If your website went down you want to easily contact someone from technical support to resolve the issue ASAP.
Cheap hosting companies tend to only offer email support or keep you on hold waiting to speak to someone for extended periods of time.
As a business owner you should consider the following questions: How much is your websites downtime worth? How much is your own time worth?
Web hosting companies often charge a fee for resolving certain technical issues which other companies would fix for free.
2. Technology & Features
Just as a computer can impact how quickly a browser loads a website; a server can impact how quickly data is transferred to a desktop or mobile device.
When it comes to cost, more expensive hosting plans usually translate to better server technology.
It’s important to ensure your website isn’t running on an low-grade hosting package.
Some web hosting companies may choose to charge for features that are otherwise free for others including:
- SSL is used to encrypt data being passed from the website to the server. This is important if you are collecting personal information or selling online.
- Content Delivery Network (CDN) – This is a content distribution network that hosts a websites images and scripts on high speed servers in order to improve your websites performance.
It’s no secret that page speed can affect search ranking factor and user experience.
An ideal website loading time is under 3 seconds. If you’d like to test your website loading time visit Pingdom.
If your site is developed in WordPress, you’ll want to make sure you are using quality website hosting.
4. User Experience
As mentioned in the previous point, page speed can impact user experience.
Slow loading pages can result in higher bounce rates, less time on site and most importantly conversions.
Running a website on a quality hosting package or server can not only improve user experience but also increase a companies bottom line.
5. Price
Although a $5/month hosting package might seem tempting, it can literally cost a company thousands or even millions in revenue.
There is no one-size fits all solution for every website.
Typically if you’re looking to host a basic informational website then you’re probably looking at spending between $10-20/month.
If you’re looking to sell products online then you’re probably looking at shared hosting plans, VPS hosting or dedicated which can range from $20/month to hundreds of dollars monthly.
Final Words
Web hosting can not only impact the success of a website but indirectly impact an overall business.
You don’t need to go out and get the most expensive hosting package available.
SiteGround Hosting has become one of the best hosting companies for several reasons including:
- Responsive & Helpful 24/7 Customer Support
- Super fast, stable and secure servers
- Free SSL and CDN Setup
- Affordable pricing
- Ideal for WordPress
