7 Things Small Businesses Should Know About Web Hosting

7 Things Small Businesses Should Know About Web Hosting

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With rapid advancements in technology, the business world had changed these days. Now companies started focusing on shifting their business from offline to online.  There was a time when the online existence of any organization was not considered important. Gone are the days when these things were optional, in today’s world every firm is moving online to offer its customer a seamless service. 

However, moving online is easy but managing your site is pretty hard as downtime of seconds can ruin your reputation. Therefore, companies opt for web hosting services for consumers and remain present for them 24/7. Moving online looks like a catwalk however, it is not easy as it looks. According to some findings, 20% of start-ups shut down within a year after moving online, and 40% of them have not crossed 3 years which means the failure rate is approximately 70%.

It is because we think a website is not important but it is the backbone of our business although it is not the only reason. The selection of appropriate web hosting also plays a major role in this regard. Your choice of web-hosting services decided the life of your business.

It is evident you will go for a web hosting service that is affordable. Going for a cost-effective service is not a bad idea for any business. However, you have to consider other factors such as speed, reliability, performance, support, etc.

If you are confused regarding what web hosting services provider you should go to. There is no need to worry, in this article we will tell you 7 things about web hosting that will help you to make a decision.

Before going straight to the point let’s have a look at the below facts 

  • More than 50% of start-ups have websites
  • The web hosting market witnessed a growth of 14% till 2022
  • The United States has the highest number of hosted domains

What is web hosting 

When a business initiates a website, it has to need storage capacity to save the data. For there is a requirement for digital space. That is where web hosting comes into play.

It is an online service enabling the user to host its website and offer access to the users through the internet world wide web. The web hosting service provider helps you to host your site over the internet and enables its access for users.

How to make the right decision

It does not matter if you are planning on choosing a dedicated web hosting service or a virtual private server. You can go for anyone as per your business requirements but selecting a good agency should be your priority. The main reason behind selecting a reputed company is to avoid being scammed and to make sure that you will get a good return on your hard-earned money. 

Below are the things you should know about Web hosting 

What a hosting provider does for your Site

Besides hosting your site on the internet, the hosting provider ensures that your functions are smoothly accessible to anyone who types your web address in the search engines.

In simple words a web hosting company 

  • Handles your website
  • Offers 24/7 support
  • Offers security 
  • Provides technical support 

Suitable Plan for your business  

These days there are many hosting providers available in the market. Which can confuse you when choosing the appropriate plan for your small business. In addition, some technical terms such as Bandwidth, DNS, and GB are also confusing for anyone going to purchase web hosting for the first time.

Over time you experience growth in your business which will require you to move from one hosting plan to another. Which makes it essential for you to learn about the types of hosting suitable for your newly initiated business.

  • Shared Hosting 

In this type of web hosting your website is hosted by the server which is already hosting another site. Although the expense of shared hosting is divided among both buyers. However, you have less control over it on the other hand there are many websites sharing the same hosting. This will put a negative impact on the speed resulting in a poor user experience. 

For instance, if there is high traffic on website A then the speed of website B will be affected and the users will face issues in loading the pages. Still shared hosting is a suitable option for new businesses as they don’t have a high traffic volume. This means they can afford share hosing and the cost is also shared. If you are going to launch a new website, go for shared hosting. Once you start expanding then switch the plan according to your needs.

  • Virtual Private Servers (VPS)

The next type is a virtual private server although multiple websites share the main physical server however, everyone has their dedicated virtual server. The business that opts for VPS experiences a better speed and overall performance in comparison with shared hosting. It serves as an effective solution who are planning on shifting from shared hosting without spending a huge amount of money.

A business having low web traffic can benefit from VPS web hosting. In case there are more images and videos on your website pages than written content then go for VPS. It will help in the quick loading of your pages which results in great customer response.

  • Dedicated Hosting 

In dedicated hosting a business rents an entire physical server to manage its operation. Although it is expensive among other types but offers a variety of application programs and software on your site. Dedicated hosting is a perfect solution for websites having huge traffic online audiences.

Therefore, organizations should start shifting to a dedicated hosting service when their start-up is transformed into an e-commerce platform.

  • Cloud 

Cloud-based hosting is a modern-day technology designed to help websites offer a seamless user experience. Cloud offers you numerous servers which work together to host your website. The promising advantage of cloud hosting is that it is fully capable of dealing with a heavy flow of traffic along with offering a smooth user experience. The cloud-based solutions are perfect for the organization which is between the VPS and dedicated hosting. If your online site is huge enough to drive consistent traffic then it’s time to shift to cloud hosting.

  • Managed WordPress hosting 

Managed WordPress hosting has gained huge popularity these days. In addition, start-ups like to opt for managed hosting that utilized WordPress as a web-building platform. In such a type of server, it is the job of the service provider to update your WordPress version and secure your information from cybercriminals.

Service 

Before buying web hosting from the providers, you should check their service standards. When it comes to online business, service has a great role. In case your website loads after seconds the customer will move on to others. Therefore, choose a service provider who offers excellent services. In addition, you should verify their response time, and how quickly they answer to any query they receive over the phone call or email. Don’t forget to check if they have a refund policy or not. 

Uptime 

Look whether your service provider has a great track record of server uptime. These days 99% up-time has become a standard for hosting companies. Your purpose is to invest the amount in return for uninterruptable services.  Therefore, it is your right to expect such a percentage of the server uptime. 

The server up-time has a great impact on the access time of your website. Which can help you rank at the top on the search engine pages.

Security

The utmost important factor small business should know about, is website security is a critical factor, therefore, look at how much security a web hosting provider is offering to your website. Security prevents hackers to attack your site and steal important information. Often times these criminals destroy the entire data available on the website which can cause you a huge loss.

Therefore, you need to be careful when it is to the security of your website. You need to verify two important aspects which include data backup and secure servers. Try to ensure that your Webhosting service provider has a history of offering speedy data recovery in case you lost it due to any issue.

Price 

Of course, an important aspect that small businesses should look for while opting for a Webhosting service. In case someone is offering you a service at a low price you should understand that something is not good. Therefore, study the market yourself and get a good service at an average price.

You Might Also Like to Read: How to Remove Malware from Your WordPress Site

Check out the features 

Always look for the available features along with your package. The basic features of web hosting are enough for your business. Therefore, don’t expect you are getting any high-quality advanced ads-ones. Try to look for the right balance between the price and features of the services you are going to purchase for your website. It will help to run your site with efficiency resulting in a great customer base.

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