In some cases, a business owner won’t put much thought into the consequences of choosing a web host. However, it is, in fact, a vital part of a website on the internet. Owners pay the host a monthly fee, but there’s so much more that goes on if you examine it – your online businesses’ effectiveness and ROI is affected by your hosting company.
If you don’t have a reliable web host, then your business won’t be able to maximize its potential and will show unwanted downtime and other inconsistencies. For instance, a customer who’s about to pay for your services online might get irked or even cancel their purchase if your website glitches or is slow to respond. Losing sales is the typical way online businesses fail.
This is just one of the reasons why you need the right web hosting partner to begin with. In this article, we’ll delve into some of the ways your chosen web host is (or will) affect your website and why it’s crucial to do ample research before signing up for their services.
Your site’s overall speed
Speed is the name of the game and slow websites will get left behind as fast as they get started online. There is a solid relationship between website speed and customer conversions. Faster page loads lead to more customers visiting and doing business on your site.
Because speed is a crucial factor for running online businesses, it’s wise to evaluate your hosting provider and see their package to know if they have reliable services and whether an upgrade is possible. I would recommend reading a full comparison of best web hosting providers before you make your final decision.
A shared hosting service means that one physical server is shared by multiple websites. Virtual private servers (VPS) is a solo-owned space, which means guaranteed CPU, memory and disk space provisions that generally translate into better performance, speed, and ROI.
Safety and security
Any number of hackers and cybercriminals use the web for site access. Getting targeted will severely impact your revenue. This is why it’s critical to take steps ensuring that your web hosting provider provides the best features to protect your website. This includes vulnerability scanners and reliable malware solutions to detect and fight any malicious code that hackers utilise.
Moreover, your web host must provide a very strong policy against DDoS (distributed denial-of-service attacks), ensuring that their hosting system is always accessible, even during a cyber-attack.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) ranking
Back in April 2010, Google began using page speed as a ranking factor, which means that faster pages can earn higher SEO rankings. Google also recently announced that it will do the same with mobile web pages.
So, the faster your website, the higher your SEO rankings might be, which translates to more people doing business with you. Site speed is therefore heavily dependent on your web host. Fast site, great SEO, and optimal performance are all factors that is offered by a robust web hosting package.
DNS and CDN
Another to consider when choosing a website hosting provider is the Domain Name System or DNS, which is the Internet’s phone book; it’s a directory translating domain names into IP addresses. DNS is typically overlooked because it’s just an attribute of your website host. A down DNS means your site won’t work, so pay attention to this.
Another aspect that can affect the speed of your website and increase your online business performance is a Content Delivery Network or CDN, which is defined as a system of distributed servers (network) that bring both web page and other necessary web content to users depending on the geographic locations, the origin of the web page and the content delivery server.
Web Monitoring
Good website monitoring service is a factor that preserves the overall performance and security of your website. This service is sometimes a lifesaver since it allows organizations to monitor their network on the fly anytime and from anywhere. You’ll get alerts about critical issues that impact your website before they affect your customers. This is why cloud-hosted web monitoring is a necessity in the modern digital marketplace.
Whether for an individual or a company, website hosting is simply too important to leave to chance. There are so many issues that can arise from a bad hosting service and the far-reaching consequences just makes it absolutely vital to assess if the web hosting provider has the right features and reliable services backed by great reviews before you sign up.