A Slow Website Will Cost You Sales

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Amazon calculated that a page load slowdown of just one second could cost it $1.6 billion in sales each year. Google calculated that by slowing its search results by just four-tenths of a second they lose 8 million searches per day.

Webpage speed is an important decision, given that the hosting you choose for your website can spell the difference between success and failure.

Perhaps one can best understand the importance of getting the right host for your website given how the internet’s continued expansion can have a great impact on how the digital landscape adjusts to various companies and brands trying to penetrate the online experience.

More than a billion websites are now officially registered.   With the growth of website numbers on the internet also comes the decrease in attention span of digital viewers.

It’s likely that viewers will abandon your site if it takes more than three (3) seconds to load, and even just a second of delay can reduce conversion rates by as much as 7-percent. This inconvenience also costs money, and the United States alone loses half a billion every year because of these delays.

If you still do not understand how web hosting helps your business and how important it is to have one, then have a look at some of these reasons why a good web host can be the difference between success and failure.

Fast speed

You might not realize the importance of a fast website, but it can literally lose your views. No one visits a site that takes more than 3 seconds and hence people will leave it and will never visit it again. Choosing a good web host is important to improve your site’s load time. Your web host will handle the traffic on your site, so it does not get sluggish. Because of slow loading web pages will, your clients will get bored of waiting and will find other websites.

Availability

Websites can often crash if they experience high traffic. Even if you have a web host, but it is a cheap one, it will do you more harm than good. If you compromise on web hosting services because of money, then your website and business will suffer. The more your website is online, the more chances it will have of getting views. Always choose a web host that provides more than 99% uptime. If your website is not available to your customers when they need it, then there is no point.

Redundancy

Does your WebHost provide redundancy, content delivery network, or have multiple datacenter locations on several continents?  If the power goes out in your web host’s region, do you still want your website to be available to the world?  If your server goes out, is there a copy elsewhere?  If you are planning to have eyeballs on your website from all over the world, or require high availability, these are important considerations.

Backups

Do you plan on doing your own backups?  Does the web host provide automated backups and how often?  How much storage for backups do they provide?  As websites are commonly hacked and breached, backups, in addition to security, are an important element for deciding on which host to go with.  You also don’t want a host that only does one day of backups only to discover that the only backup that exists is a hacked and vulnerable version of your website.

Support

Running a website let alone an online business is not easy. You come across different problems, half of which will be too complicated for you. As a result, your website will be faulty, and your visitors will leave. You should be able to have the guidance and help with which you can solve any technical issues that may arise. A good web hosting company provides professionals that are available all the time and can help you whenever you need it.

Rankings

When your website goes down or when the site speed is slow, your search engine rankings suffer. When you choose the right web hosting company you’re your rankings will improve and your website will reach out to more customers.

Security

Security is a major issue with hosting.  Ensure that your host specializes in custom firewalls for your CMS if you are using one, and updates web server scripts and systems regularly.  If you are looking for advanced security, you might consider a VPS or dedicated server vs a shared server.  You will not be affected by threats against other websites on a shared hosting platform.  A unique IP address might also be another option. This will prevent the conflict that often occurs on a shared system where other users are blacklisted for any reason.

The worst thing that could happen to any website is the loss of data. Sometimes your data can get corrupted, and you can lose all your work. A web host backs up your data regularly so in case anything happens to it you can always recover it.

Web hosting is essential for your websites and ignoring it can actually cost you sales.

Below are some more things to consider when choosing a good web host.

Identify your needs and things to implement

Perhaps one of the most important things to decide when choosing the hosting solution is to choose one that can accommodate the needs of your website and the things it can implement.

• Identify your hosting needs. What kind of website are you building? Are you using something common, like a WordPress blog?
• Identify whether or not you need support for particular scripts or Windows applications and other special software. You need to clarify with your prospective provider if they can actually provide service for the applications you want to implement.
• What other add ons do you need? Important considerations are cheap ssd hosting, one-click installers, SFTP/FTP access for file transfers, .htaccess file access, data transfer capacity, and disk space ignore options or even eCommerce features for specific sites.

Assess your options when unforeseeable circumstances happen

You need to be able to clarify with your service provider just what other services it can provide you when it comes to unforeseeable situations such as slowdown and malicious attempts to access your account.

• Identify how small or large your web traffic volume can go. Sometimes, costs and features vary depending on the bulk of traffic you want your website to be able to support.
• How stable is the service? Nothing is more important than having a web host that operates 24/7, as after all visitors can come from anywhere in the world.

Options for Account Management

Another important aspect of a website hosting solution you should look for is its ability to provide various methods of account management for you and your account. Just what are your options when it comes to expansion and payment? This is essential in order for you to prepare for future activities in your site.

Look into options like:

• Identify signup and renewal price, as sometimes renewing costs are much higher than signup costs. Be careful when you click on plans that offer prices for signup at a discount, as sometimes renewal prices skyrocket. Unless you’re ready to hop between providers every two years or so, try to clarify these with the providers immediately.
• What’s their refund policy and free trial policy? Are there are any extra fees for cancellation? What’s their refund policy, if any, when the trial period has ended?
• What about expansion? Shared web hosts are pretty powerful nowadays, which make them good options for your first servers. If you feel confident enough to move to a dedicated server, ask your service provider if such an option is available.

Look for Tiered Pricing to Ensure Room to Grow

Your business might be a solo venture at this point, but bear in mind the possibility of future expansion.  Does the web host offer a flat fee for a limited amount of features? Or will you be able to expand your website in the future (by adding additional domain names and e-mail addresses, for example) while paying only for what you need? Familiarize yourself with the payment scheme and make sure the growth of your site will be able to keep up with the growth of your business.

Again, Don’t Underestimate the Value of Good Customer Service

Does the web host have a dedicated customer service department? Are they easy to reach? Is their contact info displayed prominently, and is there an option to both call and e-mail? Does the web host offer help pages and resources to guide you through the process of setting up your site? Try calling the customer service phone number just to see how easy it is to reach a real person.

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