Choosing the right web host plays a crucial role in your online success. A web host that slows down your website or leads to frequent downtime can have a significant impact on sales opportunities, damage your brand, and lead to a reduction in productivity, all of which can contribute towards a poor customer experience.
However, by taking your time to choose a reliable web host, your website can remain accessible and safe to use at all times and, in turn, this can have a positive impact on your website search ranking. So, let us discover 3 common mistakes business owners make when choosing a web host and discuss what you can do to avoid them.
Choosing the Wrong Hosting Package for Your Needs
Although it can be tempting to settle for the cheapest hosting package, settling for less can cost you more money in the long term. Although some affordable hosting packages are perfect for small websites that are just beginning to branch out into the online world, if your business already has a following, or if you are predicting a surge in traffic, it is essential that your website and your host are able to cope with demand. Business websites also need a range of security features, and cheaper packages do not typically include these measures as standard. That being said, there is no point spending money on additional features that you will not use, such as if you are running a small personal blog or resume site for instance.
Moreover, try to outline the features you actually need before committing to a package. Ask yourself about the type of website you are running and then look for a web host that offers packages with relevant features For example, whereas a blogger might be well suited to a WordPress package, online store owners will need an eCommerce hosting service. Additionally, website builder programs are useful for online portfolios, while low-cost and high-value hosting packages should suffice if you are running a personal website with a limited audience. If you would like to learn more about web hosting packages, you might want to consider reaching out to a team of canadian web hosting experts like HostPapa.
Failing to Read Reviews of Hosting Providers
It might seem intuitive but reading customer reviews is one of the best ways to ascertain whether a hosting provider can adequately meet your expectations. Although a certain hosting package can look appealing, it is only through reading about the experiences of others that it is possible to gain an insight into the quality of service that you can expect to receive. When doing your research online try to spot any recurring customer service complaints. Issues with downtime, slow loading speeds, or general concerns about security problems are all warning signs.
Do the reviews seem to be overwhelmingly positive? And do the customers in the reviews have similar businesses and websites to you? If so, these are good indicators that the hosting package you are considering is worth the investment. Just remember to read reviews and feedback from a variety of different sources. Ideally, try to hunt down reviews from technical writers who are experts at testing out hosting services and see what they have to say about some of the packages that have caught your eye. Furthermore, identify common threads and use these when making your final decision.
Not Researching the Customer Service Department
In an ideal world, your website will run precisely how you want it to, and you will not encounter any issues along the way. However, there is always the possibility that you might need to speak to someone from the customer service department of your chosen hosting provider. Unfortunately, if the customer service team of your web host are inadequate, there is a chance that you might have to solve any problems on your own and this can have serious consequences for your website.
Always seek out web hosting providers that offer 24/7 support. Do not be afraid to test out their services either. Sending over some basic questions about a package, or about other services is a great way to get a response that you can use to assess the quality of customer service provided. Quick responses demonstrate that a web host is up to the task of hosting your website and can be relied on in a crisis. Again, read through reviews and forums to get an overview of opinions about the company as a whole and use these findings to make a judgement about whether a particular host could be the right fit for your needs.
Ultimately, always try to stay conscious of the features that you need most when choosing a web hosting provider and you should be able to avoid some of the most common pitfalls. Above all, start by researching a few different web hosts and, from there, compare their packages to decide which one meets your needs. Quite often a web hosting provider that offers flexible packages is best as your package can be adapted to meet the growing needs of your website.
There are no doubts about it, if you want your business to succeed, then you need a website that works for you and your customers. To learn more, check out this guide to learn how to keep your business website relevant.