What to Consider when Choosing Hosting for your Business

Information advancement has led to both established and growing businesses to rely on the internet for marketing, interacting with customers and promoting brands. Business websites have gradually evolved into being much more than sources of company information.

Browsing business website on a Macbook

Strong Online Presence

Any business that does not have a website is at a disadvantage and will find it difficult to withstand the competitive nature of the business world. A company that does not have a strong online presence will lack the connection it requires to progress to the next level of success.

Many people find out about products and services they are interested in through search engines. No company can afford to miss out on such lucrative opportunities. However, there are some technical issues to address to get your websites found on the Internet. One of those is on choosing the right web hosting for powering your website.

Different Requirements and Features

Choosing a web hosting provider to support your website’s operation is not only a matter of choosing the best features available. It’s more complex than that.

Creating business websites is a worthwhile process that requires the involvement of a reputable website hosting service. And as we all know it, reputation can’t be built overnight.

Many web hosting providers can offer top-notch features – what you need to do is investing in infrastructures and you can have the most cutting-edge tech in web hosting. However, reputation is built over time, and only a few has strong reputation through years of excellence in providing hosting services.

Top class web hosting services are aware that different businesses have different requirements that they have considered when providing various features. There are different types of hosting plans available. Personal web hosting services are ideal for people who create websites or blogs for their own personal fulfillment.

Small businesses need maximum uptimes for their websites and need to be able to correspond through email. Such businesses that typically have limited resources will benefit from high-quality web hosting that is reasonably priced. It is always important to make the right choice when choosing a web host.

Web servers room
photo credit: Tom Raftery / Flickr

Factors to Consider

So, what are the factors to consider?

Plans that suit your market’s needs

Your web hosting plan is an important factor that needs to be considered when developing a website for a business. The essential aspects of a good web hosting plan for your business include security, email, technical support, speed, dependability and features that suit your requirements.

Server security

Security refers to access to a secure server that will ensure that any sensitive information transmitted is kept safe. Customers need to be assured that their personal or sensitive information will not be compromised by security breaches. A business requires a hosting plan that provides adequate safety features.

The need for speed

Your website needs to load fast enough because people want to be able to access your site within a short period of time. If it takes too long to load, online visitors will not have the patience to wait and will end up moving on to other sites. This is why it is important to find out whether or not the web host can provide an internet connection that delivers high speed.

Storage space and bandwidth

Another essential factor is space because your business requires enough space as well as provision for more space as your website becomes more popular. If your bandwidth space is restricted, this can make it harder for visitors to access data from your business website.

Email servers availability

All website hosting plans should ideally provide email. Depending on the type of hosting plan available, you will be entitled to a number of addresses as well as specified file sizes.

There are niche web hosting services, such as WordPress hosting, which don’t include email hosting in their plans. The upside of this is you will get world class support from tech support who understands that particular platform. The downside is, of course, your service doesn’t include additional services, such as email hosting, subdomain setup and so on.

Reliability

Your web hosting plan should be dependable to prevent downtime that can cause you to lose business opportunities. Technical support varies with some hosting plans being available throughout the day, and others providing support within specified durations.

Takeaway

As you can see, there are so many factors to consider when choosing the right web hosting services for your business. The best practice for you is to look for recommendations by reading web hosting reviews, asking your fellow business owners, and contacting the web hosting company’s sales team.