In order to create a website for your business, you’ll need to choose a trustworthy hosting provider that’s capable of providing ideal support, speed and performance, and security. This guide is designed to cover all of these aspects so you can narrow down your candidates and choose one that’s best suited for you.
Rating Speed and Performance
You can never go wrong with speed. The faster the site is, the better it’ll run on any computer. Now, you’ll want a hosting company that can provide these blazing speeds that will not only benefit you, but also your customers as well.
Remember, first impressions are the key to success. You don’t want new visitors to leave your site because it fails to load in a rapid fashion. How committed is the hosting company to providing fast speeds and efficient performance? Well, for starters, it requires an investment in both hardware and software.
When you’re evaluating a hosting provider, you’ll want to ensure that the company has servers on multiple continents. A closer connection is obviously faster, but if your site has visitors coming from all over the world, numerous servers will ensure the fastest connection for everyone. Also, be sure that the specific provider values HTTP/2, which is essentially the future of the Internet. It’s much faster than original HTTP and provides additional layers of security.
Will Your Website be Secure?
Whenever your website has downtime, it reflects badly on your business – and you’ll end up losing money. Furthermore, if hackers easily gain access to your site, you alone won’t be on the receiving end of the attack, your customers could also be infected by planted malware and the such. And if that isn’t enough, your site will also be flagged by Google and display an embarrassing message warning others of threatening viruses and malware. Yikes.
Ensure that the company is committed to maintaining your website’s stability and reliability. In today’s advanced world of cyber hacking, your site needs to be more secure than ever, or you’ll pay the price.
When you’re evaluating a hosting provider ensure that they provide numerous server software updates and are running on the latest software (i.e. Apache, MySQL, etc.). Is the company proactively patching on the server level? Do they provide automatic CMS updates that will enhance the overall security level of your site? What type of prevention systems re in place in the case of a breach or an attack? Do they provide backup services to allow for a full-restoration in the case of a wipe? Don’t be afraid to contact the company and ask these questions.
Customer Service
Good customer service these days is a relatively difficult thing to obtain – especially if you’ve run into a roadblock at the wee hours of the early morning. Will there be a customer service line available for you to call or contact, or will you have to wait until their office hours? You need someone that will listen to your problems and communicate with you in a friendly, understandable, and simplified fashion (if you’re not tech-savvy). Excellent support is a must in today’s online business platform.
Check to see the hours of the hosting provider’s support line. What support channels are available to you? Are you limited to an online chat, or can you call them as well? The more options available, the better it is for you to get a hold of them. Does the company have a good track record when it comes to response times and resourcefulness? There are thousands of review sites and articles that either criticize or praise companies, so all you really need to do is Google the hosting provider and voila!
Blog submitted by WebDesignExpress.com. Web Design Express is a trusted source for affordable Web design in Los Angeles, and nationwide, and has helped hundreds of businesses launch successful eCommerce ventures.
