Web hosting has become cheaper and easier to attain than ever before. Between marketing gurus and flash sales from companies like Bluehost, you can find hosting for $10 a month or less. But that doesn’t mean you should bite on a good deal. Like most things in life, if a product or service is cheap- so it the value. In this article, we’re going to cover 5 major signs you need a new hosting company.
1. Your information has been compromised (or you have a feeling that it will)
Security is important. In today’s day and age, staying safe online is at the top of the list for anyone who does anything online. If your server has been broken into, compromised, or you have no idea what security practices you have in place- it’s time to look for another web hosting provider.
2. You don’t spend enough time maintaining your site
When you first get your website online, you may think to yourself: I can keep this updated. Realistically, you couldn’t be more wrong. Though you may have time in the beginning, as your online sales pick up you’ll quickly find that it’s not a walk in the park. If this sounds familiar, you may want to turn to managed hosting like WordPress hosting.
Managed hosting providers fill in the blanks for clients that need to be working in their business rather than on their business. Many services will even update your plugins, perform daily backups, and keep an eye on functionality.
3. Downtime is out of control
A server will go down every once in a while. Even big brands like Google have had downtime. Just this past October, GoDaddy (one of the largest hosting providers in the world) had downtime. Generally speaking, most hosting providers have 99.5% uptime yearly. That’s perfectly normal.
What isn’t normal is having downtime every other month. If your hosting provider has a server that is constantly crashing, it’s time to look for a new provider. If you’re offline then you’re not making money from your website. It’s as simple as that.
4. They act like they don’t care
It’s pretty easy to tell when someone cares about your business. If your web hosting provider acts like your website being offline, broken, or anything in between doesn’t matter- they don’t care about your business.
Here are two of the most scenarios:
The customer service support is online only during certain hours, with no way to contact support in the in-between.
If you contact support and their answer is that ‘your package doesn’t cover support’, you need to find a provider with better support. This may mean shelling out more money for that support- but can you really afford to be offline.
If you’ve experienced either scenario- run the other way.
Conclusion:
You get what you pay for When it comes down to it, wouldn’t you rather pay more for better and more secure web hosting? Your website is the cornerstone of online business for your brand. Whether you have an address in a corporate building, an online eCommerce store, or a restaurant- your website’s speed and security are very important. It’s the difference between capturing a customer and permanently losing one.
When did you know it was time to switch hosting services? Who is your favorite provider? Share your thoughts in the comments.