Finding the right web hosting can be challenging, yet the company you go with and the package you choose must be right for your business – not just for now but as you grow. After all, your site’s performance, reliability, and security depend on the service you opt for.
You’ll also need a host with many other essential features: great email, managed services, sufficient storage, etc. Choosing badly can have disastrous consequences for your business, so to help you, here’s a checklist of essential web hosting services that you should look for.
1. Website Speed
Today’s internet users expect websites to load in five seconds or less.
Besides affecting user experience, website speed also affects search engine optimization (SEO).
Good web hosting companies help their users deliver quick page speeds by:
Using servers with solid-state drives (SSD): SSDs access data faster than traditional hard drives.
Limiting sites on a shared server: Websites require server resources to run — the more websites hosted on a server, the more competition for resources. By limiting the number of sites on a shared server, the web hosting company ensures that there will be enough resources for each website.
Offering a content delivery network (CDN) service: Content delivery networks are a group of geographically distributed servers that cache static content such as webpages, JavaScript files, CSS, images, and videos. They speed up the delivery of web content by bringing it near to a user’s location.
2. Security
According to Fundera, 43% of small businesses are victims of cyberattacks.
Your web host is an extra line of defense against cyberattacks. With the right web host, you can protect your website from cyberattacks.
If your website collects personal or financial data, sign up for a web hosting plan that offers:
SSL certificates —SSL certificates encrypt data sent via your website, so only the recipient gets to use the data. Some web hosting like HOSTBILITY offer affordable SSL certificates.
Automated malware scans —Web hosting providers can help you remove malware and identify threats. Some also offer website scans to enhance security and warn website owners of suspicious files.
Firewall management —A web application firewall (WAF) creates a set of rules designed to protect your website from the most common attacks.
Be sure to check the hosting plan’s default security features; many plans offer advanced security features as an add-on. Also check out these tips on how to keep your website secure.
3. Support
While developing and managing your website, you may face issues you cannot solve. In those cases, an excellent technical support team is essential.
The best web hosting providers provide 24/7 customer support through multiple channels, such as:
Knowledge bases
Forums
Live chat
Chatbots
Email support
Calls
4. Reliability and Uptime Guarantee
Imagine you’re running an online store, and your website is the gateway to your online business itself.
Every minute of downtime means potential lost sales and disappointed customers who leave your eCommerce site for a competitor.
Multiple websites state that people will look elsewhere if your website fails to load fast enough. More specifically, there’s 45% chance shoppers will seek a product on another website if yours takes ages to load.
The same goes for referrals.
Customers who’ve experienced slowdowns during their purchase from your website won’t refer you to their friends, potentially limiting your customer base.
As user attention spans continue to shrink and websites load faster than ever, having a reliable web hosting company by your side is crucial. This can help establish your site as a strong contender among competitors.
A reliable web hosting provider is like a steadfast guardian, ensuring your website remains accessible to visitors without frequent interruptions.
5. User-Friendly Dashboard and Control Panel
Whether you’re a website novice or an experienced web developer, having access to a user-friendly control panel is indispensable.
Differences Between Dashboard and Web Hosting Control Panel
The dashboard is the web hosts’ UI through which you can access all aspects of your hosting account, such as your billing information, submit tickets to customer support and buy more products.
Your web hosting control panel, on the other hand, helps you manage more technical settings, like creating databases, email accounts and DNS records or FTP accounts.
There are multiple elements of a good website to keep top of mind while creating your digital home. While each covers a distinctly different part of your site, they all come together for a customer experience that’s seamless, fluid, and enjoyable. With Villextra Technologies Limited you can get a great website and a hosting account HOSTBILITY that helps achieve your business goals. Get started today!