Companies need a strong internet presence that promotes their brand to the innumerable users out there looking for the right product or service.
According to the Internet World Stats, there were 4.57 billion internet users all over the world as of December 2019. That was about 58.7% of the globe’s total population of 7.79 billion people. How to Choose the Right Hosting Services for Your Company?
These numbers will continue to rise, and not decline. Companies that want to continuously captivate their target market must always invest in one feature that is often overlooked by many: a reliable, state-of-the-art web hosting service.
Web hosting service providers set up the website that serves as the combination of your company’s online store and dynamic advertising tool. The website’s features serve your business interests and objectives to the fullest. The website itself–and therefore, your brand–is always accessible and available to the digital natives.
However, there is more to web hosting than simply a working website that you just plug online and forget afterward.
The best providers actually work with you hand-in-hand like a business partner. They confer regularly with your personnel who have a regular interface with the site: your IT manager, web designer, marketing specialist, and content writer. After installation, they constantly help your team improve on the site, making your business more competitive.
Factors to consider when choosing the right hosting service for your company.
If you are thinking of buying, upgrading, or transferring to a new hosting service, there are things to consider before settling on the provider. A rigorous and thorough web hosting comparison should be the first on your checklist. Look for these factors in choosing the right hosting services for your company:
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100% reliability and 99.9% uptime guarantee
This is simply non-negotiable. No service is perfect and no provider is infallible. Yet, the hosting service you select must be as close to flawless functionality as possible. That’s where the 99.9% uptime guarantee comes in.
Your website and all the infrastructure powering it must be up and working all the time. It must also be fast and the tools on that site at their maximum operational capacity. Customers who click on a dead or slow site will just move on to find a speedier one that can give them the answers they are looking for.
Your provider must also be able to bounce back, again with 100% functionality, in cases of unexpected disturbance. Artificial reasons like a power failure or natural ones like a storm should not disrupt web hosting. Ask the provider about their backup failsafe systems in case of emergencies.
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Unmetered bandwidth
The more bandwidth the web hosting provider gives you, the stronger the performance of your site. That means the more available and accessible it is to your customers.
Your bandwidth usage must be able to accommodate the IT needs of all your team members. Many of them are responsible for site uploads, such as the web designer and IT manager we mentioned earlier. They might also be working in different locations because of the shelter-in-place arrangements.
The present coronavirus crisis has emphasized the importance of web hosting services and their bandwidth capabilities. Businesses feeling its impact are resorting to work-from-home arrangements to maintain their productivity. This unexpected disruption that descended on the collective workplace left many offices unprepared.
Workers who are converting their kitchens to functional workspaces may find that their company’s IT infrastructure cannot handle the expansion. Their own Wi-Fi systems may not be able to provide the necessary bandwidth.
If you and your team find the current web upload slow, find out if the provider has ways of speeding it up. One way is by leveraging the site’s browser caches.
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Security
This is another aspect of web hosting that you should carefully consider. Security is vital especially to set up a home office for remote work.
The explosion of the digital workforce can attract cybercriminals who will attempt to steal your most valuable information during these financially turbulent times. Ask your intended web hosting provider the level and strength of security they can provide.
Do their services include a web application firewall? Can they scan the encroachment of viruses and the intrusion of malware? Can they check the quality of the countless passwords that your now spread-out workforce is using? Are these passwords unique and impervious to penetration? Can they install a shared SSL certificate that is accessible by your administration? Can they provide all these without additional costs? These are just some of the questions you’ll have to find the answers to.
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Application hosting and compatibility
One other thing that your customers will look for in your site is its user-friendliness. User-friendliness indicates rapid speed and efficient functionality. It makes visiting your site a pleasant and exciting one for your customer.
Each visit will make them want to come back for more. You might have to upload more blogs, make some of your content downloadable, stream videos, launch podcasts, and host webinars on interesting subjects.
All of those capabilities are made possible by the applications that your web hosting services can accommodate or are compatible with. Huddle with your creative and IT teams and come up with the questions to ask your selected provider.
How many open-source scripts can sync with the site? Which content development platforms does it host? Will there be added costs if you keep on adding more apps?
If your provider complements your capabilities, they can help you become even more competitive.
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24/7 support
As in all arrangements with your providers, 24/7 support is vital. Their team should be ready to support during crashes or malfunctions. Their solutions should enable you to reach your web hosting service provider at any time.
Check the provider’s support systems. How fast can their live chat systems respond when you call on them? What is the turnaround time of their ticketing system? Is their online support portal easy to navigate? Who moderates their community forum for their clients, and how skilled are these moderators? Is there one key figure who responds to all your emails?
The 24/7 support ultimately should not just help you, but your customer. The faster and the more thorough the provider can solve your challenges, the more efficient you can serve your client.
Finding suitable web hosting services for your brand
Like many organization heads, you might be seeking to scale. With many types of web hosting in the online marketplace, keep the above considerations in mind when you start shopping around. They should help you locate the web hosting service that best suits your brand.
You are not alone.
The demand for the best web hosting for small businesses is causing a boom. IBIS World estimates the global market value of web hosting services at $32 billion. Its average industry growth is at 13.9% every year from 2014-2019.
