It’s great to have good looking Website, spot on marketing ideas and killer content but none of that matters if you don’t have reliable and trustworthy Website Hosting. Many Small Business Owners will neglect their Web Hosting, spending more on time on choosing the layout or design of their site. But in reality, poor Website Hosting could be the difference between your business falling behind or rising above its competitors. Get saddled with a poor Host and run the risk of low Search Engine Optimization ranking, inferior user experience and slow page loading times, just to name a few.
To emphasise the damage that bad Website Hosting can have on your Small Business, we’ve put together the top 5 reasons why you need to avoid bad Web Hosting services, which could cause your business to backslide.
Before we begin, however, let’s just clarify what Website Hosting actually is. Well, you can think of a Host kind of like a house. Similar to a place where you store all your valuables, clothes or furniture, Website Hosting is a place where you store your Website. All your Digital content such as pictures, videos and documents are stored and maintained on your Host’s server. They also provide connectivity, so that your potential customers can access your Website and purchase your products or services.
Put simply, you rent space off Website Hosting companies to Host all of your content on their servers. This is why it’s so important to choose a Web Host you can trust with your Websites valuables. So, with this in mind, let’s find out how a low quality Web Host can decrease your Website’s success.
1. Constant Offline Mode
1. Constant Offline Mode
In order to sell your products and services, your Website needs to be online. That’s obvious, right? But more often than not, if you go with a Web Host simply because it’s the cheapest option out there, your Website will be offline more than it is online. Don’t waste your time perfecting your Website only to have it unreachable by your customers. Take that time to do your research and look for a company that assures you maximum amount of uptime. Fail to do this and your Website, and ultimately your business, will suffer.
2. Poor Loading Times Affect Your Bottom Line
2. Poor Loading Times Affect Your Bottom Line
Choosing good Website Hosting is essential when it comes to page loading times. Poor Web Hosting providers usually have low quality hardware, or an impossibly large client-base located on the one dedicated server. This means that the server’s resources are needing to be shared around an overwhelming number of people, leading to slower page loading times for you Website.
When it comes to Online searching today, when people are forced to wait more than a few seconds for a page to load, they’ll simply jump ship. That is, your potential customers will likely abandon a slow performing Website within seconds, and end up looking for services elsewhere from your competitors.
3. Bad Hosts Offer Little to No Support
3. Bad Hosts Offer Little to No Support
You’ve got enough things to worry about as a Small Business Owner without the added stress of technical site issues as well. Typically, low quality Web Hosts won’t be on hand to contact, answer your queries or offer any form of help.
On the other hand, a good Web Host will be there for you with open arms! There should be several support systems in place, so you can get in touch with them when you need assistance, whether you’re experiencing difficulties or just have a simple question. Having a trusted Web Host that is there for you whenever you need their support is essential.
4. They Will Decrease Your Search Engine Rankings
4. They Will Decrease Your Search Engine Rankings
Another reason to choose wisely when it comes to Web Hosting is the significant affect it can have on your overall SEO rankings. When your Website goes down, or has a slow load times, it can severely decrease your rankings, as Search Engines don’t like Websites that are constantly going offline. Websites they deem as ‘low quality’ will often display poorly in search rankings, making your Website less ‘findable’ to your potential customers.
If you’re offline more than you’re online you won’t get the results you want. This means falling behind your competition on a search engine results page and damaging your business as a result. Don’t waste all your time tailoring your content and optimising your search engine presence only to have it appear on page 5 of the results.
5. ‘Error 404: Website Not Found’
5. ‘Error 404: Website Not Found’
One of the worst things that can happen to your Website when you’ve chosen poor Website Hosting is losing everything. Photos, HTML, data... gone! Some unreliable Web Hosts can often go out of business due to limited resources and then disappear from the Digital World altogether, leaving you high and dry.
This can be devastating for Small Businesses, as it means that all your files go with them, along with all of your time, effort and money. No one wants to start all over again which is why it’s worth spending more time choosing the right Web Host for you. It’s always better paying a little bit more for the peace of mind that your files are secure with an established Host.
These are just some of the problems you could face when choosing low quality Website Hosting, and we’ve only just scratched the surface! In order for your Website to truly succeed, you need to find out what services you require, do your research and ditch the low quality Host.
Another, very convenient, option is to choose a Web Design Company that offers a complete range of services that can help the Small Business Owner maximize their success with minimal effort. They will be able to build your Website, help you choose a domain name and offer a quality Hosting Company that’s best for you. At Sites n Stores, we can do all this and more. Get in touch with us today and find out how we can guide you through the entire process of building your business online.
