Almost every business these days already has its website. It's the best way for them to reach out to their target market. Having a website will help their potential customers to find them online.
But being found online is only the first part. In order to give a good user experience and sell products and services, web hosting essentials need to be in place. These are critically important as they help an online business to continuously grow.
Finding a company that has good web hosting essentials is the crucial step. It will help your website to be up and running all the time. That's important since you want your business website to always be available for visitors.
When finding a web hosting service, you need to make sure that it will meet the needs of your business. In this article, you will learn the essential web hosting features that need to be in place for your online business.
7 Essential Web Hosting Features
1. Fast Loading Speed
First is a fast loading speed. No matter how you optimize your website, if your web pages load slowly, it will turn off your potential customers or clients. The loading speed must be one of the best you can get. That will ensure that your site visitors will not end up leaving your website.
Websites should load within 1.5 seconds to avoid losing your audience. That's the acceptable threshold when it comes to site speed. Most audiences will not wait anymore if the page on your website doesn't load that quickly. It's also important with Google since they use loading speed as a main factor in ranking websites for their organic search listings.
2. Robust Security
Websites should have security to avoid getting attacked by hackers. You should only trust web hosting services that provide robust security. It's a very important web hosting essential to have since it can secure your website from phishing attacks as well. Make sure that they provide SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption as well as a strong firewall.
With robust security in place on your business website, you'll have peace of mind. You don't have to worry about your website getting hacked. If you're running an e-commerce website, you don't want to jeopardize the data of your customers. Having robust security for your website is a must.
3. Easy Expansion
During the first few months, it's fine to get a shared hosting service. But as your business grows, you may already need to get more server space for your website. It's an essential web host feature to have more room for expansion. It should also be easily done so that your website can be online right away.
The digital marketplace can shift rapidly even if you never expected it to happen too soon. The time will come when you will need to get a bigger web hosting package. As your business grows, it will already require faster servers. It will help you handle more demands. Find a company that can let you upgrade easily.
4. Remote BackUps
Having remote backups is also important for your website. Some site applications or server data can be lost due to a hardware failure. It can also be caused by malicious activities or accidental deletion. It will give you a major headache if you don't have remote backups.
This essential web hosting feature could well save your business website operation. It might cause a little disruption but your clients will not even notice it. But you can make sure that all your data will have a backup whatever happens. If you don't have a remote backup for your website, it's time to get it now.
5. Uptime Guarantee
Running a business online means that you have to always deal with the competition. Online marketplaces run 24/7 and your website should also do the same. That's why it's important to have an uptime guarantee for your website.
If your website fails to be online when some customer tries to visit it, that will result in losing some business. It can be annoying for them and it can tarnish your reputation. Although there may be essential maintenance, you should expect a 99.9%uptime from your web host.
6. Ease of Use
Another essential web hosting feature that you should consider is ease of use. You don't want to waste a lot of time trying to make some changes to your website. Having a control panel (cPanel) will make it easier for you to navigate the system.
A cPanel will make it easier to make your website updates. Not all web hosting services have this feature so it's better to check on it. Especially if you're the one who will be maintaining your business website. It will help you to make your job easier and faster.
7. Technical Support
The final web hosting essential that you must look at is, of course, their technical support. Make sure that they have a good rating of support from their existing subscribers. It's necessary especially if you're a beginner with using a web hosting service. Even if you're already used to it, some issues may arise. That's why there must be technical support.
Not everybody has great technical skills. Having a reliable technical support team is one of the most essential web hosting features. Even if you know what you're doing, technical issues may come from their end. You can also learn from them so you don't have to call them in the future anymore. But knowing that they have a technical support team will make you feel more confident.
Conclusion
Those are the essential web hosting features that you have to look for in a web hosting service. It doesn't matter what company to get it from as long as they deliver these web hosting essentials. Make sure to choose a trustworthy web hosting service. That way, you can ensure the success of your business.