Okay let’s get started with what exactly is hosting before we jump right into the why it’s needed for your business. Hosting is where your website is based on the internet and in real life. It’s basically a bunch of computers called servers that are running 24/7 somewhere in the world. Now to get a bit more technical just having hosting is not always enough you need to have the correct package to suit your needs. Now if you’re a local business you would generally look at the business packages and make sure the specifications cover the scope of your business. I generally recommend not to go overboard get the package that suits your needs in that moment you can always upgrade later depending on your needs.
What Should I be Looking Out for when it comes to Hosting?
Well for starters look for server location. Each hosting company usually has a few options regarding this the general rule is to get the server location closest to your target audience. For example most business make a mistake of choosing a wrong choose because they do not properly evaluate their needs.
It’s of big importance to choose a reliable web hosting company to make sure that your website stays accessible and safe all year round. If you have some kind of a problem or troublesome experience with your current provider or you don’t know what to do here some tips that may help your needs.
- Good reputation is of big impact– Once you have done you research and have a list of important features you need, is to find most compatible host with top reputation. Also you need to do a little background check up, for example find out how long the company has been in business…
- A host with an excellent uptime track is big must! When it comes to choosing your host provider should do everything to insure maximum uptime. Be aware no host can guaranty 100% up time but 90% should be an average.
- Good customer support is essential-Look for host provider that offers a good customer services. Your customer services should be 24/7 available, but be assure some of them can’t guarantee fast services. Be one step forward and test your host provider before you committed for anything longer.
- Cost of your hosting – Get the most bang for your buck, look at competitors and what they offer. Make sure you have more than enough resources to cover traffic and website needs.
- Ability to scale – If you need more bandwidth or a unique IP in case your business decides to open an online store.
What Happens When You Choose the Wrong Hosting Package/Provider?
Most important priority of every business at the end of the day is profit. This is because without this fundamental backing no business will succeed. Now the problem with hosting is that it can be incredibly expensive which is why it can hit your businesses profits hard. Now there a few methods of making sure you don’t need to upgrade before you are ready. One of the main ones is to check out and see which hosting provider offers the best priced packages.
Making sure your website is not over 1mb in regards to size can real help with saving hosting resources. Make sure your images have been optimized and reduced for optimal web quality. Reducing the amount of HTTP requests and combining all JavaScript and CSS into one file will also increase your websites efficiency. All this is quite complicated so something I recommend is going to GtMetrix and testing your website. If you find any issues, contact your web development team to get it fixed.
So Why Is All This Important For My UK Business?
Well because if you own or operate a business in the UK chances are your customers are form the UK. Meaning you don’t want your website visitors to wait for servers half way around the world to respond and load your website. Now I know you may not think this matters but even one second quicker load time correlates with up to 30% more visitors to your website. No to mention your website speed is a search engine optimization ranking factor. Meaning if your website is too slow chances are Google won’t be too favorable towards your website compared to the competition.
Conclusion
I would recommend that anyone looking for host there UK business looks for a UK hosting company it not only helps with the customer service, time zone is the same. But chances are their servers are homegrown meaning customers looking for you will be able to find you quick smart! A Great UK business hosting provider is SeekaHost.