Your Website Host Truly Does Matter

When creating a website, many small businesses spend hours fine-tuning the look and layout of the site but never give a second thought to the host.

They select a host-based on what others have suggested or just type it into a search and choose the first affordable one they find. However, it is important that you realize that your website host is an important aspect of your online presence and your site.

Here are some things to think about when choosing a website host.

Reliability

It doesn't matter how awesome your website is if no one can access it. That is why reliability is the number one criteria in choosing a website host. You want one that is going to keep your site up 99.99% of the time.

In addition to reliability, you want a host that is fast. Visitors to your site shouldn't have to wait for a page to come up. It should be there in the blink of an eye; if it takes too long, they may look elsewhere for the solution to their problem.

Bandwidth

Make sure you find out how much bandwidth you are allowed with a host. Even those that advertise unlimited bandwidth may have limitations that you need to be aware of.

Unless you have a lot of traffic, you will probably not exceed the bandwidth in the beginning, but you do want to think about the future when your business grows.

Technical Support

You are losing money every time your site is down or having problems. That is why you want instant access to technical support for your site.

If your host doesn't provide weekend or overnight support, you should know that is when your site will have problems. Expect 24-hour support seven days a week.

As Bob Parsons of Go Daddy says, "If you're not getting better, you're getting worse." Your site should always be working to make your business better, and part of that lies in having the support you need.

Security

Depending on the purpose of your website, you may be selling products or services.

In order to make your customers feel secure, you need an SSL to encrypt confidential data. You'll want to find this out before you select a host.

Other Features

Some features will be specific to your goal of having a website. However, you need to not only think about your current goals but what the future might hold.

While it is possible to switch hosts in the future, you don't really want to go through the hassle. Find out if the host allows multiple domains and subdomains in case you plan to expand.

Other things to ask about include if the host allows email addresses at the domain. This makes you look more professional to customers.

You will probably want to be able to set up your own email address and have it forwarded to another account. You may want to automatically respond to messages with an auto-responder.

When looking at potential hosts, you will want to consider others' reviews. However, you also want to take the time to do your own research and ask questions.

At the end of the day, the right host can make managing your website easy.