When starting your business online, it’s important to consider if using a website provider for your company will be more effective for your e-commerce growth. Put simply, it isn’t economical to host a website server yourself if you’re an individual or small business owner. There are websites to create websites that are cost-effective, easy to customize, affordable, and mobile-friendly. Not to mention, they also offer customer support.
Here’s how to choose a website provider without breaking the bank.
For most businesses, shared hosting is the way to go. This means you and other companies will occupy a server together. Many web hosting services offer packages that use shared hosting because it can be cost-effective for businesses. Additionally, you can always upgrade packages once money starts coming in.
Dedicated hosting should usually be used by businesses expecting large amounts of traffic. This hosting involves renting a physical server itself and having exclusive use of it. While it’s still housed at a data center, your company will have total control over it.
Alright, so you’ve done most of the work and you have a game plan set up. Now all you have to do is choose a website provider to launch your eCommerce store without breaking the bank. With these tips, you’ll find it. Just make sure you consider all your needs, as well as those of your customers.
Here’s how to choose a website provider without breaking the bank.
Know What Kind of Web Hosting You Need
There are three main types of web hosting: free, shared, and dedicated. Typically, free hosting isn’t worth your while because connections can be slow, and your provider isn’t obligated to have the site online at all times.For most businesses, shared hosting is the way to go. This means you and other companies will occupy a server together. Many web hosting services offer packages that use shared hosting because it can be cost-effective for businesses. Additionally, you can always upgrade packages once money starts coming in.
Dedicated hosting should usually be used by businesses expecting large amounts of traffic. This hosting involves renting a physical server itself and having exclusive use of it. While it’s still housed at a data center, your company will have total control over it.
Server Reliability and Security
Having a high-functioning server for your website is a must when choosing a web hosting service. A poor host can often find your site offline, which negatively impacts your traffic. In the long run, it can also cheat you out of sales. Therefore, choosing a hosting company with reliable uptime scores, preferably above 99.5 percent, is key to your e-commerce store’s success.Customer Service
In addition to making sure your site is accessible, you want to choose an effective web-hosting service that responds quickly if technical problems occur. You want 24/7/365 support. Ideally with live chat at minimum.Site Management with Control Panels
A control panel allows your company to manage the different parts of your website with the ease of an online tool. Instead of having to go through the drudgery of asking your domain host to set up a new email account, the control panel give you the ability to manage customer information, establish and manage email accounts, process payment information, etc.Email Options
Different hosting plans offer varying email capabilities. Make sure you know how many email accounts you will need for your e-commerce store. It may be ten or it may be one hundred. Either way: don’t assume you’ll have an unlimited amount available. Choose a plan that offers the right amount for your company. You’ll also want access to manage the size of an email’s mailbox, forward messages from the server, generate auto responses and etc.Mobile Friendly
Mobile users have different objectives than desktop users. Usually, these customers want information in quick and easily digestible ways. In fact, surveys have found mobile purchases are often impulse buys. Further, mobile users tend to spend more money per purchase than customers using desktop computers. With this in mind, it’s useful to go with a mobile friendly web hosting service.Alright, so you’ve done most of the work and you have a game plan set up. Now all you have to do is choose a website provider to launch your eCommerce store without breaking the bank. With these tips, you’ll find it. Just make sure you consider all your needs, as well as those of your customers.
