Ask any small business owner and they will tell you that their online reputation is vital to their success. The company recruited by any small business to host their website not only carries the client’s platform, but also the business’s reputation—when the site shuts down and consumers can’t access the client’s website, the negative reflection is on the client’s business and not on the hosting provider. After all, consumers don’t know any better. A great deal of trust must be bonded between the hosting provider and the client. Finding a company that offers unmetered VPS and business hosting, while providing a service based on up-to-date technology and exceptional customer service are “must haves” for any small business.
Consider this: if you were going to go scuba diving 100 feet below the surface, would you trust 15 year old equipment being tossed on the boat by some crusty-looking cursing dock hand? Of course not, nor should you trust the life of your business to a hosting provider that can’t keep up with technological advancements or offer exceptional customer service. In fact, in an article that examines why web hosting companies fail, the author lists customer service as being a paramount reason. The article states that if customer service standards are left ignored, problems in the successful running of your website can occur. The author continues to state that if the web hosting company is not up to mark on customer service through telephone or e-mail communication, it is bound to crumble within a few months in comparison to its competitors who are offering exceptionally good customer support to their clients.
As you can see, having a reliable host is important to safeguarding your online reputation and to ensure the overall success of your business. If your clients get the wrong idea about your abilities because your website is down, and your hosting provider isn’t communicating with you accordingly, where does this leave you?
Speed Matters
Having your website load up at a snail’s pace (or more than 4 seconds) will drive eyeballs away from your website and will hurt your business. Your site must run as efficiently as it looks. Imagine lifting up the hood of a 2013 Porsche 911 and finding the engine of a 1987 Geo Metro. It may look slick, fast and professional on the surface, but when getting down to the bones you discover insufficiencies and the whole thing becomes a real lark. Make sure your hosting provider has the engine and tools to power your website accordingly.
Demand the Best
You do all within your power to see to it that you retain business growth. When researching potential hosting providers do some digging and see where they stand in the topics addressed in this article. Can the company provide you with multiple hosting solutions while ensuring speed, reliability, and exceptional customer service? Don’t just partner with a company on a hunch, drill them for answers and feel like you made the right decision after signing on the dotted line, versus walking away from the table as if you just bet your chips on black and lost.