12 Steps to a Small Business Website
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Step 5 – Select Web Hosting for Your Business
12 Part Series for a Small Business Website
Choosing the right web hosting service is one of the most crucial decisions you’ll make as a small business owner. Your hosting provider will determine your site’s performance, reliability, and even security. With numerous options available, it can be overwhelming to decide which one fits your needs best.
In this blog, we’ll break down the key considerations for selecting a web hosting provider and compare various aspects to help you make an informed decision.
What is Web Hosting?
When you launch a new website, you need to find a home for it on the internet. This is what is meant by “Web Hosting”. A “hosting service provider” is a company that provides space on its “servers” for websites to be hosted. (Think of a commercial-grade computer in a safe, managed environment somewhere in the world that is connected to the internet.)
Key Considerations When Choosing a Web Hosting Provider
Price
Cost is usually a primary concern for small businesses. However, it’s essential to remember that you often get what you pay for. While shared hosting plans are affordable, they come with certain limitations. More expensive options like Virtual Private Servers (VPS) offer better performance and reliability but might be overkill for smaller sites.
Customer Support
Technical issues can arise at any time, so reliable customer support is crucial. Before committing to a hosting provider, check their support policies. Do they offer 24/7 support? Can you reach them via phone, chat, or email? Good technical support ensures that any issues you encounter are resolved quickly, minimizing downtime.
Ease of Use & User Interface
If you’re not tech-savvy, look for a hosting provider with an easy-to-use interface. Many providers offer one-click installations for popular platforms like WordPress, making it simpler to set up your site. A user-friendly control panel can save you time and reduce frustration.
Reliability & Uptime
Your website needs to be accessible to your visitors around the clock. Research the hosting provider’s uptime guarantees and read reviews to ensure they have a good reputation for reliability. Downtime can lead to lost sales and a poor user experience.
Level of Expertise Required
Consider your technical skills when choosing a hosting plan. Shared hosting is generally easy to manage, while VPS and dedicated hosting require more technical know-how. Ensure the provider offers resources and support to help you manage your hosting environment effectively.
Types of Web Hosting Plans
Dedicated Hosting
Dedicated hosting offers you a dedicated server exclusively for your website. It’s the most expensive option, but it provides maximum control and customization. Ultimately, this option may be more than what most small businesses require.
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is the most common and affordable option. Your website will share server resources with other sites, which can lead to slower performance during peak traffic times. However, it’s usually sufficient for small businesses with moderate traffic.
Virtual Private Server (VPS)
A VPS provides a dedicated portion of a server’s resources to your website, offering better performance and reliability. While more expensive than shared hosting, a VPS ensures that other websites’ activities won’t affect your site’s performance. This is a good option for larger websites or those expecting rapid growth.
Examples of Web Hosting Providers
Each of these providers offers various hosting plans, including shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting. Consider the features and pricing of each to determine which one is the best fit for your business.
Bluehost
Bluehost is a popular choice for small businesses and entrepreneurs due to its affordability and ease of use. It offers a range of hosting options, including shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting. Bluehost is also known for its excellent customer support and user-friendly interface, making it ideal for beginners.
SiteGround
SiteGround is highly regarded for its outstanding customer service and robust security features. It offers reliable uptime and fast loading speeds, which are crucial for maintaining a good user experience. SiteGround provides various hosting options, including shared, cloud, and enterprise solutions, catering to businesses of all sizes.
HostGator
HostGator is another well-established web hosting provider known for its scalability and diverse hosting plans. Whether you’re looking for shared hosting or more advanced options like VPS and dedicated servers, HostGator has you covered. Their intuitive control panel and 24/7 customer support make it easy to manage your hosting environment.
Flywheel
Flywheel specializes in managed WordPress hosting and is designed to help creatives, freelancers, and small agencies. It offers hassle-free site management, automatic backups, and a suite of tools aimed at simplifying the workflow for designers and developers. Flywheel focuses on performance and security, ensuring your WordPress site runs smoothly and securely.
Why We Use Amazon Web Services (AWS)
At Simple Website Service, we use Amazon Web Services (AWS) for web hosting all of our clients’ (and our own) websites. AWS was our choice for web hosting due to its extensive range of features, reliability, security, cost-effectiveness and unparalleled scalability. One advantage of AWS is that we are not tied to “renting” any one piece of hardware at an Amazon facility in their vast cloud. Rather, we are able to easily migrate our websites to different servers, and even to a different location, to suit our clients’ needs.
Selecting the right web hosting provider is essential for your business’s online success. By considering factors like price, customer support, ease of use, reliability, and the level of expertise required, you can find a hosting solution that fits your needs.
If you need assistance choosing a web hosting provider, feel free to book a FREE website consultation with one of our experts who can guide you through the process and help you make the best choice for your business.
Step 1 – Get a Great Domain Name
Let’s take a look at what a domain name is, what a URL is, how to get a website domain name, a bit of
Step 2 – Create an Outline of Your Small Business Website
Let’s take a look at what a domain name is, what a URL is, how to get a website domain name, a bit of
Step 3 – Write Compelling Content for your Website
Let’s take a look at what a domain name is, what a URL is, how to get a website domain name, a bit of
Step 4 – Choose Your Content Management System
Let’s take a look at what a domain name is, what a URL is, how to get a website domain name, a bit of
Step 6 – Create Your Branding Guide
Let’s take a look at what a domain name is, what a URL is, how to get a website domain name, a bit of
Step 7 – Design Your Small Business Website Frontend
Let’s take a look at what a domain name is, what a URL is, how to get a website domain name, a bit of
Step 8 – Test Your Responsive Website Design
Let’s take a look at what a domain name is, what a URL is, how to get a website domain name, a bit of
Step 9 – Connect Your Domain Name to Your New Website
Let’s take a look at what a domain name is, what a URL is, how to get a website domain name, a bit of
Step 10 – Security Measures for your Small Business Website
Let’s take a look at what a domain name is, what a URL is, how to get a website domain name, a bit of
Step 11 – Local SEO: Tell Search Engines about Your Website
Let’s take a look at what a domain name is, what a URL is, how to get a website domain name, a bit of
Step 12 – Establish a Website Support Plan
Let’s take a look at what a domain name is, what a URL is, how to get a website domain name, a bit of
Simple Website Service
Simple Website Service is an affordable, turn-key, custom professional website service for small business owners. Our website design solution comes with full ongoing support for updates, maintenance, security and backup. Our customers speak with a REAL person. With over 100 customers, our singular focus allows us to keep costs down for our customers. Small business websites are ALL we do. For over 17 years, we’ve listened to our customers – small business owners who need help creating professional websites that truly represent their brand. But, traditional options are expensive and time consuming while templated do-it-yourself solutions fail to capture the essence of what makes their businesses unique. That’s why we created Simple Website Service for small business owners who don’t have the time to wade through the complexities of a web project.