When you begin searching for a web hosting plan, there are several things you need to take into consideration. Most of the time, you’ll look at monthly fees and storage space as some of the vital factors in your decision. While these are critical measures to evaluate, they aren’t the only aspects to contemplate. You must also consider how your web hosting provider can affect your business.

Here are five ways a web host can impact your bottom line.

Security

Cybercriminals have the tools necessary to gain access to websites worldwide. If your website comes under attack, you lose revenue and trust with your clients. That’s why you must choose a web host that provides top-notch security measures. 

Inc. issued a report from the National Cyber Security Alliance. It showed that 60 percent of businesses that were hacked went out of business within six months. It’s a chilling statistic proves you have more of a chance of going out of business after a cyber-attack than you do of prospering.

You must do business with a provider that has reliable malware protection. Look into the vulnerability scanners they use and the protection you receive as their customer. You also want to ensure that the host has a strong DDoS policy. This protection ensures that your site is always available, even when there is a cyber-attack occurring.

Finally, ensure that your data is always backed up. With this safeguard in place, you have protection if your site does become hacked. 

Speed

If you want to convert customers, you must have fast load speeds. The faster your pages load, the more likely your customers are to visit your site and do business with you. Check with your web host to determine what packages they offer.

Using a shared hosting plan might slow a website's performance because your site runs on a server with other websites and you share the resources. A VPS protects you from these slower speeds by giving you access to your own resources. While your site still operates on a shared server, each customer has access to their own memory and disk space. This includes speed, performance, and ROI.

SEO

Over the past couple of years, Google announced page speed is a factor when ranking in the mobile-first index. Most business owners aren’t experts in SEO, but this is something you want to take the time to understand. Put into basic terms, the faster your website loads, the higher your SEO rankings will be. This single factor puts you in front of more potential clients. 

When searching for a robust web hosting package, you must consider page speed as a vital investment.

Uptime

When your website is down, there’s no way for you to do business. Not only that, but downtime affects your SEO ranking. You must mitigate any unwanted downtime by choosing your web host carefully. Opt to use a provider that guarantees uptime. 

DNS

While it’s not thought about often, you must also consider the Domain Name System (DNS). This directory translates domain names to IP addresses. When the DNS goes down, it’s impossible for your site to work the way you need it to. 

Ask your web host about upgrading from the standard DNS service to a premium option. This provides automatic failover when one server goes down, so you don’t experience any downtime. 

Key Takeaways for Your Business

Running a business requires that you consider multiple factors of your web hosting plan. It’s more important to the success of your business than you might have originally thought. You can’t just choose the cheapest, simplest web hosting plan without factoring in other elements. 

This article proves that web hosting affects your site speed, security, SEO, uptime, and DNS, so these are all things you must consider. 

Choosing to use an unreliable provider puts your business at risk. When you suffer from downtime or security breaches, you lose clients and sales. The downtime frustrates potential customers and cuts into your bottom line. Eventually, it will put you out of business.

Take your time and choose a website host carefully. Evaluate the different packages and options available to you. Make sure the provider you decide on has a solid reputation for security, reliability, and speed. This is your protection from becoming yet another failed business. Don’t become a statistic.