Whether you are just starting out or looking to make a change in your marketing strategy, choosing the right web hosting service could be critical to the success of your small business.
But making this choice can be overwhelming. What services do you need? And how does your hosting provider impact your business?
From the right hosting options to the performance features that will positively impact your website, here are the essentials you need to know about small business web hosting.
Best Hosting Plans for Small Businesses
The right web hosting plan for your small business balances performance, cost, and potential for growth. Let’s break down the types of web hosting and identify which might be the best fit for your specific needs.
Shared Hosting: Ideal for Many Businesses
Shared hosting is often the most economical option for many small businesses. It balances cost and performance by hosting your business on a web server with other small businesses.
Your website and data are completely separate and secure, but you share hardware resources with other businesses. Depending on your needs and site traffic, it's ideal for many small business websites.
Consider shared hosting if you are just getting started or you run a brick-and-mortar business that needs a website to provide a little information about your company. And remember, you can scale your website at any time. If you outgrow a shared hosting plan, you can upgrade at any time.
Optimized eCommerce Hosting
eCommerce hosting plans are perfect for small to medium-sized web stores that don't want to worry about managing the technical details of your website.
They allow you to focus on your business and products, while still offering the optimized performance you need to be competitive. eCommerce hosting can handle high-traffic surges and provides enhanced security features for your transactions.
A2 Hosting's WooCommerce Hosting plan is pre-configured and optimized so you can build and maintain a robust web store quickly and securely.
VPS Hosting: For Higher Traffic or eCommerce Businesses
If you have a high-traffic business or run a larger eCommerce store, shared hosting can be limiting. A cost-effective solution is a Virtual Private Server (VPS).
With VPS hosting, you are still effectively sharing a server with other users. However, you get a dedicated portion of the server’s resources.
It offers a good balance between cost and performance, giving more control and the hardware to keep up with your customer's demand.
Dedicated Hosting: For High-Demand Sites
Dedicated hosting is the high-performance option, providing a server solely for your website. This exclusivity offers maximum performance and security, making it suitable for sites with high traffic volumes or those that handle sensitive transactions. While not typically necessary for all small businesses, dedicated hosting provides a level of control and resources you cannot get with any other hosting package.
Important Features to Look for in Web Hosting for Small Businesses
Affordable Plans Without Deceptive Fine Print
Choosing the right web hosting service means finding one with transparent and straightforward pricing. Many small businesses are initially drawn to low introductory offers, only to face steep price increases at renewal time without any warning.
At Hosting.com, we make it easy for businesses to understand our pricing and term commitments. Our pricing structure is clear about both promotional rates and long-term costs. We also provide specific discounts for longer commitments, helping small businesses find a balance between budget and reliability, ensuring no surprises when it's time to renew.
Ample Storage and Bandwidth
Storage and bandwidth are the factors that dictate how much data your website can handle and how smoothly it operates under different levels of traffic. At Hosting.com, you get 100 GB SSD storage with the cheapest shared hosting plan and unlimited NVMe SSD Storage with higher tiers.
Our VPS and WooCommerce plans are excellent for businesses that expect to grow and require more resources over time. Additionally, our Turbo plans feature advanced NVMe storage options, which are significantly faster than traditional SSDs, providing quicker data access times and enhanced performance.
SSL and Other Important Security Measures
Securing your website is fundamental. SSL certificates encrypt the data exchanged between your site and its visitors, which is essential for any reputable business. At Hosting.com, we offer free certificates and combine them with comprehensive security features like firewalls, DDoS protection, brute force attack prevention, and malware scanners.
These tools are crucial for maintaining a secure online environment and protecting your site from a variety of cyber threats.
High Speed, Uptime, and Performance
If you want your online business to succeed, you need a website that is fast and remains operational no matter the amount of traffic it receives. We pride ourselves on our Turbo Hosting solutions at Hosting.com and our commitment to 99% uptime. This high level of reliability is designed to keep your site accessible and performing well at all times, enhancing both customer satisfaction and SEO rankings.
Automatic Backups and Other Site Management Features
Regular backups have the power to protect businesses against data loss. At Hosting.com, our managed hosting plans take care of this for you by ensuring regular, automatic backups. We also offer perpetual security monitoring, automatic security updates, and control panel updates to keep your site running smoothly without the need for constant manual intervention.
Our WooCommerce hosting plan also includes automated backups and a dedicated dashboard, TurboHub, with AI-powered tools to help optimize your site’s performance and health.
Email Functionality for Professional Business Communications
Professional email hosting can significantly enhance the credibility and professionalism of a small business. Using a domain-specific email address (like [email protected]) rather than a generic Gmail or Yahoo address helps establish trust and promotes your brand every time you send an email.
Here are a few ways small businesses can use professional email hosting:
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Customer Service: You can create dedicated email addresses for different functions, like [email protected], making it easier for customers to reach out for assistance.
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Marketing and Promotions: Send out newsletters, promotions, and updates from an official business address to increase open rates and customer engagement, such as [email protected].
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Internal Communications: Use professional emails for internal communication, enhancing organization and team collaboration, like [email protected].
At Hosting.com, we include free email services across all our plans, ensuring that businesses can always have a reliable means of communication tied directly to their domain.
Scalable Plans to Accommodate Business Growth
As your business expands, so do your website's needs. At Hosting.com, we offer scalable hosting plans that are easy to upgrade. This flexibility supports your growing traffic and business operations without the hassle of switching providers.
24/7 Support for Whenever You Need It
Having access to expert help at any time can make a significant difference, especially when unexpected issues arise. Our Guru Crew Support team is available 24/7/365, ready to assist with any concerns.
