Special Note: From April 2024, we are moving away from offering free hosting with our website templates to simply offering website templates, and digital marketing and consultancy services. For existing customers, the free add-on will be phased out after their current plan runs out.
Choosing the right hosting provider for your website is crucial when you want to build a successful online presence for your business. You have to look beyond the price – package and performance, security and support are other key factors to consider. Here we explore the importance of reliable hosting and how it can benefit your business. Plus, we see how free hosting on SiteGround servers can be a game-changer for your website.
#1. Package, Performance and Speed
The package you get, and performance and speed are crucial factors to consider when choosing a hosting provider. These factors will determine whether you can even think of optimising the online presence of your website. A fast-loading website is essential for maintaining user experience and engagement and improving your search engine ranking. Reliable WordPress hosting ensures that your website runs smoothly, with minimal downtime and optimal performance.
Key factors to consider include:
- Bandwidth: The amount of data transfer allowed per month, which affects the number of visitors your website can handle. The more the better, but since it costs hosting companies a lot to give you more bandwidth, most hosting plans have tiered plans that allow you to ramp up your bandwidth based on the number of people visiting your website
- Server Response Time: The time it takes the server to respond to a request from a user’s browser. The lower it is the better
- Server Location: The geographical location of the server, which can impact loading times for users in different regions. The nearer it is, the better. Or else you need a Content Delivery Network (CDN) if not both (we offer both for free to our website customers year after year)
Facts Why Hosting Performance and Speed Should Be Top Priorities
Here are some facts why hosting performance and speed should be top priorities when selecting a hosting provider.
Fact 1: User Experience
- 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less
- A 1-second delay in page load time can lead to a 7% reduction in conversions
- 40% of users abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load
(Source: Neil Patel, Kissmetrics)
Fact 2: SEO Rankings
- Google announced in 2010 that site speed is a ranking factor for search results. Here is where you can check your web speed: Google | GT Metrix
- A slow-loading website can negatively impact your search engine rankings, leading to decreased organic traffic
- Faster websites are more likely to be crawled and indexed by search engines, which is essential for ranking higher on search results. This is an ever-growing self-sustaining loop
(Source: Google Webmaster Central Blog, Backlinko, Moz)
Fact 3: Bounce Rate
- A high bounce rate can indicate poor website performance, leading to a negative impact on SEO rankings
- According to Google, the probability of a user bouncing from a website increases by 32% if the page load time goes from 1 second to 3 seconds
(Source: CXL, Think with Google)
Fact 4: Mobile Performance
- 53% of mobile users will leave a site that takes longer than 3 seconds to load. As you know, for larger screens, 40% of users leave if the site does not load within 3 seconds
- Mobile page speed is also a ranking factor for mobile search results. Google introduced mobile-first search indexing back in 2016 and moved to it completely in 2018
(Source: Google)
Fact 5: E-commerce Conversions
- A 1-second delay in page load time can result in a 20% drop in mobile e-commerce conversions
- Amazon found that a 100ms increase in page load time resulted in a 1% decrease in sales
(Source: Cloudflare, Amazon)
#2. Security and Stability
Website hosting servers play a vital role in the digital landscape, powering countless websites and online applications. The security and stability of these servers are paramount to ensure data protection, maintain user trust, and guarantee a seamless online experience.
On a more personal front, a secure hosting environment is crucial to protect your website from potential threats and cyberattacks. You should consider hosting providers that offer:
- SSL Certificates: Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates encrypt the data transmitted between your website and users, ensuring secure transactions and user information protection
- Regular Backups: A reliable hosting provider should offer automated backups, allowing you to restore your website if something goes wrong. This can be weekly if not daily (we provide daily)
- Malware Scanning and Removal: A good hosting provider will have systems in place to scan for and remove malware, helping to keep your website safe
Why Hosting Security and Stability Are Important
In recent years, cybersecurity threats and server instability issues have become prevalent, emphasising the need for secure and reliable hosting environments. Here are some facts why this aspect is so important while choosing your hosting.
The Consequences of Inadequate Security Measures
1. Data Breaches:
- In 2021, web hosting company GoDaddy reported a data breach that affected its users’ accounts and spread to six more hosting companies
- In December 2022, GoDaddy again reported a security breach spread across multiple years where the attackers got access to the company’s source code and installed malware on its servers
- There were 1,001 reported data breaches in the United States alone in 2020. Over 155.8 million individuals were affected
- The average cost of a data breach in 2020 was $3.86 million
- It takes an average of 206 days for an organisation to identify a data breach
(Source: GoDaddy, Search Engine Journal, Statista, IBM Security)
2. Loss of User Trust and Reputation
- 65% of consumers lose trust in a business following a data breach
- 29% of customers would stop doing business with an organisation that experienced a data breach
(Source: PwC, RSA)
3. Legal and Regulatory Penalties
- The European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) imposes fines of up to €20 million or 4% of annual global turnover for non-compliance
- In the United States, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) can impose fines of up to $1.5 million per year for violations
(Source: European Commission, HHS)
Note: The next two sections are a bit beyond what is needed for a regular website owner to check in their hosting provider but since it is your business, you need to be aware of these matters, if possible. As such, we are adding two smallish three-pointer notes here for your ease of reference on Best Practices and the Role of Hosting Providers in Maintaining Server Stability.
Best Practices for Securing Hosting Environments
- Regular Updates and Patch Management: According to the Center for Internet Security (CIS), regular updates and patch management are essential for maintaining a secure hosting environment
- Firewall and Intrusion Prevention Systems: Implementing firewalls and intrusion prevention systems can help prevent unauthorised access to hosting servers
- Encryption and Secure Access Controls: Data encryption and secure access controls are vital for protecting sensitive information stored on hosting servers
(Source: CIS, Cisco, ENISA)
Role of Hosting Providers in Maintaining Server Stability
- Infrastructure Management: A study by the Uptime Institute found that 31% of data centre outages were caused by power outages, emphasising the need for hosting providers to manage and maintain their infrastructure effectively
- Resource Allocation and Scalability: Proper resource allocation and scalability are crucial to prevent server overloads and crashes, ensuring a stable hosting environment
- Monitoring and Incident Response: Active monitoring and incident response capabilities are essential for identifying and addressing server stability issues promptly
#3. Scalability and Flexibility
Scalability and flexibility are essential aspects of WordPress hosting. As your business grows, your hosting needs will change. A scalable and flexible hosting plan will allow you to adapt to changing demands and growth effectively.
Here are some key reasons why scalability and flexibility in WordPress hosting are crucial:
Handling Traffic Spikes
Websites may experience sudden increases in traffic due to promotions, viral content, or seasonal events. Scalability in WordPress hosting ensures that the server can handle these traffic spikes without compromising the website’s performance.
A study found that 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less, while a 1-second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversions (Source: Akamai and Gomez.com)
Supporting Business Growth
As businesses grow, a flexible WordPress hosting solution allows businesses to upgrade or downgrade their hosting plans to meet their evolving requirements.
Cost-Effectiveness
Scalability in WordPress hosting enables businesses to pay only for the resources they need, ensuring cost-effectiveness. When the demand for resources increases, businesses can quickly scale up their hosting plans without incurring significant costs. A flexible hosting plan can save businesses up to 60% in hosting costs, as they can adjust their resources based on their needs rather than paying for resources they don’t use (Source: TechRadar).
Faster Time to Market
Flexibility in hosting plans allows businesses to quickly deploy new features or changes to their websites, improving their time to market and staying ahead of their competitors. 88% of businesses believe that they can gain a competitive advantage by accelerating their application development and deployment times (Source: InformationWeek).
Ease of Migration
Scalable and flexible web hosting makes it easier for businesses to migrate their websites to new hosting environments, reducing the risk of downtime and data loss. This is important, as according to Gartner, 60% of businesses have experienced at least one website migration failure. A flexible and scalable hosting solution can minimise migration risks.
#4. Customer Support and Assistance
Customer support and assistance from web hosting companies play a significant role in ensuring the smooth operation of client websites. A dependable hosting provider should offer quality customer support to help you with any issues or concerns. Look for:
- 24/7 Support: Availability of support around the clock to assist you whenever needed
- Knowledgeable Staff: Customer support representatives should be knowledgeable about hosting and able to address your concerns effectively
- Multiple Contact Options: A good hosting provider should offer multiple methods of contact, such as live chat, email or phone support
Facts Highlighting the Importance of On-Time Customer Support and Assistance
Here are some facts that highlight the importance of on-time customer support and assistance:
Fact 1: Website Downtime Impact
A study revealed that the average cost of downtime for businesses is approximately $5,600 per minute or over $300,000 per hour (Source: Gartner). Prompt customer support from web hosting companies can help minimise downtime, ensuring businesses can avoid such costly interruptions.
Fact 2: Customer Retention
According to the Microsoft Global State of Multichannel Customer Service Report, 61% of consumers have stopped doing business with a company due to poor customer service. Providing timely customer support and assistance can help web hosting companies retain clients and maintain a positive reputation.
Fact 3: Resolution Time
The average time to resolve a technical issue is around 3.42 hours, but this number can be significantly reduced with the help of efficient customer support (Source: Ponemon Institute). This not only saves clients time but also helps them maintain their website’s performance and user experience.
Fact 4: First Contact Resolution
A study found that a 1% improvement in the first contact resolution rate (resolving issues on the first interaction) can result in a $276,000 reduction in annual operational costs for a call centre (Source: SQM Group). Web hosting companies that offer on-time customer support can resolve clients’ issues more efficiently, leading to cost savings and higher customer satisfaction.
Fact 5: Technical Expertise
67% of customers prefer self-service options for solving their technical issues (Source: Nuance Enterprise). However, when self-service options are not sufficient, having access to expert customer support becomes vital to resolving more complex issues.
Remember to consider these factors when choosing a hosting provider. Don’t forget that at ClickBiz.in, we offer free SiteGround WordPress hosting with our website templates, providing top-notch performance and speed for your website. Let’s quickly explore why we do so before we sum it up.
Why We Offer Free Hosting on SiteGround for Small Businesses and Charities
When you purchase any of our website templates, we offer you free SiteGround hosting along with a free domain name. This is because SiteGround is the world leader in premium hosting and gives you the best of all the features we have mentioned above in this piece.
This ensures you have the best-of-the-best hosting for your organisation completely free so you can focus on scaling the heights. We have been using SiteGround for quite some years now. We choose the company after trying out some of the best hosting companies in the world, and we can honestly say, these companies may be good but they do not compare to what SiteGround brings to the table. It is expensive, yes, but not for you if you are our customer – for you get it for free.
In case you are wondering why there is so much divergence of opinion online on which is the best WordPress hosting, then that’s because most of the reviews you come across are by affiliate marketers who pitch their preferred hosting brand or they are sponsored in one way or another by hosting companies themselves.
We have taken away this stress for you and some more by simply giving you SiteGround WordPress hosting for free when you buy one of our website templates.
With our SiteGround hosting offer, you enjoy:
- No Lag on Website Performance: The speed of our websites improved from a score of C to A+ in rankings when we moved to SiteGround. We did not do any other site optimisation
- High-Quality Performance: SiteGround is known for its fast servers and excellent performance, ensuring a smooth user experience. There have been no latency issues or any downtime on our website in the last five years
- Top-Notch Security Features: SiteGround offers SSL certificates, regular backups and malware scanning as standard. In other words, you get them too – for free
To Sum It All Up:
Choosing a reliable hosting provider for your website is vital for your online success. By considering factors such as performance, security, customer support, and scalability, you can make an informed decision and select the best hosting option for your needs. Moreover, if you choose our website templates and designs, then you can get free hosting on SiteGround servers without paying anything extra.
