What to Remember When Choosing an Online Store Hosting?
Whether you are just getting started with your online store, or already running it for quite some time, a reliable online store hosting platform to power your eCommerce site is one of the few critical things you have to consider carefully.
In choosing an online store hosting platform, there are two major hosting options to choose from: shared hosting and VPS hosting or dedicated hosting.
Shared Hosting
In a shared hosting solution, a web hosting company will host your online store, and you share the hosting with other websites. This solution is notably the most affordable option and is considerable if you are just starting out small. However, if you are expecting a large amount of traffic, the shared hosting provider might slow down the load speed of your website.
Online stores, even a small one for that matter, have rich content which typically comprises photos, videos, presentations, product databases, dynamic advertisements and other interactive multimedia files. Moreover, online stores usually invite a significant amount of daily traffic. Your shared server account may be able to provide your online store enough disc space as well as handle your growing traffic.
VPS Hosting
Online store owners who demand bigger space often opt for the VPS or virtual private servers. VPS hosting solutions offer a dedicated resource for your website. Store owners will still be sharing a hosting space with other websites, but each will be allotted its own set of resources. Online store owners usually have control over the maintenance and performance of your website. Because each website has its own allotted resources, traffic to other websites will not affect yours.
This online store hosting option offers a high level of flexibility. An online store typically requires you to have custom eCommerce software or application to be installed such as a shopping cart system. You will also need other essential options like customer support, analytics, mobile support and promotions. A VPS hosting plan allows users to install third-party applications to their website.
Speed
The speed of your website says a lot about customer experience. If your website pages take a time to load, visitors and potential customers will turn away from your online store, and this translates to lower conversion rates.
To enhance customer experience, you need to make sure that site speed is optimized for your online store. Ask your provider if they can achieve the optimal site speed you need. Take note of the speed requirements of your online store and the server size you need.
Reliability
Think of your host as your online store’s physical building. You are renting space on their servers the same way you may be renting a store space in a building. Online stores are prone to bandwidth overloads, downtimes as well as server failures. These factors may cause trouble to your online business.
So it is important that your hosting platform is reliable. Also, it pays to make sure that your web hosting provider can guarantee full server redundancy, maximum uptime level, high-speed internet connection, redundant power feeds, server backups, 24/7 monitoring and technical assistance in case of problems.
Support
The support you get from your web host provider can make or break your online store’s performance. In a case of technical difficulties with your online store hosting, your provider should be quick to respond and resolve issues to lessen downtime.
Security
In your online store, you transact money almost on a daily basis. And so maintaining a high level of online security is critical. You need to be sure that your sensitive business data is safe and all your transactions are done securely.
Moreover, your customers should feel secure when entering their confidential information like name, address and credit card details. Before choosing a hosting provider, you need to evaluate online security options they offer.
Looking for the best hosting provider, to create your online store can feel like finding your way across a minefield. So evaluate your options meticulously and always go for what works for your business.
