By Ryan Englin, CEO of Inspire Business Concepts

Ryan.Englin@inspirebusinessconcepts.com

www.inspirebusinessconcepts.com

Finding the right host your the website for your business is a big decision!

As a business owner, you have many choices for your hosting. And sometimes, it seems like the only difference between them is the cost. It can feel like the practical choice is to go for the least expensive option.

The reality is this budget choice can cost you the most.

Here are three reasons why you should be cautious about jumping into budget hosting solutions:

  • Load time. A budget hosting option means your website may not get the speed it needs to load quickly for your visitors. If your website takes longer than 4 seconds to load, on average, you lose 30% of your visitors before they even see your page. A costly loss.
  • Website downtime. Our experience shows businesses with budget hosting tend to see their sites down more often and for longer. A website that isn’t working is more than in inconvenience. It can result in angry customers. And it tends to waste a lot of your time as you’re dealing with your hosting company, getting your website back up and running.
  • Low security. Some budget hosting options have less security features than others. While most website platforms have built-in security controls, the hosting companies provide security which can protect your website from being shut down by attacks or someone gaining unauthorized access. Budget hosting may only have the most basic of controls, exposing your website to sophisticated attackers.

To answer the question at the beginning, if budget hosting is bad, it depends on your business.

Consider the following questions:

  • Can people make purchases to directly on your website?
  • Do people use your website to get customer service?
  • Is your website the primary place people learn about your products or services?

If you answered yes to any of them, avoid the budget hosting.

It might seem like real savings up front, but it can have a big cost to your customers, to your bottom line, and to your sanity.

Instead, focus on finding a hosting solution which matches your needs.

Explain to the hosting company what’s important to you and ask them which package makes the most sense.

It’s an investment in time, but it’ll help you get the most from your website in the long run.