Online businesses are growing these days, that’s a fact. For many people with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, launching a business online is a good option because of the advantages compared to starting a brick and mortar one. It’s less costly and one can manage it whether at home or even while traveling.
But while starting an online shop may not be as physically stressful, one still needs to ensure that his or her ecommerce site is fully functional. More than the website design, other important elements have to be taken into consideration to promote a seamless experience to customers. These are the hosting, search engine optimization (SEO), and speed aspects.
Web Hosting and Its Benefits
Web hosting should be a priority if you want your online business to be seen and to get more customers moving forward. It also helps improve SEO, user experience and ensures that your data and website are protected. However, you need to choose the right hosting plan for your requirements. Your best options are the cloud-based web hosting, the Virtual Private Server or VPS hosting and the Dedicated Web Server plans.
There are many factors to consider hence, do take the time to check the features of your preferred hosting service. Keep in mind that based on a KissMetrics research, nearly half of internet users expect a website to load in just two seconds and more than that, they will move on to another site. Additionally, majority or almost 80 percent of online shoppers said they will not visit again a poorly performing ecommerce website.
So what should you look for in a hosting service that will help your website perform at its best?
Support for eCommerce and CMS Software
One of the important factors you should consider is the support provided by the service to an ecommerce website and your CMS software. Do not hesitate to ask the customer support staff about this and similar concerns you have. Take note that you will be the one to have control over your software updates and it would be best if the service allows customization of software. The compatibility of your software and the hosting service’s server is essential so problems will be avoided later one.
Support for High Database Requests
A good hosting plan should also be able to support a large volume of database requests. As existing and potential customers browse your site, they are sure to search for products which could put a strain on your database. It is highly recommended then that you choose a plan that has an excellent processing system and has an optimized database connection limit.
Capable of Managing High Traffic
As your online business grows, expect an increase in web traffic from your present customers and people still in the process of getting to know what you’re offering. During this time, you may want to move to the next level from a basic shared hosting to a dedicated one. This way, your resources are no longer shared with other websites and your site can perform efficiently.
Security of Customer Information
Your customers’ personal information should also be protected at all times. There should be no compromise in this aspect. As such, make sure that your hosting service offers the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) feature. Together with HTTPS, SSL secures information relayed from a customer’s browser to a website. It would be a good idea to invest in a so-called extended validation (EV) SSL certificate which adds another level of security and credibility to your business. With this feature, additional verification will be required from customers every time they make a purchase from your site.
Access to Files
Finally, go for a hosting service that allows you or your webmaster to access your log and error files when something goes wrong. This will enable you to look into the problem right away and find solutions without waiting for your hosting service to do it for you. For this reason, check that a modern control panel such as the cPanel is being used allowing you quick access to your files.