How to Choose the Right Hosting Solution for Your WordPress Ecommerce Site
If you’re looking to launch an online store to complement your offline business, you’ve probably considered exploring the world of ecommerce web hosting. Launching an online store is a fantastic opportunity to attract customers who would’ve never given you a thought, but it can also be a daunting task if you don’t know where to start. There are so many different hosting solutions to choose from, and it can be hard to know which one is right for your business. Here are some of the things you should know before making a decision:
Reliability
One of the most important things to consider when choosing a web host for your e-commerce site is reliability. You don’t want to gamble with the health of your business’ website, so it’s essential that you get a hosting provider that stands behind their product. There are many different hosting products on the market, all promising to guarantee your website will never be down. While this may sound like an attractive offer to save you from worrying about your site’s uptime, it can also be a false promise. The fact is that in order to guarantee this level of reliability, the companies that make these promises must invest heavily in highly-skilled staff and proprietary technology that they can park behind a service-level agreement (SLA). While this may be great news for consumers who are looking for a reliable web host, it can also make a massive dent in your startup’s cash flow. That’s why it’s so important to do your homework before committing to any hosting product.
Features
One of the most exciting things about the internet is all the awesome features that are now available to users. Whether you need a simple CMS (content management system) to update the content on your site with the click of a button or a free domain name, you can usually find something to make your site stand out.
When choosing a web host for your e-commerce site, you need to consider all the features that are available to make your life easier as a business owner. Are they offering free backups? What type of traffic are they able to handle? What features does their hosting include that can help you improve your business’ performance?
Cost
Cost is always a major consideration when running a business, and it’s even more important when choosing a web host for your e-commerce site. Every business is different, so what may be an affordable cost to one company can be extremely expensive for another. The cost of web hosting isn’t determined by the product itself, but rather by the number of features you need and the amount of traffic you’re getting. The more features you need, the more you’ll pay.
If you’re looking for a basic hosting solution with the bare necessities, you may find that the cost is quite affordable, especially if you’re getting your site hosted on a shared server. If, however, you’re looking for a more elaborate solution and are getting lots of traffic, you may end up spending a lot more money than you would with a basic solution. This is why it’s so important to do your homework before choosing a product, as there are several cases where low-cost hosting has caused businesses serious damage.
Customer Support
Another important consideration when choosing a web host for your e-commerce site is customer support. Just because a company is big or well-known doesn’t mean that they’re able to provide outstanding support, especially when it comes to handling technical issues. Do you need someone available 24/7 to help you with any problems that may arise? What type of help do you need? Email, phone, or live chat support?
If you’re looking for a hosting solution that’s already equipped to deal with the most complex of issues, then you may want to consider a managed hosting plan. These types of plans usually include a technical support team along with the basic hosting package. They’ll be able to help you install and configure your website, as well as provide you with any updates or security patches that may be required.
Uptime
The last but not least important factor to consider when choosing a web host for your e-commerce site is uptime. You want to make sure that when customers order products from your site, those products are delivered on time and without any glitches. While there are several different hosting solutions that claim to offer guaranteed uptime, this usually means that the company is promising to have their equipment physically located in the same data center as your site, and to keep that equipment up to date and running at peak performance levels. If this sounds like a lot of work to you, it may be a good idea to choose a product that doesn’t offer this guarantee, as it can be extremely difficult to achieve. What if the company hosting your site goes out of business or a new competitor arrives on the scene and makes similar promises? There’s no way for you to verify or get a refund if these types of situations occur.
Choosing a web host for your e-commerce site can be a daunting task if you don’t know where to start. Make sure to do your research before committing to any product and read reviews from previous customers to get an idea of what to expect. With the right hosting solution in place, you’ll be able to take your business online and grow your revenue successfully in the coming years.