The Ultimate Website Hosting Checklist for Business Owners: From Security to Scalability

Why Web Hosting is Important?

Owning a fully functional and accessible website is one of the bread and butter of businesses looking to dominate online. However, purchasing and registering your business domain name will not immediately get your website up and running.

In fact, acquiring a web hosting service is crucial for getting your website live on the internet. On top of this, it is also crucial for storing, maintaining, and protecting all the future data or content you will use. 

Here are its 5 key benefits:

• Enhances your business’s credibility and global accessibility
• Reflects your brand and supports marketing efforts
• Features like contact forms and live chat improve customer interaction
• E-commerce capabilities enable online sales and broaden market reach
• Provides security measures and ensures fast, smooth site performance

Website Hosting Checklist

Keep in mind that web hosting services vary. This varies not only in terms of pricing but also in the inclusions or packages that come with the service. 

So before choosing a hosting service, we’ve compiled a comprehensive checklist to help you secure a trusted web hosting provider for your website. 

Speed Performance

Slow-loading websites are detrimental for any business today. Having this issue will not only bring frustration to your visitors but also cause them to move on with your competitor. As a result, you lose not just a potential customer but also valuable sales. 

According to WP-Rocket, 47% of online users expect a website to load within 2 seconds. Anything beyond this number can lead 40% of them to bounce from your website. So when choosing a hosting plan, make sure that you pay extra attention to their speed performance. 

Support and add-ons

If you are hosting a website for the first time, you may need support at some point.

For instance, if you are experiencing errors or are unfamiliar with SSL certificates, a hosting provider should be able to provide you with guidance. Their guidance is crucial to ensure you do not mishandle your website.

Aside from this, make sure to check any additional services that they offer beyond support. Some add-ons you should consider are:

• Business email hosting
• Content Delivery Network
• Daily backups
• SSL certificates

Storage Capacity 

Photos and videos are all important for business websites to showcase their product or service. Since you will have many of these on your site, you will also need substantial storage capacity.

Another important thing you need along with capacity is bandwidth. This is a crucial feature to ensure that your website data are easily accessed or delivered to your visitors. Here’s why it’s important:

1. Supports the number of visitors and their data usage without slowing down your site
2. Prevents lag and ensures quick page loads
3. Helps your site handle traffic spikes and grow without extra costs

Security and Backups

We cannot stress enough how important security and backups are for a business website. 

Always remember that cyber attacks can happen to any business, regardless of its size. Failing to take this seriously can lead to various consequences that affect your finances, operations, and customer confidence.

Before choosing a hosting plan, you need to assess the extent of their security and backup features. Ideally, they should be able to offer an SSL certificate setup which helps to encrypt your data and reduce the possibility of data breach and hacking. 

In case of such cyber attacks, your website provider should also be doing daily backups of your data. This is important to prevent any downtime and compromised data. 

Control panel

A user-friendly control panel is essential for managing your website effectively. This allows you to easily set up emails, manage domains, and install software in your hosting account. 

However, it is important to consider more than just the features of the hosting provider’s control panel. You will also need to consider your technical expertise and needs to leverage its purpose. 

CMS Features

Content Management System (CMS) capabilities are crucial for effectively creating and managing your website’s content. 

A good hosting provider should support CMS platforms like WordPress or Drupal for easy installation and management. Look for hosting services that offer one-click installations, regular updates, and compatibility with the CMS of your choice.

Top 3 Website Hosting Platforms for New Business Owners

1. Panthur

First on our list is Panthur, an Australia-based web hosting service, known for its fast local servers and high-quality customer support. It’s ideal for small to medium-sized businesses specifically targeting Australian users and offers a variety of hosting plans that can scale with business growth. This also means that businesses have more opportunities to target local traffic with low latency.

Pros: 

• Fast and reliable performance
• Local 24/7 Australian-based support
• Strong security with daily backups
• Scalable plans
• Generous storage and bandwidth
• 99.9% SLA

Cons: 

• Limited global server locations
• No free domain
• Higher costs for advanced features

Price: 

• Business Bronze: $24/month (or $22.80/month if billed annually)*
• Business Silver: $35/month (or $33.25/month if billed annually)*
• Business Gold: $66/month (or $62.70/month if billed annually)*

Recommended Plan for WordPress Sites:

We recommend the Business Gold plan for most WordPress sites due to its balance between pricing and performance. It offers 100GB of storage, unlimited bandwidth, and free daily backups—ideal to support growing businesses.

2. WP Engine

WP Engine is a premium managed WordPress hosting platform known for its superior performance and high-level security. It is currently considered one of the leading choices for many business owners who are using WordPress to build their sites. This hosting provider offers a hassle-free experience for businesses that require top-tier website speed and support.

Pros: 

• Optimized for WordPress
• Automatic updates and backups
• Built-in caching and CDN
• 24/7 expert WordPress support
• Excellent performance and security
• Includes environments for Development/Staging/Production
• 99.95% SLA with 99.99% available for Enterprise plans

Cons: 

• Higher cost
• Limited to WordPress only
• No email hosting
• Charges for additional sites and features

Price: 

• Essential Startup: $34/month (or $28/month if billed annually)*
• Essential Professional: $66/month (or $56/month if billed annually)*
• Essential Growth: $129/month (or $108/month if billed annually)*

Recommended Plan for WordPress Sites:

The Essential Professional is recommended for businesses scaling up their WordPress websites. The platform’s plan comes with 150GB of bandwidth, and 15GB storage, with a very high 99.95% SLA.

3. SiteGround

You can also consider using SiteGround if you are looking for a fast hosting installation for WordPress. SiteGround is widely recognized for its fast website performance, robust security, and excellent customer support. It’s a highly recommended hosting provider for WordPress sites that need a free but professional migration.

Pros: 

• Fast loading times and uptime
• Excellent security with daily backups
• Free SSL and site migrations
• User-friendly control panel
• Great customer support 
• SLA 99.9% 

Cons: 

• Limited storage on basic plans
• High renewal rates
• No monthly billing on lower-tier plans
• Limited storage compared to competitors

Price: 

• StartUp: $2.99/month for first year ($26.99/month after)*
• GrowBig: $4.99/month for first year ($39.99/month after)*
• GoGeek: $7.99/month for first year ($64.99/month after)*

Recommended Plan for WordPress Sites:

The GrowBig plan is the best option for WordPress users, providing 20GB Space and Unlimited Bandwidth. Best for those who need more features like enhanced PHP speed, staging, and advanced backups.

Bottom Line

Investing in the right hosting service is a crucial step in establishing a strong foundation for your business’s online success. With the right web hosting provider, you’ll not only achieve visibility but also establish a strong online presence for your business.

Take the time to choose wisely to ensure you are well-prepared to create a reliable website that fosters growth and engagement.

*Note that prices on this article are sourced on Oct 2024