For many first timers that have launched their website, they usually opt for the most affordable web hosting plan. The packages that costs the lowest often comes with fewer resources such as disk space and bandwidth which affects your website’s speed and content displayed on it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with choosing the lowest plan and it’s best to do so especially if you’re not familiar with web hosting.
Basic web hosting or shared web hosting can serve you well during your early stages of web hosting but in the long run, your website might ‘outgrow’ those resources. This would be an early sign that you would need to upgrade your package.
Here are a few signs that you might want to monitor before upgrading:
1. Your website traffic has increased
One of the most frustrating events to witness especially when it comes to online shopping is when a shopper tries to make a purchase and the site crashes. This is normally a result in a surge of traffic and the website cannot handle it due to the spike accommodated with low resources. In an instance like this, bandwidth is important to consider. Bandwidth is one of the determining factors when it comes to web page speeds.
2. You would like to add more images and videos to your website
Media is important and is always constantly updating. It is what grabs your visitor’s attention and ultimately adds ‘life’ to your website. Your audience wants media and they demand it now. Having media on your website is one thing but having it load in a speedy fashion is another. As you add more media to your site, ensure that your web hosting package can handle it.
3. Your client base is increasing
As your client base increases, so will the activity on your website. With more activity happening, more resources will be needed. Once again bandwidth and storage space will be the determining factors. The amount of emails that your web hosting package provides is as of importance as well when it boils down to an increased client base. Considering an increase in your client base, you would might consider adding extra features to your website. This requires more storage from your web hosting package.
4. Frequent slow speeds and downtime
Downtime should be kept as low as possible due to it affecting your website and potential business revenue. Downtime is when your website is unavailable temporarily. If you are ever in a scenario where your website is experiencing downtime and a visitor is in the process of making a purchase, there is a possibility that the transaction might not go through. That does not paint a good picture at all. Your business and website wouldn’t want to be known as those entities that you can’t rely on based off a bad experience.
5. More control
If you are in need of more control with regards to resource allocation and the server in general, VPS would be ideal. For many business owners, VPS hosting packages offers reliable resources at great cost points. VPS hosting offers flexibility and scalability so that available resources can grow and be allocated to your website whenever you need it.
