The success of your website relies heavily on its ability to convert visitors into customers. Great products and services, together with catchy call to actions (CTAs) will only get you halfway there. The rest is all about user-experience, and that’s where web hosting comes in. When choosing a web host, it’s essential to look beyond price and evaluate the tools, resources and web hosting support that are included in your plan.

In this article, we take a closer look at hosting as a service. We share how advantageous good quality hosting can be for your website and identify the must-have characteristics you need to look for when comparing packages. Since having a website that is offline, or not functioning properly, can be damaging to your sales and reputation; web hosting support is a fundamental part of the bigger picture. We will also include a list of features to look out for, to ensure that your precious site is hosted with the best.

What Is Web Hosting Support?

Web hosting is the middleman between having your beautifully designed website on a designer’s computer and making it accessible via the internet, which involves allocating space on a connected web server.

Web hosting providers, like Domains.co.za, maintain the necessary hardware, software, and network infrastructure to keep websites operational, secure, and responsive. Hosts offer various hosting plans to accommodate different needs and handle the technical aspects such as server maintenance, security updates, and data backups. This allows website owners to focus on content creation and business operations without managing the complexities of web server administration.

Unfortunately, not all hosting providers and packages are the same standard and it is up to website owners to ensure they make the right choice.

What Good Quality Web Hosting Can Do For Your Website

Perhaps it is easier to find the right host and perfect plan, when you know what’s at stake. So, let’s start by looking at what good quality web hosting can do for your website.

It will ensure that your website is up and ready for business

If your website is online-reliable, it will build trust with your audience. Frequent downtimes can frustrate visitors and drive them to competitor sites, leading to loss of potential sales and damaging your brand’s reputation. Ensure that your website is always available to visitors with a host that offers a high uptime guarantee, l as this will minimise the risk of your site being offline.

It will make your site load faster

Do you like to wait for images or pages to load when you browse a website? Of course not, nobody does! If your site is slow people will leave. That’s why it is important to power your website with optimised servers and advanced technologies like Content Delivery Networks (CDNs).

It will actively protect both your website’s data and that of your website visitors

Due to the constant danger of cybercrimes and the effect it will have on your business from a financial, legal and reputational perspective, data security is everything. A secure website prevents data breaches and cyberattacks. Luckily, great hosts prioritise strong security measures, including firewalls, malware scanning, DDoS protection, and SSL Certificates.

The better your hosting the better your SEO will be

Search engines are picky about the websites they recommend. They have an intense dislike for slow, unsecure and unreliable websites. Because better search engine rankings lead to increased visibility and more organic traffic, a reliable, fast, and secure website is a ‘non-negotiable’.

It will accommodate your website’s future changes and scale without limitations

As your company grows, your website will need to accommodate increased traffic and data too. Scalable hosting ensures your site can handle growth without significant downtime or performance issues, supporting your business’s evolving needs. Good web hosting providers offer packages that can accommodate every phase of your business.

The Difference Between Mediocre And Must-Have Web Hosting: 10 Points To Compare

Every web hosting provider will tell you how great they are. Unfortunately, as with all things, the proof is in the pudding. But knowing how important web hosting is for your small business website and your reputation, you need to choose the right host from the start.

Here’s a list of 10 things to compare to distinguish between a mediocre and a must-have web hosting offering.

1. Storage and bandwidth

Adequate storage space is essential for hosting all your website files, images, videos, and databases. Sufficient bandwidth ensures your site can handle visitor traffic without slowdowns or additional charges. These are fundamental resources that directly impact your site’s performance and accessibility.

2. Performance enhancers like Solid-State Drives (SSDs)

SSDs offer significantly faster data access and transfer speeds compared to traditional Hard Disk Drives (HDDs), resulting in quicker website load times, improved user experience, better SEO and more efficient handling of traffic spikes. Additional performance boosters like content delivery networks (CDNs), server-side caching, and optimised server configurations can further enhance your site’s speed and reliability.

3. Free domain registration and management

A free domain registration eases the process of getting a website online, especially for newcomers. Easy domain management tools allow you to control DNS settings, create subdomains, and manage multiple domains efficiently.

4. Email hosting

Business email accounts linked to your domain enhance professionalism. Webmail access provides flexibility, while features like forwarding and autoresponders improve communication efficiency. Email hosting integration saves you from needing a separate email service provider.

5. Free SSL Certificates

An SSL Certificate secures data transmission and builds trust with visitors. These days SSL Certificates are essential for SEO, as many browsers flag sites without an SSL, as “not secure.” Having an SSL included in a hosting plan removes a potential security barrier for website owners.

6. Free 1-Click Installs

If your website is built on a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress, look out for features like free 1-Click Installs for your CMS because it will save time and reduce technical know-how barriers. Optimised environments ensure better performance and compatibility.

7. Backups

Regular, automated backups are critical for disaster recovery and peace of mind. They protect against data loss, whether due to internal errors, hacks, or server issues. Look for this feature as it ensures that you will have this as an essential safety net.

8. Security features

Built-in security tools protect your site from various threats. Malware scanning, firewalls, and DDoS protection are increasingly necessary in the face of growing cyber threats. The more of these features that are included, the better.

9. Control panel

A user-friendly interface and control panel, like cPanel simplifies website management tasks, making it easier for non-technical users to administer their sites. It reduces the learning curve and improves efficiency in day-to-day website operations.

10. Development features

Look for support for various languages and technologies (PHP, JavaScript, Shockwave, etc.) because it allows for greater flexibility in website development and application deployment. This versatility is crucial for developers and businesses with specific technical requirements.

7 Features Of Great Web Hosting Support

Web hosting support is a fundamental part of the journey to finding the right host for your website. Excellent support can make the difference between a smooth, worry-free hosting experience and one filled with frustration and downtime. The following seven key features can help you distinguish the great from the not-so-great.

1. High quality and timely responses

The best providers understand that when issues arise, time is of the essence. While initial response times are crucial, the quality and effectiveness of the support provided are equally important factors to consider.

2. Multiple support channels

Different issues and customer preferences require various communication methods. Phone support is often best for urgent or complex issues while ticketing systems are effective at handling issues in an organised, trackable, and efficient manner.

3. Knowledgeable staff

Support teams should be experts in various hosting technologies, control panels, common CMSs (like WordPress), databases, and scripting languages. They should be able to assist with both basic and advanced technical issues.

4. Self-help tools

Self-help tools empower customers to find solutions quickly and independently, reducing the need for direct support interactions. This also leads to faster problem resolution and a more satisfying overall experience. Look for detailed guides or knowledgebases, video tutorials, and blog FAQs.

5. Proactive monitoring

Proactive monitoring of server health, resource usage, and potential security threats are essential because they allow a host to identify and address potential issues before they can escalate into more serious problems. This ensures higher uptime, better performance, and increased reliability. Some hosts offer real-time status pages or alerts, for transparency.

6. Security expertise

With increasing cyber threats, support staff should prioritise security best practices, malware detection and removal, firewall configuration, and DDoS mitigation. This knowledge helps to quickly identify and mitigate security threats.

7. Reviews and reputation

Customer reviews and overall company reputation are crucial indicators of support quality. Read what others have to say and you’ll obtain a better idea about how customers are really supported by the host. Pay attention to recurring themes in reviews, especially regarding support experiences. Be wary of hosts with numerous complaints about unresolved issues or poor communication.

At Domains.co.za, we’ve been in the business long enough to know that in order to offer the best web hosting in South Africa we need to offer the best holistic service that ticks all the boxes when it comes to quality, support and performance. That’s why we are constantly improving our products and services, obsessively monitoring our servers, and passionately supporting our customers.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

– The success of your website is not just about your products and prices but also about user-experience.

– The web hosting you choose can make or break how your visitors will experience your website.

– Good quality web hosting ensures high uptime, fast loading speeds, strong data security, better SEO and scalability, to support your website’s growth.

– Choosing must-have web hosting over mediocre options involves comparing features like storage, bandwidth, performance enhancers, security features, value-adds and freebies.

– Web hosting support is an important part of the puzzle when looking for the best hosting provider.

– Features like timely responses, expert staff, self-help tools and customer reviews are important when it comes to establishing the quality of a provider’s web hosting support.

– Domains.co.za aims to offer the best web hosting in South Africa by ticking all the boxes for quality, support and performance.

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Other Blogs of Interest:

– 1What is Email Hosting: Everything You Need To Know

– Exploring WordPress User Roles: A Practical Guide

– The World’s Most Loved CMS, WordPress Celebrates Its 21st Birthday!

– Best Web Hosting For Small Businesses In South Africa: 7 Tips To Get Started

– Looking for Fast, Secure & Stable WordPress Hosting for Your Website?