Hosting Smarter as Your Online Store Grows

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Intuitive navigation, fast page loading, and mobile optimization—every online business dreams of having a site that offers these features. But, here’s the bitter truth: Without a reliable hosting plan, it is extremely difficult to optimize performance and rank high on search engine result pages (SERPs).

Let’s take a closer look at the types of web hosting plans, reasons you should consider upgrading, and how it can help you:

 

Types of Hosting Plans

When a user opens your site’s URL, the hosting server redirects them to your website. Here’s a brief overview of four hosting types and what they offer:

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is pretty straightforward. Thousands of websites share the same resources, like bandwidth, memory, and space. However, as businesses grow, shared hosting servers might not be able to handle rising needs.

Dedicated Hosting

With dedicated web hosting, you can have the entire network to yourself. It is often recommended for large enterprises that require dedicated configuration programs.

VPS Hosting

Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting is highly common among online stores with potential scaling tendencies. With a VPS server, users have a dedicated portion of server resources. You also get root access, allowing you to customize the setup.

Managed WordPress Hosting

As the name indicates, managed WordPress hosting plans are specifically designed for WordPress sites.

 

Signs You Should Upgrade Your Hosting Plan

So, how do you know it’s time to upgrade to a better plan? Watch for these signs:

Slow Loading Time

According to a survey, nearly 53% of users abandon a website if it takes longer than three seconds to load. Take a closer look at your site’s key performance analytics, such as page loading and image loading time. If your website is slow, chances are your hosting provider doesn’t have enough server resources to support your site’s needs. Upgrading to Liquid Web’s high-performance VPS hosting can easily solve this issue.

Limited Server Resources

If you’ve exceeded your bandwidth or storage limit, it is a clear sign that your current plan is not sufficient. For instance, if you’re on a shared hosting plan, consider upgrading to VPS hosting for additional features. This will give you the freedom to scale your operations.

Frequent Downtime

If your website faces frequent downtime, it might frustrate users and harm your search engine ranking. Many web hosts guarantee 99.9% or 99.99% uptime, but fail to live up to their promise. These issues can be extra harmful during a sales campaign or peak traffic events. Frequent downtime is also caused by compatibility issues, especially when you’ve added a new plugin.

Security Breaches

Frequent security breaches are common signs you need to upgrade your hosting plan. When your current software or configuration plan becomes outdated, your site can become prone to system failures. Moreover, many hosting providers fail to provide robust SSL certificates or firewalls, putting your site's operations at risk.

Poor Customer Support

If your hosting provider’s customer support takes hours and days to get back to you, it is best to take your business elsewhere. Working with a provider that can handle the growing needs of your online store can make a wealth of difference.

Upgrading to a better, more-efficient hosting plan can help ensure your site remains accessible for both users and search engines.