The web host that we select has the power to make or break our website’s success. Because the website relies so heavily on what the web host provides, you need to have a strong and reliable web host if you hope to keep your website running smoothly.
But how do you know what a strong and reliable web host can provide? What are some of the signs that you need to change your web host? If you’re considering breaking away from a web host that you feel is holding you back, here are five reasons to switch host providers.
1. Your Website Takes Too Long to Load
While you may think that the time it takes for your website to load is not a problem of the web host, it actually is. A slow load time for your website can hurt you in a number of ways, including irritating your visitors and drastically compromising the success of your SEO strategy. Slow load times are also usually a sign of a bad web host because it likely means there are too many clients on the server.
Your website should be loading in under 5 seconds. While that may seem very quick, consider how slowly 5 seconds can move if you’re just waiting for a page to load. If your load time is exceeding 5 seconds, you are probably having a number of potential clients visit your page only to return to their list of search results because they got tired of waiting. If you’re experiencing slow load times, you may want to transfer your website.
2. You’re Experiencing Too Much Downtime
Downtime refers to the amount of time that your website is unresponsive or just not working. While downtime can happen once in a while, it shouldn’t be a regular occurrence and it should be for short periods of time when it does happen. If you’re experiencing too much downtime, it is probably because you have a bad web host.
The right web host will take precautionary measures to ensure that downtime doesn’t happen too often. They will have a designated team working to eliminate risks, attacks, and bugs that can all cause a website to experience downtime, so you face minimal time having your website not work. If you are experiencing downtime frequently and for long periods of times, it most likely means your web host is waiting for the problem to appear before doing anything about it. You should consider getting a new web host.
3. You’ve Reached Your Bandwidth Limit
While this isn’t so much the fault of your web host, it could still be a reason to make a change. If you are constantly reaching your bandwidth limit, whether it is from adding too many images to your site or from having more and more visitors, you will want to select a new web host that can better manage and accommodate for your growth.
In some cases, this doesn’t call for a new web host all together. If the web host you originally selected has different levels of service, you may just need to select a higher package. If this is the case, you will not need to make an entirely new transfer but you will probably need to pay more for the additional bandwidth of your site. But on the chance that you do need to make a change, try to select a web host that can grow with you. If you’ve already reached the top of your original bandwidth, you can probably assume that you will continue to grow. Find a web host with different levels of bandwidth provided on the chance you need to up your package again.
4. You’ve Struggled to Get Help from Customer Support
The Customer Support department at your web host should be a reliable and useful resource for you when dealing with problems or questions about your website. They should be kind, knowledgeable, and prompt when needing to return emails or phone calls. When you run into an issue, you should be able to speak with a Customer Support team member within 24 hours of submitting a request.
If you struggle to get any help from your Customer Support department, this is reason enough to transfer your web host. Running a website is not easy, especially if you’re not a professional. If you’re paying to have someone keep your website up, you should be able to ask them for assistance without feeling like you’re pulling teeth.
5. You Aren’t Able to Get the Newest Apps and Programs
A huge part of maintaining a great website comes with staying relevant and up to date with the latest styles, features, and programs. While some of this will fall on your web designer, other parts will fall on what apps your web host provides and allows for. Apps allow you to make your website completely unique and entirely yours. If you’re not able to use them, your site will look just like every other boring page out there.
Don’t allow your website to hold you back in progressing into the current date. If you feel that there is something better for you out there, such as a web host that can provide access to the latest third party apps, make the switch and transfer your website.
There are a number of reasons why you may want to switch web hosts, but the biggest is being unhappy with the level or quality of service that you are currently getting. With the number of web hosts and host providers out there, you should never feel like you’re getting overlooked or your needs are not taken care of. If you fell that a change in web host is right for you, determine what changes you need and get out there and search for a better fit. You and your website visitors will be happier for the change.
