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At Website Design Fort Wayne, we’ve fixed hundreds of slow, hacked, and down websites that were on the wrong hosting. Here’s what you should actually look for.
5 Things That Matter When Choosing Website Hosting
1. Speed and Performance is Everything
Google has confirmed site speed is a ranking factor. If your site takes more than 3 seconds to load, 53% of visitors will leave. Cheap $3/month shared hosting puts thousands of websites on one slow server – your site has to fight for resources. Look for hosting with SSD storage, LiteSpeed or NGINX servers, built-in caching, and a free CDN. A fast host can make your Fort Wayne website load 3x faster instantly, which means higher Google rankings and more sales.
2. Uptime and Reliability – 99.9% is the Minimum
If your website is down, you are closed. Would you tolerate your physical store being randomly locked for hours? Every minute of downtime is a lost lead. Never accept hosting that doesn’t guarantee at least 99.9% uptime with a public status page. The best business hosting provides 99.99% uptime. Ask your provider: what happens if my site goes down at 2 AM? Who fixes it?
3. Security That Actually Protects You
Hackers don’t just target big corporations. They target small business websites on weak hosting. Your host should include free SSL certificates, daily automatic backups stored off-site, malware scanning and removal, and a web application firewall (WAF). If your host charges extra for backups or SSL, it’s a red flag. One hacked website can destroy your Fort Wayne business reputation.
4. Scalability and Business-Grade Support
Will your host support you when you grow? Shared hosting will crash if you get featured in the news or run a big promotion. Look for easy scalability to VPS or cloud hosting without having to move your site. And support matters most. Does your hosting company offer real 24/7 human support from people who understand WordPress and business websites, or just a chatbot? When your site is down, you need a local expert you can actually call.
5. Local and Transparent Pricing
Avoid hosts that lure you in with $2.95/month then charge $29.95 on renewal. Good business hosting in 2024 costs between $15-$50/month for managed WordPress hosting – it’s worth every penny. You get staging sites, automatic updates, and real speed. At Website Design Fort Wayne, we offer fully managed, high-speed hosting right here in Fort Wayne, so you have one local team for your website, hosting, and support – no more calling India for help.
Your website is your most important salesperson. Don’t put it on a bargain server in a crowded closet.
We can tell in 60 seconds if your hosting is slowing you down or putting you at risk.
Want us to check your current hosting for free?
Call us at 260-220-9000 for a free hosting and speed audit.