Your website relies on its hosting provider to make sure it remains accessible to users at all times. What many people don’t realize, however, is that it’s quite common to “outgrow” a hosting plan as your website expands. The web hosting plan that worked so well when you first launched your site might not cut it a few years down the road. By knowing how to identify the signs that you’ve outgrown your web host, you can make the changes you need to best serve your website and its visitors.
What Are Your Page-Load Speeds?
Page-loading speeds matter for a number of reasons. For starters, visitors become quickly and easily frustrated by slow-loading pages on a website. Therefore, if your site’s speeds are too slow, you could be driving potential customers away. Site speeds also affect your search engine optimization (SEO) results, as Google ranks faster websites higher on their search engine results pages (SERPs).
You can quickly test your site speed using a free tool, such as Google’s PageSpeed Insights. If your load times are too slow for your liking, it may be time to upgrade your web hosting plan.
How Does Your Server Handle Traffic Spikes?
Even if your site seems to run properly most of the time, you’ll want to consider how it performs when you experience large and unexpected spikes in traffic. Your website needs to be able to handle a large influx of visitors; however, many servers can become overwhelmed when this occurs. As a result, you might experience slow page-loading times or even server downtime. If you’ve run into downtime or other issues as a result of traffic spikes in the past, it’s probably time to ramp up your hosting plan.
Are Your Resources Being Shared?
Many people opt for shared hosting plans when they first launch their websites. After all, these plans tend to be affordable, and when your traffic is relatively low and your site isn’t using much in the way of resources, this type of hosting may work just fine. As your site grows, however, you might begin to experience high latency and other issues as your server struggles to keep up. This is common with shared hosting plans because you’re literally sharing your resources (including bandwidth and RAM) with several other users.
If you’re still using shared hosting, consider upgrading to a dedicated hosting plan, so you can avoid having to divvy up your site’s resources with others.
Do You Have Enough Security in Place?
There’s no overstating the importance of security when choosing a hosting plan. If your current server has had issues with security in the past, or if you’re not enjoying free standard security features like DDoS protection, you could be putting your information at risk. It’s best to opt for a dedicated server hosting plan, many of which feature 24/7 physical security at data centers, encryption options, and more.
Making the Switch to a Dedicated Server
Are you ready to upgrade to a dedicated server? ReliableSite has you covered with the customizable dedicated servers and scalable hosting plans you need to maximize your site’s performance. Reach out today to learn more or set up your server!