Have you heard the idea that all web hosting is the pretty much the same? Well, that’s a huge myth we’re here to dispel. The truth is that while hosting services may appear to be similar on the surface, when you really get down into the details and what’s “under the hood,” the differences are glaring.

We’ve put together signs to watch to see if a web hosting service is holding your business back. If you notice these signs, then it’s time to look for a new host or possibly upgrade your service.

1). Slow Loading Times

The faster a site loads, the happier visitors and search engines are! Visitors quickly leave a site that takes too long to load. They are short on time and need answers now. When it comes to search engines such as Google, they use loading speed as a way to determine a site’s rank. Even a delay of just one second is enough to reduce conversions and ensure your site ends up lower in the search results.

If you’re not sure about your site’s loading speed, you can visit Google’s PageSpeed Insights Tool. Just type in the URL for the site you’d like to check. The results will provide you with a score that reflects your site’s speed on both mobile and desktops. Check to see if your site loads fast on both types of devices. The reason is that many more site visitors are now using their smartphones and other mobile devices to visit websites.

If your site appears slow, it could be due to several causes including the plugins and themes on the site. However, your web hosting service could also be slowing down your site. For instance, a shared server can slow your site considerably. In this case, you may want to consider changing the website hosting service or upgrading from a shared sever.

2). Poor Performance During Peaks

Did you know your website could be draining resources for other customers? It’s true, especially if you have a busy site, which requires a lot of resources such as visitors using the shopping cart, and more. The more visitors and activity on the site, the more resources needed to keep it all running. This means your site could be reaching the resource limits at peak times during the day, or even around the holidays.

A slow shopping experience is enough to make site visitors leave, ensuring you lose out on the money from their conversions. This means loss of business for your company.

Rather than being upset by this issue, be happy and celebrate! This type of issue is truly a sign of success. It means that you’re ready to upgrade your hosting package or switching to a hosting service that can better accommodate your business.

3). You’re Unable to Use Software You’d Like

This is a problem that’s often seen in shared hosting. Because the websites are hosted on the same server, then it’s necessary that everyone has the same OS. It must ensure that most websites are able to perform optimally.

However, using a shared service can keep you from using programs that don’t work with the server’s OS or they must be configured to correctly run on the server.

So, if you’re in this situation, then it’s best to upgrade to a server of your own. Then you’ll be able to use an OS that’s compatible with your software.

4). Users Draining Resources

Another common issue is users on a shared server draining resources, which can significantly slow down your site. This can also be caused if a server host puts too many users on one server. They go with the idea that most sites are not heavy resources users. So, the server can handle the demands of too many users. However, what happens if 2-3 websites begin to use more resources than before? This can lead to performance issues for other sites located on the same server.

So, you do choose shared hosting, then it’s a good idea to see if the host uses tools to keep customers from using too many resources. If not, then it’s probably time to upgrade to your own server, or choose a new hosting service.

5). Server has Bad IP Reputation

This is another common problem on a shared server. The server your site is on has its own IP address. If other customers on the same server are conducting activities that are illegal or inappropriate, then the IP address can be blacklisted. Activities that can cause this including spam, hosting malware, and more. If you’re on a server that’s been blacklisted, your site will rank lower in the search results, and emails may also be blocked.

What’s more, the owner of the site that’s causing the IP address issue may not even be guilty of inappropriate actions. It could be they were hacked, or their site was infected. This usually happens if the site doesn’t have proper security measures in place.

Your website host service provide should have security features built into the serve that prevent the IP address from being blacklisted. Security features that a host should employ include email monitoring, server monitoring, a dedicated IP address, firewalls, and intrusion monitoring.

6). Cheap Web Hosting is Tempting But…

That old saying that “you get what you pay for” holds true when it comes to web hosting services. It’s temping to choose a plan that has a cheap price. However, the cheap price may cover up the fact that the host is leaving your site vulnerable to all types of security issues including cyberattacks, hacking, and more. Your cheap web hosting service may not have all the security features needed to keep you safe online.

You’ll have a site that loads slowly and could easily suffer a major security problem online.

Consider Upgrading an Investment

As you can see a bad web host, bad neighbours on a shared server, and more can cause problems for your website. Your site can be exploited in any number of ways by using a poor web hosting service.

For this reason, why not consider upgrading to your own server? While it may be more expensive, having your own server comes with many benefits. The main one is that you won’t have to deal with bad neighbours that can cause the IP address to be blacklisted. In addition, your site’s performance will improve, which means more business from site visitors. So, consider upgrading as an investment in your business. It’s worth the extra money to have a more secure site that offers site visitors a great experience. It’s a win all around if your visitors convert, and Google ranks you higher in the search results. You’ll have more business, which will soon pay for that upgrade to your own server!