<img src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Web-Hosting-for-Business.jpg" alt="Web Hosting for Business" width="285" height="177" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-9630" />Sometimes, it can be easy to ignore the hosting company you've chosen. Maybe you've used them for years and just don't feel like switching. However, if you don't have the right hosting company, it could be costing your business from growth opportunities.

It's pretty clear, today's business world requires a website for real success. A website requires hosting, and the right hosting can lead to business growth. When you choose one of the best hosting companies, you have the ability to do more and gain more exposure because your foundation is great.

<h2>A Website is Like a House</h2>

Your website is like a house that attracts a ton of visitors every single day. It's built on a foundation, which is your hosting company. If that foundation is weak, the house won't remain steady and could blow over in the wind, sink due to rain or fall apart because of a poor structure. In addition, if the house isn't built in the right location, it will be harder for visitors to find it.

This is similar to your website on the wrong hosting. Since hosting acts as your foundation, if it's slow, not well secured or suffers from pockets of downtime, you won't attract as many visitors. 

Imagine your website is the house, again and your hosting is the foundation. If the foundation disappears, what happens to the house, even if just for an hour? This image is much like what happens to your online real estate if your hosting company cannot keep their servers up - it disappears.

<h2>Necessary Factors for Good Hosting</h2>

<img src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Poor-Customer-Service.jpg" alt="Poor Customer Service" width="168" height="113" class="alignright size-full wp-image-7684" />If the right web host leads to business growth, how do you find the right web host? It's not as hard as it may seem, but there are thousands to sift through, sort of.

When you understand the key factors to look at and the one factor to nearly ignore, you'll be able to spot a great hosting company quickly. 

<strong>Key Hosting Company Factors</strong>

There are four key factors known as the four "S's":
<ul>
<li>Support</li>
<li>Security</li>
<li>Stability</li>
<li>Service</li>
</ul>
Support is one of the most important things to look at since it may be the only difference between a good hosting company and a great hosting company. It must be offered 24/7 through multiple channels (phone, text, email, ticket system, chat, social media, etc.). If the support is less than 24/7, the company isn't a good choice.

Security also plays a huge role as a less secure hosting company will get hacked and you'll suffer downtime. Make sure you look at the protocol they use for security and make sure they offer DDoS protection. DDoS attacks are very common today and if a hosting company isn't protected, it's a bad sign.

Stability may also be considered uptime/downtime. A stable hosting company will be able to give you a 99.99% uptime guarantee. Anything less, even 99.9%, won't cut it. That additional 0.09% can lead to hours upon hours of downtime every year.

Service is the final "S" and while it's important, the other three are the most important factors. A company offering great customer service, however, will treat you like a person, not a number or a dollar sign. This is a good sign of a great hosting company.

<strong>One Factor to Ignore</strong>

While you may disagree, the truth is, price matters very little when searching for a great hosting company. Bad hosting companies will sell services for the same price as good ones and great ones. In addition, shared hosting can range from $1 a month to $25 per month with most similar packages only having a $1-$2 difference. 

When the cost difference is less than $20 per year (if you compare similar packages) it's not enough to make or break any business budget. Take price out of the equation and look at the other factors when choosing a hosting company.

<h2>More to Consider with VPS and Dedicated Hosting Options</h2>

<img src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/22765970_s-300x225.jpg" alt="Right Web Host" width="300" height="225" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-10789" />If you want incredible options for growth with your business, shared hosting is only going to serve you for a short amount of time. Once you start to see traffic coming in or you grow to a certain level, you'll need to upgrade to VPS or dedicated hosting. This means, you'll have to switch companies, if you chose a shared hosting only option.

Instead of choosing a company only offering shared hosting, choose a great hosting option with multiple shared hosting packages, multiple levels of VPS hosting and multiple levels of dedicated server hosting. With different packages, you can grow as your own pace and upgrade/downgrade as necessary.

Don't make your hosting decision lightly. While the right web host will lead to business growth, the wrong web host can lead to disaster. Make sure you compare a few companies and separate the good from the great.
