Buying a new domain, having it hosted, and getting a new website developed is an exciting journey for any business owner.
Whether you’re embarking on a new venture or expanding an existing one, your website is the cornerstone of your business’s digital presence – offering a convenient way for customers to learn more about it, and ultimately purchase products or services.
Setting up a website isn’t all rainbows and sunshine though. In fact, many companies have shocking stories to tell of lost money, poor product quality, or sheer underhandedness when engaging with domain, hosting or web providers. That is why it is important to know how to choose a good web hosting solution.
If you’replanning to establish a new domain or website, here are 3 things you’ll want to be wary of…
1. Cheap services can mean cheap and dirty tricks
To a startup, paying pennies on the dollar to register a new domain may sound like a dream come true. After all, why pay $30 with one company if you can get it for $10 through another?
However, many people have unfortunately found that the old adage reigns supreme – “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!”
Stories of hosting providers stealing domains run rampant online, even from seemingly reputable brands.
The same applies to hosting, where cheap services can go hand in hand with issues such as frequent downtime, lack of notifications, problems with payments, and more. The operation may be little more than a backroom server, which is definitely not equipped to support lots of web traffic or empower your business to grow.
When it comes to your website, selecting the cheapest developer on the block is likely to leave your online visitors more than a little underwhelmed. The site may also be plagued with issues such as lengthy loading times or malfunctioning forms, which will turn potential customers away – costing you money in the long run.
2. Lack of security is a risk to your business
Website security is crucial to protecting your online presence, and should be built into the foundation of your hosting, as well as your website’s structure.
While you can generally purchase security plug-ins for content management systems, you really need an experienced team to install and manage them if you’re serious about protecting your site.
This specialist expertise isn’t available from many domain, hosting or website providers – yet it may be the one thing that safeguards your website and eliminates the serious risks (such as reputational damage) that can stem from an online hack.
3. Zero personalisation will always leave you wanting more
Any domain or hosting provider, or web developer, that keeps their customers at arms’ length cannot truly provide a personalised product. Yet, especially when it comes to your website, a personalised product is vital to creating a memorable online presence that captivates your customers.
You want a provider that not only offers an easy way to contact them if you have questions or concerns, but gets to know your business intimately so it can support you in the best possible way.
For example, we established Empreus Domains to fill a need that our IT customers shared with us. They were so happy with our IT support and managed IT services, that they asked for an even greater holistic solution to their IT needs.
Instead of delivering a single product, we offer entire solutions that address all of our clients’ IT requirements – from domains, hosting and website development, to internet services, networking support, backup and disaster recovery, printers, VoIP, and so much more.
To ask how we can develop a solution for your business, including establishing a new domain or developing a new website, please get in touch.