4-situations-when-transferring-your-website-is-a-necessityCurrent estimates suggest there may be as many as one billion websites in existence. This statistic among others highlights just how essential it is for businesses today to maintain a website. But it isn’t enough to just throw up a website and forget about it. The website’s performance has everything to do with whether that website is able to do its job of generating new sales leads, maintaining existing customer loyalty and building brand awareness.

Many entrepreneurs launch a new business (to the tune of more than half a million each month) with a great deal of expertise in the industry. But that expertise does not always translate to dealing with websites. With time comes the experience to know when it the right moment to do things differently, including transferring the website to a new hosting provider. This article will outline four unique situations when transferring a website simply becomes a necessity.

Situation 1: The website is slow to load or fails to load at all.

While there are always going to be those moments when sheer online volumes of traffic may slow website load times by a millisecond or two, when a website URL fails to load at all, or any/all pages get hung up for more than a couple of seconds, this is a sign it is time to transfer a website to a new host.

The reason for this is simple: there is a mismatch between what the current hosting provider has to offer and what the website’s visitors are demanding from that site. Often, it is a matter of bandwidth. Sometimes, it is outdated server technology. It can also be that the web host has been compromised by phishing or malware that is slowing service.

Ultimately, every time the website fails to load at all or fails to load quickly enough, inbound web visitors abandon their efforts. They may visit a competitor instead. But they will likely not return for second attempt, which means it is essential to transfer that website to a new host to avoid losing further business.

Situation 2: The website needs functionality the current host does not support.

When it comes to supporting third party apps, plugins and software, all web hosts are not created equally. This is especially true when it comes to e-commerce software, which is required to build and maintain an online store. Many companies are also increasingly moving towards an integrated module-based system that permits integration with employee time sheets and payroll, project and customer management tools and other helps that automate routine business activities.

When a desirable app or software program that will boost the company’s productivity and profits is not supported by the current web host, this smart business choice is to transfer to a new host that will offer integration with the necessary suite of tools, apps and software.

Situation 3: The price for hosting is higher than the value received.

Today, there are literally thousands of web hosts to choose from. While the basic services provided may look similar, how those services are bundled and priced can vary dramatically from one hosting provider to the next. Some web hosts rely on the fact that many of their customers are overly busy or simply unaware that they are paying more than they should be for the bundle of services they are receiving.

This is why it is a smart idea to schedule time at least annually to re-evaluate what the current web host is providing versus what is available from competitors. Here, a few different outcomes are possible:

  • A company may discover they are paying for more services than what they actually use.
  • A company may find out they are being overcharged for the services they do use.
  • A company may learn of a new web host that offers better value for the same or a lower price than what they are currently paying.

The smart choice at this point is to transfer a website that is being overcharged or underserved to a new web host that offers more value for the money.

Situation 4: The current web host does not take security seriously enough.

There is a reason it always makes the national news headlines when another corporation experiences a big data breach. Identity theft affects approximately one out of every 14 people in the nation. Every time a company’s security is compromised and data is hacked or stolen, more customers are handed the nearly impossible task of repairing their lives and credit after having their identity stolen.

This is why any smart web host will always place data backup and security in the number one priority position when serving their customers. Just one data breach can put formerly profitable companies out of business. In the same way, if the web hosting provider fails to back up their customers’ website data consistently, the provider puts each customer at risk of losing business or even going out of business.

If it is discovered that the current web host is not doing their due diligence to provide robust data security and continual backups, that is a clear signal it is time to transfer a website to a new provider who will take these issues seriously.

These four situations represent just a handful of reasons it can make sense to transfer a business website to a new web hosting provider. But they are four of the most important reasons why a transfer may be in order. Luckily, there are many web hosting providers vying for customers, which means that for every web host that provides sub-par speed, value, security or service, there will be another web host that offers all of these things and more.

For companies that are positioning their product and service offerings for long-term success, having a functional, fast-loading, optimized and secure website is not optional. It is a foundational requirement for competing successfully for new business online.