Building an attractive and engaging website that customers love to use is more challenging than you might imagine. The actual construction of a site is only one half of the story. The other half is partnering with a web hosting service provider who knows how to support your site and showcase your business at its best.
Studies show that 66% of people say website performance affects how they perceive a business. If the site they are using is slow to load and does not perform to the standard they expect, users will go elsewhere.
An efficient and enticing website that helps your visitors to quickly find what they are looking for is worth its weight in gold. In a recent survey of UK business owners, 83.5% of respondents said their website ‘plays a big part’ in their ability to grow and scale.
Read the advantages and disadvantages of web hosting services in our article.
Contents
- What does a web hosting service do?
- Do I need a web hosting service?
- How to change web hosting services.
- Discover the benefits of working with Pac Web Hosting.
What Does a Web Hosting Service do?
Web hosting services provide either dedicated hosting or shared hosting services for their clients’ websites. When you purchase a web hosting plan from your host provider, you are essentially renting space on a server which then supports your business files and data.
A professional web hosting service will provide you with the hosting technology capabilities and resources required to securely maintain your website. As part of their support of your site, the host provider should keep the hosting server running smoothly and safely, making sure that reliable security methods are in place.
Do I Need a Web Hosting Service?
Once your website is up and running, maintaining it can be a full time job. Plus, supporting your site on an appropriate hosting server and dealing with any obstacles to keep your site well maintained can be challenging when you have a whole business to oversee.
Hosting a site yourself means you have to develop technical skills that allow you to set up and configure your own server. Then, you have to manage the hardware, software and infrastructure successfully.
Most businesses invest in an experienced web hosting provider to take on the job of hosting their site, ensuring it is secure and making it as visible as possible for potential visitors.
Paying a monthly or annual fee to your web hosting service provider enables you to hand over the intricacies of web hosting to them. If there are any issues, your provider should have the capabilities to rapidly respond and resolve these, without your site or visitors being affected.
Pac Web Hosting transfers your files and databases for you, which means that the whole process is simple, you can be reassured that an expert provider can set up your site on a new server quickly and securely to maintain a smooth service for customers.
How to Change Web Hosting Service Provider
If you need to change web hosts and are not sure where to start, there are a few simple steps that can help. First of all, you need to decide on your website priorities and research the right hosting provider to suit your business objectives.
- Purchase a new host deal
When searching for a new web host provider, you will no doubt want to find a company that creates a seamless transition from your current provider to your new one.
It makes sense to consider medium term priorities within this decision, as excellent website performance, value for money and robust security will be important.
- Download backup files and site database
Use an FTP or file transfer protocol application to download backup files. If you have a dynamic site on a content management system like WordPress, download the MySQL databases associated with the site.
In the admin section of your current host, select the phpMyAdmin section where there should be a list of your website databases. Export your databases and backup files whilst saving a copy to your computer.
- Import files and database to new host
Share your files and database with your new web hosting service provider.
This will enable them to ensure your site continues to perform efficiently and allows users of your site to engage as normal.
- Review and go live
Typically, your new web hosting service provider will provide a temporary domain host for you to test your site should you need it.
Once you have reviewed your website on its new server, you can go live and enjoy full visibility online.
Discover the Benefits of Working with Pac Web Hosting
When you’re in need of a web hosting service that ticks all the boxes and delivers your priorities, Pac Web Hosting is your ideal hosting partner.
Not only do we securely and reliably host your site using all of the latest security protocols, we also nurture your digital presence and help you make closer connections with your site users.
Our web hosting plans cater for all levels of sites, from beginners to more advanced practitioners. You can also access expert support around the clock for those moments when you need a helping hand.
Uncover your perfect web hosting service provider with our shared web hosting plans or contact our friendly team of experts for a chat.
