When Should I Upgrade My Hosting Plan?

Many first-time website owners select a shared hosting plan due to it’s low-cost and beginner-friendly set up. And if you don’t know a lot about hosting, it makes sense to start basic with a cost-effective solution, especially if your content and traffic are fairly minimal. But what about when they start really beefing up – is it time to upgrade your plan? Making the switch too early could mean spending money unnecessarily, but waiting too long could affect your site’s performance. Here’s how you’ll know for sure if you’re ready to upgrade.

1. Cost Isn’t An Issue Anymore
   It’s true, one of the biggest reasons first-time site owners choose a shared plan is because of cost. But at a certain point in your business growth, you may be willing to put more toward a better hosting plan. With increased traffic volumes and more content, your needs may involve customizing your space, adding more sites, or stepping up your site’s performance, which isn’t an option on a shared server. If you’re able to spend a little more for your plan (we recommend a dedicated server for these types of needs), the benefits are worth the investment. 
2. Your Site is Running Slower
   All consumers today expect sites to load in 3 seconds or less. An extra second or two could cost you a customer, while also negatively impacting your search result ranking. Slow performance may be the result of your server not providing the bandwidth or RAM that your site needs to function properly. You can try testing your site’s performance with services like Pingdom or WebPagetest, and if it’s telling you certain aspects of your web pages are too slow or too big, it’s probably time for an upgrade. 
3. You’re Experiencing Too Much Downtime
   The industry standard for uptimes is over 99%. While any downtime is bad for your site, too much can devastate your business. If a customer can’t visit your site, chances are they won’t try again. GigeNET’s dedicated servers offer 100% uptime guarantee to make sure you never miss an opportunity. If your site is suffering frequent downtime, then you may be experiencing more traffic or using more resources than your host can handle. 
4. You’re Worried About Security
   If your website is hosting confidential data or clients’ personal information, then optimal security is paramount to your business. While shared plans from a quality provider are fairly secure, single-tenant infrastructures, like dedicated servers, offer more advanced levels of security to help you better protect your site from malicious infiltrations and attacks. If privacy and reliability are becoming more of a concern for you, then you may want to upgrade to a more secure hosting plan.   
   
5. You Need More Space & Resources

A common issue newer sites face is not having enough space to store files and data. Any type of downloaded content, like videos and images, all require a lot of space. As your business evolves and your site experiences more user activity, you’ll most likely require more storage space to continue smooth operations. You may also be looking to build or promote more web-based apps or other online programs into your site, which can eat up your bandwidth very fast. By upgrading to a larger, more customizable hosting plan with more resources, you can incorporate new features and continue to grow your business.
If you’re looking for more information about upgrading your plan or deciding on the right plan for your business, our experts are happy to answer any questions you may have. Learn more about our dedicated servers and Cloud servers today.