If you are reading these lines, there is a good possibility your site is successful and you think about whether or not it is time to upgrade. The truth is that even if you use the best shared hosting package out there, eventually, it will be time to upgrade. Knowing when to do it can help you keep business growth steady and will maximize the effectiveness of your site.
Regardless of what you will upgrade to, from a higher tier in the shared hosting pool or a fully dedicated server, think about the following as signs it is time to change.
Website Performance Is Slow
Potential customers leave your site when it is slow. Nowadays, the acceptable loading time is just 2 seconds. When loading time goes over this time frame, user levels quickly decrease.
Page loading speed can be negatively impacted by several things. However, when it is a big problem, there is a pretty good possibility it is due to server bandwidth. As a result, it is most likely time to upgrade. Your server has to be able to fully hold all the traffic you have.
Downtime Often Happens
When a site outage happens, the customer cannot access the site. It is also common to see customers searching the site but nothing ends up loading. Sales are instantly impacted and the website’s reputation goes down.
The website has to be up and running for at least 99% of the time. When things are different, you have to upgrade the hosting plan.
Security Concerns Appeared
Security needs to be a main priority for every single site owner. As the site grows, eventually it will become a target for hackers and other people that will want access. You need to make sure your site is secured.
Most hosting plans give you access to some security upgrades to consider. But, if you already used them and issues still exist, it is time to upgrade the hosting package.
Hosting Features Got Expensive
This is a sign you need to change your hosting package that few people know about. As time passes, you often find yourself paying for some extra hosting features. These are paid and the investment you make might become way too high.
Whenever you see features that are way too expensive, it is time to upgrade.
You Expand The Domain
When you have to expand the website into new domains, there is a very good possibility you need to change your current hosting setup. There is actually a very good possibility you will need to invest into a dedicated server, preferably a managed one if you do not have enough people to manually manage the server.
Final Thoughts
There are several other situations in which you have to upgrade your hosting. However, those above are definitely the most common ones. Usually, you need to use due diligence to decide if it is time for you to make the upgrade or you can still use what you have. Alternatives are sometimes available, like getting a new package like yours for a new website you launch. However, in most cases, if you see situations like what was mentioned above, it is time to switch.
