Your hosting plan acts as the foundation for your website because it provides a smooth user experience by handling traffic and storing data. Like everything else in life your hosting plan needs a change too. When you notice that things aren’t working as well as they used to as your website is growing. Maybe your site loads slower or crashes more often now. These things could be a sign that it’s time to upgrade.
Let’s explore the different signs that show your current hosting plan is not enough anymore and you need to upgrade it.
Signs To Upgrade Your Hosting Plan
Here is what you need to look for before to change hosting plan:
1. Your Website Experiences Frequent Downtime
Downtime means when your website goes offline or becomes inaccessible and it can seriously harm your business. Most of the time a reason behind downtime is the heavy traffic. If you have a shared hosting plan then your site will struggle when there is a sudden spike on visitors. When you notice that this issue is happening very frequently then it is time to change your hosting plan.
You should upgrade to a better and stronger plan like a dedicated server or a VPS. This will reduce the downtime and keep your website up even during high traffic volume.
2. Your Site's Speed is Declining
The longer your website takes to load the lesser sales you make. This is because your bounce rate goes up by 90% when the load time goes from one to five seconds [Source: TechReport]. A common reason for slow load time is that your hosting plan does not have enough resources.
If your website has heavy content and increased traffic now then it will need more bandwidth and faster servers. So to maintain speed you will need to upgrade to a new hosting plan.
3. You Are Running Out of Storage Space
As you add more content to your website you may run out of storage space on your current plan. This can limit your ability to upload new files, images and videos. Plus it can even lead to site errors such as missing content, database write error or 500 internal server error. If you are seeing such issues and warnings about storage limits then it is a clear indication that your hosting plan should have more capacity.
All you need to do is upgrade to a plan with more storage to accommodate the needs of your growing website.
4. You Need Better Security Features
If your website handles sensitive information like customer data or payment details then you need to have proper security. You actually put your site data at risk of threats and breaches if your current hosting plan lacks advanced security features. This is usually a problem with shared hosting plans as they provide basic security which is not sufficient for websites with high protection.
You should upgrade to a plan with improved security features like better firewalls, regular backups, DDoS protection, SSL certificates, malware scans and more.
5. Your Traffic is Growing Rapidly
Most people go for a basic hosting plan when they launch a new website. This is because there is not enough traffic on sites in the beginning. But as your waist and digital presence grows you experience a lot of visitors. This requires more resources to handle the load and avoid issues like loading errors.
You can change your hosting plan to a new one that offers more bandwidth and resources like higher CPU and RAM allocations. This will make sure that your site continues to perform well even as your visitors grow.
6. You Need More Customization Options
If your website continues to grow over time then you may find that you need higher levels of control and customization than what is offered by your present hosting plan. Shared hosting plans generally include restrictions that may affect your capacity to set up settings or put in particular software.
If you think that these restrictions are limiting your website's functionality and ability to grow then it is time to move up to a plan that provides more customization.
7. You’re Planning a Big Sale or Event
You should expect more traffic if you’re planning a major sale or event on your website. During these peak traffic periods your website needs to handle more visitors than usual which could lead to a crash or slowing down. This means you will need a more powerful hosting plan that can handle huge traffic while maintaining site performance and preventing potential downtime. You can go for a hosting plan that offers unlimited bandwidth, unlimited database and super fast resources.
What to Look for When Upgrading a Hosting Plan?
Choosing a hosting plan is a make-or-break future decision. Thus it is important to make a well-thought out decision and then choose your ideal package. Wondering what makes a perfect hosting plan
Here is the list of features every hosting plan must have:
- Rock-Solid Security
As mentioned above, a website’s security cannot be compromised at any cost. This is why it is important to check whether your chosen plan offers you a variety of security features or not.
- Content Delivery Network (CDN)
CDN software is best if your services are for global users. It simply creates various copies of your site and shares them with other servers around the world to boost your website’s performance. Thus, make sure, the hosting plan you choose can give you access to a Content Delivery Network.
- Flexibility and Affordability
Switching from shared server to VPS and from VPS to dedicated server, this process keeps on going as per your website’s requirements. The problem can occur if your chosen host surprises you with expensive plans. Before making any choice, make sure the price is right. Else you might suffer in the coming years.
- Account Privacy
It’s important to check that your hosting plan offers you a private account. Not just to run your site as per your choice, but also to safeguard your data as well.
- Unlimited Space
Upgrading the hosting plan means spending more money. Still, if you could not enjoy your desired disk space, then choosing an expensive hosting plan isn’t worth it.
- 99.9% Uptime Consistency
Whatever services you offer; your website should not suffer downtime. Else, you would alienate a steady stream of your potential customers. Ideally, with 99.9% uptime, your website stays online frequently.
FAQs
Can I upgrade my web hosting plan?
Yes most web hosting providers allow you to upgrade your hosting plan at any time. Simply log into your account, choose the plan upgrade option and follow the steps provided by the service provider.
How do I know if my hosting has expired?
You will receive notifications from your hosting provider before your hosting expires. You can also check the status of your hosting plan through your account’s dashboard to see the expiration date.
Can you change the web hosting service?
Yes, you can change your web hosting service any time. You can migrate your website files, databases and settings to the new hosting provider. Most hosting companies offer transfer support to ease the process.
Will I lose my files if I don't renew my hosting?
Your files may be deleted after a grace period if you don’t renew your hosting. Always back up your data and renew as soon as possible to avoid losing any website files or important information.
