The initial reaction to your e-commerce solution may be a positive one, but that could all change depending on the perception of your customers. Believe it or not, the company you sign up with and the service they provide can either make or break your business. If your solution does not possess the following qualities, achieving success online will be very difficult and maybe even impossible.
Critical Security Features
There are a number of components associated with your hosting platform that can affect how customers perceive your business. One of the important of all is security. This is one aspect that cannot be overlooked because it will help you establish trusting relationships and the confidence customers need to feel safe when sharing their sensitive information with you. Proven and visible security mechanisms such as SSL certificates will help to create the trust and confidence you need to be successful with an online business. By neglecting to use them, you stand the risk of losing many customers because the consumer is growing increasingly aware of the potential dangers that come along with shopping online.
Speed and High Availability
The performance of your e-commerce site is critical, especially in today’s fast paced on-demand world. If your hosting provider is utilizing slow servers, potential customers will more than likely click their way to the competition. A degraded performance will undoubtedly impact your bottom line and possibly cause your company to go out of business. This can all be avoided by choosing a host that uses the best server hardware and redundant connections to the internet. It is the overall reliability of their infrastructure that will determine the success of your business.
Adequate Server and Network Capacity
Selecting an e-commerce hosting package with limited storage and bandwidth capacity is like intentionally placing restrictions on the potential of your business. It is highly recommended to choose a plan that provides enough of both resources to compensate for expansion. Although many hosts offer solutions with unlimited resources, this marketing ploy can actually work to your disadvantage once your files and traffic start bursting through the seams of the server. When you are no longer able to update your site due to the lack of disk space and visitors cannot access your site because the bandwidth has been exceeded, your audience will view you in a negative light and this will definitely serve as a crucial blow to your credibility.
Having a secure and reliable hosting solution is critical to any online business. While some of your more loyal customers may give you a second shot in the midst of slow loading pages and unavailability, most new prospects will never return and seek out someone who is more capable of meeting their needs. When starting your journey with an online business, always remember that excessive downtime results in lost customers and lost sales. It is simple as that. A host that can assure you a reliable and secure environment gives you the best opportunity to keep your customers happy and your bottom line on the profitable side of the spectrum.
