6 signs it’s time to switch hosting providers

There are more than 300,000 web hosting providers worldwide. So choosing the one that’s right for you - especially when you’re first starting out – can be difficult.

Faced with all the overwhelming details, you might even make the wrong choice.

The good news is that, if you do, you’re not trapped.

While switching providers may seem like a hassle, it doesn’t have to be if you make smart choices and let your new host help you out.

In this post, we’ll discuss six clear signs that show you it’s time to switch your provider and look into how to make a switch as smooth as possible.

1. You’re experiencing slow loading speed on your website

Slow websites are annoying for the user and they affect search engine optimisation (SEO) rankings, customer loyalty, and conversion rates, too.

To avoid performance issues due to slow page speeds you should check your page speed regularly.

There’s a range of free tools available to help you out with this, including Pingdom and Google’s Page Speed Insights.

While there are many possible reasons for slow page speed, your server could be one of them.

An easy way to tell if your server is the issue is to test your website’s page speed with the help of a tool from different virtual locations.

If it works well from one location but takes longer times to load from other places, you can be certain the server location is the cause.

Taking your hosting with a provider who offers servers in more than one location can help address this issue.

2. You’re experiencing increased downtime

What is more frustrating than wanting to access a website or an online shop and being redirected to an error page?

Any time your website is down, you are potentially losing customers long-term. It makes you appear unreliable and signals poor quality to your users.

Your website will also start ranking lower on Google if you experience regular downtime, as the algorithm filters out pages with poor server performance.

Especially for online shops, server downtime can mean a huge decrease in revenue. If your site is constantly down, your hosting provider could have something to do with it.

Things to look for in a new provider include the reliability of hosting equipment and security features like firewalls and automatic daily security scans – such as those included in tsoHost’s WordPress hosting plans.

3. You need more resources than your provider can offer

When you’re just starting out with your website, there’s a good chance you’re starting out small.

You may have different needs now than when you first launched your website.

A site with higher traffic might need a server upgrade to be able to handle these increased traffic volumes.

Sometimes it’s enough to increase the resources on your current plan or switch from a shared to a VPS server.

Switching hosting providers can help you benefit from different and more elaborate features than your current provider offers, too.

Either way, comparing different hosting providers and their offers is always a good idea to get the best possible offer to suit your website’s personal needs.

4. You have seen better offers elsewhere

Web hosting is often the most expensive part of having a website and a cost that comes back around constantly.

Even though it’s true that you usually get what you pay for, and the cheapest deal is not always the best, it’s important to pay attention to getting the best value for your money.

You might be paying for a bigger plan than you need or have a package with extensive features you don’t use.

In that case, it definitely makes sense to keep an eye out for a good deal that suits your needs.

Again, comparing plans and providers is key to receiving the best possible service at an affordable price.

Keep an eye out for tsoHost’s regular seasonal sales and special offers.

5. Your server security is compromised

Compromised server security is one of the main reasons for server downtime and it can be detrimental in many ways.

Hacker attacks can take advantage of a server’s weakness and do damage beyond repair: stolen user data including payment information, destruction of important website data, or the loss of your entire site to only name a few.

Using a hosting provider with high-security standards will definitely pay off in the long run.

Some security features to look out for include SSL certificates, firewalls, and malware scanning.

6. Customer service is not as helpful as you’d like

Helpful customer service is often worth more than money can buy.

Even as a professional, you might encounter times where you need help with a hosting-related error on your website.

Being able to contact your hosting provider fast enough and getting the help you need can be crucial.

If you find your hosting provider hard to get hold of or not educated enough to help you solve issues on your website, you might want to consider switching to a provider with more high-quality support - check out TrustPilot to see how tsoHost’s customers rate their support.

How to switch to a new hosting provider

If the above signs ring a bell with you, it’s probably time to find a new hosting provider.

The good news is that tsoHost makes migrating your website simple.

tsoHost's WordPress hosting plans come with a specially designed plugin, that allows you to automatically migrate your site to your new hosting package in a few steps.

Our cPanel Hosting, Business Hosting, and VPS plans, meanwhile, come with free migration.

For more details visit our WordPress, cPanel, Business and VPS product pages.