The Best Web Hosting For Small Business In 2022
As you research the best web hosting for small businesses, you may come across terms and phrases that are unfamiliar to you. It is critical to understand what you require and what is merely desirable.
What Does Website Caching Do?
A cache temporarily stores data, requiring less processing power on a server. Caching can take place on hardware or in software. If you visit a website once, the data on that page is cached, so the next time you visit it, everything loads faster. It's a useful feature that can boost your site's performance, especially for returning visitors.
What Exactly Is a CDN, and Do You Require One?
A content delivery network (CDN) is a type of physical caching. A CDN typically distributes data across multiple servers located all over the world. Your website is typically hosted on a single server in a single location.
Some web hosts allow you to select the server that best suits your target audience. If you have a global audience, you may need to use a CDN. It allows for faster loading times for anyone who visits your website, regardless of location.
How Significant Is WHOIS Privacy?
You must include contact information, such as your address and phone number, when you register a domain name. Anyone can look up WHOIS information on any website, so if you don't mask your information, you could be inviting spam, telemarketers, and other unwanted contacts.
Some web hosts offer WHOIS privacy as part of their hosting plans, but not all. Instead of your personal information, you can use a business address and phone number. It may be worth the extra cost to obtain WHOIS privacy masking, which will display non-personally identifying information.
Why Do You Require an SSL Certificate?
A secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate is an encrypted code that protects data transferred between machines. If you see the small lock icon at the top left of the URL in a browser (also indicated by the "s" in "https"), you know the site has this. As a result, it protects both your site and its visitors.
An SSL certificate is essential, especially if you have an e-commerce website, because it helps secure credit card information and passwords. Furthermore, if you secure your site with an SSL certificate, you will have an easier time ranking in Google's search engine results.
Most web hosts include an SSL certificate at no additional cost, though some do. Furthermore, the majority of websites use the Let's Encrypt version of an SSL certificate, which is a domain-validated (DV) SSL. A single-domain SSL certificate is sufficient for most small businesses, but you may want to consider purchasing an extended-validated (EV) SSL certificate, which provides greater site validity.
