One of the first decisions which need to be taken when building and developing a website is Web hosting. While price is usually a major factor, choosing a hosting package based solely on the lowest cost can be a mistake sometimes. It is important to choose a reliable hosting provider who offers the needed features and services. Additionally, security and customer service should play a primary role in choosing a website hosting company. If your business primarily targets customers in a particular geographic region, purchasing hosting in that region may also provide search engine visibility benefits.
Before we discuss the benefits of Local Web hosting, lets first understand what exactly web hosting is.
Web hosting is a necessity for any website — it is the physical location of your website on the Internet, an online storage center that houses the information, images, video, and other content that comprises your website. Web hosting service providers maintain the server where the data associated with your website resides, and also manage the technology that helps your website connect to the Internet.
Website hosting is typically measured in the amount of disk space you’re allotted on the server and the amount of data transfer or “bandwidth” you need for accessing the server. For example, if you have many customer interaction at your website, such as files to download, you will access the server frequently and you’ll need more Web hosting transfer space than someone who simply puts readable text on their website. The more “items” or “content” you have on your site (i.e., photos, maps, PDF files, etc.), the more disk space you’ll need for website hosting.
There can be no doubt that you can find lots of great web hosting providers out there today. But before you do a search for the biggest foreign hosting company, try looking local first because of the awesome advantages your business website gets from using a local hosting company. Here are just a few of the reasons why you should look local for your web hosting:
- Faster Loading Times for Local Visitors: Your website speed is seriously important. And since the distance your website data needs to travel from its server has an impact on speed, the closer your customers are to that server, the better.
- Better Customer Service: With a local company, all you need to do is pick up the phone to talk to a real person with practical answers to your questions.
- Better Security: If your website is vulnerable, so is your business. Hence if your web hosting company is local, it helps you to establish a more significant business relationship with them and keep your data secure.
- Better Search Result Rankings: When you have a local business, if you host your site in your area, it could significantly boost your ranking on various search engines.
- Local is Simply Better: If you’re a local business, you know the value of supporting the economy of your community. Because when everyone shops locally, everyone benefits.
Contact any of NiRA’s Accredited Registrars to find out more about local hosting and registering a .ng domain name.
