Running a local business in the UK? The Importance of Choosing a Local Hosting Company

Featured article by Emily Roberts, Independent Technology Author

It’s easy to overlook the importance of hosting company location when you’re hoping to get your website up and running quickly. If your company operates out of the United Kingdom, however, you should be thinking about choosing a provider that keeps their servers in the UK too – and this is for a number of reasons.

Of course, when you’re looking for a hosting company, the first thing that springs to mind is often the cost. There are plenty of hosting companies out there that offer seemingly identical products for much less than the going rate, but if this isn’t ringing alarm bells, there’s something you should know: not all web hosting is made equal.

More often than not, cheaper web hosting will get you up and running, but then leave your SEO to gradually slump due to ongoing issues with speed, security and technical problems. That’s not to say that more expensive hosting companies are all more diligent, but you’ll often find the services they provide far outstrip the budget web hosts by miles.

Local Means Faster

Site speed can affect your ranking significantly, and if you’re moving hosts to create a more responsive and better-performing website, you need to take into consideration the geographic location of your web host.

Believe it or not, geographical location is a major factor to consider when choosing a web host, and it really will affect the speed and responsiveness of your website.

According to Business Blog Hub: “Consumers like fast loading web sites and if your web pages take too long to load, then they will leave and go to your competitor’s website.” It really is as simple as that!

Not only do your visitors prefer your site to be faster, Google does too. Ranking hinges quite dramatically on how quickly your website loads, and search engines use speed and responsiveness to see how well-suited your website is to individuals searching for websites related to your keywords and content. If you’re not fast – you’re not on the list and you’re not coming in!

Easier Techie Help

There are some web hosts out there that claim to offer 24/7 support, but if their base is on the other side of the world, it can feel like your website is the last thing on their agenda. Choosing a local web hosting company means opting for a firm which specialises in providing hosting services to organisations in the UK, adhering to all the legislations and requirements that that entails.

On Top5hosting.co.uk, the author suggests that finding out about the support offered is one of the main conversations you should be having with a prospective web host. “If the hosting company has good hardware, your site either works good or it does not at all. And if the second happens you want to be able to reach someone with competence that is able to solve your problem.”

If your website goes down – and no matter how good it is, there is always a chance that it might – you need to know that the people manning your server are competent, experienced and close at hand. The longer you wait, the more money your website is hemorrhaging in the form of customers being turned away from your digital storefront. Hosting locally means being in the same time zone, speaking the same language and understanding how business is done in your country. There are no international legal grey areas to navigate. It just makes things easier, and safer, which is another main point to consider.

Security for Your Website – and Your Customers

Search engines inflict harsh penalties on websites that don’t play by the security rules. The thing is, most organisations don’t realise they’ve been flauting any regulations or acting illegally until it’s too late. How? Through the negative actions of hackers and attackers, using websites to create nefarious backlinks, access customer data or simply take your website offline to suit their own means – whatever they may be.

UK-based hosting companies should offer to show you the security regulations they adhere to. If they don’t, you’re always welcome to ask. Anyone dancing around the matter should be treated with extra caution. Security is of utmost importance online and your hosting company should take this very seriously indeed – it’s their job to, after all.

In the end, it’s entirely your decision to choose a web host that suits your needs, wherever they are based. These tips hopefully show how useful and beneficial it is to gain hosting services within your local geographic area. If you’re still not sure, researching is your best bet, to get the information you need to make a full and informed decision.

Choosing a web host isn’t the easiest decision you’ll ever make, but it is important, so make sure you go in with a list of questions and end up happy with the company you choose.