However, there are a maze of options. Finding the best hosting for your eCommerce needs can be tricky. We’ll outline what types of hosting will suit your business, highlight important features of an effective hosting provider, and introduce you to the leading eCommerce hosting services.

Plus, we’ll share insights on why certain providers might be the perfect match for your operation. Our goal is to equip you with knowledge, not just options, so you can make an informed decision that fuels your business’s growth and satisfies your customers.

Best Types of eCommerce Web Hosting

While you can get started on any hosting plan, the most suitable type of hosting for your business will depend on the specific resources and features you need, as well as your budget. Let’s take a look at the options available:

Shared Web Hosting

Shared hosting is like renting a workspace in an office building. It’s an entry-level, cost-effective option where you share resources, like storage, processor power, and memory, with other websites on the same physical server. It is an ideal choice for small or newly launched eCommerce sites.

While shared hosting is wallet-friendly and simple to set up, most hosting providers don’t have the power to handle sudden surges in web traffic, which could slow down your site temporarily.

Our Shared Web Hosting plans shine here, offering free SSL certificates for secure transactions and SSD storage for faster access to your site.

Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting

As your business grows, you might need more resources and features, similar to moving from a shared workspace into your own office suite. That’s where VPS hosting comes in.

It provides dedicated resources on a server shared with fewer users, enhancing your site’s performance and security. It’s a fantastic middle ground for medium-sized businesses or those experiencing growth.

You gain more control over your hosting environment, which means you can tailor it to fit your needs while still being conscious of your budget.

A2 Hosting’s VPS Hosting is designed for speed and scalability, ensuring your e-commerce store can expand without a hitch.

Dedicated Hosting

If you need maximum resources for your eCommerce store, dedicated server hosting is like owning the entire office building.

Your website is hosted on its own server, giving you the best performance, top-notch security, and complete control over your resources. It’s best suited for large eCommerce platforms with high traffic volumes.

Our Dedicated Hosting plans offer the most resources and full root access for the best performance and customization.

Your eCommerce store can handle even the heaviest traffic spikes while still delivering a smooth shopping experience for your customers.

eCommerce Hosting

While the hosting types above support eCommerce, there’s also specialized eCommerce hosting tailored fro accepting online payments. It aligns perfectly with various eCommerce platforms, such as WooCommerce, Magento Open Source, Drupal, and others, offering quick and easy setups.

With A2 Hosting, you can get a specialized WooCommerce Hosting plan within our Managed WordPress Hosting services. This plan comes with many useful add-ons and features, such as:

• WooCommerce pre-installed.
• Premium RapidSSL certificate.
• Daily automatic backups.
• Performance Plus Traffic Surge Protection.
• Unmetered bandwidth.
• And more eCommerce features!

“For those just starting, our WooCommerce Hosting offers a great balance of simplicity, features, and scalability. It’s an excellent choice for small to medium-sized businesses focusing on performance, growth, and customer satisfaction.” – Aaron Campbell, Director of Product at A2 Hosting

We also support virtually all eCommerce storefront software. Select the hosting plan that fits your needs and install whichever platform you choose.

What To Look For In A Web Host That Supports Business Success

Choosing a web hosting provider can be hard, especially if you’re just starting your online business and you’re not familiar with hosting requirements – but don’t worry!

We’ve gathered the most important features you should consider for eCommerce hosting. Let’s begin!

Self-Hosted vs Hosting eCommerce Solutions

First, it’s important to note the difference between self-hosted and hosted eCommerce platforms.

Hosted platforms like Wix and Squarespace allow you to create stores, but they offer very rigid site templates. While you can add certain sections or content features, there is only so much you can do to customize your site.

With self-hosting stores, you choose the hosting plan that best fits your needs and install the eCommerce software you are most comfortable with. While there are certain templates and potential limitations, this is a much more flexible opinion for building a web store for long-term growth.

While hosted platforms have their advantages, we are focusing solely on the best self-host plans for eCommerce sites.

High Storage For All Your Store Data

When you run an online shop, you’ll gather tons of data – like product details, customer information, high-resolution images, and sales records. Having enough space to store all this is key, so look for a host that can handle this information and allow you to upgrade storage as needed.

For example, with A2 Hosting’s entry-leve Shared Web Hosting plan, you get 10GB storage which is more than enough to keep your data safe and easy to reach. And if you go for our dedicated server plans, you get 2X1 TB SSD Storage.

In addition, our Turbo plans use next-generation NVMe instead of regular SSDs, which means your site will load much faster. Faster loading times for your pages and searches can make a big difference. If you don’t have enough storage, your site might slow down as your business grows, which means you won’t be able to scale properly.

High Uptime To Keep Business Operations Going

It’s important for your store to be available whenever customers want to shop. This availability is measured in uptime, which is vital not just for making sales but also for building trust with your customers and keeping your store’s reputation strong.

To give you peace of mind, every A2 Hosting plan comes with a 99.9% uptime guarantee. This commitment applies to any unscheduled downtime of your website for more than 0.1% of the total time per month. We will also provide a service credit in the amount of 5% of the paid fee for the month for every hour that your website is unreachable due to an internal network or equipment failure.

Guarantees Fast Page Load Speeds For An Optimal Customer Experience

Fast page loading keeps visitors happy, helps your site show up better in search results, and can significantly improve conversion rates.

At A2 Hosting, we take speed very seriously, and you can witness that for yourself with our Turbo Plans. These plans use LiteSpeed Servers, which are way quicker than other options like Apache and Nginx.

Besides that, we offer the A2 Optimized WooCommerce plugin, which sets up your site to load faster by handling things like compression and caching without you having to lift a finger.

You also get our exclusive TurboHub WordPress control panel. Improve your store performance in as little as one click. Plus, you can manage site security and maintenance from one easy-to-use dashboard.

All this means you can focus on your business, knowing your store is fast, friendly, and ready to impress your customers.

Supports Various eCommerce Platforms With One-Click Installs, Pre-Installed Software, and Control Panels

For your store to run smoothly, you need a hosting provider that supports a wide range of content management systems and eCommerce platforms. Flexibility is essential for small businesses online because you might start on one platform and then decide to move to another when your needs or budget changes.

Our WooCommerce Hosting comes with the plugin already set up for you. But that’s just the start.

And if you don’t work with WordPress, you can easily add other major software like Drupal and Joomla with one-click installs via Softaculous.

Need something a bit different? Magento Open Source, PrestaShop, and OpenCart can be installed in just a few clicks.

Another piece of software that is crucial for online shops is control panels. Managing your online shop should be straightforward, not a headache, and control panels help with that. It’s like the dashboard of your car, putting all the important controls in one easy-to-access place. You can manage inventory, track orders, and customize your site without jumping through hoops.

Managed Hosting Options For Automated Backups And Other Technical Maintenance

Managed hosting is like having a tech-savvy friend take care of all the behind-the-scenes work for your online store. This service is fantastic because it handles all the technical stuff for you, such as keeping your site backed up and running smoothly.

With managed hosting, you won’t have to worry about losing your latest updates or customer data; everything is backed up automatically. It’s perfect for eCommerce owners who prefer to focus on growing their business while the experts are keeping your site safe and sound.

SSLs, CDNs, And Other Essential Security Measures For Businesses

Strong security is a must for any online business, especially when it comes to protecting your customers’ transactions. SSL certificates are your first line of defense, encrypting data to keep customer information safe. A2 Hosting steps up by including a free SSL certificate with all our hosting plans, ensuring your site is secure from the get-go. For those on the WooCommerce Hosting plan, A2 goes even further by offering a premium RapidSSL certificate with an even higher level of security for your online transactions.

Apart from security, you also need to ensure your data reaches visitors fast, and that’s where Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) come in.

They make sure that your website’s content is available quickly, no matter where your customers are. All of our hosting plans are CDN-compatible, helping your site load faster for everyone, everywhere.

Scalable Plans For eCommerce Stores Facing Growth

As your web store grows, your hosting needs will change. It’s important to have the flexibility to move from shared hosting to more powerful options like VPS or dedicated server hosting with as little hassle as possible. This kind of growth is a good thing; it means your business is thriving!

We get this! A2 Hosting offers scalable plans that grow with you, ensuring you can upgrade your hosting environment without missing a beat. Plus, if you’re moving your site from another host to A2, we’ve got your back with a free migration service. This means you can switch to faster, more secure hosting without worrying about downtime affecting your sales or customer experience.

Reliable Support For Your Operations

Running a store comes with its own set of challenges, and having a support team ready to help 24/7 is crucial. There might be a software issue, or you might need to figure out a specific feature.

In these cases and more, it can be very useful to have a team of experts always on standby, ready to solve any technical issues you might face, day or night.

Our Guru Crew support team is available 24/7/365 by phone, chat, and more to help you when you need it most.

Exploring the Best eCommerce Hosting Solutions

InMotion

InMotion Hosting has built a strong reputation for its reliable performance and exceptional customer service, making it a solid choice for eCommerce businesses looking to establish or grow their online presence.

Their offers include:

• Free website migration service.
• A wide range of hosting plans, including shared, VPS, and dedicated servers.
• InMotion’s Max Speed Zones, which optimize site performance based on the geographic location of the site’s visitors.
• A variety of eCommerce tools and the ability to integrate with popular platforms, such as PrestaShop, OpenCart, Drupal, and custom-built stores.

This blend of reliability, service, and versatile hosting solutions makes InMotion an appealing option for eCommerce sites looking for growth and performance.

A2 Hosting

A2 Hosting provides ultra-reliable hosting with unlimited bandwidth and support for all eCommerce platforms. From shared hosting plans perfect for startups to dedicated servers designed for high-volume traffic stores, A2 Hosting has something for everyone.

We support virtually all eCommerce software, including WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Magento Open Souce, OpenCart, AbanteCart, and many more.

Here is why we can be your perfect partner in eCommerce:

• You can one-click install any eCommerce platform on any of our hosting plans. Our Sell plan, which is a tier on our Managed WordPress Hosting, is specifically for WooCommerce and comes with additional features such as Protection Plus Traffic Surge Protection.
• A2 Hosting offers up to 20X faster Turbo plans across all hosting types. These plans are built on LiteSpeed servers and come with other advanced features like limited occupancy, upgraded server hardware, advanced caching software, and optimized configurations. Faster loading times can greatly enhance the shopping experience, reduce bounce rates, and ultimately lead to better sales conversions.
• We offer scalable plans that accommodate increasing traffic volumes with minimal fuss. Upgrading plans is a straightforward process, ensuring that your hosting evolves in step with your store.
• Every plan comes with a 99.9% Uptime Commitment, so businesses can rely on their store being available around the clock, minimizing potential downtime and maximizing opportunity.
• The Guru Crew is available 24/7/365 by phone, chat, ticketing system, or email to address any eCommerce hosting concerns. Plus, we have a rich knowledge base of topics to help you customize your store, install new features, and improve security or performance.
• Every plan includes free SSL certificates for encrypted connections and secure data transfers. This protects your store and your customer’s data. You can also offer several other types of SSL certificates for enhanced protection and more trust with your customers.
• We also offer a comprehensive security suite with robust features to keep your store safe. Key features include malware scanning, DDoS and brute-force protections, and more.
• If you’re using WooCommerce or building your small business website in WordPress, then you’ll have access to our exclusive TurboHub control panel. It offers an at-a-glance site health check and offers personalized recommendations to further optimize site performance.

Besides, we’re so confident in our quality that we offer a hassle-free, 30-day money-back guarantee so you can try any hosting plan with absolutely no risk! Get a full refund for 30 days and a pro-rated refund any time after that.

IONOS

IONOS offers a range of eCommerce services, including hosting, store builders, eCommerce store design, shop integrations, and social buy buttons. Their hosting plans are suitable for all major platforms, such as WooCommerce, Drupal, and Shopware.

Main features include:

• Daily backups, DDoS protection, and data recovery options.
• The ability to export product listings to major online marketplaces.
• A set of pre-installed plugins for their WooCommerce hosting plans.
• Unlimited product listings and categories.
• Dedicated customer support via phone, email, or chat.

IONOS is a great option for businesses looking for an all-in-one solution, with their website builders and designer services.

Shopify

Shopify is a popular all-in-one platform that caters to eCommerce businesses by bundling hosting, shopping cart functionality, and customizable templates into one package.

Its user-friendly interface is a big draw for individuals or businesses with little to no technical background, making it easy to set up and manage a store without the need for coding knowledge. However, while Shopify simplifies many aspects of running an eCommerce site, certain integrations and the use of alternative payment gateways can incur additional fees, something that cost-conscious users might want to consider.

While Shopify’s hosting is seamlessly optimized for Shopify stores, offering reliability and speed, this tight integration might limit those who seek greater control over their hosting environment and deeper customization options.

Despite this, Shopify’s expansive marketplace of third-party apps allows users to greatly extend their store’s functionality, providing tools for marketing, SEO, and more, helping to round out its offering as a versatile platform for eCommerce entrepreneurs.

TMDHosting

TMDHosting is a fully managed hosting service, taking the technical load off your shoulders so you can focus more on your business and less on backend worries. This approach is especially appealing for eCommerce site owners who prioritize ease of use and reliable support.

Its main features include:

• Daily backups and real-time monitoring.
• Cloud and SSD technology to boost your website’s performance and speed.
• Global data centers.
• Support for WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Magento Open Source, and OpenCart.
• Staging and cloning tools available.
• Website tools like SpamExperts, CloudFlare integration, Memcache management, and backup restoration tools.

Get Started With A2 Hosting’s eCommerce Hosting Plans

Choosing the right eCommerce hosting provider is a big decision for your business, so remember to consider all the features provided by the different options and think about what is best for you in the long term.

With A2 Hosting, you can start small, even with a tight budget, and then expand as your business grows. Our hosting plans are tailored to fit any eCommerce need, from startups to large enterprises looking for high-performance and top-notch security.

Our eCommerce plans are built on powerful servers that allow for high-speed CPU loads and give your website the ability to handle significantly more traffic, which can happen at any time if you have a sudden traffic spike due to a successful marketing campaign or social media.

For those who prefer WooCommerce, our dedicated WooCommerce Hosting plan is unmatched. It’s specifically optimized to get the most out of your WooCommerce site, combining speed, security, and ease of use into a single, powerful package.

Check out our eCommerce hosting plans today to explore what we offer and how we can elevate your store to reach its full potential!

Best eCommerce Hosting FAQs

What are the key factors I should consider when choosing eCommerce hosting?

Choosing the right eCommerce hosting involves several critical factors to ensure your store operates smoothly and efficiently.

Here is what you should be looking for:

• Uptime Guarantee: Look for hosting with a strong uptime record. Your store should be accessible around the clock.
• Speed: Fast loading times are essential for keeping customers engaged and reducing bounce rates.
• Scalability: Your hosting should be able to grow with your business, offering easy upgrades to handle increased traffic.
• Security: Robust security measures, including SSL certificates, protect your data and build customer trust.
• Customer Support: Responsive, 24/7 support is crucial for resolving any issues quickly.
• Compatibility: Ensure the hosting is compatible with your chosen eCommerce platform for a smooth operation.
• Price: Consider the hosting cost relative to the features and support provided.

What is the best web hosting for eCommerce?

Identifying the best web hosting for your eCommerce store depends on your specific needs. Most of the time, new business owners will need high-quality and fast support for technical issues and queries, fast servers to make sure their websites are performing as they should, and the opportunity to scale up as their store and customers grow.

A2 Hosting, known for its speed and reliability, offers plans specifically for eCommerce sites that you can scale up with no issues. Shared hosting starts around $2.99/month, with specialized WooCommerce plans for more robust needs.

Can I host my own eCommerce website?

While it’s technically possible to host your own eCommerce site, it demands a significant investment in infrastructure, security measures, and ongoing maintenance. If you want to focus on your business and product development, it’s recommended that you look for fully managed hosting solutions so that you don’t need to deal with the technical complications of running and maintaining a website.

If you’re an experienced developer and want to have control over technical aspects, then we recommend choosing an unmanaged hosting service such as the unmanaged VPS. This will give you full control over the hosting environment, as well as command line and root access.

Can my eCommerce hosting scale with my business?

Scalability is the key to your eCommerce success. Most providers offer a range of hosting options, but not all make it easy to scale your plan or services as you grow.

Look for a hosting provider that allows you to easily scale to other plans or add resources when you need them. This flexibility is key for handling increased sales and traffic.

A2 Hosting makes growing your store easy. Our team can migrate you to faster Turbo Servers or move you to VPS or Dedicated servers for even more resources.

How much does it cost to host an online store?

The hosting cost for an online store varies widely based on the platform and the plan’s features.

Basic shared hosting can start as low as $10 to $15 a month before special offers and incentives. However, you can usually get discounts as low as $1.95 per month.

VPS hosting, offering more resources and better performance, might range from $35 to $100 a month. For larger stores, dedicated hosting plans provide the utmost in performance and security, with prices starting around $100 per month and going up significantly from there.

How Does A2 Hosting Support Small Businesses?

A2 Hosting takes pride in supporting small businesses. We are happy to support and celebrate Small Business Week and all of Small Business Month.

From Katie Davis, author, and entrepreneur, to the Pyrenees Cycling Company in France, to music producer Gemtracks.com, we celebrate the backbone of our company, the small businesses that make us who we are. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have small businesses supporting us along the way.

Our CEO, Bryan Muthig said, “Small Businesses are so important and we’re trying to do everything we can to give them the prices and plans they need to flourish, everything we do is with the intention to help our customers thrive online.” We love our small businesses here at A2 Hosting and we’re committed to providing the speediest solution available for your business to thrive.

Speed might not seem like an obvious way to support small businesses, but website speed directly influences a business’s conversion rate and profitability. Also, speed isn’t a preference but an expectation. More than 45% of consumers expect pages to load in 2 seconds or less. After 2 seconds, many users leave to find another fast-loading page.

In fact, for every additional second of loading time after 2 seconds, conversions drop by 7% and continue to drop by intervals of 7% for every consecutive second.

Amazon performed site speed tests that concluded they would lose $1.6 billion every year if their site slowed down by one second. Now, Amazon isn’t a small business, but as a small business owner, you can’t afford to lose money. Sure, it’s not going to total a $1.6 billion loss, but any loss is a loss for your business.

For small businesses, a one-second improvement in page load speeds leads to $70 more revenue per day (over $2000/monthly) for sites earning $1000 a day.

As a small business, you won’t have the traffic of larger corporations like Amazon or Etsy. Your needs are smaller and it’s important to choose a plan that correctly matches your needs.

Start a fast, reliable eCommerce store with the best plans from A2 Hosting for as low as $1.95. Whether you want WooCommerce, Magento, OpenCart, or another storefront, we offer premium hosting with the resources you need to be successful. Choose an affordable eCommerce Business Hosting plan today and get started in as little as five minutes.

Hero Photo by RDNE Stock project / Pexels

The post Who Has the Best eCommerce Hosting for Small Businesses appeared first on The A2 Posting.

At its most basic, SSL is a security feature that helps protect data as it travels across the Internet. Websites use an SSL certificate to verify they are using the proper safety protocols.

From why they are important to how they impact your security and SEO performance, let’s explain what SSL is and why an SSL certificate is important for your website.

What Is SSL?

SSL, or Secure Sockets Layer, is a protocol that establishes an encrypted connection between a user’s web browser and a web server. This encryption ensures that any data transmitted between the two is private and secure. SSL specifically protects login credentials, credit card information, or personal details that cyber thieves are after.

SSL was first developed in the mid-1990s to provide a secure way for websites to communicate with users. Over time, SSL has evolved, and its successor, TLS (Transport Layer Security), has become the standard for secure communication on the Internet. Despite the shift to TLS, the term “SSL” is still commonly used to describe these certificates.

Transport Layer Security and SSL create a secure session for website visitors. This ensures that all of the data transferred during that session — the period of time the visitor is on a given website — is encrypted. This encryption is especially important during online transactions when customers are providing personal data like credit care numbers.

What Is an SSL Certificate?

An SSL certificate or SSL cert is a digital certificate that authenticates a website’s identity and enables an encrypted connection. When you visit a website with an SSL certificate, your browser can trust that the site is legitimate and that any information you share is protected.

An SSL certificate works by binding a cryptographic key to an organization’s details. When a browser attempts to connect to a secure site, the SSL certificate provides the necessary keys to establish a secure connection. This process, known as the SSL handshake, happens almost instantaneously, ensuring that data can be exchanged securely without any noticeable delay.

Also, certificates are only valid for a specific period of time, typically one, two, or three years. You then need to renew your SSL before the period ends to continue your protection. Some services may also offer monthly payments with automatic renewals.

Your certificate expires for two reasons. First, it limits the risk that it is compromised. Although rare, it is possible that cybercriminals could crack your encryption key. And as soon as they have the key, they can access all the data you think is secure.

And second, SSL and TSL are constantly evolving to address new security threats and improve encryption standards. Basically, a 10 to 20-year-old certificate wouldn’t protect you from modern security threats. So, regular SSL cert renewals ensure that your website is using the latest security technologies, keeping your website – and visitors – safe from potential vulnerabilities.

Types of SSL Certificates

There are several types of SSL certs that provide different levels of protection. While A2 Hosting recommends that all websites use SSL, not everyone needs the same level of certification. Here are the types of SSL certificates and who should use them:

1. Domain Validation (DV) SSL Certificates: These are the most basic type, verifying that the certificate owner controls the domain. DV certificates are meant for websites that do not collect personal information, have a visitor login, or sell products directly from the site.
2. Organization Validation (OV) SSL Certificates: These require more extensive validation, including verification of the organization’s identity. Any website that needs a higher level of customer trust or that operates small eCommerce stores should use OV certificates.
3. Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificates: These offer the highest level of trust, displaying a green address bar in the browser to indicate that the site is highly secure. EV certificates offer the highest level of protection and a best suited to large eCommerce sites, banking institutions, and companies that need the highest security.
4. Wildcard SSL Certificates: These cover a domain and all its subdomains, making them ideal for sites with multiple subdomains. Wildcard certificates are specialty SSLs that are used if you have multiple subdomains like blog.yourwebsite.com, sales.yourwebsite.com, etc.
5. Multi-Domain SSL Certificates: These secure multiple domains with a single certificate, useful for businesses with several different sites. Another specialty SSL cert that protects companies or organizations that operate several different websites.

Understanding Free and Paid SSLs

When it comes to Transport Layer Security and SSLs, there are both free and paid options. In most cases, free SSLs offer domain verification (DV) for basic security protection. This is likely enough protection for personal or hobby websites, but most businesses need additional protection – which requires a paid SSL.

A2 Hosting offers free DV SSL Certificates with automatic renewals for most plans. Our team sets up the SSL and keeps it current to ensure you have basic DV-level protection. We also offer a variety of paid SSL options for advanced encryption and security.

We have a detailed article that further explains the differences between free and paid SSLs.

Why Do Websites Need SSL Certificates?

While security is often the biggest reason to use SSL, there are actually several advantages to getting a certificate for your website.

Improve Security

The most common reason to use SSL certificates is to protect sensitive data from being intercepted by malicious parties. Without SSL, data sent between the user’s browser and the web server is transmitted in plain text, making it vulnerable to interception by hackers. SSL encryption ensures that even if data is intercepted, it cannot be read or used by unauthorized individuals.

SSL certificates also prevent man-in-the-middle attacks, where an attacker intercepts and alters the data between the user and the website. By ensuring that the data cannot be tampered with during transmission, SSL certificates maintain the integrity of the information exchanged.

Trust and Credibility

SSL certificates also play a critical role in building trust with users. When a website has an SSL certificate, browsers display a padlock icon in the address bar, signaling to users that their connection is secure. This visible sign of security can significantly boost user confidence, making them more likely to engage with the site, complete transactions, and share personal information.

Conversely, websites without SSL certificates are flagged as “Not Secure” by browsers like Google Chrome. This warning can deter visitors and damage a website’s credibility.

Improves SEO

In addition to security and trust, SSL certificates offer SEO (search engine optimizations) benefits. Google has made SSL a ranking factor, meaning that websites with SSL certificates may receive a boost in search engine rankings. This makes SSL not only a security measure but also a key component of any website’s SEO strategy.

Legal and Compliance Requirements

Many industry regulations, such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), require websites that handle sensitive information to use SSL certificates. Non-compliance with these regulations can result in severe penalties, making SSL certificates a legal necessity for certain types of websites.

How to Obtain and Install SSL For Your Website

Choosing the Right SSL Certificate

The first step in securing your website with SSL is choosing the right type of certificate. Consider your website’s needs—whether you need to secure a single domain, multiple domains, or subdomains—and select a certificate accordingly.

A2 Hosting recommends DV certs for websites that do not collect user data, OV certificates for businesses and organizations that need more advanced protection and credibility, and EV SSL certificates for any website that sells products or allows users to create accounts and publish content.

Review our types of SSL certificates article for more information about choosing the right one for your needs.

How To Obtain an SSL Certificate

There are several ways to obtain an SSL certificate, but these are the most common and reliable options for increasing your website’s trust and security:

• Purchase from a Trusted Certificate Authority (CA): You can purchase SSL certificates directly from a certificate authority, which includes companies like Let’s Encrypt, DigiCert, GlobalSign, and IdenTrust, among others. However, you do need to work with your hosting company to install your SSL.
• Purchase from a Hosting Company: Another option for getting your SSL cert is through your hosting company. They partner directly with one or more CAs, allowing you to bundle your services. As an added benefit, they also streamline the SSL setup process.
• Purchase from a Domain Registrar: Like hosting companies, many domain name registrars also partner with a CA to offer certificates. While this does allow you to bundle your services, you still need to work with your hosting provider to set up your SSL cert.

Less common options are to buy SSL certs from resellers or through website plugins, apps, or software. A2 Hosting strongly recommends buying from a reputable source and working with your hosting provider to set up and install your SSL.

At best, cutting corners or adding unnecessary layers of support will make troubleshooting issues more frustrating. And at worst, they can seriously compromise your site security.

A2 Hosting offers SSL certificates through DigiCert and their subsidiaries RapidSSL and GeoTrust. We have a range of SSL options to fit your budget and security needs.

Installation Process

After obtaining the certificate, you’ll need to install it on your web server. The exact steps vary depending on your hosting provider and server configuration, but most hosts offer guides or support to help with installation.

If you purchase your SSL through A2 Hosting, our 24/7/365 Guru Crew support team is here to help you install your certificate. We also have extensive SSL installation documentation in the A2 Knowledgebase if you purchase your certificate from another source.

Renewal

As mentioned above, you must periodically renew your SSL certificates, typically every one to two years. Most certificate authorities, hosting companies, and domain registrars offer automated renewal, ensuring that your site remains secure without manual intervention.

A2 Hosting offers automatic SSL renewals to ensure you have the protection you need. Your SSL will renew based on the original term period for your certificate.

Common Misconceptions About What SSL Is and How Certificates Work

SSL vs. TLS

A common misconception is that SSL and TLS are different protocols. In reality, TLS is the successor to SSL, offering enhanced security features. However, the term “SSL” is still widely used in website hosting and Internet security, which can lead to some confusion.

SSL Certificates and Performance

Some website owners worry that SSL certificates will slow down their website. While SSL does introduce a small amount of overhead due to encryption, modern servers and browsers handle this efficiently, making any performance impact negligible.

An SSL certificate is an important part of keeping your website safe and secure for visitors. It protects sensitive data like passwords and credit card information and plays a key role in building trust with visitors and improving your SEO rankings.

With the increasing emphasis on online security and privacy, SSL is not just a nice-to-have feature—it’s a necessity. Whether you’re running a small blog or a large eCommerce site, an SSL certificate is essential for your success. If you don’t already have an SSL cert, now is the time to get one.

If you are an existing A2 Hosting customer, you probably already have a basic DV SSL certificate as part of your hosting plan. New customers also get the same entry-level certificate with new plans.

However, we also offer several other options for SSL certs so you can customize your security protection. Existing customers can upgrade through your MyA2 dashboard. New customers can add enhanced DV, OV, EV, and Wildcard SSL certificates to their hosting plan when checking out.

Hero Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

The post What Is SSL and Which Certificate Is Right for You? appeared first on The A2 Posting.

What if we told you that WooCommerce can do all that for you? With the free and open-source plugin, maintaining your website instantly becomes so much easier.

Keep reading to find out exactly what WooCommerce is and how it can help your WordPress website.

What Is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is an e-Commerce plugin used by over 3 million online stores. It was developed to be used as an extension to WordPress, which is why it integrates perfectly into any WordPress site. A simple but powerful platform chock full of features, it is a fantastic solution for anyone looking to sell their products online.

We highly recommend that you use WooCommerce as an extension for your shop, as it contains everything that you need for your business to run smoothly.

What Are the Benefits of WooCommerce?

WooCommerce exists to make managing your online shop simpler. It is incredibly user-friendly and offers dozens of helpful features right at your fingertips. If you’re about to open your own online shop or just want to upgrade an existing site, we’re certain that you’ll find all of the features of WooCommerce to be extremely helpful.

Customization Options

You can make changes to your store page any time you like with no additional costs, thanks to WooCommerce. You can either customize everything yourself or choose from a wide array of stylish, functional themes.

Built-In Analytics

Even if you have no experience in tracking implementation, WooCommerce comes with a built-in data analysis tool that will give you more insight into your growing business.

Integrated Payment Gateways

An efficient payment process is essential for any store. With WooCommerce, you can give your customers the option to choose from several platforms, such as Stripe, PayPal, debit or credit cards, bank transfer, or even cash on delivery.

Various Shipping Options

WooCommerce allows you to provide any variety of shipping options for your customers’ orders, like a pickup from nearby stores, local delivery, or international shipping. You can even restrict shipping options as you see fit.

Automatic Tax Calculation

WooCommerce makes it easy for anyone to calculate taxes for their online shops. All you need to do is configure the settings to automatically compute taxes on every order.

Order and Inventory Management

The built-in inventory management system of WooCommerce allows shop owners to handle and track everything in their supply. Plus, you can oversee the entire order process, from tracking orders to shipping them out.

All these amazing WooCommerce advantages will pair perfectly when used with a Managed WordPress platform, which is another worthwhile investment for any WordPress user.

What Is Managed WordPress?

Managed WordPress is a hosting platform that is fully streamlined and optimized for easy creation and management of your website. As its name implies, the web host manages your WordPress for you, taking over all the server responsibilities.

Our platform, A2 Hosting, revolves around making your site run as fast and secure as possible. We will handle all the administrative tasks, from installing WordPress, to security checks and updates, and even caching your web page. If you have any questions you can speak with our sales team for more information on our new and improved Managed WordPress plans!

WooCommerce is an incredibly powerful tool for WordPress users. When paired with our efficient Managed WordPress platform, managing your online shop will be fast and hassle-free. For an optimized eCommerce shop, get started on managed WordPress today with A2 Hosting!

The post What Is WooCommerce? Explaining the Features and Benefits appeared first on The A2 Posting.

What is a VPS Reseller Hosting Package?

A VPS Reseller server is a virtualized server that a user can split into several hosting packages. Here’s how it works:

1. You purchase a VPS package from us with as many cPanel licenses as you need.
2. Then, you can resell the cPanel accounts to individuals.
3. Then, using the WHM system, you can create additional client accounts and give each individual their own cPanel.
4. That’s it!

Who Would Want a VPS Reseller Plan?

VPS Reseller plans are for clients with multiple sites that need individual cPanel accounts for each site. It’s also for clients who are reselling to clients requiring the power, resources, and scalability of a VPS. Regular shared reseller plans are more limited in resources than their VPS counterparts.

So, is VPS Reseller Hosting Actually Worth It?

Privacy and Configuration

VPS Reseller packages offer more privacy and greater server admin control. With a VPS server, you can have root-level access to configure the server to your liking.

Not only that, but VPS packages are in their own virtually-allocated server environment so your clients have greater privacy. Your resources are also your own. In a shared Reseller package, you’re still sharing a server with many other individuals. With a VPS Reseller package, you’re sharing the same physical server, but not sharing the same virtual server. Your server is your own.

Resources

VPS servers have more resources than their Reseller counterparts. For example, our entry-level shared Reseller package Kickstart only offers 60GB of disk space whereas our entry-level VPS plan offers 150GB of disk space.

Speed

Because you’re not sharing the server with many others, you’ll experience faster loading speeds on a VPS server.

Why Should I Become a Reseller?

Low Bar to Entry

If you aren’t used to web hosting, there’s a learning curve at first. But if you’re familiar with web hosting or have your own website, it’s not much harder to become a reseller. Pricing for VPS Reselling packages is reasonable, starting at $54.99/monthly for a Lift 8 plan with 150GB of disk space and 8GB of RAM.

Scalable

It’s easy to upgrade to a higher-tiered VPS at any time. Our reseller hosting accounts are scalable so you can start small and expand as your client list grows as scaling up doesn’t cost anything.

Easy to Manage

When you sign up for a VPS Reseller hosting account, you’ll need to manually create users in WHM. Once you create the accounts, you can give each client their own cPanel account and manage them accordingly. Within each cPanel is a client’s allocated disk space and bandwidth. Their cPanel also contains the necessary tools to manage their website, set up email addresses, and add databases.

If you have your own shared hosting package or have used web hosting before, setting up a reseller account is similar. Instead of setting up your own domain, you set up the framework for your clients to manage their own websites.

Your clients can manage their own accounts which saves you the hassle of administrating their websites yourself making this an easy way to make passive income.

In conclusion, VPS Reseller hosting has a myriad of benefits ranging from server privacy, easy configuration to scalability and speed. With the right setup, you can start reselling today!

The post Is VPS Reseller Hosting Actually Worth It? Making the Case for Easy Passive Income appeared first on The A2 Posting.

But did you know that proper hosting is also important in establishing a good business reputation?

Through web hosting services, a website can provide amazing user experiences that will improve any brand’s image in its market. The opposite is true with a poor hosting solution. This can lead to poor user experiences that reduce your engagement significantly.

So how can you choose the right web hosting solutions for your website?

To help you decide, we’ve prepared a brief guide on the crucial things to know when choosing web hosting services.

How to Choose the Right Web Hosting Services

There are at least five factors to consider when deciding on the ideal web hosting service for your needs. Getting the highest levels on all these factors will ensure that your website can provide an excellent user experience.

These factors are:

Web Hosting Service Factor #1: Speed

The speed of your web hosting service provider is one of the first and most important factors you should consider. Hosting speed is a priority consideration as it shows how fast a provider can load web pages.

Websites that can load quickly often translate to a better user experience since most people won’t stay if a page takes a long time to load. With a slow website, your customers are more likely to leave your page and opt for competitors instead.

When talking about hosting performance, the software stack or server technology used by a provider is one thing to look out for. With technology evolving at a rapid pace, it’s important to have a web host that can adapt quickly and employ the latest tech advancements for maximum speeds.

At A2 Hosting we offer Turbo hosting plans that are designed to provide users with the best speeds for their websites. The limited occupancy of these plans minimizes the number of resources being used while optimized server configurations ensure top performance.

Furthermore, our Turbo packages take advantage of the latest server hardware and software technologies in the market, providing as much as 20x faster page load speeds than the competition. Websites hosted on their turbos plans can handle 9x more traffic with 3x faster read/write speeds.

Web Hosting Service Factor #2: Reliability

Reliability or the uptime of web hosting services is the second most important aspect to consider. Your host’s reliability refers to how often a site is going to be available and accessible to the public.

Besides a slow-loading website, one that can’t be visited is one of the worst things businesses can experience. An inaccessible site, even if it’s just for a few hours, can significantly reduce conversion rates.

Brand websites that experience frequent downtimes can expect their images to be tarnished. No lead or customer would want to visit a website only to find out that it’s not available. Catering to the needs of the target market at all times should be a top priority for your business website.

One way you can avoid experiencing downtimes as much as possible is by leveraging a hosting solution that is guaranteed to have at least 99% uptime. Anything lower than that would drastically reduce conversions.

At A2 Hosting we take advantage of tried and tested technologies, ensuring that all of our customers get 99.99% uptime from our web hosting services.

Web Hosting Service Factor #3: Security

As you browse for your potential hosting solutions provider, you should consider the levels of security they have to offer for new and existing customers. This is particularly important at the server level since this is where most of your site’s resources are stored.

For instance, you want to check if they apply the newest operating system patches to your server. Patches and updates are vital for servers to have as few vulnerabilities as possible. You should also check if they provide DDoS protection and high-level firewalls to filter potentially malicious traffic.

Besides cybersecurity, backups are equally important as well. Backup solutions provide you with a repository containing saved business data that you can fall back on if the worst should happen.

With A2 Hosting, you can leverage secure web hosting services that provide you with top-notch protection and stability for your website. We work on the OpenVPN virtual private network so that our users can work from site to site and point to point without worrying about their security. OpenVPN, in particular, comes with security features such as network address translation (NAT) protection.

Meanwhile, our Brute Force Protection solution lets you block cybercriminals using methods such as IP routing, APF, and custom commands.

Other security features you can find from our packages include:

• ConfigServer and Firewall (CSF) login security
• Linux malware detection solutions
• Linux environment security
• SSL certificates
• Secure Shell (SSH) login security solution
• SimpleRisk risk management solution

At A2 Hosting, our goal is to help you identify potential security threats and resolve them before they become worse. Our secure servers utilize the latest and proven cybersecurity solutions so you can have around-the-clock protection for your websites.

Web Hosting Service Factor #4: Features and Add-Ons

Features and add-ons are always great to have in any web hosting service. The main reason for this is that these added options let you scale up when needed, especially when you wish to expand to a new market.

A2 Hosting offers customers quite a few add-on solutions that can help improve site security, functionality, usability, and experience. These additional options are:

• Cloudflare: The content delivery network (CDN) known as Cloudflare is a service that we provide to our web hosting customers free of charge. We offer a knowledge base of tutorials that will teach you how to set up and get started with Cloudflare.
• SSL certificates: SSL certificate is a necessary add-on solution for any website, especially in terms of ramping up security. Using the right SSL certificate, site owners can make sure that their website data are encrypted while making themselves more trustworthy to their visitors.
• WHMCS hosting: Resellers looking to leverage A2 Hosting’s plans can take advantage of WHMCS since we also support hosting with this feature. You can learn everything from configuring OpenSRS access for WHMCS to ordering a WHMCS license with us.
• Domain and SSL reseller: Again, for resellers or those using managed VPS or managed dedicated server accounts, you can turn into an SSL or eNom domain reseller with A2 Hosting.
• Promotions: Promotional programs are available when you pick A2 Hosting as your web hosting services provider. You can even access a knowledge base containing information on programs for affiliates, refer-a-friend, and more.
• cPanel licensing: Dedicated, cloud VPS, and unmanaged VPS servers normally don’t have cPanel included in their accounts. With A2 Hosting, cPanel licensing in included with many of our plans.
• MailChimp account setup: We can help you sign up for a MailChimp account and teach you how to generate API keys. The latter should help you integrate MailChimp with your A2 Hosting website so you can manage your newsletters and drip campaigns easily.
• Dropmysite: The Dropmysite cPanel plugin lets you keep track of your websites and configure backups for your data. A2 Hosting will provide you with all of the resources you need to make the most of Dropmysite.
• Ordering a Blesta license: Looking to leverage Blesta for your website? A2 Hosting will guide you throughout the process so you can maximize your reseller hosting package with us.

Web Hosting Service Factor #5: Support

If you’ve found a web hosting provider that has the hardware, software, and features that you need, then the next logical step is to consider their support. Does your chosen provider have the expertise, equipment, and resources to ensure you get the best levels of service at all times?

Here are a few aspects to consider when it comes to support:

• Support level: When it comes to a host’s level of support, you need to consider the level of support your business website needs. For instance, do you require VPS, cloud hosting, or dedicated server support? What about WooCommerce or WordPress? Does your host offer help on those platforms? Are you looking for a managed plan where your host takes care of all of your backend server needs or looking to manage it yourself?
• Contact methods: The next aspect to consider is how your provider gets in touch with you in terms of support. Do they offer telephone and live chat or just email? Having an online support ticket system can be crucial, especially for business websites. A2 Hosting offers ticket, live chat, email, and phone calls 24/7/365!
• Ability to respond: Besides being able to contact them through multiple methods, you should also learn how quickly they can address your issue. In case your website goes down, you want to know how long before it gets back up so you can get back to business as soon as possible.
• How quickly they resolve issues: Similar to the above, resolution time is another thing to consider with your web hosting provider. Some hosts pass the concerns of their customers to third-party support providers, which can take several days to be resolved. You want to leverage the support services of a company that can resolve all of your issues themselves. At A2 Hosting we have an extensive in house support team, otherwise know as our guru crew.
• Operating times: Finally, you want to check and ensure your web host can provide around-the-clock support. 24/7 customer service is a must nowadays especially for website owners that can experience problems at any time of the day or night. That’s why A2 Hosting has someone there to help you 24/7/365!

At A2 Hosting, our web hosting services come with the highest levels of support you can expect from a premium provider. We are available to answer inquiries or resolve issues of our customers whenever they need us.

In case you want to learn more about our services, you can visit our support page that contains all of the information you need on various hosting solutions.

Which Level of Hosting Plan Is Right for You?

So which level of web hosting plan fits your needs? Consider the short overview below and click this link to take our free quiz!

Shared Web Hosting Plan

Our Shared Web Hosting plan is our most affordable hosting solution that lets you share resources such as disk space, data transfer, and processing power. It also comes with cPanel, server backups, and unlimited storage.

VPS Hosting Plan

On our VPS Hosting plans you share the same server with other sites, but you get to operate your account independently. This means you get your own allotted amount of resources! If you choose our managed plans back-end server maintenance is handled for you.

Dedicated Hosting Plan

Looking for a premium hosting solution? Our dedicated hosting plan means that you get the highest performance, best features, and a private server solely for all of your business website needs.

Conclusion

These are the most important aspects you should know about choosing a web hosting service. Following the tips provided in this post will help guide you in getting the right solution for your website.

If you have any questions about our web hosting services, contact our sales team today. Interested in finding out which plan is right for you? I encourage you to take our free quiz to help you decide!

The post Crucial Things to Know When Choosing Web Hosting Services appeared first on The A2 Posting.

We recommend security certificates for any websites that collect sensitive information like names, addresses, and credit card numbers. One example of this certificate is the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Apart from keeping consumers safe, search engine giant Google declared SSL’s as a ranking factor in 2014. Naturally, other search engines followed suit.

This article will discuss everything you need to know about having a security certificate on your site — what it is, why you should get one, and how to keep your customers safe. Let’s get right to it.

What Is an SSL?

Until 1999, SSL was the gold standard in internet communications. SSL is a type of technology that keeps internet connections safe. It protects the transfer of sensitive data between two systems by preventing cybercriminals from modifying any information. SSLs make it impossible for hackers to read users’ information during transfer with the help of encryption algorithms that jumble data in transit. These systems can be server-to-client like an e-commerce site and a customer or server-to-server like a cloud to a printer server.

What Is an SSL Certificate?

An SSL certificate is an online verification authenticating a site’s identity, allowing a coded connection between a web server and a web browser. Companies should add such a certificate to their sites to protect customer information.

Developers install these certificates server-side, but visitors will see visual cues that indicate site security. Take note of these signs:

• A website with an HTTPS address instead of HTTP has an SSL certificate.
• Check out the padlock before a website name. If you click on it, you will see this message: Connection is secure. This sign means a company guarantees that no one can intercept or modify the link between the sites. If it is not a secure site, you will see a warning symbol before the address.
• Your antivirus will prevent you from entering an unsecured site. Most of the time, your software sends red flags for websites with no SSL certificates, or expired ones.
• Brands will not likely misspell their domain name. If you notice grammatical errors, it’s probably a scam attempt. For instance, cybercriminals might attempt to steal data from amaz0n.com if they can breach the platform’s security protocols.

Reasons To Get an SSL Certificate

Having a security certificate for website use has taken the digital world by storm. According to recent SSL statistics, an impressive 82.2% of websites use valid certificates — a colossal leap from only 17.8% five years ago.

From being an additional layer of consumer protection, it has become a must-have for most site owners. Businesses of all sizes and industries will benefit from this certification. Below are some reasons why you should have one.

Ensure Visitor Protection

By providing websites with unbreakable encryption, SSL certificates ensure the safety of all site visitors. Without one, hackers can easily target customers’ sensitive data. They eliminate various threats, including man-in-the-middle attacks, phishing, and session hijacking.

Promote Subdomain Security

An SSL certificate called Wildcard enables site owners to secure their main site and all subdomains under it with one certification. This feature would greatly benefit organizations using multiple subdomains, eliminating the need to install separate certificates per site.

Provide Authentication

Certificate authorities (CA) sign and issue online certificates, including SSL. Through their signatures, other relying parties can verify a site’s credentials. Some of their tasks include domain and business verification, giving site visitors the confidence to navigate and interact with your platform.

Comply With PCI Requirements

Sites that process credit card payment should comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements. The organization aims to elevate the standards for cardholders worldwide and has declared an SSL certificate a necessity for business websites. Non-compliance on your part may lead to lawsuits, unnecessary penalties, and revenue loss.

Boost SEO Efforts

Like any business, Google wants the best for its clients. For this reason, the company decided to make SSL certification a ranking factor. To increase your online visibility and stand out against uncertified competitors, we recommend getting an SSL certificate.

Speed Up Your Website

Contrary to popular belief, SSL certificates don’t slow websites down but speed them up. Recent technologies gave rise to web servers called HTTP2 that use single connections instead of multiple parallel ones.

Your page load speed should be anywhere between one to two seconds. If it reaches three seconds, 53% of your site visitors will leave. As page load speed is also a Google ranking factor, this feature further boosts your search engine visibility.

Pro tip: A reliable hosting solution can do wonders for your site speed.

Strengthen Brand Image

Few things in life can ruin a brand image faster than a company that doesn’t care about its clients’ safety. While SSL certificates cannot shield sites against all cyber attacks, they protect your customers’ names, addresses, and card information. If you plan on inspiring consumer trust, keep it professional by using an HTTPS site. Strengthen your brand image now with high-security standards.

How To Get an SSL Certificate

You can obtain an SSL through your hosting company! These are the SSL certificates we offer at A2 Hosting:

• Free SSL: Our plans come with free SSL certificates that offer basic website protection, allowing you to establish HTTPS on your websites. While they are just as secure as paid services, many of our clients go for the latter to enjoy benefits like warranties, extended validations (EV), and organization validations (OV).
• Basic SSL: Our Domain Validated (DV) certificates offer a practical solution for industry-standard security up to 256-bit encryption. We can complete this process via email, as long as you prove your domain ownership. These are the most affordable SSL types anywhere in the world.
• Premium SSL: With our OV certificates, you can get up to 256-bit encryption for your site. The verification process for this SSL type is more tedious than applying for a DV certificate. However, you get to enjoy more perks like third-party vouching and a trust badge for your site.
• Advanced SSL: EV certificates offer the highest level of trust and security for consumers — a feature that helps boost sales. If you want a top-of-the-line security option for your enterprise-level or multiple sites, EV certificates are ideal for you. With these certifications, you can enjoy the most recognizable trust indicators.
• Wildcard: This SSL type protects a domain and an unlimited number of subdomains with one certificate. They work like other SSL certificates do, using the same encryption and validation processes. Additionally, you can upgrade your Wildcard SSL to include domain authentication and organizational validation.

Activating SSL certificates offers an extensive range of benefits for your website. The best part is, there are now many options to choose from. Don’t miss out on the HTTPS revolution to enjoy all the advantages that these certifications bring.

Secure Your Site Now

From visitor protection to domain security to being PCI DSS-compliant, a security certificate for website use is one of the most convenient ways to take your business to new heights. It’s one of the best investments you can make to stand out in a sea of competition.

At A2 Hosting, we help clients level up their sites through award-winning hosting and SSL services. Are you ready to boost your digital leads, conversions, and revenues? Get in touch with our guru crew now to begin your journey toward growth.

The post What Happens When You Don’t Have a Security Certificate on Your Site? appeared first on The A2 Posting.

A Little Market Research

Before looking at the strengths and weaknesses of these two CMS, let’s first look at which is more prevalent in the market. When looking at google trends, WordPress is by far the more popular platform in all regions. WordPress takes approximately 59.8% market share versus 4.6% for Drupal. Although this fact is enough to confirm WordPress is the best choice, understanding the specific features of each CMS can help you make a more informed decision when choosing the right one for your site.

Why is WordPress Popular?

WordPress is popular among bloggers and small and larger enterprises because of the following advantages:

• Ease of use: WordPress is known for its ease of use and does not require high technical expertise when first starting out.
• Learning curve: WordPress is a simple interface. Its themes and WYSIWYG tools allow users to start from scratch and have a fully functional website in just a short period of time.
• Large support community: It’s easy to get support and help with any issues because WordPress has a large group of users who are well connected on different internet groups. There are so many forums out there to search on so you can get expert help quickly.
• Affordability: You can develop a WordPress site on your own or you have the option to hire WordPress developers. Luckily WordPress developers can be much more cost-effective compared to Drupal developers due to its popularity.
• Extensive plugins and themes: You can extend your site’s functionality, look, and feel with over 50,000 WordPress plugins and 5,000 Themes!

Why is Drupal STILL a choice?

Many government agencies and large corporations still prefer Drupal because of its outstanding security features and content taxonomy. Here are a few reasons why Drupal is still a choice:

• Security: Drupal’s security is its top-selling point. It offers security reports and is much more transparent on its security features compared to other CMS. Drupal ensures data security with frequent security updates, including SSL and CDN support for full website protection.
• Multi-Language support: Drupal supports character sets and easy language management variants without the need for an external plugin to help websites in different geographical locations.
• Taxonomy: Drupal’s taxonomy allows for better content categorization and works really well for large content websites to facilitate faster site search.

 Drupal or WordPress: Which Is The Best For Me?

Now that you know a little bit about the benefits of both CMS, it’s time to decide which one is best for you. Here’s a little checklist to start you off:

1. What’s your website for?: This is probably the first thing you need to determine as it can help you decide how complex your site needs to be and the duration you need to develop it.
2. Who will build the site?: Are you planning to develop the site yourself, hire a developer, or get a managed hosting provider to do it for you? If you plan to do it yourself then we suggest you pick WordPress. It’s easier to use, has tons of plugins, and has many WordPress hosting services to choose from. Plus a WordPress developer tends to be less expensive than a Drupal developer so you may save money in upfront costs.
3. Are you trying to start your site alone?: Working with an open-source tool means you may need help with errors or improvements. Choose a tool that has great support groups for beginners to even advanced-level users. Also, check if your hosting provider offers help for your selected CMS.
4. Who is your web hosting provider?: Almost all hosting providers offer hosting platforms for WordPress and Drupal these days. If you have chosen a hosting provider, check with them on options or support given for the CMS. We recommend A2 Hosting because of its excellent support and prices!

Now that you’ve gone through this quick checklist, it’s time to decide: WordPress or Drupal? Overall we recommend WordPress as the first choice for anyone who needs a CMS to develop a professional and attractive website quickly!

Conclusion

Before selecting your tools and platform, it’s vital to understand your website’s commercial and business goals. The right hosting provider and CMS are important when developing faster and cost-effective websites to gain a better online presence. A2 Hosting supports both Drupal and WordPress hosting, offering unbeatable speed for your site. Check out our WordPress hosting packages today and feel free to contact our sales team with any questions!

Related Resources

How to Install WordPress Using Softaculous

How to Install WordPress On Managed WordPress Hosting

How to Install Drupal Using Softaculous

How to Find the Right WordPress Plan

The post Drupal vs WordPress: What’s the Difference? appeared first on The A2 Posting.

Thankfully, with the right tools you can build a fast, reliable online store without having to write a single line of code. Using these tools, you can launch your e-commerce business and start collecting payments, with minimal effort and very few upfront costs.

In this article, we’ll show you how to launch an e-commerce store using WordPress and the popular WooCommerce platform. Along the way, we’ll share advice on how to maximize your sales, by prioritizing your store’s performance and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Let’s get started!

Why You’d Want to Start an Online Store

Over the last few years, e-commerce has completely changed consumer habits. Today, online shopping is an indispensable part of the global economy, and online-only stores such as Amazon and eBay are some of the biggest names in retail. It’s difficult to even imagine a modern company that doesn’t offer customers the option to purchase products and services online.

In 2019, retail e-commerce sales worldwide amounted to $3.53 trillion, and 2020 seems set to be a record-breaking year for online retail. Throughout 2020, physical stores around the globe were forced to close in an attempt to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. This caused online shopping to skyrocket, as consumers embraced e-commerce as a way to access goods and services in a safe environment. In June 2020, global retail e-commerce traffic stood at a record 22 billion monthly visits.

With more people shopping online than ever before, you could find a large audience for your e-commerce business. By launching your online store now, you can maximize sales while helping your customers access the goods and services they need, without the risks currently associated with in-person shopping.

Introducing the WooCommerce Platform

There are a number of e-commerce plugins available for WordPress. However, with over five million active installs, WooCommerce is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms.

Out-of-the-box, WooCommerce provides everything you need to build an engaging online store, sell products, and accept payments. This has made WooCommerce a popular choice among online stores of all shapes and sizes.

Today, WooCommerce is used by many big-name brands. Aeropress, Weber, and the All Blacks all rely on WooCommerce to power their online stores.

There’s also evidence to suggest that WooCommerce can help you build a successful e-commerce store. According to research, 28 percent of the top one million e-commerce stores use WooCommerce as their e-commerce technology of choice.

WooCommerce was originally developed by WordPress theme developer WooThemes. However, in 2015, WooCommerce was acquired by Automattic – the company behind WordPress – who run and operate WooCommerce today.

As an Automattic product, WooCommerce is a stable, reliable e-commerce solution that’s regularly updated. If you want to create an online store, it’s always worth considering WooCommerce.

Why Build Your e-Commerce Store With WooCommerce

As a free WordPress plugin, WooCommerce is accessible to organizations of all shapes and sizes. This includes startups and smaller businesses, who typically have tighter budgets than established enterprises. Using WooCommerce, you can launch an e-commerce store with minimal upfront costs.

WooCommerce has a range of features built-in, but it’s also extensible. If vanilla WooCommerce doesn’t meet all your needs, you can choose from a wide range of WooCommerce extensions.

If you can’t find the perfect extension ready-made, WooCommerce is open-source software. This means you can always modify or extend the WooCommerce code to suit your exact needs – or hire a coder to make these changes for you.

WooCommerce is also designed to be user friendly. Using WooCommerce, you can potentially build a professional e-commerce store without having to write a single line of code. If you have previous experience with WordPress, building a store using WooCommerce will likely feel intuitive and easy.

Collecting payments is one of the most important parts of running a successful e-commerce business. WooCommerce can securely accept cards, mobile wallets, and bank transfers. It also integrates with over 100 payment gateways including PayPal, Stripe, and Square.

Today, many customers shop on their smartphones and tablets. In 2017, $1.4 trillion of total retail e-commerce sales were made using a mobile device. In 2021, it’s estimated that mobile e-commerce could account for $3.5 trillion of total e-commerce sales.

If you’re going to maximize your revenue, it’s essential your e-commerce store is mobile-friendly. WooCommerce works across all devices, including smartphones and tablets. The WooCommerce team is also continuously improving the plugin’s performance for mobile. For example, WooCommerce 3.0 optimized the product gallery for mobile users, and added support for touch gestures.

How to Start an Online Store (In 9 Easy Steps)

In this section, we’ll show you how to build a complete e-commerce store, using WooCommerce and WordPress. As promised, you won’t have to write a single line of code. Let’s dive in, and start your e-commerce business!

1. Choose the Right Web Hosting Provider

Your choice of hosting provider has the potential to make or break your e-commerce business. Downtime is always bad news, but for e-commerce stores downtime can mean an immediate drop in sales. To avoid downtime, we recommend opting for a provider that offers an uptime guarantee.

Performance is another crucial factor, as today’s consumer isn’t willing to wait around. Amazon calculated that a page load slowdown of just one second would cost them $1.6 billion in lost sales each year.

Performance can also impact your e-commerce store’s SEO. In particular, it can affect how quickly crawlers can index your content and serve it to customers. If your hosting provider doesn’t prioritize speed, your latest products and special offers may not even appear in Google’s search results for a significant period of time.

Google also uses page speed as a ranking factor in both its desktop and mobile search results. Research indicates that 39 percent of online purchases are influenced by a relevant search. Where your store appears in Google’s search results can have a huge impact on your sales and revenue.

There are many factors that can impact your site’s performance. However, your choice of hosting provider is one of the most important decisions you can make, particularly at this early stage.

At A2 Hosting, we take performance seriously. That’s why we’ve created a series of e-commerce hosting plans that are optimized for WooCommerce. These plans can deliver 20X faster page loads than competing WooCommerce hosting providers.

2. Set up WooCommerce

After activating the WooCommerce plugin, you’ll encounter a Welcome to WooCommerce screen. This is the WooCommerce configuration wizard, which is the quickest and easiest way to create a basic e-commerce store. By completing the wizard’s various screens, you can fast-track through much of the initial configuration, and get your e-commerce business off to a strong start.

If you accidentally dismiss the Welcome message, don’t panic! You can simply select WooCommerce from WordPress’ left-hand menu. WordPress will now display a list of all the steps required, in order to successfully complete the initial WooCommerce configuration.

You can now work your way through this list, by clicking each item in turn and following the onscreen instructions. Once you’ve successfully completed each task, it’s time to progress to the next step.

3. Add Extra Payment Gateways

As part of the setup process, WooCommerce will prompt you to add a payment gateway. A payment gateway enables customers to pay for goods and services using a payment system such as PayPal. By default, WooCommerce supports a number of core payment gateways. However, you can also add payment gateway extensions.

As part of the initial setup process, WooCommerce should prompt you to add at least one payment gateway. However, to maximize revenue we recommend offering at least two payment gateways.

There’s no guarantee all your customers will have access to the same payment gateway. Some gateways may also experience downtime. If you only support a single gateway, you’ll be unable to process payments until that gateway is back online. This could result is missed sales, and a significant amount of frustration on behalf of your customers.

Payment gateways may also have varying rules, regulations, and associated charges. Depending on factors such as geographical location, some payment gateways may represent better value for you and your customers.

You can enable additional payment gateways, by navigating to WooCommerce > Settings and then selecting the Payments tab. This screen displays all the payment gateways WooCommerce supports.

To add a payment gateway, click its accompanying Set Up button. This will open a menu where you can configure your chosen gateway. For example, if you’re configuring PayPal you’ll need to enter your PayPal email address and PayPal API credentials.

Once you’ve configured your payment gateway, select Save Changes. You can then enable the payment gateway by pushing its accompanying slider into the on position.

You can repeat these steps to enable multiple payment gateways. Just be wary of offering too much choice, as a list of unfamiliar payment options could potentially confuse your customers.

4. Create Your Product Categories

Product categories are an important way to organize your products, and help visitors find the items that matter to them. To ensure your e-commerce site is easy to navigate, it’s worth taking the time to define your product categories in advance.

You can always create more product categories as your store grows. However, by defining some product categories now, you can lay the foundations for an organized, logical e-commerce store.

To create a product category, navigate to WooCommerce > Categories. In Add New Category, enter the name of the parent category that you want to create.

In Description, provide a description for this particular category. By adding a description to each product category, you can help search engines such as Google understand your site’s content, and rank it appropriately. Relevant, keyword-rich product descriptions can also help boost your Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Once you’re happy with the information you’ve entered, select Add New Category. Rinse and repeat to create multiple categories.

You may also want to create product subcategories. For example, you might create a Clothing category consisting of Sweatshirt, T-shirt, and Jeans subcategories. To create a subcategory, open the Parent Category drop-down. You can then select the parent category that you want to assign to this subcategory.

5. Create Shipping Zones and Shipping Methods

If you’re going to physically ship products to your customers, it’s important to create at least one Shipping Zone. A Shipping Zone might be a country, region, or even a specific zip code where you ship your items. Your customers will see only the shipping methods that are available for their zone.

To create a shipping zone, navigate to WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping. You can then select Add shipping zone.

Give your zone a name, choose a region, and select Add shipping method. WooCommerce supports several shipping methods by default, including free shipping.

According to a recent survey, almost half of consumers prefer stores that offer free shipping. What’s more, 77 percent identify free shipping as the most important factor when making purchasing decisions. To drive conversions, you may want to offer free shipping when certain conditions are met.

WooCommerce also provides a local pickup option. This is great if you’re selling bulky items that are expensive to ship, or you anticipate lots of local trade. Note that if you offer local pickup then store base taxes will apply regardless of the customer’s address.

Make your selection, then click Add shipping method. You can repeat these steps, to create multiple shipping zones.

By default, WooCommerce generates the following option: Locations not covered by your other zones. If no appropriate zone is found, WooCommerce will default to this shipping zone. You can edit or delete this zone, as required.

You can also add more shipping options, using a WooCommerce shipping plugin. These plugins give your customers more options, and some even integrate with well-known shipping services such as DHL. Some popular choices include WooCommerce ShipStation Integration, and Advanced Shipping.

6. Create Your First WooCommerce Product

It’s time to stock those shelves! To create a product, select Products > Add New from WordPress’s left-hand menu. You can then give this product a name, enter a description, and upload some images that represent the item or service you’re selling.

Next, open the Product data drop-down menu and specify the type of product you want to create. Here, you have a few choices. WooCommerce supports simple products, which are defined as products that are shipped and have no options. The opposite of a simple product is a variable product. A variable product has multiple options, for example a coat that’s available in different sizes and colors.

A grouped product is a collection of related items. Finally, an external/affiliate product is sold on a third-party website, but featured on your e-commerce store.

The next steps will vary, depending on the type of product you’re creating. For example, if you select Grouped product, you’ll be prompted to enter the product’s Stock-Keeping Unit (SKU). This is a unique string that represents this product in your e-commerce store. Alternatively, if you select Simple Product, you’ll be prompted to specify whether this product is downloadable.

After creating your product, it’s time to set your price. You can specify the everyday, non-sale price in the Regular price field.

You can now assign this product to at least one category, and add product tags. Both of these elements are essential for helping visitors navigate your store, and find the exact items they want to buy.

7. Create an Inventory and Stock Notifications

At this point, we’ve entered some basic information about our product. However, before we go ahead and publish the product, it’s a good idea to perform some stock management. This involves entering the total number of units currently in stock, and configuring some optional low stock warnings.

Stock management ensures you know when to order more stock. It also helps you avoid unpleasant situations, where you have to explain to customers that the product they’ve just paid for isn’t actually in stock.

To start, select the Inventory tab and create an SKU for this product. You can then enter the number of units you currently have in stock.

WooCommerce can email you when you’re running low on stock. If you want to receive these notifications, select the following checkbox: Enable stock management at product level. In Low stock threshold, specify the point where you’d consider this product to be approaching low stock.

By default, WooCommerce doesn’t allow for back orders. However, back orders can help you secure sales, even when an item isn’t currently available. This can be particularly useful during peak retail seasons, where it’s generally accepted that some items may be temporarily out of stock.

If you want to permit back orders, open the Allow back orders drop-down. You can then select either Allow or Allow, but notify customer. If you choose the latter, the product page will display an Available on back order notice. The customer can then decide whether to purchase this product, fully aware that it’s not currently in stock.

8. Build an eBay-Style Product Menu

To drive conversions, your customers should be able to find their perfect product, in just a few clicks. WordPress supports a range of navigational menus. However, drop-downs are particularly popular, as selecting a parent category displays all the associated product subcategories. This is exactly what we see with many popular e-commerce sites, including eBay.

By default, you can’t add product categories to a WordPress menu. To enable product categories, select Appearance > Menus > Screen Options. You can then select Product Categories.

Next, scroll to the Add menu items section. You can now add product categories to your WordPress menus.

Since we’re creating a drop-down menu, position each subcategory beneath its parent. You can then grab each child category and drag it slightly to the right, so it appears indented beneath its parent.

You can now create your menu, as normal. To ensure this menu appears across your entire e-commerce store, we recommend setting it as your top menu.

9. Boost Your Revenue With Related Products

As an e-commerce store, you’ll naturally want to push customers towards purchasing additional products, or more expensive alternatives. One method is to display related products.

WooCommerce tries to generate related products automatically. However, you can often get better results by linking products manually. To start, navigate to Products > All Products. You can then open any product for editing, and select its Linked Products tab.

You can define two types of linked products: ‘upsells’ and ‘cross-sells’. Upsells are typically more expensive alternatives, whereas cross-sells are complimentary items. For example, potential cross-sells for a laptop might include a Bluetooth mouse, or a laptop bag.

Conclusion

If you sell products or services, chances are your customers are already online and looking to make a purchase. If you aren’t offering your goods via an e-commerce platform such as WooCommerce, you could be missing out on sales.

When building your online store, we’d recommend paying particular attention to your product tags and categories. These elements are often overlooked, but are vital for Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

To climb Google’s search engine rankings, it’s also important to choose the right hosting provider. By opting for a hosting package that delivers high performance and an uptime guarantee, you can give your store the best possible chance of attracting a large volume of traffic, and securing lots of conversions.

Image credit: freestocks.

The post How to Start an Online Store (in 9 Easy Steps) appeared first on The A2 Posting.

The current economic situation may be volatile, but there are still ways to grow your business. We’re seeing an unprecedented rise in remote working services, online learning, and e-commerce. All of these areas have one thing in common: They all require web hosting.

In this post, we’ll look at why reseller hosting may be the key to protect, and potentially even grow your revenue during these challenging times. We’ll then show you how to setup and launch a successful hosting reseller business. Let’s get started!

An Introduction to Reseller Hosting

For the uninitiated, a reseller purchases products or services from a provider, with the intention to selling on those products and services. As a hosting reseller, you’ll purchase a hosting package from an established, trusted provider. You’ll then divide these resources into smaller hosting accounts, and offer them to your customers.

There’s various reasons why you might want to become a hosting reseller. This includes launching a new business that’s dedicated entirely to web hosting.

Starting your own hosting business requires significant upfront investment. As a minimum, you’ll need to purchase servers and software licenses, and setup your own network. By becoming a hosting reseller, you can eliminate practically all of these startup costs.

When starting a new business, the first few years can be tough. In fact, research suggests that around half of new businesses close within the first five years. To give your business the best possible chance of success, you should avoid unpredictable costs.

This is exactly what happens when you become a hosting reseller. Your provider is responsible for most of the costs. This includes replacing broken hardware, upgrading outdated software, and more. By becoming a hosting reseller, you can replace all of these unpredictable costs with a pre-agreed, scheduled payment plan.

Alternatively, you may be an existing business looking to boost your income. By becoming a reseller, you can upsell and cross-sell hosting services to your existing customers. This enables you to increase your revenue, without any of the costs associated with acquiring new customers.

Reselling can also be an effective way to diversify your income. Just because a product or service is in high demand now, doesn’t mean it’ll be flying off the shelves forever. By adding hosting to your repertoire, you can help insulate your business against market fluctuations. You can also protect your business against changes in customer spending habits.

Why Now Is the Time to Start a Reseller Hosting Business

Launching a new business, or breaking into a new market can feel daunting at the best of times. However, many businesses and consumers are increasingly turning to the internet to help them complete many essential, everyday tasks.

For organizations and individuals, the world wide web (and by extension, web hosting) has never been more important. If you’re debating whether now is the right time to start your reseller hosting business, know that many people currently have a real need for web hosting.

Let’s dive into this topic in more detail! In the following section, we’ll look at why hosting is becoming increasingly important for businesses, organizations, and consumers.

Remote Working Is the New Normal

Throughout 2020, businesses have relied on remote working to remain operational. Now, both Google and Facebook have informed staff that they won’t be returning to the office until July 2021 at the earliest. Twitter and Microsoft have also given their workforce the option to work from home on a permanent basis. It doesn’t like the remote working revolution is going to end anytime soon!

With many people continuing to work from home, tools that enable remote working are in high demand. As an A2 Hosting reseller, you can create packages that specifically target businesses who need to manage a remote workforce. These packages can feature add-ons that are designed to help these businesses support their remote workers.

Every A2 Hosting reseller account comes with the Softaculous installer built-in. You can use this installer to create multiple Softaculous plans that each feature a different combination of add-ons. You can then assign each of these Softaculous plans to the appropriate hosting plan. For example, you might create a plan that provides the tools customers need to build an e-commerce store, promote their SEO marketing business – or support their remote workforce.

To create a Softaculous plan, log into your reseller account, then launch Web Host Manager (WHM). In the left-hand menu, select Softaculous > Instant Installs.

This will launch the Softaculous installer. In the left-hand menu, select Plans > Add Plan. You can then create a plan and assign it to a hosting package. You can also pick-and-choose which add-ons will be included in this plan.

Now, whenever a reseller customer logs into their hosting account and launches Softaculous, they’ll have access to a carefully-curated list of add-ons. The customer can then install these add-ons, and will have instant access to advanced remote working tools.

People Are Spending a Record Amount of Time Online

The ongoing global pandemic has completely changed how many of us spend our free time. Throughout 2020, many communities have experienced lockdowns, or other social restrictions. This has forced many people to move their social, leisure, and entertainment needs online.

The last few months have been challenging for many businesses and organizations that rely on face-to-face interaction. However, as more people turn to the internet for entertainment, many online businesses have experienced record growth.

Netflix added over ten million new paid subscribers during the second quarter of 2020. Video communications specialists Zoom said daily users spiked to 200 million in March. Unsurprisingly, as stores around the world closed, online shopping giant Amazon experienced record profits.

More people are spending more time online than ever before. Now, many businesses are eager to join them. Some businesses are looking to expand their existing online offerings and services. Other companies may even be branching out onto the internet for the first time.

Regardless of the specifics, any business that is looking to invest in their online presence will require web hosting. By launching your hosting reseller business now, you could find yourself with a large, and growing customer base.

Internet Shopping Is at an All Time High

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a profound shift in consumer behavior. Throughout 2020, physical stores around the globe were forced to close. Unsurprisingly, this caused online shopping to reach an all-time high.

For businesses who already have an e-commerce store, there’s a huge incentive to grow their online presence. This might mean investing in hosting that can handle a surge in demand. It might also involve adding more web pages, or even launching additional e-commerce sites.

For businesses who previously only operated in-person, there’s been a push to move from “brick-to-click.” By launching an online store, businesses can remain operational, even in these uncertain and changeable times. These businesses may even be able to grow their customer base by connecting with a large, and growing audience.

You can leverage this online shopping revolution. As a hosting provider, you’re perfectly-positioned to offer exactly the services new, and expanding e-commerce businesses need.

Online Learning Is Growing Exponentially

It’s a sad reality that the pandemic has resulted in job losses. For those without employment, the job landscape is volatile and unpredictable.

Faced with the challenging situation, many businesses are evolving at a rapid rate. This might involve replacing lost revenue streams with new products and services. Some businesses might be scaling up, in order to cope with increased demand. Others businesses may have overhauled their everyday operations, in an effort to remain operational during the pandemic.

Recently, Microsoft’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) spoke to Wall Street about the rapid rate of transformation. “We’ve seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months,” said Satya Nadella. “From remote teamwork and learning, to sales and customer service, to critical cloud infrastructure and security – we are working alongside customers every day to help them adapt and stay open for business in a world of remote everything.”

In this rapidly-evolving market, many job seekers feel the need to acquire new skills. However, ‘upskilling’ during a pandemic isn’t easy. Many traditional educational institutes are grappling with the realities of offering an in-classroom experience amidst a global pandemic. Increasingly, people are turning to online learning.

Online course provider Udemy reported a 425 percent increase in enrolments following the introduction of social restrictions. Udemy also reported a 55 percent increase in course creation.

All online education and training providers require web hosting. With a large, and growing interest in e-learning, this could prove a lucrative niche for your hosting reseller business.

How to Choose the Right Hosting Provider for Your Reseller Hosting Business

As a hosting reseller, your services are completely dictated by your hosting provider. Get this step right, and you’re off to the best possible start. Get it wrong, and you’re putting your business at a huge disadvantage.

So, here are six tips to help you choose the right web hosting provider for you!

1. Do They Have a Good Reputation?

You should research what customers are saying about any potential hosting provider. Customer testimonials, case studies, and feedback posted on the provider’s website is a good place to start, but it’s always going to be biased.

To get the bigger picture, you should check platforms that aren’t under the hosting provider’s control. This includes third-party review sites such as TrustPilot.

You should also boot up your favorite search engine, and search for the hosting provider’s name. This will often reveal locations where people are discussing this provider, such as third-party forums, and blogs.

2. Do They Prioritize Performance?

Studies have shown that 40 percent of customers abandon a website that takes longer than three seconds to load. This can affect key performance metrics, including bounce and conversion rates.

It’s impossible to determine exactly how search engines such as Google determine your website’s ranking. However, performance does appear to be a ranking factor.

To help your customers drive conversions and rank highly in search engine results, you should opt for a hosting provider that prioritizes performance. At A2 Hosting, our Turbo Serves are fine-tuned for performance. These servers can deliver up to 20x faster page loads compared to competing reseller hosting solutions.

3. Do They Offer 99.9 Percent Guaranteed Uptime?

Uptime is the amount of time the provider’s servers have been up and running, and is typically expressed as a percentage. Uptime is always important, but it’s crucial for running a successful hosting reseller business. If your hosting provider’s servers go down, it’ll take all your customers’ websites down with it.

For your customers, downtime means everything from Search Engine Optimization (SEO) penalties, missed sales, and loss of revenue. According to Gartner, unscheduled downtime can cost a company as much as $5,600 per minute.

If the customer’s website is down when Google tries to crawl their site, Google will be met by a 500 internal error. A study by SEO specialists Moz found that intermittent 500 internal server errors can cause tracked keywords to drop. Your customers may subsequently see their site plummet in the search results, after adopting you as their hosting provider.

Opt for a provider with unreliable uptime rates, and you’re going to wind up with very unhappy customers. When choosing a hosting provider, you should look for a high uptime percentage, and ideally an uptime guarantee.

4. Do They Have White Labelling Options?

Some customers have a negative impression of resellers. There’s the misconception that customers can get a better experience, by going directly to the “source.” Many customers also believe that reseller hosting is more expensive, as both the original provider and reseller are earning a profit.

White labelling can help you avoid these negative misconceptions. You should always look for a reseller that provides white labelling functionality.

At A2 Hosting, we give our resellers free rein to rebrand our products. This includes customizing your customers’ cPanel accounts, your nameservers, and your billing software. You can access these customization settings, by logging into your reseller WHM account and then selecting Customization.

You can also restyle the cPanel User Interface. There’s lots of cPanel style customizations available. Alternatively, you could create your own, bespoke style and then upload it to WHM.

5. Do They Offer 24/7 Customer Service?

There may be customer queries, complaints, and issues that you can resolve entirely in-house. However, occasionally you may need to defer to your hosting provider. Perhaps the customer is requesting an upgrade that requires you to liaise with your hosting provider. Alternatively, if a customer’s website goes down, then you’ll need to alert your hosting provider about this problem immediately, so they can resolve it as quickly as possible.

When you’re relaying queries between your customers and provider, it’s easy for delays to spiral out of control. To minimize these delays, your chosen provider should offer 24/7 customer support.

Ideally, your chosen provider should also be contactable via multiple channels. You can then choose the method that promises the quickest resolution. Sometimes, this will mean filing a support ticket, contacting live chat, or finding the answers yourself, by consulting resources such as the provider’s knowledge base.

6. Do They Provide WebHost Manager (WHM)?

We’ve mentioned it a few times already, but WHM deserves its own section. This is an essential tool for managing any reseller hosting business.

Using WHM, you can perform tasks such as creating your initial hosting packages, and creating, deleting, and suspending customer accounts. You can also use WHM to monitor your client accounts, right down to the resources they’re using.

Since it’s such an integral part of running a successful reseller hosting business, we’d recommend opting for a hosting provider that offers WHM as standard. If you opt for A2 Hosting, WHM comes built into your account.

How to Launch Your Hosting Business

Choosing the right provider is essential for getting your business off to the best possible start. However, there’s still lots more work to do!

Firstly, you’ll need to create your hosting packages. This process can vary, but by opting for a provider that has WHM built-in, you can make this process much easier. Simply log into the WHM console and select Add a Package. You can then specify the resources that you want to include in this hosting package.

Once you have your packages, you’ll need to plan your support system. Some customers may prefer to find answers for themselves, rather than contacting you directly. For these customers, you should provide self-help support.

Your self-help resources might include a knowledge base or wiki website, which you can create using plugins such as Encyclopedia. You can also provide technical documentation, using the Echo Knowledge Base plugin.

For more complex queries, customers may prefer to submit a support ticket. By implementing a ticketing system, your customers will have the option to submit detailed reports. They can also provide supplementary materials such as screenshots, which illustrate the problem they’re experiencing.

You can create a complete ticketing system, using a plugin such as Awesome Support. If you’d prefer a premium plugin, Support Ticket Management System will automatically assign a customer service agent to each new ticket. This ensures customer queries are resolved as quickly as possible.

You’ll also need to provide a Terms of Service, as this will help protect your reseller hosting business against legal action. You can create these legal documents using a tool such as TermsFeed, or the WP AutoTerms plugin.

Conclusion

The current situation is challenging. However, there are still opportunities to launch a successful reseller hosting business.

In this post, we explored how COVID-19 has created an increased need for web hosting, in several key areas. This includes businesses that require remote working tools, online learning, and e-commerce. By specifically targeting these demographics, you should be able to find an eager audience for your hosting services.

Even if you target one of these growth areas, your choice of hosting provider can still make or break your business. To give your new business venture the best possible chance of success, you should opt for a hosting provider that prioritizes performance, offers 24/7 customer support, and has an uptime guarantee.

Image credits: Unsplash.

The post How to Start a Hosting Business and Join the Remote Working Revolution appeared first on The A2 Posting.

If you’re going to earn money from reseller hosting, you need to get ahead of the competition. This means offering the right services to the correct customers, with strong branding and a consistent marketing message.

In this article, we’ll cover all of these points. If you’ve been debating whether to start your own reseller hosting business, we have a ten-step plan to turn reseller hosting into a profitable online venture. Let’s get started!

A Brief Overview of Reseller Hosting

As a hosting reseller, you’ll purchase a hosting package from an established hosting provider. You’ll then divide these resources into smaller hosting packages, and sell them to your customers for a profit.

As a business, it’s a bad idea to depend on a single revenue stream. By adding hosting services to your repertoire, you can diversify your income and protect your business against fluctuations in the market. After all, just because your flagship product is in high demand now, doesn’t mean it’ll be flying off the shelves forever.

In today’s market, it’s difficult to think of an organization that doesn’t need a website. If you have an existing customer base, you already have an audience for your hosting services. In this way, reseller hosting can help you maximize your revenue without the added expense of acquiring new customers.

As a reseller, you can generate additional income while also eliminating the upfront costs typically associated with launching a new business venture. This includes purchasing servers and software licenses, and configuring your own network. It also removes many of the ongoing costs, including hiring staff to manage your hosting infrastructure, and repairing broken hardware.

Reseller hosting can be effective for building long-term relationships with your existing customers. Since it’s a subscription-based service, hosting can transform one-off or occasional purchases into loyal, repeat customers. In the best case scenario, reseller hosting will provide your business with a reliable, recurring revenue stream that lasts for years.

How to Make Money With Reseller Hosting (10 Ways)

You now know the answer to the question: What is reseller hosting? Next, let’s find out how you can turn reseller hosting into a lucrative sideline, or even an entirely new business venture. Here are ten tips for making money with reseller hosting.

1. Find Your Relevant Niche

Becoming a successful hosting reseller isn’t about competing with the big hosting providers. These established companies are often in a position to provide highly competitive pricing. They also have the funds to target a large, diverse customer base.

Many successful hosting resellers target a niche audience. By focusing on a specific audience, you can create services, features, and marketing that speaks to the deep needs of your chosen niche.

As such, your potential revenue may be smaller as a niche hosting provider. However, you’re not trying to compete with the big hosting companies. This means your costs should be lower – which is great news for your profit margins.

When deciding who to target, it’s important to find a niche that’s large enough to sustain your business. Here, it may help to use a tool such as Google Trends. Using Trends, you can gauge how many people are searching for keywords related to your potential customer base.

You should also pay attention to the areas where relevant searches are originating. You may be able to increase your appeal, by adding a local slant. For example, if a large number of relevant searches originate from the Florida area, you can incorporate this location into your branding.

2. Plan for Future Expansion

Targeting a niche audience can help you reduce costs, while improving the customer experience. However, if you get too specific, you’ll limit your future growth opportunities.

You may have already chosen your niche. However, before committing to this niche it’s smart to consider future expansion opportunities. One solution is to transition into new niches as your business grows. This might involve expanding into related industries, or related locations.

For example, your business might target local restaurants that require web hosting. This is great for positioning yourself as an expert in the local hospitality industry. However, eventually you may struggle to find new customers who fit this very specific demographic.

In this scenario, you might expand your geographical reach to include restaurants in neighboring cities and states. Alternatively, you might target other segments of the hospitality industry, such as local hotels, gyms, and theaters. When identifying expansion opportunities, it may help to refer to Google Trends.

By planning your businesses’ future now, you can ensure you’re targeting a niche that has growth potential. If you need to adjust your niche, it’ll be far easier to make these changes now, rather than waiting until after you’ve launched your business.

3. Position Yourself in the Market

Once you’ve found your niche, it’s time to identify what they want from a hosting provider. To help you understand the needs of your target audience, you should examine the providers already operating in your chosen niche.

Wherever possible, try to identify at least five competitors who are targeting your future customers. You can then examine the products and services they offer, and their price points.

These are your direct competitors. To stand out from the crowd, you can either offer hosting that’s more budget-friendly, or present yourself as the premium option. Of course, the latter might involve offering more resources, unique features, or a higher standard of customer service.

You should also gauge the size of your direct competitors, and the resources available to them. It’s possible that established providers may already be targeting your chosen niche. In this scenario, you may decide to further refine your target audience. For example, if there’s fierce competition for local e-commerce sites, you could narrow your focus to local affiliate sellers, wholesale retailers, or business-to-business sellers.

4. Choose the Right Hosting Provider

As a hosting reseller, your services are completely dictated by your hosting provider. Choose the right provider for your business, and you’re off to a strong start.

For the best results, you should find a hosting provider that closely matches the resources and features your customers need, without providing any unnecessary added extras. It may be tempting to opt for the provider offering the latest features, or uncapped resources such as bandwidth, memory, and disk space. However, this doesn’t represent good value for money if your customers don’t actually need these features and resources.

If you’re launching a new business, it can be difficult to predict what your target audience might need. Here, it can help to study your competitors. You can also opt for a provider that offers a range of bandwidths.

When choosing a provider, we’d also recommend paying attention to uptime. If your hosting provider’s servers go down, it’ll take all of your customers’ websites down with it. According to Gartner, unscheduled downtime can cost a company as much as $5,600 per minute.

A recent study by Moz also found that intermittent 500 internal server errors can cause issues with tracked keywords. Choose the wrong hosting provider, and your customers may see a drop in their Search Engine Optimization (SEO) after switching to your reseller business.

Wherever possible, we’d recommend opting for a provider that offers an uptime guarantee. You should also check the provider’s reputation amongst customers, including their rating on third party review sites such as TrustPilot.

When you have a network of customers relying on your hosting services, it’s also vital that you can contact your hosting provider 24/7. Ideally, your chosen hosting provider should be contactable via multiple channels, and provide self-help resources including a detailed knowledge base.

5. Create a Strong Brand

Your branding should reflect your chosen niche, and communicate what makes you unique. By creating a consistent message that runs through your entire branding, you can clearly communicate who you’re targeting, and what you have to offer.

By creating a clear, consistent brand now, it’ll be easier to market your business in the future. Strong branding can also help obscure your identity as a hosting reseller.

There are some misconceptions surrounding hosting resellers. Some customers believe they can get a better experience, by cutting out the middleman and purchasing directly from your provider. Other customers may believe that reseller hosting is more expensive, since both the provider and the reseller have to earn a profit.

At A2 Hosting, we provide extensive white labelling functionality. Our resellers can use these features to re-brand all of our A2 Hosting products and services.

Our white labelling options include customizing your customers’ cPanel accounts, your nameservers, and even your billing software. By taking advantage of these features, you can build a strong brand identity.

6. Launch Your Reseller Hosting Business

Once you’ve chosen your provider, the next step is creating your hosting packages. This process can vary, but at A2 Hosting all our reseller accounts include Web Host Manager (WHM) as standard.

WHM is an essential tool for managing any reseller hosting business. You can use WHM to perform important tasks, including creating client accounts, monitoring bandwidth usage – and creating your web hosting packages.

To create a package, log into the WHM console and select Add a Package. You can then specify the resources that you want to include in your hosting package.

You’ll also need a way to get your hosting packages in front of potential customers. If web hosting is a natural extension of your current services, you might add a landing page to your existing WordPress website. It’s possible to create landing pages using WordPress’ built-in features. However, you may find it easier to create beautifully-designed landing pages, using a dedicated page builder such as Elementor.

Another option is to launch an e-commerce store dedicated to your web hosting business. When it comes to selling products and services online, WooCommerce is a hugely popular option.

7. Excel at Customer Support

As a smaller hosting provider, your customer support has the potential to make or break your business. Provide a high level of customer support, and you’ll stand out from your direct competitors – and potentially even the major hosting providers.

Happy customers can be the best way to advertise your business. Today, it’s difficult to think of an organization that wouldn’t benefit from an online presence. In a world where everyone needs web hosting, every satisfied customer could potentially recommend your company to a huge number of people. To grow your business, it’s essential to provide a good customer experience.

The best customer support starts as soon as someone lands on your website. If they have questions then it should be easy for them to get answers. This might involve posing their questions via live chat, or researching the answers themselves using self-help resources such as FAQs.

Ideally, there should be multiple ways to contact your customer support. This might include telephone support, live chat, and a dedicated ticketing system.

Some customers may prefer to find answers for themselves. For these customers, you should provide self-help support. Popular self-help resources include a wiki, or a knowledge base. There are plenty of WordPress plugins that can help you build an effective knowledge base, including Echo Knowledge Base.

However, it’s important not to over-promise and under-deliver. It’s far better to offer a few support options and provide excellent customer service across these limited options, than to offer inconsistent support across all channels.

If you’re an A2 Hosting reseller, you can display information about how to contact customer support, as part of the customer’s cPanel account. This ensures your customers know exactly where to turn if they ever encounter an issue.

8. Connect With Your Ideal Customer

When you focus on a specific niche, you can market your business more effectively. Instead of marketing to everyone (which rarely works), you can concentrate on connecting with a specific target audience.

First, it’s a good idea to determine whether there are any platforms, websites, publications, or other channels that target your ideal customer. These niche channels will usually have a smaller audience, which helps reduce your marketing costs. There should also be a strong correlation between the channel’s audience and your ideal customer. This means the Return On Investment (ROI) for these marketing activities will likely be very high.

9. Do Your (Keyword) Research

Targeting a specific niche also makes it easier to market your business using tools such as Google AdWords. Keyword research can often reveal keywords that strongly relate to your business and target audience, but have very low competition. This can help get your adverts in front of your ideal customer, at minimal cost.

To create Google Ads, you’ll need to sign up for a Google Ads account. You can then access the Keyword Planner, and research keywords that are related to your business. You can also filter these keywords according to search volume and level of competition.

As a smaller or newer hosting provider, we recommend avoiding popular keywords, as these tend to be hard to rank for. Instead, it’s a smart move to focus on keywords that have a decent search volume and low competition.

There are many more factors that go into marketing your business. When creating a marketing plan, it may help to ethically ‘spy’ on your competitors. For example, you can review a competitor’s marketing activities, using tools such as SEMrush or SimilarWeb. This may involve gaining an insight into your competitors’ SEO strategies, and much more.

10. Monitor Your Site’s Performance With Google Analytics

At this point, your website is up and running and you’re actively promoting your hosting services. This is a great start, although to grow your business you’ll need to continuously monitor its performance.

By consulting key metrics, you can identify content, actions and campaigns that aren’t delivering your desired results. You can then remove these activities from your business plan. On a more positive note, you can identify the actions that are delivering the results you want. You can then focus more time and effort into these activities.

You can monitor your website’s performance, using analytics platforms. Using analytics data, you can make more informed decisions about the future of your marketing campaigns, and even the future of your business in general.

There’s lots of analytics platforms that you can use to monitor your website, but Google Analytics is one of the most popular. Platforms such as Google Analytics provide access to metrics that are critical to your businesses’ success, including bounce rate, traffic sources, and conversions.

The sheer amount of data in platforms such as Google Analytics, can be overwhelming at first. To start, we’d recommend focusing on your overall traffic, and time spent on site. These two metrics provide an insight into your ability to attract visitors, and your ability to keep them engaged with your content.

It’s also a good idea to monitor your primary sources of traffic. This can help you identify any third parties or platforms that are supplying you with a significant amount of traffic. You can then invest more time and effort into nurturing these sources.

Conclusion

Turning reseller hosting into a profitable business isn’t always easy. However, many people have already successfully added hosting to their offerings, and have even launched entire businesses dedicated to reselling hosting services.

The ten-step plan we’ve given you in this article is a great start for making money from your new business venture. Of course, identifying a niche audience with lots of room for future growth is one of the first steps to take. Also, building and marketing your brand as a respected hosting provider in your own right is key to success.

As a hosting reseller, the service you provide to your customers is ultimately dictated by your hosting provider. If you’re going to make money with reseller hosting, it’s important to choose the right provider. This will vary between businesses, but we recommend opting for a reseller provider that offers an uptime guarantee, prioritizes performance, and provides 24/7 customer support.

Image credits: Pexels.

How to Make Money With Reseller Hosting

Reseller hosting is a great way to earn extra revenue, but it’s also a competitive industry. These ten tips will help you get ahead of the competition!

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