5 Signs You Need a New Web Host

Sign #1: Your sites go up and down like a yoyo.

This one is a no-brainer. If your website is inaccessible at random times and your uptime monitor frequently emails you downtime notices, then it’s probably time to transfer to another host. Who knows how much sales you’re missing because your host can’t even do their primary job?

I remember having an account with a local web host who charged around $10 per month. I had a client’s local business (food delivery service) site with them, and during peak times the site would just go down and the host couldn’t even explain why. My client lost a lot of customers and yeah you guessed it right, he was pissed big time.

If you’re experiencing a similar scenario with your host then maybe it’s best for you to pack your bags and leave, and find a better host.

Sign #2: It takes days to get at least a reply to your ticket, and weeks to have an issue solved.

Here’s the thing. A good host can and will respond to your ticket in minutes, no matter how severe the issue is. The problem may or may not be resolved in a few minutes but you should be informed/updated at the least.

If it takes hours for your host’s support team to get back to you with nothing but unhelpful copy-pasted crap, you should start looking for a new host now. No matter how big or small your issue is, response time and quality are very important.

You wouldn’t like it if your site suddenly got DDoS attacked, and after hours of frustratingly waiting for a response from your host, you’re told something like “We will look into this matter.”

Want exact figures to kind of compare or rate how your host is doing in this aspect? I usually get responses AND solutions to tech-related questions/issues in 5 to 30 minutes with MDDHosting. That’s if I have any issues at all… I’ve been with them since October 2013 and I’ve rarely had problems. :)

Sign #3: Transparency has always been an issue.

Don’t you hate it when your host tells you to just standby and wait for updates, and their only update would be some 72 hours later saying that “the issue has been solved”? No details, no nothing. They just get back to you if and when they are able to fix the problem. It sucks whenever shitty stuff like this happen; it feels like they’re purposely leaving their clients in the dark.

It really gets to me when a host isn’t transparent about everything that’s going on. We’re their clients and we deserve to know what’s making our sites load slowly, why our sites are inaccessible at the moment, etc.

If your host isn’t willing to give any information regarding issues affecting YOUR account, then I don’t think they deserve you or anyone else as a client.

Sign #4: The one single solution to all your problems is to upgrade your hosting plan.

Site loading slowly? Site frequently down? FTP not working for you? Forgot your WordPress admin password? Please upgrade to your host’s VPS or maybe their dedicated solution!

Seriously, some hosts make it too obvious that they’re just after the money. They’re very straightforward when it comes to suggesting upgrades. I don’t understand why they can’t take a few minutes to check their client’s site, figure out what’s causing the problems, then suggest an appropriate solution. And yeah, upgrading to a more expensive plan should be the last one on the list, in my opinion.

Sign #5: You’re being asked to pay additional fees for technical assistance, every single time.

Would you believe me if I said one of my regular clients was asked by GoDaddy to pay $150 to have their site’s backup restored? It’s something most hosts would do for free, yet their host wanted to charge for it — and for a ridiculous price at that!

Then here’s someone who’s being asked to pay 60 bucks to have their website “unlocked” after being hacked. Part of the host’s terms or not, this isn’t right at all.

There are also hosts who ask you to pay for every little thing you ask them to do, you’d wonder where they spend your monthly hosting fees. I know people who have been charged for something as simple as a main domain name change and fixing small MySQL problems which were 100% the host’s responsibility.

If you’re with a host who charges unjustifiable fees, run and never look back. You’ll never know when they’re going to charge you a crazy amount of money for little things like these.

So, do you need to switch?

To be honest, even if just one of the above applies to you then you might already want to consider switching to another host.

The first two are obvious signs, although some people simply choose to ignore (or maybe don’t notice) the last three. I think it’s mainly because they don’t want to go through the hassle of switching to yet another host. What they don’t realize is these things can have a negative impact on their business sooner or later. It might be more disastrous if they chose to stick with a host just because they couldn’t be bothered to find a new one. It is well worth it in the long run and most web hosting companies will help transfer your site for free.

If you think I missed more signs you need a new web host, please feel free to chime in!