Web hosting needs and requirements differ from website to website. Every business wants a website that is a replica of their business or a clear representation of their brand. All this dictates the terms when it comes to optimal website design and other technical aspects of it.
Some of the technical aspects stand true for domain-specific websites. For example, your e-commerce website might need an SSL certificate, but a blog website might not. But one thing that matters for every site on the web is the uptime. Uptime is an essential factor to be considered while selecting a hosting service.
In this article, we will try to decode the meaning and importance of uptime. Its effect on a website and brand performance and how it helps build customer loyalty.
What is Uptime?
Uptime is the measure of time for which your website is up and running on the internet. It matters a lot when it comes to brand visibility. These rates are listed as a percentage by hosting providers.
Hosting providers who have uptimes as high as 99.99{2c175a0edc6096be12012ec031085c959f0cf2047d0f2b768bce18433f34cdd7} are universally termed as the best ones. It is a good indication of their server’s performance. There is a high chance of high conversion rates on your website if it is online all the time.
What is the importance of Uptime?
Before we understand the importance of uptime, here is a little scenario. Imagine someone visits your website, and it is not loading.
That is true for about 88{2c175a0edc6096be12012ec031085c959f0cf2047d0f2b768bce18433f34cdd7} of consumers on the internet. There are about 88{2c175a0edc6096be12012ec031085c959f0cf2047d0f2b768bce18433f34cdd7} of consumers on the internet that does not return to the website that caused inconvenience. And a website that is down for most times can be considered in this category.
You have spent a great deal of money, efforts, and most importantly time to make this fantastic website to promote your brand among the people. If it does not serve the purpose right, all your hard work is in vain. That’s what happens with extended downtime or less uptime.
On the internet, every second count. You are losing customers every second because your website isn’t running as expected or not running at all. This will slowly drain your pockets in maintaining rather than expanding your brand as per people’s search result and recommendations.
Competition is growing day by day, and the attention span of the human is also going down. If the downtime problem adds up to it, you are undoubtedly going to face the consequences. Some of them include missed lead generation opportunities and lost sales. It will also affect the reputation of your brand and create a negative notion about your brands in the minds of your customers.
Now, you might see a web hosting provider saying they offer an overall uptime of 99.9{2c175a0edc6096be12012ec031085c959f0cf2047d0f2b768bce18433f34cdd7} and some saying 99.99{2c175a0edc6096be12012ec031085c959f0cf2047d0f2b768bce18433f34cdd7} and some of them up to 99.999{2c175a0edc6096be12012ec031085c959f0cf2047d0f2b768bce18433f34cdd7}. You might not see the difference here, but there is a huge difference out there when it comes to that single decimal point increased every time.
For example, an uptime of 99{2c175a0edc6096be12012ec031085c959f0cf2047d0f2b768bce18433f34cdd7} means your site is down for more than three days every year. There you see the difference. If not, here is more. An uptime of 99.9{2c175a0edc6096be12012ec031085c959f0cf2047d0f2b768bce18433f34cdd7} means more than 8 hours of downtime. See the difference, from 3 days to 8 hours. If you go up to 99.99{2c175a0edc6096be12012ec031085c959f0cf2047d0f2b768bce18433f34cdd7}, it comes down to 52 min per year, and if you go further up to 99.999{2c175a0edc6096be12012ec031085c959f0cf2047d0f2b768bce18433f34cdd7}, it is about 5 min per year. That is a surprising factor to grasp, we know, and hence, it is wise to choose a hosting provider that offers an uptime of 99.9{2c175a0edc6096be12012ec031085c959f0cf2047d0f2b768bce18433f34cdd7} or more according to standards.
Conclusion
Uptime is a crucial factor to take into consideration while choosing your hosting. You have many options to choose from various types of hosting, and VPS Web Hosting is the one which is claimed to have the least downtime or highest uptime of all of them. The reasons are merely based on the virtualization technology it uses, and the performance is top-notch. So, next time you choose a host, do not forget to check for its uptime for enjoying the highest performance.