Ecommerce.co.za

How to choose the right hosting provider

If you’re building an ecommerce business and an online store, it’s crucial to choose a good ecommerce hosting provider. Terrible loading speeds, improperly managed web servers and poor security can all impact how an online store performs and the overall customer experience.

Ecommerce.co.za spoke to two of South Africa’s top hosting providers for ecommerce businesses, Domains.co.za and xneelo, about what business owners should consider when selecting a hosting provider.

What is the difference between shared hosting versus a dedicated server?

xneelo: The key difference between shared and dedicated hosting is resources. With shared hosting, resources such as processing power, memory and network bandwidth are shared among all websites hosted on a single server. Even though resources are shared, each hosting account is isolated from each other to prevent unauthorised access. With dedicated hosting on the other hand, the whole server is dedicated to one customer – meaning they have access to the full server’s resources. The customer can decide to host one or many websites on a dedicated server. This is ideal for a busy website with high volumes of traffic or an agency with many customers.

Domains.co.za: Shared hosting is where a single server is used to host multiple websites. This is the preferred choice for smaller SMEs websites, with varied website traffic and lower resource requirements.

A dedicated server, on the other hand, is utilised for an individual company’s hosting needs, website, intranet, and so on. This is the preferred option for large companies with high levels of internet traffic and far higher resource requirements.

And then you get a Virtual Private Server (VPS), which is like the love child of Shared and Dedicated hosting. Here, one server is split into multiple Virtual Servers, where websites share the hardware space, but have access to a dedicated portion of the resources. VPS hosting is an excellent and more cost-effective solution for SMEs that need more than Shared Hosting but don’t yet need everything a Dedicated Server offers.

How do different hosting providers differ?

Domains.co.za: We offer our shared web hosting customers a choice between using DirectAdmin or cPanel web control panels. Both of these control panels are industry-leading, easy to use, incredibly stable and compatible. They provide customers with a series of advanced features including AI software installation, usage statistics, etc. Most hosting companies choose only one control panel for their customers, but we believe in adding value through offering two exceptional alternatives

xneelo: Our differentiator is the level of service we offer to our customers. We make every effort to earn and retain their trust, and because of this, Word of Mouth is one of our strongest sources of new customers. Xneelo’s consistent high ratings on HelloPeter, and Google is evidence of this. Over the past two decades, xneelo has built a strong, customer-centric culture. Our 24/7 contact centre team is known to resolve technical difficulties with speed – and a smile, whether you call at 2am or 2pm. We also received the Gold and two Silver awards for customer service at the 2021 international Stevie Awards.

We see ourselves as business enablers, so everything we do is to benefit our customers and their businesses. We’re currently working on our new control panel and releasing it to existing customers feature by feature. Key enhancements include controlled access management, two-factor authentication and improved usability across all devices.

Our Samrand Data Centre is another differentiator that sets us apart. For the past four years our PUE Data Centre scores (Power Usage Effectiveness) have been significantly below industry standards (1.21 instead of 1.40). This energy efficiency translates directly into cost savings for our customers. It’s good for them, and it’s good for the environment.

How do ecommerce sites select domain names?

Domains.co.za: Domain names have been adapted to be ‘more memorable’ for humans, as computer website URLs are made up of a combination of numbers called IP addresses. When someone types in a URL (domain name), that website’s hosting company will use a domain name server (DNS) to point the domain name to the right IP address.

When choosing a domain name, our advice is to choose something that is either the name of your business, or relevant to the product you are selling. Ensure the name you choose is easy to remember and spell. It is also a good idea to consider choosing other domain name extensions than a .co.za or .com, that are fitting to your industry (e.g. .online or .tech), or the geographical area of your business (e.g. .joburg or .africa).

These additional domain name extensions can be pointed to your main IP address and can assist in adding value to your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).

xneelo: Domain names are part of a wider system that maps easy-to-remember names to the location on the Internet where the website is hosted. A domain name should be memorable, easy to spell and above all be available for registration. Here’s a tip. Make sure the social media handles are available before registering your domain name and secure those too. This will ensure brand consistency across the various platforms.

What Security and SSL is on offer? What should sites consider?

xneelo: From an SSL perspective, xneelo Web Hosting accounts come out of the box with a free SSL/TLS security certificate. A security certificate ensures that all communication between your visitors and your website is secure, and no-one can listen in. This is particularly important when dealing with sensitive information such as payment and private information. Having a security certificate is a must, and visitors have come to expect that the sites they visit will be secure.

In addition to SSL, xneelo also offers a number of security features, such as DDOS protection, spam filtering and web application firewalls to name a few.

Domains.co.za: We provide various domain-validated and organisational-validated SSL certificates. Both types of SSL certificates encrypt data and protect all online communication and data between a website visitor and the company.

A domain-validated SSL means that the domain name and owner have been validated and have the right to own that domain. The company has to provide certain company registration documents as proof. 

A padlock icon to the left of the URL in the browser address bar will indicate that a site is secure. In addition, SSLs provide SSL trust seals, that can be displayed on the website providing website visitors with additional peace of mind when browsing.

An SSL certificate is entirely dependent on the type of website you have, the information customers will be sharing with you, and the level of trust you need in order for potential customers to share their personal data with your business.

Domains.co.za encourages our clients to contact us and discuss their SSL security requirements if they are uncertain as to what is most suitable for their business.

How does where a website is hosted impact a store’s ability to scale up or down based on peak periods?

Domains.co.za: At any point in time, our customers are welcome to talk to us about a temporary increase in hosting needs. Temporary periods of high traffic volumes, especially if customers are running a nation-wide promotion can drastically affect the functionality of their sites. Scalability is something we can most definitely accommodate to circumvent a hosting challenge.

xneelo.co.za: Customers on shared hosting accounts are able to switch between packages should their resource needs change. They also have the option of moving over to a dedicated server should they require more dedicated resources.

Are there ecommerce specific aspects to look out, such as accommodating Shopify and WooCommerce sites?

xneelo: Our Web Hosting packages are compatible with all major CMS and ecommerce platforms, such as WordPress and WooCommerce. These can be easily installed via our convenient App Installer. We also offer a Managed WordPress hosting package, specifically designed for hosting WordPress (and WooCommerce) websites.

Domains.co.za: We offer a leading WordPress Hosting solution that is any WooCommerce site’s best friend. WordPress offers online store options with incredibly fast, reliable and secure features. We also offer excellent website hosting options for Shopify websites, including Virtual Private Server hosting for larger ecommerce stores.

Unpacking the costs

Domains.co.za offers four different packages to accommodate every phase of a company’s online growth journey. Website hosting packages start from R99 per month, WordPress hosting from R109 per month, and VPS from R149 per month.

Domains.co.za also offers Email Only Hosting from R45 per month, which is perfect for SMEs that are just getting off the ground, or businesses that require additional email hosting to supplement their current hosting package.

You can sign up for any of the Domains.co.za hosting packages on www.domains.co.za. Simply click to sign up. Customers who require some advice first, can call 011 640 9700 or log a Support ticket here to receive a call back from a member of the support team.

Xneelo’s shared Web Hosting packages start at R99 per month for the Basic Package. There is no setup fee and owners are not locked into a contract. You can view their website for further information on prices and features.

A new customer can sign up via their website: https://xneelo.co.za/. Sign up is quick and easy and once you’ve created an account, you’re able to order your hosting service (including registering or transferring a domain).
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