Don’t let a bad host sink your online presence and your visibility in search! Here are top 5 red flags that signal it’s time to break up with your current web hosting company and find a reliable partner.
1. Frequent downtime
Nothing is more damaging to your online reputation and bottom line than a website that is down too frequently. That said, in my experience, every host has some downtime – but it should be well below 0.5%.
- The Red Flag: Your website is inaccessible for noticeable periods, or you receive frequent “Server Error” messages. Your host only offers a poor uptime guarantee (anything less than 99.9%), or worse—doesn’t offer one at all. For perspective, a 99% uptime guarantee means your site could be down for over 43 minutes every month.
- Why It Matters: Every minute your site is down, you are losing potential sales, damaging customer trust, and hurting your search engine rankings (SEO). Google sees frequent downtime as a sign of an unreliable website.
2. Slow loading speeds: the “Three-Second Rule” applies.
Your visitors—and Google—have zero patience for slow websites. Your host’s infrastructure plays a huge role in how quickly your pages load. Often a low-cost host will have hundreds of sites sharing a server and its bandwidth. This usually means you’ll have frequent slowness over certain times of the day. Worst of all, the resource hog causing the slowdown probably will be someone else’s site. 🤨
- The Red Flag: Your website takes longer than three seconds to fully load. Even 3 seconds is considered pokey by current standards. Slowness is usually the result of an overcrowded shared server, as noted above. Your site’s image files may be too large as well, compounding the problem.
- Why It Matters: Fast page speed is crucial for user experience and is a major factor in Google’s search ranking algorithm. Studies show that a significant percentage of visitors will abandon a website if it takes longer than three seconds to load. Slow speeds are annoying and will directly hurt your conversions and sales.
3. Poor or hard-to-access customer support
When your website goes down at 2:00 AM, you need immediate help, not an email promising a response “within 24 hours.”
- The Red Flag: The host only offers support via a ticket system, has limited business hours, or lacks crucial channels like 24/7 live chat or phone support. When you do reach someone, the responses are unhelpful, or clearly scripted by a non-technical representative. While phone support is somewhat rare, there should be 24/7 chat available to contact a support agent.
- Why It Matters: Technical issues are inevitable. A reliable host views support as essential, not a burden. Without skilled, always-on support, a minor server issue can turn into a day-long crisis for your business.
4. Vague pricing structures, hidden fees and renewal price shocks
There are some actually a few good web hosts that I don’t recommend for this reason. That unbelievably cheap introductory price often comes with a painful surprise when it’s time to renew.
- The Red Flag: The advertised price is extremely low (e.g.,
$4.99 per month), but the initial term is long, or the host is vague about the renewal rate. You find surprise fees for essential features like an SSL certificate or server backups. When it’s time to renew, the price suddenly jumps 2x, 3x, or even 5x the introductory rate.
- Why It Matters: A trustworthy hosting provider is clear about pricing offers. Also – I warn against getting into very long service terms (more than 1 year). You’re better off paying a higher month-to-month rate, so you can move to another host if needed without losing money.
5. Inadequate security and lack of essential features
A good host should be your first line of defense against cyber threats, not a security liability.
- Big Red Flag: The host does not provide essential modern security features, such as a free SSL certificate (for HTTPS), automatic malware scanning, DDoS protection, or some basic backup system. SSL certificates should be included in your hosting price, no exceptions!
- Why It Matters: Security is non-negotiable. Without these basics, your website is vulnerable to hacking, malware attacks, and data breaches. If your site is compromised, you risk losing customer data, damaging your brand’s reputation, and having search engines blacklist your site.
The takeaway…
Your web hosting is the investment that protects all the hard work you put into your website. If you recognize any of these red flags, it’s a clear sign that your current host is holding you back. Don’t wait for a crash to make a switch. Start researching hosts that prioritize speed, security, 99.9% uptime, and reliable 24/7 support—your website will thank you!
👉 Wondering about what you should be looking for in a hosting company? I can help! My new Quick-Book Consultations make it easy to schedule time with an experienced webmaster so we can explore options together. Check it out here.