On average, websites spend three hours offline due to server host issues. Each minute your website is down, that could mean lost potential sales. Businesses can lose millions in profits when their website is inaccessible.
Getting to the root of the problem is important if you want to avoid common website crashes. Can your host handle big spikes in traffic? Is your website protected by security plug-ins?
These questions (and more) need further exploring. Let’s learn more about ways you can prevent your website from crashing.
Testing for Website Crashes
Every week you should schedule a time to test your servers for errors and/or loading issues. These problems can hint at larger underlying problems that could lead to full crashes. As a bonus, you’ll keep your website snappy and healthy at all time.
Update and Backup Daily
Sometimes content management systems, add-ons, and scripts break things. This can cause your website to crash, but thankfully fixes are released fairly quickly. You have to make sure you stay on top of your updates to avoid getting left behind.
Use automatic backups too so you can revert back to a stable build until updates are released.
The Power of the Cloud
Cloud-based hosts provide more security, better stability, and the ability to adapt to growing needs. They are highly scalable and do great for companies that are on a budget. Cloud-based management services allow for a seamless virtualization of testing environments.
You can test alongside your live website weeks in advance to look for security holes and potential problems.
Get Better Service
Reach out to your host and find out what your data caps at. If you’re concerned about traffic spikes, increase the amount of bandwidth available. Request the removal of data caps and consider switching away from shared hosting.
Ask what your host’s uptime policies and guarantees are if your website crashes. If they stand by their uptime promises, they will offer some sort of reimbursement for downtime.
Technical Optimization
Cached sections of your website can free up computing power and reduce the chances of crashing. Adding layers of caching can definitely improve the performance of various website applications. This puts them into memory for quicker recalling.
This is an advanced, but more efficient method of speeding up your website. It is also cheaper than simply buying more hardware for power.
Smarter Website Management
Keeping your website up-to-date and running smoothly is not a one-person job. You need a team working together and the proper checks and balances to prevent untimely website crashes. As you add more functionality and media-rich components, you’ll need more help.
At Inception Network Strategies, we handle all the complex IT work to keep your business running. We offer cost-effective and practical solutions to all web hosting issues. Contact us today to get a free consultation if you’re concerned with stability, speed, and reliable web hosting.