Why is web hosting so important for small businesses?

When starting or managing a small business, there are many things to consider. Establishing your online presence could be the first thing you contemplate – or one of the last. Either way, being seen online is critical for most companies!

There are approximately 5.51 million small businesses in the UK, as industry disruptors, we’re empowering small businesses – and the web designers and IT services that support them – to create a great online presence with ease. A big part of this is selecting and maintaining the right domain – which we make easy and low cost. So, we thought we’d look at five reasons your domain – and its hosting – are so important:  

1. It’s your business’s online identity

Your domain name is the unique ‘web address’ that identifies and reaches your website on the internet.

Memorable, descriptive, unique, familiar – whatever is important to you, your domain address can be crafted to help you achieve it. For some businesses, their domain name has become a big part of their brand and success!

Your domain name is split into two parts – the top-level domain and second level domain.

The top-level domain – which goes at the end of your web address – can be either a generic top-level domain (like .com, .info or .org) or a country code top level domain (like .co.uk or .ie)

You can then specify your second level domain to name or describe your business or website – like legal-eagles.co.uk or fantasticdresses.com.

Your domain is your online identity, making it easier for people to find and remember your website.

We offer a choice of over 500 top-level domains and any second level domain that is available!

2. It provides a professional email address

Fewer things say one-man-band like a generic email address! Fortunately, your unique domain can be used to set up a custom email address – e.g. you@yourbusiness.co.uk. Much more professional than a generic email account or domain, it gives you kudos and helps reinforce your brand in the minds of everyone you email.  

3. It builds your brand, credibility and trust

Having your own domain name – rather than relying on a generic subdomain like yourcompany.wordpress.com – adds significant credibility to your online presence.

A quality domain which names or describes your business helps your website to gain kudos. It’s easier to find, more memorable and visitors are likely to have greater trust in both your website and your company!  

4. It gives you ownership, control and security

When your business has its own unique domain, you gain greater control and freedom over your online presence! Your domain is hosted by your domain host – that’s what we do here at purely.website.

Your host keeps your domain safe and ensures no one else can register or use it. Having your own domain means you can use it how you like – most commonly to be the web address for a magnificent website which really sells what you do. All you need to do is access your DNS (domain name server) details and point them to your website.

We’ve an easy-to-use control panel – and Sheffield-based customer support team – to make this super simple! Quality domain hosting also offers security features such as an SSL certificate to encrypt data transmitted between the website and its visitors. This gives users peace-of-mind and helps with SEO…  

5. It improves Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Being found online when people Google your business, product or service is important to most organisations. Ensuring you appear higher up in search results is called Search Engine Optimisation or SEO. Having a custom domain name can positively impact your website’s SEO.

Though not a specific factor which search engines use to rank websites, a quality domain name is an attribute which Google and other search engines value. And having an SSL security certificate is essential! Search engines only want to serve up secure websites for their users and a website without a security certificate is unlikely to feature well in search results.

In addition to SEO, having a strong, clear and recognisable domain encourages potential customers to click on your company when it does appear in search results.  

We are here to help…

Based on a 2023 survey by Forbes Advisor, 78% of small businesses in the UK currently have a website. This information suggests that a significant majority of small businesses recognise the importance of having an online presence.

Our mission is to make a professional online presence accessible to all! Your domain name and hosting are an important element of this – so we’re here to make them easy to access. We offer an almost unlimited number of domain names – including over 500 top-level domains – and provide low-cost domain hosting for small businesses, web designers and IT support alike.

Our user-friendly control panel makes accessing your domain straight-forward and our UK support team are always here to help. As well as domain registration and hosting, we can help with migrating hosting, large-scale data storage, app installation and much more. We offer secure hosting of your website or app – in a UK-based data centre – from just £2 per month! Find out more about domains and hosting at purely.website

Author: Daniel Knights
Daniel is the purely.website Product Manager, with a career spanning over two decades, at the forefront of the web hosting industry and has represented a variety of leading web hosting companies. Daniel has the core responsibility of delivering the most superior customer experience for purely.website members. His knowledge of industry standards comes through his extensive experience that includes advising companies on infrastructure strategy and architecting and delivering advanced hosting and domain name management services that are easy to use though innovative tools and UX initiatives.