In the past few weeks, I've had few of my clients reach out to me about wanting to move web hosts.

Many have been having a poor experience with their current web host and wanted to make sure that their website had the best home possible.

Here's a few things I've shared with my clients and want to share with you on the signs that it might be time to leave your current web host.

Sign #1: Support is Slow to Respond

I often hear from clients...

"When I first signed up with my old hosting company, I was delighted with the service. Every issue was handled promptly and the staff was so polite.

“After they merged with another web host, I watched their customer service slowly worsen. I finally realized I needed to move when I had a billing issue that took three days and multiple calls to resolve.”

If you notice that the customer support is slow to respond, pushes back saying it's your issue, tries to just upsell you on a new service, or is vague in their answer, it might be time to consider a new web host.

Sign #2: Host Uses Out of Date Software

Often my clients are wanting to do something new for their website, but they discover that their host was using out-of-date software.

My clients, have me on board to help with more advanced tasks and to manage their maintenance so when they discover they can't get some of the tech on their website to work, they often reach out to see what's happening. I advise them to call the hosting company.

This is when they usually discover their hosting company is using software that was 2-3 years old and sometimes it even has known bugs.

It has to make you wonder where else they will cut corners to keep the prices low while sacrificing the performance of your website.

Sign #3: Your Site Crashes or Is Down a Lot

Does it seem like your website is often crashing or going offline?

This is often a sign of overloaded shared servers and old technology.

If you're expecting a lot of traffic from your marketing activities. And if you doubt that your web host will be reliable enough to handle the surge in visitors, you'll be better to move everything to a more reliable host before you launch.

Tip: Use a service like Uptime Robot to get notified when your site is down. This is something I monitor for my Geek in Your Pocket clients.

Sign #4: Frequent Security Breaches

You start noticing frequent security breaches at the company.

You can usually forgive the occasional breach, but when it starts to happen more often then you have to question the security of your website and your own personal information.

Pay attention in Facebook groups when some is looking for help to clean up a hacked site, see who their host is and if you're with the same host it might be time to switch.

If you have some concerns about your host, don’t be afraid to explore your options. You may find a host you like even better!

What I Personally Recommend For Your Web Hosting Needs

If you're just starting out and you're looking for a web host that also provides great service and will help you out with your WordPress website then you want to go with Mom Webs.

Mom Webs is ideal for the new website owner, with affordable packages and Mom Webs can grow with you.

If you have an established site and need someone to handle some of the updating of your plugins and themes then Kinsta or WPEngine are the two I would recommend.

What about Geek in Your Pocket?

I do provide web hosting, but you need to be a Geek in Your Pocket Protection Plan+ Client to have me as your webmaster. It's an easy switch though since I will handle all the moving of your website to my servers. You can learn about my Protection Plans here.

Today having a high-performing secure website is critical to your online success and it starts with a high-quality web host.

A high-quality web host is the foundation of everything to helping you and your website online. These tips are a great way to measure how well your web host is performing.

Is your web host supporting you and your goals? If you're not sure, reach out and I'd be happy to do a quick assessment for you to see if your web host is right for you.