3 Important Considerations before Choosing Your New Domain’s Hosting Location

As a quick refresher, your new domain is the web name or address you just purchased: “www.yoursitename.com.”

All online business requires a server that’s located elsewhere. Think of it as your new domain’s home in the internet. Shared option is usually the top choice for startups and is often the cheaper option. For businesses just starting to get their brand online and recently secured or purchased either a typical .com or ccTLD name, the web host location (or data center) should be considered before committing.

Note that after domain registration, you can also host your new domain to the registrar who most likely will have their own hosting service. For instance in Singapore, this includes top SG domain providers like Crazy Domain. Now let’s discuss how server location affects a site and why is it so important for an online business.

good web hosting service like IONOS boosts site speed. Thanks to the web hosting industry’s size and choices, you can pick from different options. Besides price ranges, there are geographical locations you might have your website hosted on. But how exactly does the location of the provider affect your page load speed?  

The right service provider can lead to multiple benefits since fast server improves a customer’s site experience. Conversely, registering your domain and hosting with a cheap and poor web hosting can slow down the site, weaken search engine visibility, and ultimately cause negative effects on conversion.

Faster load time can lead to more sales. Research suggests that page load times of e-commerce site directly relates to conversion or bounce rate. The difference of a second or two in load times may be small, but it can be very important.

For instance, based on Google’s research, the bounce rate can increase exponentially after the first three seconds. With that, your online store should load completely within those three seconds.

The geographic location of the server. Fastnetwork connection speed is the norm these days. Many sites and online stores can rapidly load regardless of server location. However, customers expect really fast load times. As stated above, a second or more from the expected loading times can lead to poor user experience and loss of potential sales.

Choosing the best domain registrar and hosting provider

Your first consideration should be your customer’s point of view. Where do your customers come from and where is the audience you’re looking to target?

Your answers to these questions will give you a good idea of where your server should be located. For instance, if most of your e-commerce customers are Singaporeans, then you should consider an SG domain name and the server should naturally be located in Singapore. If your target audience is in Australia, it is best to choose a provider with a server there.

Having a server abroad does not mean that you must compromise from getting customer service in Singaporean. Singaporean-based domain registrars and hosts can also provide you with servers from many parts of the globe. The most affordable domain and nearest is not always the best solution. Your provider’s industry experience and reputation play a huge role as well so don’t be afraid to ask for clarifications or look for reviews to see if they’re the best choice among many others out there.