There are plenty of reasons why it might be time for you to switch WordPress hosting companies, but what about upgrading? Sometimes these might be the same thing — you could upgrade WordPress hosting as you move to a new host. But there are times where WordPress users simply need more as their site grows. Since upgrading almost always means an increase in cost, it’s important to know the why before you invest.
Time to upgrade WordPress hosting
Each hosting company can have different plans + services, but the concept is similar across the board. Upgrading your plan will lead to more space, more support + more tools. The question is… do you need those?
More Space
If you’re adding content like blog posts or text to your site, more space is not necessarily a big perk for your business. But if you’re a photographer with a growing portfolio, creating more resources + downloads for your members, or using your site as a way for clients to upload files, more space could be exactly what you need.
More Support
Again, it can vary from company to company, but more support can look like priority access, more ways to contact support, or more support hours. For example, our base hosting plan includes 3 hours of development to be used as needed on projects. Our top plan includes 13 hours of support. Clients can use that to add new features or to make changes to what exists.
I’ve seen companies also offer faster support turnaround times when clients upgrade WordPress hosting plans. While you might wait 48 hours now, that time could drop to 12 or 24 hours by changing your plan. So if waiting a while has you in a tizzy, an upgrade might be best.
More Tools
No matter what your hosting needs are, there are 3 things that I would label as mission critical no matter the plan — actual hosting (storing the files), an SSL (to keep your site secure), + some form of support (be it chat, email, etc). From there, resources + tools that you might find include malware scans, staging sites, speed reporting, scheduled site updates, or an email service. While we include malware scans, staging sites + scheduled updates in our base plan, those may be missing from your current agreement. If you’re not interested in tackling your updates regularly, an upgrade is absolutely worth it for you.
An honorable mention is for site owners using large hosting companies that have multiple types of servers. If you’re not using managed hosting for your site, that’s where I’d start with any client. Make sure you understand the difference between managed vs shared hosting + then find a managed WordPress hosting plan you love.
ROI when you upgrade
As most things in business go, it’s worth asking yourself what the ROI is (return on investment). Jumping from shared to managed will add a cost, and so will upgrading your WordPress hosting plan. Again, since every company is different, I’ll use our pricing to breakdown why the upgrade could end up saving you money. Or why it might have a great ROI for your business.
Diagnostic Hosting
Our base plan is $70/month or $840/year. Let’s say your hourly rate is $105. Could an upgrade to your current hosting plan save you at least 8 hours a year to break even on the expense? I say absolutely + here’s how:
- Your site would be updated + tested every month. If you’re doing that + it takes you ~20 minutes per month, that’s 4 hours a year. And that’s assuming everything goes smoothly + you don’t have to Google how to fix a problem that pops up.
- Speaking of problems, have you ever had to waste time waiting for a chat with support on your current plan? Just recently a client came to us after spending 45 minutes chatting only to have their problem go unresolved. Even if this doesn’t happen often, having someone to worry about this stuff for you could easily save you 1 hour a year.
- Those 3 included development hours mean a few things… you don’t have to vet a developer or research how to solve a problem your site is currently having. You can also hand off tasks you’ve been avoiding because you simply don’t want to do them. I get that. There’s another 3 hours.
- And finally, for today, how much time do you spend stressing about your website each year? Our clients get daily backups + scans for malware to make sure things are running as they should. And if something bad happens, their site can be restored in minutes. Lowballing the amount of time you worry about this stuff to 1 hour a year + our total is already at 9 hours, or $945 assuming you charge $105/hour. Not to mention your site is hosted, which you need to pay for anyway to have a site on the internet.
Sidekick Hosting
With that same approach, what would make the $200/month or $2,400/year plan a good investment for your business?
- (More Space) In the same way that you pay more for larger iPhone storage, you’d do the same for hosting. If that extra space allows you to upload more content without worry, great. What if that extra space allows you to ditch a subscription service you had for hosting your PDFs? That could easily be a $100/year savings on top of the ditched worry.
- (More Support) 10 additional development hours in your pocket to use as needed — on top of the 3 that all hosting clients get. At your hourly rate of $105, that’s 9.5 hours you don’t have to spend working on your own site. And if the projects we work on save you time or stress afterwards, that’s even more hours you’ve saved. But you’re also saving because our development hourly rate is $125.
- (More Tools) Access to website reporting + site speed tools can easily lead to more conversions on your site. Whether that’s folks sticking around because things load quickly + signing up for your newsletter. Or those same peeps inquiring about your product or service because they stayed on the site + found a page that spoke to them. Either way, more customers is always a great ROI. If your course is $250, getting 1 new client every month would cover the cost of hosting with extra to spare. How about that math?
Learn more about hosting with tiny blue orange if you’re ready to upgrade your WordPress hosting today!