Despite the pandemic causing setbacks for many across the country, new data shows that the number of new businesses registered during lockdown shot through the roof compared to previous years.
The figures show 835,000 businesses new business have emerged since lockdown began March 2020, that is 41% more than 2019 and 96% more than 2018.1
To support businesses, Fasthosts have detailed tips on how to ensure your business thrives online.
Top tips to help your business thrive online
1. Use a website builder
Your website is your ‘shop front’ and needs to impress any potential customers who may land on your site.
Without a website your business may be seen to lack legitimacy in the eyes of a customer, while a poor quality one could reflect badly on your business.
Luckily there are many website builder tools available, allowing you to build a professional website without having developer knowledge.
2. Cloud storage and computing
The ‘cloud’ simply means that you can store and access data over the internet rather than keeping it on your computer or hard drive.
By immersing yourself and your business in the ‘cloud’ you will be able to back-up data helping with recovery during any potential data loss as well as having increased security.
Working in the cloud can also improve accessibility. Staff working at home or remotely will be able to have access to most, if not all, data and tools they need to do their jobs.
3. Have you considered VPS hosting?
VPS hosting (virtual private server) is a cost-effective way to help business scale up their online activity.
While shared hosting means that your website will share its server resources with others, VPS hosting is like having your own server, but in the cloud.
An advantage to VPS hosting is its scalability. A small business may find it hard to predict the amount of traffic its website might receive which can be an issue if its customer base quickly expands. Unlike a shared server, a VPN can quickly increase its capacity and help the website scale up its operations with the minimum of fuss.
4. Transfer your domain registration
A domain registrar is the company who helped you purchase and set up your website domain name.
The challenge for many small businesses however is that many registrars sign you up on a low fee, only to increase the prices over time.
Many registrars may offer you a fantastic low price to switch – just remember to check how much it will cost in a few years’ time. Transferring to a new registrar is actually very simple, and most importantly free!
