The smartphone revolution has enabled people to conduct business while on the go, with numerous start-ups entering the market through the virtual route. Though many of these start-ups are unable to survive and end-up with zero visitors on their websites, some manage to survive and thrive, based on the prudence of their decisions on vital requisites such as web hosting. In fact, even established players cannot afford any lag their website’s performance. Today, websites have become an indispensable tool for businesses, and thus comes in the dedicated web hosting services, and subsequently, the debate: India vs US-based servers. To help you make an informed decision, this post covers the finer lines of both the propositions.
Latency
The distance between hosting server and target audience is a pivotal factor that decides the latency or response time of a website. For example, 1-second delay in latency is enough to cause 7-8 percent decrease in conversion rate of any website. In short, the page load speed of your website is inversely proportional to the distance between the server and user. Given this, it is rather strange that a considerable number of Indian companies, webmasters and web designers turn to US-based web-hosting providers, despite the fact that their target audience is in India.
Content Distribution
When you choose a hosting service provider, it is indispensable to look into the Content Delivery Networks or CDN service. One of the important services offered by hosting companies, CDNs provide content to users based on the nearest server. This service minimises the latency or upload time of a website. The significance of CDNs can be understood by taking into consideration a simple context. If your target is Indian market, but you take hosting service from a firm based in the United States, all the website contents by CDNs service will be based on the localised area near to the server. Therefore, always opt a web-hosting provider placed near your target audience.
Search Visibility
In addition to Top Level Domain (TLD), IP address is one of the many factors that influence the search visibility of a website. For example, although a “.co.in” domain is an apt one for businesses that target Indian market, it is equally important for such websites to have an India-based IP address. Though, overseas hosting companies provide top level domains to target different geographical markets, however, as a business, you end up with an overseas IP, which eventually impacts your site’s search visibility. Therefore, it is always advisable to opt for a local hosting service provider.
Support
For any business, whether online or offline, it is always advisable to hire a service provider who meets your specifications of time, convenience, and future needs. If you hire a US-based hosting service provider, and there arises any technical glitch on your website, you may have to wait for the business hours of the US-based hosting company, which will certainly increase overall downtimes.
The Bottom Line
Given these factors, it is advisable for any Indian firm with business segmentation in India to host their websites on Indian servers. By engaging an India-based provider, organizations targeting the Indian subcontinent can not only minimize the performance lags in their websites by leveraging local Content delivery Networks, they also help in supporting the country’s economic development. Hosting the website on India-based servers also guarantees more security, easy support and cost-effectiveness. To know more about Indian-based hosting services, feel free to contact i2k2 Networks experts.