Web hosting for SMEs: a guide to choosing the right hosting provider

A website only exists if it is hosted, that is to say, stored on a server that is permanently connected to the internet. For an SME, the choice of hosting affects the website’s availability, speed, security and search engine optimisation. Spending a lot on a website and then hosting it on an unsuitable server is like fitting bicycle wheels to a Ferrari. Here’s how to choose.

What a hosting provider does

The hosting provider rents out space and processing power on its servers, and keeps them running smoothly: power supply, network, physical security and, depending on the package, system updates and backups. A reliable hosting provider keeps your website accessible and fast – two essential factors for a good visitor experience and a high ranking on Google.

Internet users have little patience: as early as 2009, a Forrester study for Akamai found that 47 per cent of online shoppers expected a page to load in two seconds or less. Expectations have only grown since then.

Types of hosting

• Shared hosting: your website shares a server with many others. It is inexpensive and suitable for small websites, but a neighbour that uses too much resources can slow yours down.
• Virtual Private Server (VPS): a dedicated portion of a server that you configure yourself. A good balance between cost and performance for a growing website.
• Dedicated server: an entire machine for your use. Recommended for high-traffic websites or those with stringent security requirements.
• The cloud: resources that scale on demand, with providers such as OVHcloud, AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud.

However, the cloud requires careful consideration. Amazon, Microsoft and Google’s technologies are proprietary: leaving them – to switch providers or return to traditional hosting – is a lengthy and costly process. Forecasting operating costs is difficult, as resource consumption fluctuates constantly. Finally, US hosting providers are subject to the Cloud Act, which allows US authorities to access the data they host, even if it is stored in Europe.

AmaZili’s bespoke hosting

As partners of OVHcloud, we operate our own servers, which are powerful and scaled to suit the websites we host: fast response times, large volumes of data, and continuous security monitoring. We operate servers in France, subject to the GDPR, and in Canada, in Beauharnois, Quebec, subject to PIPEDA and Bill 25. We can also host your data in other countries where OVHcloud has a presence, each governed by its own regulations: the UK GDPR in the United Kingdom, the Privacy Act in Australia, the PDPA in Singapore, the DPDP Act in India, and the Cloud Act in the United States, where OVHcloud has a separate subsidiary. You choose where your data is stored, depending on your customers and your obligations.

This service is well suited to e-commerce sites, technical websites and web applications, whether as progressive web apps or headless applications: see our professional website hosting.

Criteria for choosing a hosting provider

• Uptime: aim for at least 99.9 per cent, which equates to less than nine hours of downtime per year. A 99 per cent guarantee allows for more than three and a half days of downtime.
• Speed: modern servers, located close to your visitors, and well-configured caching.
• Security: automatic backups stored off-server, an HTTPS certificate, monitoring and system updates.
• Data location: in France or Europe to comply with the GDPR — a requirement for certain data, a guarantee for all.
• Support: someone who responds, in French, when the site stops loading.
• Compatibility: a good hosting provider supports MODX as well as WordPress, PrestaShop or a bespoke solution.
• Scalability: the ability to switch from one package to another without having to rebuild everything from scratch.

Hosting and search engine optimisation

Fast, secure hosting directly benefits SEO: Google penalises slow websites and alerts users to those that are not secure. A study by Backlinko, cited by Fasterize, found in 2016 that pages on the first page of Google loaded in 1.65 seconds on average.

Managing your hosting effectively

Hosting isn’t a one-off setup; it requires ongoing maintenance. You should regularly apply updates, check that backups can be restored, and monitor traffic using a privacy-friendly tool such as Matomo — or entrust these tasks to a maintenance provider. A sudden spike in traffic, or a slowdown, becomes apparent before it turns into a system failure.

How much does web hosting cost?

A few euros a month for shared hosting, a few dozen for a VPS, and several hundred for a managed dedicated server. The right choice isn’t necessarily the cheapest: it’s the one that matches what your website generates in revenue, and what a day’s downtime would cost.

Think ahead

Choose a hosting provider that can support your growth. Open-source solutions, based on free software, ensure your website remains portable: you’re not locked into a single provider. It’s also a question of digital sovereignty and sustainability: read why an eco-friendly website is an asset for your SME.

In conclusion

Choosing a hosting provider is a strategic decision for an SME: availability, speed, security, data location and cost must all be weighed up together. To find out more, read the key questions to ask yourself about your domain name and hosting, and discover our professional hosting services in France.