The performance of your business website has a direct impact on customer experience and conversion rates.
Unfortunately, many Canadian businesses fall victim to simple web hosting problems that can silently weaken their online visibility. Let’s look at the most important hosting concerns to avoid when choosing a service for your company website.
1. Oversold Shared CPU Resources
When multiple websites share the same physical server’s CPU resources without proper allocation controls, your site’s performance suffers during peak traffic periods. Resource-intensive operations from neighboring sites can throttle your website’s responsiveness.
Quality providers execute fair resource allocation utilizing technologies like control groups (Cgroups) and fair share scheduling to prevent the “noisy neighbor” effect. Instead of imprecise “unlimited” promises, seek for hosts who provide transparent information on compute allocation metrics.
2. RAM Limitations in Shared Environments
Similar to CPU constraints, inadequate RAM allocation in shared hosting environments leads to performance degradation. When your website needs memory but the shared pool is exhausted by other customers, page loading times increase dramatically.
Reputable hosting companies should implement proper RAM isolation between accounts while maintaining sufficient overhead for traffic spikes. The Harvard Extension School’s business technology curriculum highlights that memory contention is one of the primary causes of performance issues in multi-tenant hosting environments.
3. Storage Limits Disguised as “Unlimited”
While many hosts advertise “unlimited storage,” the fine print often reveals significant limitations. This marketing tactic has been scrutinized by the Federal Trade Commission for potentially violating truth-in-advertising standards.
Before signing up, double-check the volumetric storage (available gigabytes) and any other account limits.
4. The Inode Limitation Trap
Perhaps the most deceptive storage restriction is the inode limit. An inode is a filesystem data structure that tracks individual files and directories. Many hosts advertise “unlimited storage” while strictly limiting the number of files you can store—regardless of their size.
This limitation particularly affects businesses that:
- Host numerous small files (e.g., image galleries)
- Manage extensive email accounts (each email counts as a file)
- Run content management systems with many plugins
According to Purdue University’s Engineering Computer Network documentation, exceeding inode limits triggers write failures even when volumetric storage remains available.
5. Absence of Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
Without a formal SLA, hosting providers face no financial penalties for extended outages. A proper SLA should quantify:
- Guaranteed uptime percentage (99.9% minimum, which still allows for nearly 9 hours of annual downtime)
- Maximum response times for different severity incidents
- Compensation for service violations
The National Institute of Standards and Technology recommends that SLAs include provisions for circuit breakers (automatic failover thresholds) and geo-redundancy for mission-critical websites.
6. PHP Configuration Restrictions
Many commercial apps require certain PHP settings for better speed and security. Restrictive hosting that do not allow custom PHP setup can severely limit your technology alternatives.
Common PHP configuration issues include:
- Memory limits too low for modern applications
- Maximum execution time restrictions that break complex processes
- Disabled functions necessary for business operations
When evaluating hosts, confirm you’ll have access to customize critical PHP settings through .htaccess files or a control panel interface.
7. Outdated PHP Versions
Running outdated PHP versions introduces serious security vulnerabilities and compatibility issues. PHP’s official documentation clearly states which versions receive security updates, yet many hosts continue operating obsolete versions.
Current PHP versions offer significant performance improvements and security enhancements over older iterations. Ensure your provider maintains current, supported PHP versions and has a regular update schedule.
8. Charging for SSL Certificates
In today’s security-conscious environment, SSL certificates are essential, not optional. Yet some hosts charge premium fees for something that should be standard.
Let’s Encrypt provides free, automated SSL certificates that meet industry standards. Quality hosts integrate Let’s Encrypt automatically, providing secure HTTPS connections at no additional cost. Be wary of providers charging for this fundamental security feature.
9. Hidden Fees and Dark Patterns
Watch out for providers that employ dark patterns during the checkout process. These deceptive design practices might include:
- Pre-selected add-ons you must manually remove
- Discounted initial terms with substantial renewal increases
- Domain privacy fees buried in fine print
- Backup services automatically added to your cart
The FTC has been increasingly scrutinizing these practices across digital services, including web hosting.
10. Email Hosting Inode Consumption
Many hosts advertise “free email hosting” with their packages, but fail to mention that each email counts against your inode quota. For businesses that rely heavily on email communications, this oversight can lead to unexpected service disruptions when inode limits are reached.
Consider separating your email hosting from your web hosting to avoid this problem, or select a provider that specifically excludes emails from inode calculations.
Take Action Today: Partner with a Trusted Web Hosting Provider
At Alstra Solutions, we’ve helped countless Canadian businesses avoid these frequent web hosting mistakes through our trustworthy hosting services powered by Google Cloud Platform servers. This enterprise-grade infrastructure offers optimal performance, security, and scalability for your business website. As a federally licensed IT firm situated in Toronto, we understand the specific problems Canadian businesses confront in the digital economy. Our comprehensive web solutions include professionally configured hosting environments with fair resource allocation, current PHP versions, free SSL certificates, and no hidden fees.
Don’t let subpar web hosting undermine your business potential. Contact our team today to discuss how our reliable web hosting services can provide the strong foundation your business website deserves. With Alstra’s support, you can focus on growing your business while we handle the technical details that keep your online presence performing at its best.