The web hosting sector is an interesting one, and the latest surveys from Host Advice reveal some useful information about its current position. The biggest finding is that in most countries, businesses tend to go local and choose hosting providers from their own country. For example, in France, nine of the top ten providers are French. The same goes for Italy and the US too. The trend is not limited to large markets either; in smaller markets businesses are even more likely to choose local.
The global nature of the internet means people are free to shop around for hosting and choose a provider that will offer them the best deal. Even with this potential it seems that businesses are more likely to go local, even if they need to pay slightly more for the privilege. There could be several reasons for the behaviour, including people feeling more comfortable with a company they can reach easily and communicate with.
Another interesting finding is that the US is the most popular web hosting provider in the world. Over 51% of sites are hosted by American companies, with GoDaddy taking an impressive 5.82% share of the whole market. Of the top ten hosting companies, seven of them are in the US.
The popularity of US hosting could be a result of globalisation and the continued growth of the English language. Their technological infrastructure is also a big bonus because businesses will believe that American companies are better placed to keep them online. Additionally, the competition between companies is driving down prices, meaning US hosts are probably the most likely to offer cheap fees.
If you are shopping around for affordable web hosting you should consider the advantages of choosing a local provider rather than simply opting for the cheapest service. Remember if your website is hosted by a foreign company and it goes down there could be a big delay in getting back online, especially if the host is based on the other side of the world. Choosing local should mean you have faster access to technical support and other services.