If you run or are starting an e-commerce business, you might have heard the term “minimum order quantity,” or MOQ, floating around. If you have heard of it, chances are you feel conflicted.
There’s advice for and against this method. This makes it difficult to decide whether it’s the right choice for you, especially if you don’t understand how it works and how it can make you money.
In this post, you’ll learn what an MOQ is, how to set one that won’t make your customers run for the hills, and how to use the strategy to increase your profits and reduce your expenses.
What Is Minimum Order Quantity?
Before we jump into the good stuff (like how to make money with an MOQ), let’s dive into the minimum order quantity definition.
An MOQ refers to the minimum amount someone can order from a business.
For example, imagine you’re a wholesaler on Alibaba. You create an MOQ of 100 units, which means your customers need to purchase 100 units or more to do business with you.
You can also make your MOQ a dollar amount. For example, your customers need to spend a minimum of $500.
Why would you want to use an MOQ? Simply put, it protects your business and profit margins. If someone wants to order only five items from you, it’s sometimes uneconomical to start the production process. If you do, you’ll end up losing money.
With an MOQ in place, it ensures you’re covering production costs and making a profit.
Do MOQs only work for manufacturers or wholesalers? No. You can apply MOQ strategies in direct to customer circumstances as well. For example, you can set a minimum spend to qualify for free shipping or product.
How to Calculate Your MOQ
Calculating your MOQ is tricky.
It’s a key part of maintaining inventory control, but it differs wildly from business to business. There’s no fixed formula to calculate your MOQ, so you’ll need to customize it to your business.
How do you do this?
Follow the steps below to create your unique MOQ formula.
You need to consider your different products, seasonality, competition, and any other factors that will affect how many units you’ll sell.
The data can help you plan out your next purchasing order from suppliers and your production turnaround to make sure you can match demand.
Other things to take into account include:
total time to ship your inventory
freight transit times
production times
other delays that could affect your ability to meet the demand
Example: You sell phone cases and determine you’ll move 10,000 units each quarter. However, your sales are seasonal. During Q4, you sell 15,000 due to the Christmas demand, and your sales drop to 5,000 units in Q2. On average, your phone cases take one week to produce and ship.
Example: If you sold five phone cases, how much revenue would that bring in compared to what you spent on production, salaries, and other expenses? You determine you need to sell 100 cases to break even.
Step 3: Calculate Your Holding Costs
Your holding or inventory costs is the price it costs to store your products before shipping to a customer.
It will cost you more money to hold your inventory over extended periods. The quicker you can move items, the lower your holding expenses and the higher your profit margin.
However, not all goods carry the same holding cost.
Some might require refrigeration, which will increase your electricity bill, while other items like phone cases can sit on a shelf for months at room temperature.
Example: You determine it costs you $2,000 per month to store 500 phone cases.
Step 4: Calculate Your MOQ
With all the data collecting out of the way, it’s time for your final calculation.
Let’s say your phone case customers currently purchase on average 200 units.
You need to sell 100 units to start making a profit.
You can make your minimum order quantity 200 units. It will cover your break-even point of 100, and you could drop your MOQ to 150 if you need to and still make a profit.
What Are the Benefits of Requiring an MOQ?
As a manufacturer and seller, there are many benefits to switching to an MOQ business model to boost your bottom line.
The main benefits of MOQ include:
Cash flow: Worried about investing too much money in stock and it not selling? A minimum order quantity means you have less cash tied up in raw materials or product that isn’t moving. You can balance your costs and profit with item amounts your customers will accept, thus reducing waste and unnecessary expenses.
Low inventory: You don’t want your product inventory to sit on a shelf collecting dust. By implementing an MOQ, you can lower the number of finished items in your warehouse. The less time you store your products, the less money you spend on holding costs and the bigger your profit margin.
Increase in profits: The crux of MOQ is demand. You’re not guessing how much product or raw material your customers want. You have a clear idea of how much stock you can realistically move. Using your MOQ to find a balance between supply and demand, you can produce in larger quantities, bring your overall costs down, and increase your profits.
Move lingering stock: Another benefit of the MOQ module is its ability to move stock. If you’re sitting with 100 phone cases and selling them one by one, it could take months to empty your inventory. By setting an MOQ of 50 or 100, it would only take one or two customers to clear out your lingering stock.
Lower shipping costs: If you’re constantly shipping in raw materials or product to create your items, your freight costs will be high. However, when you set your MOQ at an optimum level, you’ll ship more product in bulk and lower your shipping expenses from suppliers.
5 Tips for Making Money by Requiring an MOQ
Okay, let’s get to the good stuff! We’ve gone over the MOQ definition, the benefits, and how to create an MOQ formula for your business.
Now we’re going to discuss how you can start making more money by requiring an MOQ from your customers.
I know it can seem daunting to set one. What if you scare your customers away and no one opts in? If that thought is swimming around in your head, here are my top tips for implementing an MOQ and increasing (not decreasing) your profits.
1. Eliminate Bargain Hunters
MOQ isn’t only about improving your profit margin. It helps you find a small number of customers who are happy to spend more money with you.
No matter what type of business you’re running, it’s often easier to have a small number of high-paying clients than dozens of low-paying clients. Small or once-off customers mean it will take you much longer to reach your desired income goals while taking up more time and energy along the way.
MOQs help you weed out all the bargain hunters who want the lowest possible price and make room in your garden for repeat clients who are happy to spend larger amounts with your business.
Say hello, recurring revenue, and goodbye to an unstable income flow.
Why should you care about generating recurring revenue?
Want to incentivize your MOQs? Encourage your customers to spend a minimum amount by offering a discount.
You can:
Reduce the cost per unit for a higher spend: For example, sell three bottles of shampoo for $60 instead of $30 each if purchased separately.
Offer a minimum free shipping minimum threshold: For example, most online retailers will offer free shipping if you spend a minimum amount. It encourages customers to spend more to meet the requirement.
3. Make Pricing Attractive to Boost Inventory Turnover
Your MOQ will only work if the price is right.
You need your price per order to be enough to cover your expenses and make a profit, but it still needs to attract customers. If your minimum order amount is too high, you won’t get any orders, and you’ll sit with inventory for longer, driving up your costs.
After you’ve figured out your MOQ formula, do your market research. See what your competitors are offering and confirm a high enough demand before you start spending money on things you can’t recover, like warehousing.
4. Move Old Stock With Flash Sales
What happens if your stock isn’t moving? Maybe there is a lull in the season, or you’ve tried a new product variation, and not enough people are biting.
One of the best ways to recoup your money and free up your inventory is with flash sales.
An excellent example of how well flash sales can work is Black Friday. Activewear giant GymShark frequently uses this strategy during the biggest sales day of the year and has broken in-house sales records by generating $400,000 in 60-minutes.
A well-executed sale can do more than move excess inventory or help you break even on poor-selling items. When done right, it can also increase customer loyalty and customer acquisition, which will boost your profits in the long run.
5. Have a Good Inventory Management System in Place
An essential part of any business is automation. It helps you do more with the same number of hours in the day and focus on the actions that move the needle forward.
When using an MOQ strategy, your success relies on having a good inventory management system in place. With a few clicks of your mouse, you can set reorder points for specific items, streamlining your inventory management process.
Other advantages include:
Keeping your customers happy by maintaining healthy stock levels and quick turnaround on orders.
Track your inventory turnover ratio to make better use of your resources.
Save money by avoiding tying too much money in inventory and not having enough inventory to complete sales orders.
How to Calculate Your MOQ
Calculate Demand
Predict the number of sales you’ll make. To calculate this figure consider the products you’re selling, seasonality, competition, shipping time, and any other factors that may affect your sales figures.
Calculate Your Break-Even Point
Determine the number of products you have to sell to make a profit.
Calculate Your Holding Costs
Figure out how much it costs to store your products before sending them to customers.
Calculate Your MOQ
Figure out how many units you have to sell to turn a profit, how many you predict you’ll sell, and determine your MOQ accordingly.
Conclusion
What’s one of the most off-putting things about starting a business? Capital.
Not all of us have access to a lump sum of money to invest in an idea, and the thought of going into debt for a business that isn’t seeing results yet is terrifying.
With a minimum order quality strategy in place, you can reduce your upfront capital amount, cost per unit, and expenses like storage costs. The MOQ that works for your business is unique, and finding it requires research, planning, and understanding demand in the market.
However, once you have it, an MOQ can help you scale, avoid unnecessary expenses, and run a profitable business.
Capital isn’t the only thing you need to start a successful business; you only need a great digital marketing strategy in place. If you need help with that aspect, reach out to our agency!
Do you think minimum order quantity is a good business strategy? Why or why not?
Have you ever felt like someone was watching you online? Those shoes you just searched for on Amazon suddenly show up in ads on Facebook. Maybe you start seeing ads on YouTube for a resort you were researching for an upcoming vacation.
The truth is, you are being watched. In fact, marketers have used cookies to track the actions of internet users for years—but that may soon change. Google announced they are ending the use of third-party cookies. As a result, most businesses will have to rely on first-party data for things like ad targeting.
What does that mean for your marketing strategy? It might not be as bad as you think.
Here’s what you need to know about first-party data and how to use it to create targeted paid ads. (Spoiler alert: It might actually be better for your PPC strategy in the long run!)
What Is First-Party Data?
Before we dig into what this change means for your paid ads, let’s talk about the different types of data companies use in marketing.
First-party data is information companies collect from their own sources about their customers. For example, the data from your website tracking tool, your email subscribers, or surveying your audience.
Second-party data is when two or more organizations come together to mutually share their data. Third-party data is collected by one source, often aggregated, and then sold to a third party who has no connection with the original source.
To summarize:
first-party data: data you collect about your customers or site visitors
second-party data: data you and someone else pool together
third-party data: data collected by one party and sold or shared with an unrelated third-party
What Is the Difference Between First-Party Data and Third-Party Data?
Third-party data, the type Google is phasing out, refers to data collected from (as you might have guessed) a third-party, meaning a site or entity without a direct relationship with the original source.
Third-party data is collected, aggregated, and sold to other parties. The problem is the brands buying the data have little idea where it came from.
There are other issues, too. For example, you can buy third-party data, but so can your competitors. That makes it hard to be competitive.
This chart helps illustrate the difference between the different types of data.
Why Is Third-Party Data Being Phased Out?
The main reason third-party data is being phased out is due to major security and privacy issues.
David Temkin, Director of Product Management, Ads Privacy, and Trust at Google, shared,
People shouldn’t have to accept being tracked across the web in order to get the benefits of relevant advertising. And advertisers don’t need to track individual consumers across the web to get the performance benefits of digital advertising.
Advances in aggregation, anonymization, on-device processing and other privacy-preserving technologies offer a clear path to replacing individual identifiers.
In addition to privacy issues, cookies aren’t as accurate as some might think. For example, they can’t always track users across devices.
If you shop on your phone for a pair of shoes but buy them on your laptop, you might still see ads for those shoes on your mobile device—which is terrible for ad spend, as brands waste money targeting users that have already converted.
How Will Using First-Party Data Impact Ad Personalization?
As Google phases out third-party cookies, many brands will begin using first-party data to better personalize ads. What does this mean for your paid marketing strategy?
Don’t worry; you won’t have to rebuild your marketing strategy from scratch. However, there are a few changes you’ll want to pay attention to:
Brands will need to focus on collecting first-party data: If you haven’t been gathering data about your audience, now is the time. Consider hosting contests, using website tracking tools, or sending out surveys to collect more information about your audience.
Competitive analysis will get harder: One of the downfalls of third-party data is that you and your competitors are using the exact same targeting data. With the move to away from third-party cookies, it might become harder to understand why your competitors are taking certain actions.
Ads may get more personalized: First-party data is data from your actual site visitors and customers, making it easier to create a personalized experience.
Day-to-day, the switch away from third-party data is unlikely to impact the marketing world in a massive way. Most brands will begin to rely on first-party data more; however, Google is also creating what they call a “privacy sandbox” to allow brands to target users without invading their privacy.
Brands that want to succeed shouldn’t rely entirely on Google’s new data plan because there are a ton of advantages to using this type of data?
Advantages of Only Using First-Party Data for Ad Personalization
Why should you consider moving to first-party data rather than relying solely on Google’s privacy sandbox?
For starters, most brands are increasing their reliance on first-party data, which likely means they are seeing positive results. According to Google, 87 percent of APAC brands consider it critical to their marketing efforts.
Let’s look at a few other benefits to consider.
First-Party Data Is More Accurate
First-party data is information you collect about your customers. This makes it more accurate because you know who it is about and where it came from.
Third-party data is sold and sometimes resold, which means brands have no access to the source data and, sometimes, very little idea about where the data is actually from.
Boost Marketing Performance
Some people are really concerned about the end of third-party data, but I’m not. Why? Because first-party data isn’t just more accurate; it’s also much more efficient at driving consumers to take action.
Standing out online sometimes feels impossible. With millions of companies, billions of internet users, and more content being churned out every day, brands that want to stand out face a ton of noise.
With third-party data, you and your competitors can buy the exact same data, which makes it pretty hard to be competitive. However, your competitors don’t have access to the data you collect, making it easier to test new initiatives or uncover opportunities about your own traffic and customers.
You Can Double Down on Personalization
According to Forrester, 89 percent of digital companies invest in marketing personalization. It’s easy to see why when 80 percent of customers report they are more likely to purchase from brands that offer a personalized experience.
Using third-party data for personalization was never a perfect match. You might not know when a customer converts from another device or if the data you’re using is skewed. With first-party data, you can dive into personalization, secure in the knowledge that your data is accurate.
It Is More Standardized
Imagine asking five people to create a puzzle piece. You give them all the same parameters for height, length, and shape. Even with the same directions, each of those pieces isn’t quite going to fit together.
The same thing happens with third-party data. Each platform might gather it just a little bit differently, which can make it almost impossible to pull all that data together. With first-party data, however, you gather the data. This means you can ensure it is standardized and works well with all your tools and systems.
First-Party Data Is Cheaper
Third-party data is purchased from another vendor, which means you are shelling out cash for data that is less efficient, less accurate, and harder to use. First-party data, on the other hand, is information from your own audience.
Which means you don’t have to buy it. You will have to pay a bit to collect and store the data, but it’s likely much cheaper than purchasing the data from another source.
How to Use First-Party Data for Ad Personalization
We’ve covered what first-party data is, why Google is ditching third-party data, and a few of the advantages of using it. How do you actually put first-party data to use? Here’s what you need to know to use this data for ad personalization.
Determine How to Leverage First-Party Data
Before you start collecting data, take the time to figure out how you will use the data to further your marketing goals. How you plan to use the data will impact what type of data you want to collect and how you gather it.
You might use it to:
build brand awareness
reduce churn
send timely ads
drive more qualified leads
For example, if the data will be used to send more personalized email marketing campaigns, you could gather the data through an email survey.
Make a Plan to Gather First-Party Data
Unlike third-party data, you can’t just buy first-party data; you’ll have to gather it yourself. Luckily, there’s no shortage of ways to gather it.
For example, you can collect first-party data from:
Before making a plan to gather data, think about how you plan the data to personalize your marketing. For example, retargeting ads, personalized product recommendations, or account-based marketing.
Ask Permission to Gather the Data
One of the major issues with third-party data is some web users don’t even realize they’re being tracked. As first-party data becomes more popular (and as privacy laws limit the data we collect about our audiences), it’s important to be transparent about the data you gather.
Ensure your audience clearly understands what data you collect, what you do with it, and how it’s stored. Being transparent about the data you collect and how you use it isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s required by law in some places, like the EU’s GDPR.
Test, Tweak, and Retest
With third-party data, you get what you get. There is no way to change the type of data you collect or adjust how you gather it.
With first-party data, you can test to figure out the best way to collect data by adjusting how you gather it or test and tweak how you use the data by A/B testing ads to see what your audience responds to.
Conclusion
Third-party cookies are coming to an end. What does that mean for marketers? It means it’s time to start leveraging first-party data for personalization. The good news is, it is more accurate and cheaper, and it can even improve marketing efficiency.
The first step to using first-party data is to find a way to collect it through polls, customer surveys, or website tracking tools. Then make a plan for how to use it. If you need help getting it set up, we can help.
Are you planning to use first-party data for ad personalization? What are your marketing goals?
When you browse the internet, do you ever stop to wonder what’s happening in the background? If the answer’s no, don’t worry. You’re not alone. Most marketers, even great ones, don’t give the “tech stuff” much thought. How a website performs is just something for IT specialists to worry about, right?
No, unfortunately.
If your website’s slow or clunky, it directly affects the user experience. In fact, 40 percent of people won’t hang around if your website takes more than 3 seconds to load. With this in mind, it’s crucial you know how to fix a sluggish website and streamline your page loading times before you lose leads.
Where do you start? Well, one way is to make fewer HTTP requests for your website.
Although an HTTP request sounds like a really technical term best reserved for engineers and IT pros, don’t panic. It’s something any good marketer can understand. Now, let’s take a deep dive into how these requests work and how you can use this knowledge to boost your website’s performance.
What Are HTTP Requests?
Before we get started, it’s crucial you’re clear on what HTTP requests actually are.
HTTP stands for “HyperText Transfer Protocol.” Think of HTTP as the language browsers and web servers use to talk to each other. We (thankfully) don’t need to cover all the intricacies of web code to understand how HTTP affects load time, but here’s a breakdown of the key steps marketers need to know.
When someone wants to visit your website, their browser sends a “request” to your server. This is known as an HTTP request. Your server acknowledges the response and kicks into gear, ready to display the webpage.
Here’s where it gets a little tricky, though. The browser can’t display the page right away. It needs copies of the various different files, such as plug-ins and images, to load the page properly.
How does the browser get these files? By making multiple HTTP requests. If the browser doesn’t make these requests, the page components won’t load.
Depending on how many components your page has, these requests can really add up, which is a problem. Here’s why.
Why You Need Fewer HTTP Requests
There are two simple reasons why every website should aim to reduce the HTTP requests associated with it.
Firstly, let’s start with page load time. The more HTTP requests your site receives, the longer it takes for the requested page to load. For example, a page with 20 HTTP requests will load faster than a page with 70 requests.
The issue? People don’t want to hang around waiting on a website loading.
39 percent of visitors won’t return if your images or videos don’t load properly, as research by SAG IPL shows.
45percent of respondents won’t buy from a retailer if the website takes too long to load, according to research by Unbounce.
In short, with much competition out there, you’ll lose leads if your website takes too long to load or it doesn’t load properly at all.
Next, let’s think about what impact these lost leads have on your metrics.
According to Google, bounce rate increases by 32 percent when loading time slows from 1-3 seconds, and to make matters worse, poor loading time affects your SEO ranking. Delays in page loading time can cut page views by 11 percent, which tells Google your page isn’t offering value.
Think about it this way: If your website doesn’t impress visitors, they won’t shop with you. They won’t recommend you to their friends. In time, this leads to a lower search ranking, less visitors, and reduced conversion rates overall.
What can we take from all this? Well, too many HTTP requests directly affect your key metrics and your marketability online.
How to Identify Unnecessary HTTP Requests
OK, we’re clear on how HTTP requests work and why you need less of them. How do you identify these excess requests, though? By doing two things: identifying how many requests you’re dealing with, and grading your website performance.
Establish the Number of HTTP Requests Your Website Receives
You can’t eliminate HTTP requests until you know how many your website receives. Luckily, there are tools available to help you identify the number.
For example, HubSpot’s Website Grader give you a free website “health check” so you can instantly see how many requests you’re receiving:
If you use Chrome, you can also use Chrome’s DevTools to identify the number of HTTP requests. Simply right-click the page you want to check, click “Inspect,” then click the “Network” option. The image you’ll see looks something like this:
This page receives 112 requests.
Grade Your Website Performance
When was the last time you assessed your website’s performance and, most importantly, page loading time? If you can’t remember, now’s a great time to run an audit.
You can try Ubersuggest for this. It’s really simple to use. Simply open Ubersuggest, type in your URL, and click “Site Audit” from the sidebar when the search results finish loading.
Once you’ve clicked “Site Audit,” you’ll see an overview of your website’s speed. It’ll look something like this:
A low score indicates you’re suffering from poor loading times. For example, if your mobile website takes 6 seconds to load, but your desktop site loads in 2 seconds, there’s a problem with your mobile site, and so on.
Don’t worry if you’re unhappy with your page loading times or the number of HTTP requests you’re seeing. Now you know there’s a problem, you can begin streamlining those HTTP requests and ensure your page loads as quickly as possible. Let’s look at how to do just that.
8 Steps to Make Fewer HTTP Requests
Although every website is unique, we can usually blame excessive HTTP requests on a few common problems. With this in mind, here are eight simple steps you can take right now to reduce the number of requests passing through your website.
1. Remove Unnecessary Plug-Ins
Plug-ins are great. They add new functionality to your website and make your web pages more engaging. However, too many plug-ins clutter your page and hold up loading times. While there’s no “right” number of plug-ins, a good rule of thumb is to keep them minimal.
First, identify which plug-ins you use. Do they add value to your website? If the answer’s no, they can go. If it’s a plug-in you only use now and then, you can always reinstall it when it’s required then delete it again.
Not sure how to identify your plug-ins? Reach out to me and see how I can help you better understand your website’s performance.
2. Replace Heavy Plug-Ins With Streamlined Ones
OK, so you can’t remove every plug-in. However, if you want to make fewer HTTP requests, you can often replace resource-heavy plug-ins with more streamlined options.
For example, maybe you want to add social media buttons to your page. Great. Social media shares can increase engagement and boost your exposure. However, the plug-ins can be resource-intensive.
To streamline your social media plug-ins, use tools like Novashare. This tool won’t slow your page down, but it will help you reduce the HTTP requests generated by your social sharing plug-ins:
3. Remove Images You Do Not Need
Sure, images can improve your website’s visual appeal and boost the user experience. Unless the image helps your reader understand your content in some way, or it’s a highly useful piece of content in its own right like an infographic, it might be worth deleting it.
Remember, every image creates an HTTP request. While those fun GIFs might have visual appeal, they won’t impress your audience if they affect load time.
Audit every individual web page and don’t be afraid to get a little ruthless. If the image doesn’t add value to your content, delete it.
4. Reduce the File Size for Remaining Images
Once you’ve deleted the unnecessary images, you need to optimize the ones you plan on keeping. In this context, “optimizing” doesn’t mean using alt text or keywords, although you should optimize for SEO, too.
Instead, what I mean is compressing each image. Compression preserves the image quality while reducing the overall file size, which improves load time.
If you don’t have access to image editing tools like Adobe, try free tools like Squoosh instead. You can tinker with the image to find the perfect balance between file size (which should be less than 1 MB, ideally) and image quality:
5. Drop Unnecessary Videos
Just like not every image adds value to your content, some videos detract from the user experience and increase the page loading time.
To be honest, this tip’s really simple. Just like you should cull any images or plug-ins you don’t need, limit how many videos you’re playing on any webpage.
How do you know which videos to delete? Well, there’s no rule here. However, if it doesn’t educate your audience or add value in some way, cut it or replace it with a shorter, comparable video.
6. Enable Lazy Load
“Lazy loading” means an image or video won’t load until the user begins scrolling down your webpage. How does this reduce HTTP requests?
Since the media doesn’t load right away, it won’t trigger an HTTP request for the initial page load. It doesn’t affect the user experience either, since users won’t know the difference between a regular or lazy load. All they’ll know is that the images or videos are viewable once they scroll down.
To enable lazy load, try out plug-ins like the aptly-named LazyLoad. The script takes up less than 10 KB of space, so it’s not resource-intensive. Just install the plug-in and it gets to work immediately:
7. Use Content Caching
Caching is a great way to reduce HTTP requests.
Essentially, caching means a visitor’s browser stores copies of the scripts it used to display your webpage, rather than delete them all. When the visitor returns, there’s no need to make all those HTTP requests again, because the scripts they need are already stored in the browser unless they clear their cache.
Let me give you some tips for priming your website for content caching.
Don’t use cookies unless they’re essential.
Always use the same URL if you serve the content across different pages.
Build up a library of images and videos and reuse them.
Try out free tools like REDbot to assess your website’s cacheability.
8. Reduce Third-Party Requests
If a visitor’s browser needs to request or download data from a third party to display a website properly, like YouTube or Google Analytics, it’s called a third-party request. The issue? How long your page takes to load depends on how quickly the third-party server responds.
This is a huge problem because you’re not in control of your page loading time. To take back control, think about lazy loading third-party content like embedded YouTube videos. You could also try hosting scripts for necessary programs like Google Analytics locally rather than externally.
Finally, if a plug-in you use makes its own third-party requests, switch it for another plug-in where possible.
How to Make Fewer HTTP Requests
Remove Unnecessary Plug-Ins
Figure out which plug-ins are installed and remove those that you don’t use.
Replace Heavy Plug-Ins With Streamlined Ones
Audit the plug-ins you keep and replace them with more efficient ones if they’re available.
Remove Unnecessary Images
Delete images that don’t add value since each one creates an HTTP request.
Reduce the File Size for Remaining Images
Compress the images you keep to reduce load time.
Drop Unnecessary Videos
Only keep videos that add value to your page.
Enable Lazy Load
Use a plug-in that allows images and videos to load once a user scrolls.
Use Content Caching
To prepare your site for content caching avoid using cookies; use the same URL for content used on different pages; build an image library and re-use them; and audit your site’s ability to be cached.
Reduce Third-Party Requests
Try not to include content that pulls from a third party, like YouTube, since your page load time depends on theirs. You should also replace plug-ins that rely on third-party requests.
Conclusion
HTTP requests are essential to displaying a website and giving your audience an engaging experience. However, too many HTTP requests can disrupt your website performance and deter would-be customers from doing business with you.
The good news? With a few simple tweaks, you can ensure browsers make fewer HTTP requests to your website. You can boost page loading time, improve a webpage’s visual appeal, and, ultimately, increase conversions in the long run.
If you’re not sure where to get started with improving your website’s performance, check out my consulting services and we’ll see how I can help.
Have you tried reducing the number of HTTP requests on your website? Which strategies are working for you?
Search engine optimization (SEO) used to be defined by the number of keywords and keyword synonyms across your website’s content.
When Google launched its knowledge graph, SEO shifted away from simply relying on keywords, and search engine crawlers began prioritizing rich snippets and entities on search engine results pages (SERPs).
These days, Google has more systems to identify the true meaning of keyword searches and queries. By categorizing ideas into “entities,” Google revolutionized its search proficiency.
While keywords are still important, SEO experts now also use entity-based SEO to further their ranking efforts. Context and relevance are becoming increasingly important in search engine results, and entities can help improve these factors.
In this article, we’ll explain what entities are, how to use them, and what the future of SEO might look like.
What Is Entity-Based SEO?
Entity-based SEO uses context, not just keywords, to help users find the information they seek.
While keywords are an essential part of your SEO strategy, they don’t fully reflect how humans search for information. For example, a person who searches for “Paris” may be looking for Paris Jackson, the city of Paris (in France or Texas), the movie Paris Is Burning, or innumerable other options.
Google offers suggestions for searchers regarding additional context, which serves the dual purpose of speeding up their searches by showing popular options and reminding them to add more context if none of those are what they need.
Entity-based SEO is helpful for searchers but slightly has made things a bit more complicated for content creators. Three ways entity-based SEO has changed the landscape include:
Better mobile capabilities: Entities allowed SEO to improve mobile results. Entities also improved mobile-first indexing, which is more prevalent than desktop searches.
Translation improvements: Entities can be found regardless of homonyms, synonyms, and foreign language use thanks to context clues. For instance, a search for “red” will include results for “rouge” or “rojo,” if the searcher’s settings allow for this.
Rich snippets:Rich snippets, which include things like photos and customer ratings as part of their results, generally outperform even number one search results.
Keywords Vs. Entities: What’s the Difference?
Entities might sound similar to keywords. In fact, they are quite different. Here’s how they differ and why those differences are so important.
Keywords
Keywords are words or phrases used in searches. They’re often the focal points of terms users search for and can be questions, sentences, or single words.
For example, users looking for makeup tutorials may search for makeup, tutorial, smokey eye, how to do a smokey eye, and so on.
Keywords still matter because they connect your content to queries. Your goal is to drive organic traffic to your site by ranking for keywords that help customers find your brand on search engines.
Keywords have long been the backbone of SEO, mainly because search engine algorithms needed clear, concise direction to populate relevant search results.
In the early days of SEO, keyword stuffing, which involves adding your chosen keyword far too many times or including largely irrelevant, popular keywords, was used constantly. At the time, search algorithms needed to see specific keywords repeatedly to rank content properly.
These days, algorithms have evolved significantly, and many old SEO tactics are, at best, frowned upon.
As defined by Google, an entity is “A thing or concept that is singular, unique, well-defined and distinguishable.” This doesn’t need to be a physical object and can include colors, dates, ideas, and so on.
Entities can be people, places, products, companies, or abstract concepts. They should always be distinct and independent of other entities or keywords.
Emphasizing entities over keywords has allowed search engines to be more accurate in their results. However, search engines aren’t psychic—they need more information to figure out which entity you’re searching for.
For example, a search for the word “apple” could result in pages about the fruit or pages about the company. As interesting as both topics are, if you’re searching for information about whether apple seeds are indeed poisonous, reading about iPhones probably won’t be too helpful. You need to add some keywords to tell the search engine which entity you mean.
We can think of entities as large topics keywords live within. For entities to be legitimate, they need to link to a search engine knowledge graph representing linked information and data across the internet. Knowledge graphs allow search engines to scan your website effectively.
Google’s Knowledge Graph used Wikipedia as its primary trusted seed set. An easy way to think about entities is that they are anything that could have a specific Wikipedia page assigned to it.
It’s important to note that not every entity has a Wikipedia page. This could just be a helpful way to think of the concept.
How Do Entities and Keywords Work Together?
Keywords with context help entities become defined, but you need to know precisely what your entity is all about before you can create your keyword-rich and well-written content. An SEO strategy recognizing both factors is your best bet for success.
On-page, you can create entities for an internal knowledge graph that uses keywords to link to different pages on your site. You can also connect your content to high E-A-T knowledge graphs such as Wikipedia or LinkedIn. While this won’t directly affect your page rank, it can improve your page authority in search.
Benefits of Entity-Based SEO
Entity-based SEO is more relevant, refined, and granular than keyword SEO alone.
Over time, improvements in automated natural language processing and new search methods like chatbots and digital assistants have made search queries longer and more complicated.
Yet, most search queries still relate to an entity. For example, “Things to do in Brussels” or “What to do in Brussels today” relates to Brussels, Belgium. Even without the quantifier of Belgium, search engines can tailor their results based on previous entity knowledge and context.
For marketers, entity-based SEO offers more concrete discoverability. Ensuring your brand is a concrete entity could help you include a large number of keywords that may not have been previously available. Nike, for example, can be searched through running shoes, tennis shoes, workout clothes, Air Jordans, and more, without users getting lost along the way.
In e-commerce, entity-based SEO can connect your products under a single entity. For example, if you sell windows in Paris, France, you may be able to contribute keywords to the Paris, France entity, opening up your business to potential new clients. Also, connecting your window selling business to Paris, France, helps ensure customers living in Paris, Texas, won’t see your content and mistakenly order from you.
How to Shift Your Strategy to Entity-Based SEO
Adding an entity focus to your existing SEO strategies could help you prepare for future algorithm updates.
Understanding which entities your business connects to and establishing your business as an entity in itself will become increasingly important in coming years.
How do you move on from previous, often keyword-focused strategies to an entity-based strategy?
List Your Business on Relevant Directories
One way to leverage entity-based SEO is to list your business on directories across the internet. Google My Business, for example, is used as a data source for the Google Knowledge Graph.
Other listing services, such as Yelp, can also help create strong, domain-rich backlinks for your brand and help you create a known entity. Yelp appears in the top five search results in 92 percent of Google web searches.
Listing sites may change from location to location, so do your research when deciding where to list. Additionally, be sure to choose sites with high domain authority to improve your search engine standing.
Using this strategy, businesses listed here can form entities and begin connecting unique keywords.
Prioritize Brand Building
Brand building is another essential tactic in entity-based SEO. Any offline brand presence measures need to be brought online, and you should always be considering new ways to create a well-defined and unique identity for your brand.
Managing your reputation is also increasingly important, as your reputation may factor into entity creation. Be conscious of the keywords you currently rank for and note—and correct for—any possible PR problems that could arise.
Consider Your Use of Interface Management Tools
Interface management is becoming a factor in entity-based SEO, as a silo approach to collaboration may negatively impact search engine visibility. This may happen despite keyword rankings, which could significantly affect some businesses.
Ultimately, focusing on keywords is not going to be enough going forward. Businesses and marketers need to shift their focus to entity-based SEO and start implementing tactics to ensure their content connects to their entities.
Conclusion
Entity-based SEO can be a great way to communicate the context and relevance of your brand online.
By targeting ideas and context rather than words or phrases alone, entities build a bigger picture of your content, potentially allowing it to out-perform traditional keyword research methods.
We can expect to see more opportunities for marketers to create more depth in their branding strategies by focusing on entity-based SEO.
In what ways have you experimented with entity-based SEO?
As one of the largest e-commerce platforms on the internet, Shopify offers budding (and established) entrepreneurs a platform to sell their wares and increase their reach.
That’s not all. With millions of active buyers on the platform, there is plenty of opportunity for brands to grow their revenue.
In addition to a massive audience, Shopify offers users a simple, streamlined experience that allows store set up in record time.
When you join the Shopify platform, you have immediate access to functionality that allows you to:
build a website
create a domain
multiple payment options
order receiving and processing
In short, Shopify equips sellers with the tools they need to get their store off the ground.
Shopify benefits don’t only apply to online vendors—through their unique partnership program, individuals can align with Shopify to grow their business and increase revenue through a variety of functions.
Is the Shopify Partner program right for you? Here’s what you need to know.
Marketing: For Shopify users in need of a more defined audience, streamlined campaigns, or optimized content, Shopify Marketers can offer their services to help Shopify users increase their reach and employ better marketing strategies.
Shopify Developers: Experts in Shopify store development, can build apps that help Shopify’s merchants in a variety of ways, including increased engagement and sales.
Shopify Designers: From graphics to branding, these design experts help stores with design needs, often working collaboratively with developers.
Affiliate Marketing on Shopify: Affiliate marketers can offer nearly any service on the platform, from influencer marketing to content creation.
Shopify Partners can also build and sell Shopify apps and themes to generate income.
In addition to the above different kinds of Partners, there are also different levels of partnership, including:
Shopify Partners: Consider this the entry-level role for Shopify Partners. At this level, you gain access to limitless test stores, allowing you to customize, learn and hone your craft. For each action (client referral, app designed, or graphic completed), you earn a monthly commission.
Shopify Plus Partners: This tier is exclusively for Shopify Partners who do excellent work. This level often includes agencies, enterprise consultants, and system integrators, as well as individuals.
Shopify Fulfillment Partners: Fulfillment partners make up the Shopify Fulfillment Network and can operate inside or outside of the bounds of the Shopify Partner Program.
What Are the Advantages of Becoming a Shopify Partner?
Given that one in three Shopify sellers seek services from Shopify Partners, there’s a real opportunity for you to supplement your income when you join the program. In addition to adding some extra padding to your bank account, Partners can access free training resources and perks, including:
FAQs
how-to articles
live chat
the Shopify Academy
The partnership also comes with access to an unlimited number of stores, so you can experiment to your heart’s content.
As a Shopify Partner, you gain exclusive access to offers on tools that can help you run and grow your business. Once you have your dashboard set up (more on that later), select the “Partner Perks” section and select the “Claim perk” button.
Even better, when you sign up to become a Shopify Partner, you create opportunities to scale your business. Regardless of whether you’re a well-established agency or an individual setting out to grow your skills and client base, enrolling in the Shopify Partner program is a great growth opportunity.
Sound good?
Let’s break down how you actually become a Shopify Partner.
5 Steps to Become a Shopify Partner
The Shopify partnership comes with plenty of perks we’ve already covered, but there’s one overarching benefit we haven’t covered: Becoming a Shopify Partner is free.
Now that you have a better understanding of the value associated with a Shopify Partnership, follow these five steps to start growing your business today.
1. Learn More About Shopify Partners
This blog explores the surface-level of a Shopify Partnership, however, you’ll want to spend more time on the Shopify partner page to read the blog and learn more about partner perks and features.
2. Join the Shopify Partner Program
This is the easiest step yet! Simply head to the sign-up page and enter your name and email address and wait for your verification.
3. Verify Your Email Address
After creating an account, you’ll receive an email asking you to follow a link to verify your email address. Be sure to do this within 24 hours, as the window for response closes after that timeframe.
After you select the blue button to confirm your account, you’ll land on the Shopify accounts page. From there, choose “Shopify Partners” and then “Create new partner account.”
4. Enter Your Information
Now that you’ve successfully set up an account, you must complete a form that asks for the specifics of your business. Complete all the necessary fields.
After this step, scroll down to the “Business goals” section and choose the function that best suits your offering. Here you can select:
building apps
building new Shopify stores for clients
providing Services to existing Shopify merchants
referring merchants as an affiliate
selling products as a Shopify merchant
other
After you’ve selected the right category, scroll down the page until you reach the section about platform usage. Here, you’ll identify which platforms you’re currently using, allowing Shopify to equip you with custom tools.
Categories include:
BigCommerce
Lightspeed
Magento
PrestaShop
Square
Squarespace
Wix
WooCommerce
WordPress
None
Other
After selecting the relevant category, read the Partner Program Agreement at the bottom of the page and check the corresponding box.
5. Meet Your Shopify Dashboard
Your dashboard is the hub of your Shopify business. To get started, select the Shopify Partner programs you’d like to apply to from the “Get started” section.
A short form will ask you to explain your interest in each program.
Even if you’re not accepted into a program immediately, you can still use your dashboard to grow and hone your skills. With endless courses available from the Shopify Partner Academy, you can earn certifications in Business Fundamentals, Theme Development, App Development, and Product Fundamentals.
You can take the accompanying test as many times as you like, all while using the resources provided through the Shopify Partner Academy to increase your knowledge base.
After receiving your acceptance to one of the Shopify Programs, you can start earning some cash. Payments occur on a bi-monthly schedule via PayPal.
The Partner Dashboard is also your source for all questions. From the portal, you can contact Shopify support whenever, wherever to get your questions answered.
Measuring the Success of Your Shopify Partnership
You’ve set up your dashboard, been accepted into a few programs, have been working for a few months, and now you want to know how successful your Shopify partnership actually is.
While there are countless metrics you can use to track the success of your endeavors, here are six key figures to assess the strength and success of your partnership.
Lead Conversion Rate
This metric is exactly what it sounds like: a measurement of how many leads converted into customers in a specific period of time, generally within 30-day increments.
Significant due to its ability to highlight how successful your campaigns are at turning attraction into actual leads, your lead conversion rate is a must-track metric.
How do you calculate lead conversion rate? The formula is pretty simple, as long as you have the numbers.
Lead Conversion Rate = (Number of new customers in the last x days ÷ number of leads in the last x days) x 100
Lead Velocity Rate (LVR)
This figure is representative of real-time sales performance. Given its predictive nature, the metric is perfect for forecasting revenue growth.
Lead velocity rate = (Number of qualified leads this month – number of qualified leads last month) ÷ number of qualified leads last month x 100
Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)
This metric represents revenue, rather than what is actually actively collected. A good indicator of success, MRR lets you know if your leads are converting to actual customers within a finite time span.
How do you calculate MRR?
MRR = Number of customers x average billed amount
Churn Rate
This metric refers to the number of customers who stop using your service during a specific time frame. Churn rate is a valuable metric to determine if your marketing strategies and onboarding process is effective.
How do you calculate churn rate? There are two types of churn rate:
User churn = (Cancelled users in the last 30 days ÷ active users 30 days ago) x 100
Revenue churn = (MRR lost to downgrades & cancellations in the last 30 days ÷ MRR 30 days ago) x 100
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)
Use this metric to learn how much revenue you’re creating from each individual user. This statistic is valuable to assess marketing successes and failures and forecast revenue goals.
How do you calculate ARPU?
ARPU = MRR ÷ active users
Lifetime Value (LTV)
This metric represents the amount a user will spend on your service throughout the course of your relationship. This figure helps you assess whether it is more valuable to maintain existing customers or pursue new ones.
LTV = Average monthly recurring revenue per customer ÷ user churn rate
I recommend monitoring these figures on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis for a comprehensive view of your success. These metrics let you identify patterns and see if improvements succeed so you can adjust your approach as needed.
Conclusion
Shopify’s continuous growth shows no signs of stopping.
For any digital marketers, developers, or graphic designers, becoming a Shopify Partner offers an opportunity to broaden your portfolio, sharpen your skills, and earn some extra cash.
If you’re considering wading into the world of Shopify partnership, be sure to actively monitor the right metrics and ignore vanity metrics that have little impact on overall success.
What part of the Shopify Partner program is most useful to you?
Disclosure: This content is reader-supported, which means if you click on some of our links that we may earn a commission.
Do you want to skip the read and get right to my top picks? The best VPS hosting service for most people is Liquid Web or Bluehost.
VPS hosting has become a popular choice for websites that need more resources and control.
Upgrading to a virtual private server (VPS for short) will drastically improve your site performance if you’re currently on a shared hosting plan.
For those of you who are starting a new site from scratch and expecting tons of traffic, getting a VPS hosting plan out of the gate is a viable option as well.
Let’s run through everything you need to know to make an informed decision. I’ll start off with in-depth reviews of my top recommendations for VPS hosting and conclude with a brief buyer’s guide to help you select the best fit for you.
#1 – Liquid Web — The Best for Upgrading From Shared Hosting
Liquid Web doesn’t offer shared hosting, and if you want to leave that world behind, the company has a great deal to get set up.
Go with one of the managed VPS plans, and Liquid Web throws in a free migration. This involves a team of specialists moving all of your content and data over to the new hosting. I think that’s a pretty big deal because it saves you money, time, and the cost of screwing something up.
And once you get set up, you kind of get to keep the good parts of the shared hosting experience without the downsides.
VPS with Liquid Web is still really affordable, especially when you consider what a dedicated server costs. So you are not breaking the bank to get the increased VPS performance and stability you need.
Plus you get to keep a relatively low-key maintenance schedule, which is something people really love about shared hosting. There’s more to do with VPS, for sure, but much of the backend legwork is handled by Liquid Web if you want.
If you are happy managing your server, get an unmanaged plan. If you want to avoid all responsibility, get a fully managed plan. And if you fall somewhere in between, you can check out the Core VPS plan, which Liquid Web describes as semi-managed.
Just pick the level of support that matches your technical confidence and time constraints.
Bear in mind that the support level you choose for your plan is an additional level of premium support on top of Liquid Web’s customer service team. No matter what plan you pick you can connect with an on-site service agent by phone, chat, and email 24/7.
So you have more freedom to build, better resources to do it, and support whenever you run into issues. It’s an all-around improvement from shared hosting, complete with:
Integrated firewall
Remote backups by default
DDoS prevention
Proactive monitoring
ServerSecure protection
You won’t have to worry about managing any of this. It just happens in the background while you focus on your business.
Liquid Web offers a range of plans and bundles with extremely low introductory pricing. Upon renewal, it goes up to the monthly rate.
To get the lowest price, you have to sign up for a 2-year deal. I think it’s definitely worth it, although it’s a higher upfront cost. You just save so much money by doing this. Looking at the 2GB packages, it’s normally $59 per month and worth every penny.
I mean look at the bandwidth. 10 TB is far and away the most you will see with an entry-level plan. Getting that for $15 a month is an outrageous monster-step up from shared hosting at basically the same price.
You can also go with a Value Bundle, which is available for any plan. This gives you business email service, and additional 100 GB of remote backup, and additional security benefits.
You have your choice of six different operating systems, including Windows Server.
I recommend going with CentOS, if you can, because then you can use Interworx as your control panel for free. If you want to use something else, you’ll need to get cPanel or Plesk, which is included as an extra charge.
So if you are looking at VPS as a way to boost the performance you’re getting with shared hosting, Liquid Web is a really good option. You’ll get the blazing speed you need without a ton of additional maintenance headaches associated with private servers.
And remember, Liquid Web will bring everything over from your old host for free. This is the easiest and most affordable way to get your online assets the dedicated server resources they deserve.
#2 – Bluehost — The Best For New Sites that Need Top Performance
If you have a new app, project, or website that needs it’s own dedicated set of server resources, Bluehost has you covered.
You can get a VPS set up for a great price, without adding a ton of complexity to your IT maintenance.
Everything is easier to configure with Bluehost’s enhanced cPanel, which comes free with all VPS plans. You’ll be able to manage emails, domains, websites, and more within the user-friendly interface.
Usually you have to pay extra for even a basic control panel. Not with Bluehost, though, which starts at $18.99 per month.
And Bluehost includes a lot of services in every VPS hosting package. This means less to spend and try and figure out on your own. You’ll get:
Free domain name (for the first year)
Free SSL certificate
24/7 Customer support
Multiple FTP accounts
Multi-Server management
Role based access control
You’ll be able to manage all of your sites from a single location with multi-server management. This is helpful if you have sites that are fine on shared hosting and only need the VPS for a particular site or application.
Bluehost offers three different plans for VPS hosting.
The Standard plan is on the low-end of pricing, especially when you consider that cPanel is included for free. This is normally going to cost you $10-15 per month extra.
Bluehost has also improved the control panel with specific tools for managing your VPS.
You can definitely get a cheaper VPS if you are a DIY type who doesn’t want cPanel taking away from their VPS resources. But for your typical user that just wants a simple interface to manage their VPS, Bluehost is a bargain.
Getting the domain name free for the first year is another $10-15 saved.If you are thinking about VPS hosting for a new site or app, you should definitely consider Bluehost.
#3 – Hostinger — The Best VPS Hosting for First-Timers
Hostinger has some really inexpensive VPS plans and an approachable interface that makes it perfect for new users.
You won’t get as much assistance setting things up as you do with a fully-managed plan, but it’s a fraction of the cost.
It’s not like you don’t get support. Far from it. Hostinger has customer service agents available. 24/7/365. The company promises short wait times for answers whenever you reach out, even though it’s an unmanaged plan.
And compared to some of the unmanaged plans aimed solely at developers, Hostinger is a lot more welcoming. You’re not expected to know everything, and helpful context is always linked or a click away.
Consider how easy it is to backup and restore your VPS server. Weekly or daily backups are generated automatically, depending on your plan, and available in your control panel.
You can also create a snapshot of the VPS at that exact moment whenever you want. This is great if you are about to try a major change on your site. Something goes wrong, just restore your site to the way it was before in a couple clicks. No harm, no foul.
You get a solid range of OS choices: CentOS, Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, or Suse. These are one-click to install.
Hostinger describes its plan structure as “semi-managed” VPS hosting. It’s good for starting out because you get a mix of support and freedom at a really low cost.
Hostinger doesn’t include licenses cPanel with the budget VPS hosting plans. There’s just no way they can give it away when you are only paying a few bucks a month for VPS hosting. The good news is that it’s cheaper to get cPanel with Hostinger than it is with any other host, starting at $1.95 per month.
Hostinger has six levels with increasing amounts of server firepower. VPS levels 1-4 are shown below:
Start off small and scale as big as you want. VPS 1 is an excellent price for getting your feet wet, and comes with more than enough resources for your first project. If you have to upgrade, you have options that remain extremely affordable.
To get the lowest price, you’ll have to sign up for a 4-year deal. This might be a turn off if you are just looking to experiment, but it’s pretty great to be able to lock in 48 months of VPS hosting at $3.95.
And if you just want to pay month to month, the price of VPS 1 is only $9.99. That is really reasonable. Honestly, that is a normal price for shared hosting, and this is way more powerful.
The last thing you need to know about Hostinger is the 30-day money back guarantee. It’s zero risk to try and easy to start using. If you’ve ever thought of seeing how VPS hosting could give you a leg up on the competition, give Hostinger a shot today.
#4 – HostGator — The Lowest Cost for Managed VPS Hosting
For many people, HostGator is going to be the cheapest way possible to get a managed VPS plan–that means high-power servers with low-stress maintenance for a great price.
In fact, the only reason I can’t say this is the cheapest managed VPS plan for everyone is that you have to use cPanel for server management. If you use something else, HostGator can’t provide the full-service management that makes this option so attractive.
It’s a little unusual, the fact that the hosting control panel impacts the level of service you get. But given that cPanel is one of the most widely used options on the planet, many users are going to be able to benefit from HostGator’s excellent managed VPS plans.
Why am I such a big fan?
First off, the generous amount of resources you get. The entry-level HostGator VPS plan comes with 2 GB RAM, 120 GB storage, and unmetered bandwidth. That means you won’t get charged based on a set level of traffic coming to your site. Obviously there’s an acceptable use policy, but you don’t have hard fast limits.
You’ll have root access and total control over what you install on your VPS. The Softaculous script installer (included free) lets you load hundreds of the most popular web apps onto your server in a single step.
Whenever you run into trouble, day or night, you can reach out to HostGator by phone, chat, or Twitter, if you really want to catch HostGator’s attention. Premium support comes with every managed plan, as well as server monitoring and remediation.
You can definitely find unmanaged plans for cheaper, but having a service team there around the clock to troubleshoot issues is a tremendous value.
HostGator’s support really goes to the next level with free content transfers. Sign up and HostGator will transfer everything from your old site to its new home–files, databases, scripts–you don’t have to stress or worry.
With HostGator, everything is set up right the first time and you have all the help you need moving forward. HostGator provides courtesy weekly backups, which is helpful, but you can also schedule your own backups and create them on-demand.
Such flexible backup capabilities can easily run $10-20 per month if you purchase them separately (to say nothing of the time it takes). Affordable hosting plans usually cut corners, but HostGator is loaded with cost-saving features:
Unlimited email
2 dedicated IPs
Unmetered bandwidth
Softaculous script installer
Free SSL certificates
DDoS protection
You have the option of going with a semi-managed plan or a fully-managed plan. The prices you see below are the semi-managed plan:
For people who know their way around the command line, or already have a hosting control panel they like, these semi-managed plans will be great. But if you want the fully-managed services, you will have to purchase cPanel, which is $10 per month more.
It’s still a great price, especially when you think about the 24/7 premium service and all the backups and security responsibilities that are taken off your plate.
CentOS is the default operating system, so there is a little less flexibility than some of the other web hosts on my list. That said, for most people, this is going to be fine.
So there are a few limits and asterisks to this deal (you have to use cPanel, for instance), but they are not going to get in the way of most people seeking a managed VPS plan.
#5 – GreenGeeks — The Best Off-the-Shelf Managed VPS Hosting
GreenGeeks offers a complete package of managed VPS hosting services. You aren’t spending extra to fill in the cracks or get the setup you want.
It’s ready to go off-the-shelf and perfect for the buyer who wants the performance of VPS without the IT headaches that come with.
Top-notch customer support is included with the package deal. GreenGeeks admins will help with everything from sluggish sites to network problems. Basically, they will help you with anything except the apps and websites you build yourself.
The price for GreenGeeks is definitely a little higher than some of the others you’ll see, but you’re not spending extra to purchase stuff like “premium support” or licenses for cPanel. That’s all lumped into the monthly price.
You are able to get all of your sites and apps deployed without opening your wallet up again and again.
There are no upsells on the platform. Those don’t bother me a lot, but some people really don’t like paying for a service only to be shown more products to buy at every turn. GreenGeeks will even transfer your website for free as long as you are using cPanel.
Another reason I like this option is the high bandwidth limits. You get an astonishing 10 TB with GreenGeeks entry-level VPS hosting plans. 10 terabytes? For real? Yes.
So if you are expecting boatloads of traffic, GreenGeeks gives you the bandwidth not to worry. Most other hosts aren’t giving you 10 TB unless you are paying significantly more. Some of the other standout features of GreenGeeks include:
cPanel/WHM included,
Free cPanel migrations,
Free SSL certificate
24/7 server monitoring
Custom security rules
DDoS protection
300% renewable energy infrastructure
If you were wondering about the name GreenGeeks, yes, the company is very much concerned with the environment. For every bit of energy you pull from the power grid to run the hosting of your site, GreenGeeks puts three times that amount back into renewables.
This is the only eco-friendly host I know of. If that’s important to you, know that you are making a positive impact by choosing GreenGeeks as your host.
And even if environmental concerns aren’t something at the forefront of your mind, GreenGeeks is just a great VPS hosting provider. Yes, it’s a little pricier than some, but it is hardly expensive when you look at what you get.
I really like GreenGeeks for users who want an all-in-one VPS hosting solution. All of the key aspects are covered.
There’s no catches, asterisks, or fine print to figure out. Just pick your plan and start building.
On top of that, you get comprehensive, truly managed support. GreenGeeks is there to help with any hosting issue. There’s no red tape separating you from the service you need, whenever you need it.
For the socially-conscious company, GreenGeeks should be your first choice. But like I said, even if you don’t worry so much about the environment, choose GreenGeeks for the solid price on resources for your VPS. Getting 10 TB bandwidth and 4 CPU cores is remarkable for an entry-level plan.
If you are looking for a VPS hosting solution that works out of the box, GreenGeeks should be on your shortlist. Get in touch with them today.
#6 – InMotion — The Best for Hosting Multiple WordPress Sites
InMotion is a phenomenal hosting company that’s beloved by power users and first timers.
You’ll find that they offer the full range of VPS services. Get a small slice of a server that’s completely yours for a cheap price, opt for a managed hosting plan with hands-off maintenance, or get a reseller plan built for your bottom line.
What I want to focus on in this review is InMotion’s WordPress VPS hosting. This is a great solution for companies that have a lot of high-powered WordPress sites.
Once you reach a certain point, shared hosting is not going to be enough to keep your sites fast. Some companies choose managed WordPress hosting, but that can get expensive. Plus you lose a lot of the control over how the server is configured with those plans.
With InMotion’s WordPress VPS, you get to set up your server any way you want, but you still get a lot of the benefits of a managed WordPress hosting plan: an exclusive WordPress hosting environment, top-of-the-line performance, built-in security, on-demand and automatic backups, and more.
And it’s likely going to be a lot less expensive than a traditional managed WordPress hosting plan for a lot more resources.
Another way to think about it is that you get the performance you need for your sites without the loss of customizability.
To make the transition to InMotion easier, the company offers Launch Assist. This is two hours with an IT specialist to help you set everything up right the first time. Avoid costly downtime, frustration, and mistakes down the road.
As I noted, you’re going to get a lot more resources than you could get with a managed WordPress plan, but it’s not like you are on the hook for a ton of maintenance. It’s a nice balance. 4 GB of RAM and 4 TB of bandwidth would cost an arm and a leg with a traditional plan, but it starts at $29.99 per month with InMotion VPS for WordPress.
All of the tools you need are included at that price. You get:
cPanel/WHM
Ecommerce optimization
Snapshot backups
Free SSL certificate
Malware and hack protection
Free domain name
3 dedicated IPs
A lot of VPS plans you’ll see come with a single dedicated IP. With InMotion, you get at least three, which is helpful if you have a lot of WordPress sites, or want to keep them separate from mail servers and other projects.
And if you need more resources, scaling up remains very cost-effective.
With some plans, you have to pay $10+ per month just to get a cPanel account. InMotion gives you five with the entry-level plan. You’ll also have a Resource Monitoring Dashboard that gives you performance metrics at a glance.
To get the lowest price, you’ll have to sign up for two years, but InMotion offers 1-year, 6-month, and monthly plans as well.
One of the reasons I like InMotion so much for WordPress VPS is the security. WordPress is the most popular content management system in the world, and a favorite target of hackers. InMotion gives you a free SSL certificate, as well as protection from malware, hacks, and DDoS attacks.
It’s just a great option for people whose needs to fit neatly into a managed WordPress hosting plan. If you want top-tier performance without sacrificing control, InMotion WordPress VPS is a really great choice.
#7 – GoDaddy — The Best for Spending as Little as Possible
GoDaddy is one of, if not the most, recognizable player in the hosting space. It can be a great option for people looking for an unmanaged VPS plan with no-frills.
Now GoDaddy does offer managed VPS plans that take a ton of the server maintenance and monitoring off your plate. But it’s really expensive, especially looking at some of the other managed VPS plans I’ve reviewed. It wouldn’t be my recommendation.
But if you are in the market for a DIY hosting plan that gives you total control along with the exact resources you need, GoDaddy VPS plans are a great place to start.
You can get three years of GoDaddy VPS for under $180. It’s a barebones plan targeted at users who know what they are doing. So you won’t get a ton of tools to help you stay organized or white-glove support, and there are going to be upsells at every turn.
But if you are comfortable managing your own server, why pay for things you don’t need?
You also get more flexibility to choose your resources. GoDaddy offers both Standard and High-RAM plans, which give you double the memory. Most other providers don’t give you that option.
Usually you are stuck jumping from one plan to the next, but GoDaddy will let you increase RAM, which may be all you need to get your sites loading faster.
Another helpful bit of flexibility is GoDaddy’s month to month pricing. VPS hosting starts at $7.99 per month with no contracts or commitments. This is an insanely low price for your own private resources.
And there’s quite a bit included with the low price of VPS hosting. It’s not as complete a package as GreenGeeks by any means, but GoDaddy doesn’t cut corners on the fundamentals. Some of the features included are:
Free SSL certificate (for one year)
Automated, weekly, and snapshot backups
Performance monitoring
PCI compliance
Phone support
If you are the DIY type, this is more than enough support and assistance to keep your site running smoothly. And when you think about paying $4.99 per month to get started, you can see why GoDaddy is so popular.
There’s really no way to spend less and get VPS hosting from a reputable provider. The pricing above is for Standard RAM plans.
If you opt for High RAM, the lowest plan becomes $9.99, but you get two GB of RAM instead of one. Basically, you double your RAM for any plan and pay a slightly higher price.
The storage limits on the entry-level plan are on the low end compared to some of the others I’ve reviewed. If that’s a concern, you might want to look at another plan, though it’s still fairly affordable to upgrade with GoDaddy and get a ton more resources.
For someone who knows their way around a server, GoDaddy VPS is the cheapest option. If you just want to be left to your own devices, this is a great option. Reach out to GoDaddy today and see what kind of a deal you can get.
#8 – Media Temple — The Best VPS Hosting if You Manage Sites for Clients
Media Temple is a great choice for companies that need VPS to support their clients sites and projects. This is true whether you want to worry about the technical backend yourself, or if you’d rather let MT handle the day-to-day maintenance.
If your team is totally comfortable with all the IT responsibilities, the DV Developer plan is packed with power at the low starting price of $30 per month.
You can pick from multiple versions of Debian, Ubuntu, or CentOS. Manage everything through SSH and build as you see fit. It’s complete flexibility, scalability and freedom for people that are at home in the command line.
For companies that want it, the DV Managed plan provides your choice of control panel for easy server management, as well as world-class support from IT experts. Chat, tweet, call, or request support any time of day. You get 99.99% uptime guaranteed, with money-back if Media Temple doesn’t live up to it.
In fact, you get 20% of your monthly hosting cost back in your pocket for every 20 minutes of downtime that month.
The managed plan is not quite as flexible as the developer plan. You get multiple options for which control panel you want to use, but CentOS is the only operating system supported.
But there’s a lot less work to be done. You won’t have to worry about updates or security patches to keep your VPS safe. You can use cPanel/WHM or Plesk, and know that the control panel is always going to be working.
This is a big deal for resellers and agencies that have to manage their client’s sites. The control panels are always working properly, and whenever there is an issue you can’t figure out, Media Temple is there to help.
For companies that want to outsource more of their IT and security responsibilities, Media Temple offers an Agency Bundle. This includes advanced support, a technical account manager, and a suite of security services you can deploy to multiple sites.
The all-in-one bundle makes it easier than ever to outfit your clients with secure, high-speed sites in very little time.
You choose what level of support makes sense, and Media Temple ensures your hosting foundation is secure for business.
For developers who just need access to world-class resources, plans start at $30 per month.
The 2 TB bandwidth is quite good for the Level-1 Developer plan. One thing to keep in mind is that Media Temple includes 24/7 support with the developer plans. Some unmanaged plans from other hosts really skimp on support, but Media Temple does not.
The DV Managed plans have a similar price breakdown to the developer plans. A Level-1 Managed plan starts at $55 per month. You get more storage and everything you need to use your VPS comes pre-installed.
The Agency Bundle starts at $250 per month. The suite of hosting and security services costs far less than if you were to purchase the parts individually. It also works a lot better, because it’s been configured by Media Temple ahead of time, rather than cobbled together from a slew of third-party services.
Media Temple provides a turnkey solution that gives you the resources you need. For resellers, the peace of mind of having top-quality performance and support is a non-starter. Troubles will compound quickly when there are issues. But with Media Temple, there won’t be.
#9 – InterServer — The Best Deal If You Want Total Control
InterServer has some of the best prices in the VPS hosting space.
Part of the reason is that they slice up servers into 16 different packages. You can really hone in on the exact set of resources you need. It’s simple: choose between one and 16 CPU cores that come with an increasing amount of memory, storage, and bandwidth.
What’s really nice is that fully-managed support comes free as long as you purchase four or more slices. That’s what InterServer calls each tier, and you can add slices at any time.
You get a lot of hosting resources for every dollar you spend. It’s not hard to find comparably-priced VPS plans with a fraction of the memory or storage you get with InterServer.
For the buyer that doesn’t need managed support, the value is unbeatable. Yes, the $6 per month cost is slightly higher than GoDaddy, but InterServer’s VPS is a lot less barebones.
First off, you get the DirectAdmin control panel for free. It makes it easier to configure your server and set mail accounts. You can add cPanel or Plesk for an additional price, but only if you need them.
With GoDaddy any sort of control panel will be an extra cost.
InterServer is extremely reliable. They offer a 99.99% uptime guarantee. The company actually uses an artificial intelligence system to scan their network for potential performance issues. Instead of your site taking a hit, the AI detects and solves the problem far faster than any human response.
The value is really there. As I’ve said, you get very high resource limits at a low price.
The starting price for a single CPU core is $6 per month. You also get more than 1 GB memory, 30 GB storage, and 1 TB bandwidth. That’s 10GB more storage than GoDaddy for a dollar more each month.
You can add slices for $6 at any time. This boosts all of your resources across the board. I like this arrangement a lot, because it’s so flexible. Instead of being catapulted into a much higher pricing package, you can grow incrementally.
And remember, at 4 slices and higher, InterServer throws in fully-managed service for free. This should put InterServer on the map for the non-DIY crowd as well.
InterServer offers Windows VPS hosting starting at the low cost of $10 per month. The pricing arrangement works the same–you can purchase anywhere from one to 16 slices in $10 increments.
You can also get WordPress VPS hosting through InterServer. InMotion is my top choice for WordPress VPS hosting for most users because it includes cPanel/WHM. If you don’t need that, or have a fairly small WordPress site, InterServer may be more cost-effective.
For advanced users, InterServer is going to give you a great deal on whatever selection of resources you are after. The free control panel is a huge standout, which is going to make simple tasks easier.
What I Looked at to Find the Best VPS Hosting Plan
VPS hosting occupies something of a middle ground between shared hosting and getting a dedicated server for yourself.
Some people have outgrown shared hosting. They need server resources that aren’t impacted by other sites on the server. VPS hosting offers a much more stable, scalable solution.
Others need an email server or a space to develop apps. VPS hosting lets them buy exactly what they need to build and access their assets whenever they want, wherever they are.
For people hosting ecommerce sites and other resource-intensive applications, a VPS gives them all the server firepower they need. Adding more resources is easy, weathering traffic spikes is no issue, and they can configure the server as they see fit.
And VPS is way cheaper than dedicated hosting. $1,000 per month is completely acceptable in that space, usually it’s more.
A lot of companies will get there eventually, but a dedicated server is complete overkill where they are today.
VPS gives you your own slice of dedicated resources. Scale as need be.
The providers I reviewed have excellent speed and uptime. If you go with one of these VPS hosting plans, your sites will be up and they will be fast.
But you can’t just pick a vendor with a good reputation. I’ve gotten you to the right dealership. You need to pick the right ride.
When it comes to VPS hosting, there are sports cars and work trucks. Both are fantastic machines, but only for the right company. The moving crew may have fun in the Mustang, but it’s terrible for getting sofas from A to B.
By understanding your way around VPS hosting, you can select a setup that takes care of what you need at the right price. Here’s how to find your way.
Enough Resources Not to Worry
Each host clearly lays out the exact resources you get. These are the guts of the computer that you are paying to use, and they will impact every aspect of performance on your site. Here’s what you are looking at:
Storage
Memory
CPU
Bandwidth
I would want to have a clear idea of what I plan on using in each of these resource categories before starting my search. If you are unsure, ask your current host where to find stats on your usage.
For people thinking about VPS for a new project, reach out and talk with the sales team at a host which checks your other boxes. They will be more than happy to help you determine a resource amount that makes sense. And even if you don’t go with them, now you know.
You’re trying to find something that gives you more than you need. Even though these are your dedicated resources, maxxing them out all the time can lead to issues with your host.
Looking at the different vendors, you’ll see a lot of jargon about different resource types. They do matter, but I will say that most top quality VPS hosts use the best technology available.
That said, some web hosts have specific plans geared toward people who need more of a certain resource. GoDaddy has High RAM plans for people who need more memory, for example, and InterServer offers Storage Optimized VPS plans that come with an insane amount of disk space at a low price.
If you’re trying to make a decision between two different vendors offering the same package of resources, I’d sign up for a free trial of both and see which gives you the better performance.
Since it’s not always feasible to really test hosting limits during a trial period, I’d focus on going with a vendor that will still make sense economically if you have to upgrade to a more expensive plan than you thought.
And there’s more to this decision than simply looking at the nuts and bolts, so let’s move on to other factors that can help you decide between similar offerings.
Total Control vs. Shared Responsibility
Some people choose VPS hosting because they are excited to control every aspect of the server.
Others are looking for predictable, high-power performance, but they’re less jazzed about the IT responsibilities of managing their own virtual machine.
Where do you fall in this spectrum?
There’s basic server maintenance, patching, and updates that need to happen. Otherwise your VPS may get hacked and wind up powering some crypto-mining scheme on the other side of the world. And that’s a benign example of what could happen if your site is compromised due to a server management oversight.
If you’re a first-timer who wants a helping hand setting things up, or you don’t want the hassle of dealing with the IT backend, I recommend finding a managed VPS plan.
With this arrangement, your hosting provider takes over much of the basic, day-to-day, IT maintenance that goes into keeping a server healthy and secure. This leaves you to enjoy the faster hosting and focus more on your business.
The experience of managed hosting is geared towards people that are less familiar with making changes on a server using the command line. With a managed VPS plan, you’ll get a visual control panel that allows you to configure everything with clicks instead of a computer language.
People with a lot of development know-how don’t need the extra hand-holding or tools that simplify server management. In fact, those things might just get in the way.
If you fall in this crowd, I recommend an unmanaged VPS hosting plan. You basically just get the server resources and manage everything yourself. You’ll still have some helpful tools and in some cases a control panel, but for the most part you are entirely responsible for the security and configuration.
The biggest plus for developers is total control–do whatever you want, however you want. It’s also way less expensive. GoDaddy, for example, offers unmanaged plans starting at around $5 per month. The same server resources on a managed plan from GoDaddy start at about 20-times that price.
Not every web host has such a stark pricing difference, but it’s usually significant. And it makes sense. With self-managed plans, you are on the hook for a lot more IT legwork. If that’s not a drama, then don’t pay for it.
If you are on the fence about what you need, I suggest going with a managed VPS plan. Better to pay a little more than have your new hosting account compromised because of some basic technical slipup.
No Issues Running Your Sites or Apps
Are you planning on running anything on your VPS that has unusual requirements?
If you don’t know the answer to that question, you’re probably fine, but it doesn’t hurt to double-check that the operating system (OS) you plan on using is supported by the host you choose.
This is especially true for managed VPS plans, because the OS often comes pre-installed. With unmanaged plans, you just have to make sure the one you want is available for install. There’s usually a pretty wide range of choices, but not always.
Most VPS hosting is Linux-based, and works seamlessly with basically everything on the internet. There are different Linux distributions, like Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, but in general they will all work for most users.
The major exception is Windows hosting. There are certain Microsoft apps and services that can’t run on Linux, like SharePoint, Exchange and MSSQL databases.
Many hosts don’t offer Windows hosting. I’ve called out the ones that do in the reviews.
One important thing: You can have a Windows PC and use Linux hosting. That doesn’t matter at all. Windows hosting is only necessary if you need to run specific Microsoft products on your VPS.
Timely and Tech-Savvy Support
If this is your first time using VPS hosting, I’d be very conscious of how much assistance you’re going to get. Even if you opt for a managed VPS plan, there’s still a few steps you have to take to ensure that your new hosting set up is secure and running as intended.
I would strongly recommend customer service that provides free migrations or data transfers, like Liquid Web or HostGator. Having them help you set everything up right will be quicker and easier, there’s just nothing else to be said.
If you’re moving over from shared hosting, know that the range of technical issues is much greater. You are going to need a tech that really understands what’s going on.
This is only more true for self-managed plans where you may have configured your server in a very unique way. Troubleshooting your issues will likely require a high-level of knowledge and understanding.
Every vendor that made my list for best VPS hosting has some form of round-the-clock support. Where you will find differences is in the number of channels you can reach out on. Some will offer live chat only whereas others will have phone, email, or ticketing systems as well.
As you are gathering a sense of the customer service quality you are likely to get, I encourage you to read online reviews. Take them with a grain of salt, however, because any long-standing, popular host is going to have one-star reviews from their millions of users.
The best thing you can do is reach out to the company as much possible before, during, and after you sign up. Submit lots of tickets and clock the response. Use the online knowledge base to solve problems on your own. Is the content actually helping you?
Most of the plans I’ve reviewed offer free trial periods. Sign up and test the support staff. This is your relatively risk-free way of getting an actual read on the service quality.
In general, premium customer support costs extra. This is how you get immediate call backs and additional service channels beyond the basic coverage they provide for all customers.
If you think that you need frequent guidance, I suggest looking into the premium support plans. It’s an extra cost, but saving a few hours of frustration each month is plenty of value.
Summary
Virtual private server hosting is an excellent option for sites that have outgrown a shared hosting plan. To recap my top picks for VPS hosting:
Liquid Web — The best for upgrading from shared hosting
Bluehost — The best for new sites that need top performance
HostGator — The lowest cost for managed VPS hosting
GreenGeeks — The best off-the-shelf managed VPS hosting
InMotion — The best for hosting multiple WordPress sites
GoDaddy — The best for spending as little as possible
Media Temple — The best VPS hosting if you manage sites for clients
InterServer — The best deal if you want total control
Which VPS is the best? Naming just one as the top pick is a tough call, because people have such a wide range of hosting needs.
To find the right one for you, follow the methodology described above. It will help you make sense of all the options available, and find one that has the features and support you need.
