Why Even Small Businesses Should Promote Eco Web Hosting

When competing against larger, better-financed competitors, small businesses need to take advantage of every tool available to them. Small businesses need to be more agile and make better decisions because they have less room for error. This is true for a bricks and mortar business as well as those marketing strictly online.

Businesses, especially smaller ones, need to stay ahead of the trends in marketing and advertising and in how changing demographics are affecting how and why people make buying decisions. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, for example, Millennials are now the largest population group on the planet. Those born between 1982 and 2000 now make up about 25% of the population but they spend about 28% of all daily consumer spending. Forbes Magazine says that this expected to increase to 35% in the next 12 years. They already spend about $600 billion annually. That is a lot of buying power. Millennials, however, don’t necessarily make buying decisions like those before them. Understanding how they make decisions can help increase your odds of appealing to this market.

Millennials are taking longer to get married and buy a house. Many are just as satisfied renting apartments in urban areas and using bicycles or ride-sharing apps than buying a car. They also use different criteria when choosing where to make their consumer purchases. They want purchases to be simple, easy, and they expect superior customer service. They often put as much weight in online reviews as they would asking a family member about a product or service. They also want to feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves. This includes how their consumer dollars impact others and the environment.

Millennials often buy from companies who reflect their own views on life. For this generation, they frequently care more about how and where products are produced than their predecessors. They appreciate companies who conduct business responsibly. They care about FairTrade, organics, and companies who operate in an environmentally friendly fashion. They appreciate the value of “green” products and practices. Research indicates that a significant portion is even willing to pay more for products that meet their standards.

How does this impact your small business? It means taking steps to position your company as environmentally friendly can pay dividends, especially with this younger, valuable demographic. Taking steps to be green can be relatively simple, especially when it comes to eco-friendly web hosting.

Why Eco-Friendly Web Hosting Is Important

Most companies, including small businesses, choose web hosting based on some relatively straightforward criteria.

1. Price
2. Customer and Technical Assistance
3. Guaranteed Uptime
4. Features

There are reasons you should consider adding a fifth criteria to your list. That is choosing a web hosting solutions company that is eco-friendly.

First, eco-friendly web hosting can save a significant amount of energy. The U.S, Government alone says about 10% of all the energy it uses goes to power its data centers. If data centers used in the country were just 20% more efficient, the country could save more than 20 billion kWh by 2020. That is a cost savings of about $2 billion. It is further estimated that for every 1 kW of power saved in powering IT equipment, another 2 kW of power is saved in the data center itself. By 2020, data centers will potentially create more pollution than the airline transportation industry.

When you choose web hosting from OrangeWebsite.com, your website is being hosted in Iceland, a country where all of its energy is provided by renewable energy sources. In Iceland, 75% of energy comes from hydroelectric and 25% coming from geothermal sources. We are also eco-friendly because our cooler climate minimizes the use of air conditioning in our data centers. As an added bonus, Iceland is also among the world’s leaders in maintaining free speech and anonymity on the internet.

How Eco-Friendly Hosting Can Help Your Small Business

Because eco friendly web hosting uses less energy it is often more affordable for small businesses. In addition, when you host at OrangeWebsite.com, you can display the “Green Seal” on your website. This seal tells your visitors and potential customers, that you are hosting in an environmentally friendly fashion. When consumers, in particular, Millennials, are making a buying decision, this seal could help make the difference. It is another advantage, another tool, that you should use in promoting your business. We provide use of Green Site Seals free to all of web hosting customers. Placing the seal in a visible spot on your website is easy and doesn‘t require any programming skills.

OrangeWebsite.com takes our role in protecting the environment seriously. We allow most of our staff to work exclusively from their homes, saving energy and creating less traffic. We support various environmental organizations and foundations to help their work in preserving our planet.  Through the Canope Project, we are planting 250-1000 new trees every month to reverse the deforestation of rainforests. OrangeWebsite is a smart and responsible choice to host your website.

The best part may be that eco-friendly web hosting with OrangeWebsite.com is affordable and easy to accomplish. There are no sacrifices with OrangeWebsite’s eco-friendly hosting solutions. We offer secure hosting solutions and 24/7 support. Our hosting plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee and a 99.9% uptime. You can even sign up anonymously. OrangeWebsite accepts Bitcoin, PayPal, Wire Transfer, and cash by mail.

Take the step to more responsible web hosting and take advantage of this valuable tool to better position your business with Millennials. Contact OrangeWebsite.com today!