A strong or weak Wi-Fi connection can make or break your business. Imagine how you come across to a client when shaky connections cripple your sales call?
Unfortunately, small businesses are especially prone to Wi-Fi mistakes. They don’t have the same budget as larger companies and often implement their own network, incorrectly assuming that it’s not much different than sitting up Wi-Fi at home.
Solutions to the Most Common WI-FI Mistakes
If handled correctly, a strong WiFi connection help ensure the return of clients and that your team gets more work done faster. Read further for the 6 common Wi-Fi mistakes that small businesses make and how to avoid them.
- Too Many Wi-Fi Access Points
A common Wi-Fi mistake is having too many Wi-Fi access points around the office on the same frequency (you can have 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz frequencies), which limits the capacity, speed, and connection of the Wifi.
Solution: Make sure that your access points run on different, non-overlapping frequencies.
- The Same Network for Public and Private
It’s definitely a mistake not to have two different Wi-Fi connections for public and private systems. Your internal business workings need to function independently from whatever is happening in your public systems.
Imagine if your business functions, like when you communicate with customers, are impacted by someone downloading their favorite TV show?
Solution: Find a way to offer separate Wi-Fi connections for your business team and your guests.
- Insecure Wi-Fi Connections
You need to feel comfortable to send sensitive information using your Wi-Fi network. Too many small businesses don’t focus on security enough and aren’t aware of the physical security of equipment (e.g., you should not leave it in a place where anyone can walk up to it), leaving them vulnerable to attacks.
Solution: Don’t offer free public Wi-Fi, ensure that you have secure passwords, and configure your router’s security protocol to the highest available setting.
- Outdated Networks
Your Wi-Fi setup from a year ago may already be outdated and will not meet your business needs. Small businesses tend to underestimate the ability of Wi-Fi networks to keep up as more devices are added or the speed of work increases.
Solution: You should be regularly testing your Wi-Fi to evaluate whether components should be swapped out or patching devices if vulnerabilities are found.
- Low-Quality Wi-Fi Connections
If your connection is slow and unreliable, you must find out what’s going on. Small businesses don’t always consider Wi-Fi connection as a top priority, with a million other tasks at hand. But a weak connection will disadvantage both clients and employees.
Solution: Check the age and quality of your router, choose a reliable internet provider (Glo Fiber, for example, a great option), or see if there are interferences from nearby networks.
What You Can Do Right Now
If you want to stand out as a business, you must exceed expectations and experiences. You’ll be one step closer to flawless experiences by avoiding the Wi-Fi mistakes in this article.
On a final note, here’s what you can do right now to improve your Wi-Fi: 1) scan your data to see what may interest hackers, 2) separate your public and private Wi-Fi connections, and 3) ensure the physical safety of your Wi-Fi.
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