Bandwidth
Bandwidth is how much data your website can send to visitors over a given period. Think of it like a highway: more bandwidth means more visitors can reach your site at once without it slowing down.
Also known as: data transfer
In plain English
Bandwidth is the amount of data that can flow from your website to your visitors. Every page, image, and video someone loads uses a little of it. Picture a highway: bandwidth is how many lanes it has. A few visitors move through easily; a sudden crowd can cause a jam if there aren't enough lanes.
Why it matters for your business
Bandwidth quietly sets a ceiling on how much traffic your site can handle gracefully. The painful version happens at the best possible moment — a feature in the news, a viral post, a big sale — when a flood of visitors hits a site that can't serve them all, and it slows or falls over right when it matters most. Getting found is only useful if your site stays standing when people show up.
What to keep in mind
Heavier sites (lots of images or video) use more bandwidth, and so do busier ones. Good hosting and a CDN both help your site handle more visitors without strain.
Common questions
- What happens if I run out of bandwidth?
- Depending on your host, your site can slow to a crawl, show errors, or temporarily go offline until the next billing period — usually right when a traffic spike (the good kind) is sending you customers. It's worth knowing your limit before you hit it.
- How much bandwidth do I need?
- Most small-business sites use far less than they fear. Image-heavy sites, video, and busy stores use more. The practical answer: enough headroom that a good day of traffic doesn't break your site — which good hosting usually provides.
Related terms
Run into this on your site?
WordPress Hosting