WiFi — that’s something no business can do without these days — especially the small ones. But if you are already using WiFi for your small business, you might have experienced a few disappointing things as well.

At times, WiFi speed tends to become pretty low and affects productivity in a negative way. Being a small business, you can’t afford to allow that. So, it’s important that you get over the hitches to make your small business WiFi run faster.

There are quite a few ways that you can embrace to boost the speed of your small business WiFi. Here’s a quick look at just a few of them.

Location – That’s Important

Where are you placing your router in the office?

This is an important question to ask when you are planning to boost your small business WiFi speed. Not all positions in a room or a building can give equal WiFi speed to the users present there.

This video by Jason Cole, a physics grad student, shows clearly how the position of a router influences the speed of WiFi across a room.

So, if you want to have a uniform speed of WiFi everywhere, you have to place the router in a central position. Keeping it in a corner of the room will give a high-speed experience to only those sitting at that corner, but the other parts will remain out of its ambit.

It is always important to avoid placing the router on the ground. The higher you place it, the better result it is expected to offer. You might even need to move the router around until you get find the sweet spot that gives the best results.

Avoid Interference

Interference is one of the major issues facing WiFi connections in a small office.

You might find that you have done everything correctly to help the connection run smoothly and fast. Yet, it becomes slow. And you cannot understand why it is happening.

Is interference a major reason?

While placing the WiFi router, keep an eye on possible interference issues. There are quite a few objects that might cause this problem. So, it’s always essential to keep the router away from those.

Some of the most common objects causing interference with the WiFi signalsinclude:

• Other WiFi networks
• Bluetooth devices
• Wall
• Domestic electronic appliances
• Water-filled containers or aquariums
• Metal objects

So, keep the WiFi router away from all of these to get the best results. If another WiFi network is causing the problem, it is better to find another channel that’s not busy.

Do a Ping Test

Are you facing a problem accessing websites on your network? Is the site not opening immediately after you have typed in the address?

You can run a ping test to confirm whether a delay is occurring when the site is being opened on your computer and using your internet connection. It can also come in handy if you need to know whether the quality of the WiFi connection that you have is good enough or not.

If the ping shows that the WiFi connection is not performing well enough, you might find it necessary to undertake a few steps to improve that.

Extend the Signal and Make It Stronger

Is the WiFi signal not performing well enough on different corners?

There are simple ways to boost it.

You can go for a wireless repeater to boost the WiFi signals that are being emitted from the router. But you will need to place the repeater in the right position to increase the intensity of the WiFi signal.

You might also go for antennas for the WiFi router. Usually, these routers come with at least one antenna. If you want to experience strong WiFi signal, adding another one might help. You can also go for a router that has two antennas. However, a high-gain antenna is likely to be the most effective if you are looking to make the most of the WiFi connection.

Keep the WiFi Signal Secure

When you are using small business WiFi, it is essential that the connection runs fast. But this might be difficult to achieve. More so, if your WiFi connection is hacked. It might happen if you keep the WiFi connection open.

So, what’s the best way to solve this problem?

You can turn the encryption of the router on. If you are doing that, make sure you are using the right WiFi-protected access. Go for WPA or WPA2 encryption and not WEP. That’s because WEP is easier to hack and hence, should be avoided.

The speed of WiFi in your small business has a direct relationship with the amount of profit that you garner. That’s because a slow WiFi connection reduces the productivity of your employees. Hence, it’s essential for you to implement these small business WiFi tips to keep WiFi speed running high enough for an excellent user experience.

Courtesy: Small Biz Trends