Expectations for the year 2026 as an online entrepreneur

SIDN recently conducted a survey among its users in which questions were asked about expectations for 2026 and online business. In this blog post, we take a look at the results and what to expect.

Online sales will continue to grow - if your website is prepared for it

A large proportion of entrepreneurs expect their online turnover to continue to grow in 2026, namely 42%. Online stores and self-employed people in the online services sector are particularly optimistic. Most companies continue to invest in their website, SEO and online marketing.

It is striking: More and more entrepreneurs are also focusing on AI findability for their website. After all, it is no longer just Google that decides whether visitors find you - AI assistants are increasingly playing a role in this. People are no longer just searching in traditional channels, but are increasingly using Chatgpt and Google's own AI to get a quick answer.

What should you pay attention to?

Make sure your website is technically sound, avoid errors in the background and adhere to the recommended guidelines.

Fast hosting and caching remain essential for your online success

Structure and clear content help AI systems to better understand your website

In short: a modern, fast and well-maintained website remains a basic requirement for your online success.

Geopolitics and large US tech companies

A clear trend in the survey is that entrepreneurs want to be less dependent on large US tech companies. As a result, hosting and data processing in Europe is getting more attention.

For some companies this is important to meet customer expectations in terms of privacy, for others it is a way to retain more control over their data. The last few years have shown that things can only change to a certain extent. AI also plays a part in this, with Windows 11, Office and many other tools from US tech companies increasingly insisting on using it.

A growing group of users are not keen on this and are switching to open source and mainly European software to ensure that their data is not used for this. Think of Mozilla Thunderbird for managing and processing emails and hosting your email address on Dutch soil.

As a hoster with servers in the Netherlands, you automatically respond to this growing need for digital independence.

Cybersecurity and legislation: more important than ever

New European regulations, such as the Digital Services Act and NIS2, create more obligations in the area of online security. Not everyone is happy about this, but almost all entrepreneurs recognize that cybersecurity remains a top priority.

Especially for your website, it is therefore important that you also take this into account. An SSL certificate anno 2026 is no longer an optional extra. It is absolutely necessary. With our Dutch hosting, we ensure that your data remains secure on local soil.

Read the full article from SIDN at the following link:
https://www.sidn.nl/nieuws-en-blogs/verwachtingen-2026-sidn-panel-ziet-kansen-maar-heeft-zorgen-over-ai-en-digitale-autonomie