Arty Ekema

A Beginner’s Guide to WordPress Hosting WordPress is one of the most widely used website creation tools available, it’s easy to use and can be customized to fit almost any purpose you could think of. But if you’ve spent any amount of time on WordPress there is a good chance you’ve come across the term “hosting”. But what is hosting? Is it complicated? How much is a good host going to cost me? How can I tell if a host is good? Don’t worry, hosting isn’t a subject that comes up much, so it’s perfectly natural to have questions or to be unclear on specific aspects. Just to make sure we have our bases covered, we’re going to start with the basics. Consider this your beginner’s guide to WordPress hosting. What is WordPress Hosting? Hosting, or more specifically web hosting is a service that allows individuals or companies to post a website onto the internet. If a website is on the internet, it has a host. WordPress hosting is a hosting service designed with WordPress in mind. While all WordPress hosts are not equal, typically they will all be built to manage WordPress’ many unique functions without much hassle and will usually include features to make working with WordPress easier. These features usually include things like automatic updates to WordPress's core and support staff well versed in working with WordPress, which would go a long way in solving any technical issues you could experience. Can I Make a WordPress Website Without Hosting? The short answer would be no, every website needs a host. However, you may not need to set one up yourself depending on whether you use WordPress.com or WordPress.org. If you would be working with WordPress.com, you wouldn’t be given your own web domain, and would instead be given a subdomain. So in order to access your website, someone would have to type something like “yourname.wordpress.com” When you build a website with WordPress.org, that site would be given its own domain name and would have to be installed on a server. In order to install your website on a server, you would have to sign up for a hosting service. Either a shared host or a dedicated host would work for this purpose, depending on your website’s needs. What’s the Difference Between Shared Hosting and Dedicated Hosting? By now, you may not be sure if shared hosting will suit all of your needs. You may also be wondering if upgrading to dedicated hosting would be worth the cost. The truth is that it depends on the needs of your website. But if you want a short answer, shared hosting will more than likely be all you need. Shared hosting costs less than dedicated hosting because you're sharing a server with multiple other people. The cost to maintain the server is spread out across everyone on the server. Shared hosting also makes setting your website up much easier from a technical standpoint. Security and maintenance issues are handled for you so if you don’t have a lot of experience with computers, shared hosting would be a good place to start and is perfectly suitable for most websites. Dedicated hosting is renting a private server specifically for your website. Granting you a higher volume of control and guaranteeing faster-operating speeds for those who experience high volumes of web traffic, most people expect high speeds from a professional website. It's also much easier to keep your website secure when you're not sharing a server. You can implement additional security measures much easier and cyber attacks will be made much more difficult. The biggest issue most people will have with dedicated hosting is the cost. Renting a private server naturally costs you more money than sharing one. Operating costs for a dedicated server often vary somewhere between $80 to $120 per month, whereas a shared hosting plan could cost under $3 per month. How to Choose the Best WordPress Hosting Service There are tons of different hosting services available, but how can you tell which one is right for you? There are a few different features you should always be on the lookout for; Cost, performance, services and good customer service. There are, of course, other features that are nice to have, but these are the most important features to consider when deciding if a host is right for you. When considering the price of a hosting service, just because something costs more or less money doesn’t necessarily mean it's a better service. Make sure you look at everything that comes with your subscription. The cheap ones may not offer the kind of security or performance you need and the expensive ones might not offer enough to justify the price tag. Another thing to keep an eye out for is performance, specifically with regards to WordPress websites. You can find out how well most host providers perform easily enough by looking through user reviews, but it’s important to note that not all hosts are designed to work with WordPress. Just because a host has received mostly popular reviews doesn’t mean that they are properly optimized to run WordPress. Always check if a host is WordPress friendly before giving over your business. Hosts that are not designed with WordPress in mind can slow down your site or even cause more serious errors. Arguably one of the most important features a host can provide is good customer service. A good support staff is essential to keeping your site running and you never know what time of day you may need help, so I also recommend you double-check that the support you're receiving is available 24/7. Which Hosting Service is Best for WordPress? If you don’t already have a host in mind, we would recommend Bluehost. Bluehost has been partnered with WordPress since 2005 and we can think of no better host for your WordPress site. Even if you already have a host, switching to BlueHost is extremely easy and Bluehost helps walk you through it almost every step of the way. Bluehost is capable of providing fantastic service for both shared and dedicated hosting with a variety of plans for either option to help suit your specific needs. Bluehost’s support staff are experts on WordPress and you will have access to them 24/7. Whatever your problem might be, Bluehost has your back. Bluehost can also help grow your business or website by helping to connect you with customers in your area. All Bluehost plans verify your business on Google My Business, allowing customers to easily see your business location as well as your hours of operation and any services you provide. Conclusion A good hosting service can make a big difference when it comes to managing your site. Make sure you keep your specific needs in mind while you look for a host and always double-check that a host is compatible with WordPress. If your host is no longer meeting your needs remember that you can always switch to a different one. Hosting plans usually operate monthly so make sure you keep your interests in mind before paying for your next month. Bluehost is the best choice when it comes to hosting your WordPress website. It’s extremely user friendly and is perfect for first-time website builders. Their team of experts will walk you through any of the steps you might need help with, making Bluehost the perfect fit for your first WordPress website.