Starting with a WordPress Blog or Website is as easy as it sounds right? With the installation needing only a few clicks within the hosting control panel, you are all set to go online with your brand new website or blog within minutes right? Not really!
As simple as it seems, there are many more facets to using WordPress than just the initial installation and setup. Web hosting being one of the key components of every successful website and blog is often the one which is overlooked by many when starting out, while the stark reality is that web hosting is the backbone of any successful website, more so if it is a managed web hosting service. So what are the key factors one should consider while choosing an affordable WordPress hosting provider?
We will cover some important pointers below:
Finding a trustworthy hosting company
For starters, trouble with searching for reliable WordPress hosting is knowing which company to trust. There are literally thousands of companies out there vying for your business while many may just be trying to make a quick buck out of you without really providing any support when you may need it the most. Luckily for customers, web hosting reviews for almost every web hosting company are available all over the web nowadays which can give you a fair idea about the service, support, & features offered by the company. To cover against financial losses, choose a company which has a money back policy should things not work out as expected.
Type of Hosting to select
So what type of hosting should you choose when looking to host a WordPress website? Shared Hosting or a more advanced Virtual Private Server? This choice should be based upon many factors. To begin with, you should examine what your needs would probably be. If its a brand new website with majority of content being static, shared hosting should do just fine to get you started. If you need root access, you need to run scripts, you prefer an isolated hosting environment or you will be hosting media content, then a VPS is a smart choice as it offer a perfect balance in terms of server privileges and cost.
Opt for Managed WordPress Hosting
The foremost benefit of Managed WordPress Hosting is that your website will be hosted on a WordPress optimized server with features such as built-in caching, Nginx, easy scalability and more. Managed WordPress Hosting features web servers that are configured and customized to work efficiently with WordPress Blog and CMS. Hassles associated with managing the technical aspects of a WordPress installation like automated backups, data security, WordPress updates and data restoration (if required) are all taken care of in a Managed WordPress Hosting solution. So if you are new to WordPress or websites, Managed hosting is the way to go!
WordPress Hosting Features
Features such as storage space, bandwidth, server uptime SLA, no. of domains & email accounts, backups policy and control panel offered are fair indicators to measure a WordPress hosting service provider. WordPress specific features which are a definite plus above all these standard features are pre-installed WordPress, WordPress Multisite support, use of custom themes and plugins and free WordPress migration of existing instances. Few hosting companies also provide free domain name for one year at the time of sign up.
WordPress Customization
WordPress customization options in the form of custom themes and various plugins are infinite. Besides the standard, built-in WordPress themes, many web hosts also offer a choice of free pre-designed custom themes to customers who prefer a unique identity for their websites. As far as plugins are concerned, if you are not sure of what to install and what not, a managed WordPress hosting provider can come to your aid by offering utility plugins for social media share, analytics, SEO, Sitemap, RSS feeds etc pre-installed with the hosting package at no extra cost.
Customer Support
When shortlisting companies, look for providers who have a separate team specifically for WordPress Hosting support. This assures that they will take up the responsibility of ensuring that your WordPress blog or website remains secure, is backed up at regular intervals, and updates to WordPress software are carried out as and when available. Website being managed and looked after by a team of WordPress experts not only minimizes the risk of downtime, but it also means that should you need expert technical support, you will be dealing with someone with an in-depth knowledge of WordPress.
