Figuring out the best business plan and knowing the nitty-gritty of running a successful WordPress site is just the beginning, what you really need is a good WordPress hosting plan. This is guaranteed to lead you to your online objective(s).
However, the internet is chock a block with millions of WordPress hosting providers, making it difficult to choose the right one that fits your requirement and pocket. Anything other than the best is inviting problems in running your online business since you don’t have managed hosting going on for you.
So, how do you choose the best WordPress hosting that will make it easy for you to go in for web hosting, managed hosting or not? Here are some points you need to consider in choosing the right WordPress hosting.
#1 Features and performance
Performance here is not the level of performance of the web host, but the features you require to manage your website. The thing to look for are features that are of use to you. There is no point in opting for a hosting plan with features that you will never use.
This makes it essential for you to be clear about what you currently need and also what you will need in the future. You will also need to look into what other scripts you would require apart from WordPress in a separate domain or subdomain in the future. You will also need to be clear whether only a single site would suffice for you. For this, you can explore the advantages of a free domain.
For this, you will need to know whether your hosting provider offers support for unlimited addon domains or subdomains. For this, you will need to look at several WordPress hosts to choose the best one. Also connected with this is the additional cost for backup services. If your online business plan is solid, it will help you in choosing the best WP hosting.
Regarding WordPress performance, go for a WP hosting provider which promises good up times, bandwidth and disk space suited to your requirements. This may cost money but is a lot better than cheap hosting that wastes your time in downtimes and other server-related problems.
To find out the performance of a particular WordPress hosting provider, read reviews, ask them questions and consider the recommendations of your friends in the online business. The features that should mandatorily be offered are email hosting, control panels and security.
#2 Cost
Although the cost factor is the first thing that comes to mind while choosing WordPress hosting provider, know that cheap may turn out to be expensive in the end. So, don’t fall for a web host that promises you ‘unlimited everything’ since it is simply not possible in the cost they are offering.
The WordPress hosting providers base their web hosting price on several factors, such as the power of servers, quality of support and the like. So, it is best to focus on the features that the web host offers and settle for one that meets your requirement. Then, you can compare the cost of such WordPress hosting providers and choose the right one that fits your business plan and pocket.
Don’t shy away from paying a premium on web hosting that meets all your requirements. You can consider the cost within the range of $3 to $30 a month, if your WordPress site is not making money. Best is to start with budget-friendly shared web hosting and go for more expensive hosting as your business grows.
#3 Customer support
One of the strong pillars of a WordPress web hosting company is its customer support. If it is strong, it can save you a lot of problems. Customer support should be able to provide instant technical support the moment you contact them. If they take their time in addressing even trivial issues, that web hosting is certainly not for you.
You can read the reviews, ask friends and read the complaints to judge which web hosting delivers through its customer support and how quickly. An indication of a good hosting provider is the way its customer support can be contacted, such as through phone, mail etc. If it provides customer support 24/7, it is certainly well established.
#4 Managed WordPress hosting
If you go in for managed WP hosting, you will be able to host only WP sites. This is because they only specialize in providing WordPress platform for your hosting solutions. In other words, a managed WordPress hosting provider’s entire resources is devoted to your WP platform.
It will not be wrong to say that Pagely is one of the best managed WordPress hosting solution available today if you run a personal blog or a professional WordPress site or an e-commerce portal. The reasons are not far to seek, since….
…its support team is totally focused on Word Press.
…it has some unmatched features, such as malware scanning, super-fast load speeds, firewalls, unlimited data transfer, etc.
…backing up is an automatic process and on a daily basis.
…the site can be restored with a few clicks.
…there are no hidden costs.
#5 Traditional web hosting
Many bloggers opt for traditional web hosting over managed WordPress hosting, simply because most web hosting companies support the WordPress software that can be installed with a few clicks. Although it is cheap, it doesn’t offer anything extra like managed WordPress hosting.
Some popular web hosts are:
● Bluehost
Bluehost offers a host of features, such as instant setup, unlimited domain hosting, unlimited bandwidth and disk space and unlimited email accounts. It also provides a free domain and site building tools. It is downright cheap too with $3.95 per month.
This is another popular web hosting provider that boasts of over eight million sites on its server. It facilitates installing WordPress with a few clicks via the control panel and provides skype, chat, phone support and 24/7 email. They guaranteed 99.9% uptime, despite their low prices. The hosting plan starts at $3.96 per month, VPS at $9.97 per month and dedicated server at $139 per month.
If you are looking for success of your business online, choosing the right WordPress assumes importance. A good web hosting company will solve web hosting-related problems, reduce downtime and help your business make money.