If you’ve created your website or want to create one – you most certainly want the best hosting provider. In this article, we shall discuss the points to consider while choosing the best WordPress hosting provider for you.
When you plan to start a new website, the hosting provider is one of the most important factors that you need to consider carefully. The hosting you select will have a big impact on the overall performance and security of your site.
As loading speed has become even more important, you must select a hosting provider that is known for offering fast servers.
Let’s get to the point and find the most important factors to look at while selecting your hosting provider.
Table Of Content
1. The type of your website
The first thing is to identify your needs.
Are you a blogger, running a small business or an e-commerce site, or a medium to large-sized company?
A one-size-fits-all web host may not work for every type of site. This is because the amount of visitor footfall will determine the type of server you need.
2. The type of server
The type of hosting you choose is determined by your business size, industry, and visitor footfall.
You can choose from the following:
Shared Hosting: cost-effective, less security, ideal for a lesser number of visitors
VPS (Virtual Private Server) Hosting mimics a shared server, more expensive than shared hosting, for medium traffic
Dedicated Server Hosting: costliest, highest security, works best for huge traffic
Managed Hosting: all hosting-related activities are managed by the service provider.
Apart from these, there are other alternatives as well. For in-depth insights on types of servers, read here.
3. Speed
Does it provide fast page load speeds? Sticky web pages do not offer a pleasant customer experience. Moreover, search engines consider loading speed as one of the most important factors of ranking algorithms.
Moreover, one of the most effective ways to increase speed is by using CDN software. Here are some of the best CDN software.
4. Uptime
Gartner reports that IT downtime costs $5,600 per minute!
Downtime can cause businesses both a loss of business and reputation. And to have your website up and running smoothly, it is important to choose a stable web host provider.
Go for the industry standard which is 99.95% uptime and avoid anything below 99%. The best WordPress hosting comes at a premium price and can give you server stability with 99.99% uptimes and above.
5. Managed or Unmanaged WordPress Hosting
If you are short on technical skills or staff, then going for managed WordPress hosting is a good idea. With this type of service, you can get your website’s operation, security, maintenance, and more managed by the service providers themselves. Moreover, WordPress hosting is popular in the managed category as these servers are specifically optimized to run WordPress websites.
6. Security
Do you know that every year millions of WordPress sites get hacked?
The basic security features that WordPress provides aren’t enough and you should never ignore extra security when you can get it.
Look for hosting providers that offer the following security features:
- Server and Network Monitoring,
- Firewalls,
- Regular Malware scan,
- SSL encryption,
- DDoS services,
- Firewall Integration,
- Period Password Change and Two-factor Authentication, etc.
7. Customer support
It’s a common mistake to overlook the quality of customer support while buying web hosting services. Be proactive and consider the quality of customer support from day one as downtime for even a brief amount of time can affect your business.
Pro Tip:
Look for the following things on a web hosting provider’s website:
Knowledge Bank – do they have blogs, use cases, tutorials, etc. troubleshooting?
Customer Forum – though not a necessity, an active community will help you effectively ask about your specific problems.
Communication Channels – know what customer support avenues are available and how quickly you can reach the support team.
8. Cost
There is a practice for web hosting providers to increase their renewal costs every year. And the only way to avoid this is to switch over to a new web host service provider every few years, which isn’t a practical solution.
The goal should be to reasonably priced web hosts from the very beginning. Also, research the hike that you’ll be paying. Ideally nothing above 100%. For instance, if the signup cost is $15/mo, then you shouldn’t be paying above $30/mo while renewing.
Also, when it comes to purchasing the most cost-effective l web hosting service, keeping the following things in mind can be a good idea:
- The service provider must offer a free trial to help you make an informed choice
- Having a refund policy would be great
Bonus Content!
3 of the Best Web WordPress Hosting Providers
Here are three editor-picked WordPress hosting providers:
1. SiteGround (www.SiteGround.com)
They have become a prominent name in the WordPress community because of their performance and cost. Also, they’re officially recommended by WordPress.org.
Uptime
- July 2022 – 99.89%
- August 2022 – 100%
- September 2022 – 99.89%
Features
- Free SSL and CDN
- Free WP installation
- Migration
- Auto-updates
- Daily Backups
- Free Email
Price
$2.99/month
2. Kinsta (www.Kinsta.com)
Kinsta is a WordPress hosting provider that focuses mainly on optimized managed hosting setups. They are backed by the Google Cloud Platform.
Uptime
- July 2022 – 99.81%
- August 2022 – 100 %
- September 2022 – 99.99%
Features
- 24/7 chats
- Unlimited free hosts migrations
- free CDN service
Price
$29.17/mo
3. Hostinger (www.Hostinger.com)
In terms of the initial price, Hostinger is the best hosting for WordPress. To ensure better speed, Hostinger uses LiteSpeed Cache and has it pre-installed.
Features
- One free email account and a free SSL
- WordPress-specific cache
- Great customer service
Uptime
- July 2022 – 99.66%
- August 2022 – 99.96%
- September 2022 – 100%
Price
$1.99/mo
Conclusion
When it comes to web hosting, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution. It all depends on your business and its needs. Having said that, do adhere to the points mentioned above to make the right purchasing choice.