How to choose a web host (7 factors to consider) |
If you are planning to create a website or blog with WordPress it is necessary to have website hosting. Find out how to select a web host that fits your requirements and budget.
TL;DR
Find the perfect web host and start creating
If you're building a website or blog using WordPress then you'll need the services of a web hosting service. An appropriate web hosting company can make the process of creating and maintaining your website easy, so you won't need to fret about technical difficulties and you can begin making content immediately.
There are seven things to be aware of when selecting a web hosting provider:
- Hosting type Do you need shared hosting, VPS hosting or even a dedicated server? We would recommend cloud or VPS hosting as the ideal balance of affordability and available resources.
- Server resources: Look for a web hosting service that has ample bandwidth, storage and scalability. These features will ensure your site's performance and keep your customers satisfied.
- Prices: Different levels of hosting come with different prices. Don't forget to read the small print - many providers raise prices after the first year.
- Time to Uptime: Website downtime is bad for your business. Your web host should offer the guarantee of uninterrupted service.
- Security WordPress web pages are inherently insecure. Look for security features like antivirus, firewalls, as well as SSL encryption.
- Control panel functionality: A control panel lets you run your website without having to worry about making a code-based learning experience or buying many additional tools.
- Customer support: Choose a web hosting provider that has consistent customer support, response times, and channels.
Once you have this part of the puzzle now, it's time to go going and build your WordPress website of your dreams.
If you're planning to create a blog, sell digital items, or create an online community, you need the right website.
But the jargon and technical aspects of building a website can quickly get complicated. What's the difference between a web host and a web-based website builder? How do I change my website on the cloud? What the heck is VPS?
It's enough to make head spin. However, finding the best web hosting company is a key part of building a website in particular if you're planning to start a blog.
That's why we created this article for choosing the best web hosting service.
We'll explain:
How web hosting works
The different factors to consider when selecting a web hosting service
Three of the best-rated service providers for small businesses and bloggers
Before we get started Let's ensure that we're in the same boat. What exactly is a web host? Do you really require one?
What is a web hosting service?
Webhosting services offer the space for your site as well as all its documents and files to be on the internet.
The way we think about the web as a nebulous place, but every website must be on a server somewhere. If you choose to use the services of a host and rent space, you are renting the space to store your site's files as well as data onto a provider's server .
Do I need to have a Web hosting service?
The short solution? Yes.
Every website -- from lifestyle blogs to ecommerce stores -- needs hosting. Whether you're responsible for finding and paying for hosting is contingent on the kind of site you're creating and the way you setup it.
If you're using an all-in-one platform or website builder, such as Shopify, Squarespace, or , in fact, don't require hosting services. It will take care of hosting (and many other things) on your behalf.
For example, those who design their website with can:
It is also possible to use WordPress for blogging alongside your site.
Once you understand what you need a web host, let's get into the difficult part of finding the right web hosting provider to suit your needs.
7 things to think about when choosing a web hosting provider
1. Type of hosting (Shared or. VPS or. dedicated hosting)
There are three main kinds of web hosting :
Hosting shared
VPS hosting
Hosting dedicated to you
Host shared by Shared Hosting
Shared hosting plans are among the least expensive hosting options -- but you get what you pay.
The name suggests that you share a server several other websites. These hosts often overcrowd server shares, meaning that your site could be located on the same server as hundreds of other sites. This may cause slowdowns, performance issues, and sometimes even crash.
VPS hosting
Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting plans are an upgrade over shared hosting with regard to price and features.
Your website is still sharing the same server as other websites; however, the server itself is divided by multiple virtual servers. The site will "rent" the one those virtual servers, which implies that you have the server's space and less competition for bandwidth and storage.
As you look at cloud hosting it is possible to find cloud hosting.
Cloud hosting is similar to VPS however there is a significant differentiator: instead of having everything you have on your website on one physical server, cloud hosting allows you to spread your data over a number of interconnected servers working together in a single. The servers are located within a virtual world, a.k.a. the cloud .
Because it uses several serversto host the content, cloud hosting can provide more scalability than hosting with only one server. We'll talk more about why scalability matters in a bit.
Hosts dedicated for
Dedicated hosting is by far the most costly and flexible web hosting option.
A dedicated server is provided for your website, so there is no need to think over sharing your resources websites.
That means significantly better performance as well as faster loading speeds, but it's also cost-effective. This is why dedicated hosting plans are usually reserved for websites with over 100,000 monthly visits , like large ecommerce sites.
When you're first starting out it's not necessary to have dedicated hosting. If you're able to pay for VPS hosting, it provides an excellent balance of affordability and accessibility to server resources.
This brings us to our next step...
2. Server Resources
When we speak of server resources, we're referring specifically to bandwidth and storage.
Your web host's server holds all the information of your website. Those servers are physical systems which are located within a data center. Each server is limited in space on its disk. The amount of storage space you can use is dependent on your web hosting plan.
Your bandwidth on your web host determines how much data will be transmitted back and forth between your website and server. This will affect how many users can visit your website simultaneously. If there are too many visitors trying to browse your website simultaneously, your site might crash.
If you are using shared hosting, these servers' resources are shared among hundreds of different websites.
It means that, if one website uploads a ton of files or sees massive increases in traffic, it can consume a large portion of the available resources and leave other sites struggling to make do with the remaining.
This is why we suggest cloud hosting or VPS service. It may cost more upfront but it's definitely worth it for the peace of mind later on.
Bandwidth and storage can also influence capacity, and how your website host is able to handle changes in traffic.
If you are using a hosting service that has limited resources -- for example, bandwidth and storage that are limited to a particular amount of traffic you may find that your website is struggling to handle an unanticipated increase in visitors.
In contrast it is possible to have scalable web hosting that lets users use more or less resources as you need, meaning it doesn't
Don't pay for a plan that has features you will never need.
It can affect the performance of your website if you reach the limits with a less expensive plan.
Additionally, the server's resources can also impact how quickly your website loads. Load time and page speed are crucial to your users' experience.
26.9 Percent of customers have to wait for less than 4 seconds to wait for the page to load -as well as 45.4% of visitors said they would be less likely to purchase items if the website does not load faster than they expect.
It is possible to check the website's speed of loading using GTmetrix .
The speed of loading can impact your search engine optimization (SEO) as well. According to the SEO experts from Moz , "Google has indicated site speed (and in turn the speed of pages) is among the signals utilized by their algorithm to determine the rank of pages."
Organic search accounts of the majority of the web traffic getting the most prominent spots on the results page is important, especially in light of the fact that the first five results from every Google search account for 67.6% of all clicks .
Search engines care about website speed, and slow-loading pages will reduce your chances of landing one of the best spots.
In the end servers can either make or break your visitors' experience on your site which is why they are among the most crucial elements of the web hosting service you use.
3. Cost
This piece is pretty straightforward. The cost of web hosting is contingent upon the type of web hosting you pick. For example, shared hosting with Bluehost begins at only $4.95/month and comes with a no-cost domain name. On the other hand, dedicated hosting from the same service costs $79.99/month.
Begin the search with an established budget in your mind. Don't overlook to look over the tiny text. Some providers will offer the lowest rates for shared hosting upfront but then increase their prices significantly after a year.
4. Uptime
Choose a hosting service that provides an uptime guarantee. Web hosts cannot guarantee 100% uptime, however, most strive to achieve a goal of 99.999 percent uptime.
99percent uptime may sound good, but this adds up to a whopping of 87 hours and 36 minutes of downtime per year .
5. Security
WordPress is a free-to-use platform which means anyone is able to access the system's structure. This allows for a wide range of extensions and customisation, but it can also cause security problems.
Hundreds of thousands of WordPress websites get attacked every year. In order to avoid becoming one of them, search for a hosting provider that provides security options as part of your hosting plan or at the cost of an extra fee.
For example, WordPress websites don't automatically include SSL encryption. However, having the SSL (secure sockets layer) certificate is essential for keeping the information of customers secure. A lot of web hosting providers offer free SSL certificates with hosting packages.
Even if you've never been aware of SSL certificates, you've undoubtedly witnessed them working. We have the SSL certificate that is available for free to all of our customers to keep your as well as your students' data protected.
Below are extra security options you should be looking for:
Malware scanning and removal. If your hosting provider doesn't provide this service, you may make use of tools such as Sucuri or MalCare for an additional charge.
Automatically applying the latest Linux and Microsoft Windows operating system patches on your server, to help ensure your site is protected from vulnerabilities.
Installing server-level firewalls to keep from hackers.
Are you looking for another reason to prioritise security features?
As well as protecting your information from visitors protected, a secured website will benefit the search engine rankings. In an effort to improve the security of the Internet, secure place, Google gives an SEO boost to encrypted websites.
6. Control panel functionality
Most web hosting services offer a web-based control panel that helps website owners control their websites. Without a control panel you'll end up either doing a lot of work manually or buying additional tools on your own.
Control panels make it easy to manage every aspect of the management of a website which includes :
Account administration
Domain and server management
One-click installation of WordPress and other plugins
Management of email accounts
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) and management of files
Management of databases
Backups
The most popular control panel for web hosting is cPanel , but your web host may have another software to choose from.
In any case, the controlling panel functions are a must-have.
7. Customer support
Not to be left out be sure to select a web hosting provider which provides reliable support for customers.
Being an online designer, your website is an essential part of your livelihood. If you encounter problems with the uptime of your site and configuration of your server or even updating your website for business It must be dealt with ASAP.
Be aware of these issues as you assess your potential web hosting service:
What support channels do they offer? (Phone, live chat, email, etc.)
What is their hours of support? Do they offer 24/7 help? If not, what is their operating timezone? in?
What is their average response time and resolution speed?
OK, now you know the things to watch out to be looking for in your web hosting journey. For you to help beginning with the selection process let us share 3 of the best-rated hosting services for beginners and bloggers in our next section. (All pricing is accurate at the time of this writing.)
3 best web hosting services for small and medium-sized businesses as well as bloggers
1. Best overall for beginners: Bluehost
If you're looking for a tried-and-true option, Bluehost is one of the top hosting providers accessible. PCMag named Bluehost as the "Best for Building WordPress websites", and WordPress is recommending Bluehost since 2005.
Plans are available at all level, including shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated servers.
Bluehost's suggested "Plus" plan for shared hosting plan offers:
Unlimited websites
24/7 customer support
Backups for free
Basic website building tools
WordPress integration
One year of free domains
Free SSL certificate
99.98% uptime
A domain name is free for one year
Pricing: Starts at $4.95/month for shared hosting. $19.99/month for VPS or $79.99/month to host dedicated servers.
2. HostGator is the best shared hosting. HostGator
If sharing hosting is your best option for your budget, we recommend HostGator. They offer reliable shared hosting at an affordable price.
HostGator's shared hosting plans offer:
99.9% uptime guarantee
SSL certificate for free. SSL certificate
Free domain name for a year
One-click WordPress installation
cPanel web hosting control panel
An extremely fun alligator Mascot
45-day money-back guarantee
Pricing:HostGator's shared hosting plans begin with $2.75/month for one site. The company also offers plans starting that starts at $3.50/month as well as a business package priced at $5.25/month with unlimited websites.
3. The most well-managed WordPress hosting: Kinsta
Managed WordPress hosting is designed and maintained by WordPress experts in order to keep your site operating as efficiently and safely as is possible. It takes care of all the technical problems that come with WordPress websites including caching to ensuring uptime and load speed during traffic spikes.
It costs more than shared hosting, but the perks and customer support is well worth the cost -- and Kinsta isn't an exception.
Kinsta's controlled WordPress hosting service includes:
Cloud-hosted hosting made possible by Google Cloud and Cloudflare
24/7 support for customer service by WordPress specialists
Free SSL, CDN, and website staging
Free migrations
Automatic daily backups
HTTP/3 support
30-day money-back guarantee
Pricing:Kinsta's Starter plan costs $30/month for one WordPress site with up to 25000 monthly visitors and 10 GB of storage space. The company offers additional plans based on the needs of your business and monthly costs that range from $65 (Pro plan) up to 1500 dollars (Enterprise 4 plan).
As we close make sure to remember that these tips are only suggestions that can help you get to where you want to be.
There's no such thing as an ideal business solution for everyone. It is recommended to talk with the other creators in your circle and conducting the research yourself to find out which hosting option is the best fit for your business.