What Are the Benefits of WordPress Hosting?
Hosting, or storing data on a third-party server, is a common practice when it comes to establishing a website. However, not all web hosts are created equal, and one key differentiator between the best and the worst web hosts is how they handle WordPress hosting.
Specifically, what features does a good WordPress hosting service offer? Let’s explore.
1. Free Automatic Updates
One of the primary differences between having a self-hosted WordPress website versus hosting one on a third-party platform is that the latter provides you with automatic updates. On average, maintaining a secure WordPress website is not a difficult task. However, the process is made a little more burdensome due to the fact that the host must maintain the server and upgrade it when new versions of WordPress are released. This burden is eliminated with automated updates.
When updated, your WordPress website will seamlessly continue operating without the need for any intervention from you. As an added bonus, you will also receive email notifications whenever there are updates available for WordPress or the underlying PHP/MySQL platform.
In summary, with automatic updates, you do not need to worry about maintaining a secure WordPress installation or updating it to the latest version. The host takes care of all of this for you.
2. Free Backup
Another significant advantage of having a self-hosted WordPress website is that you are not at risk of losing all of your content in the event of a major disaster. Specifically, let’s say you suffer a hard disk crash, and your web host does not offer a free backup solution. In this case, you would lose all of your blog posts and other important data. Even if you had backed up your content prior to the crash, you would need to reconstruct the whole blog from scratch. This is certainly not an acceptable outcome if you are operating a business website or blog.
With a self-hosted WordPress website, you can be rest assured that your content is safe and secure. If your site gets significantly hacked, you can simply remove the affected blog post and replace it with a fresh copy. There is also the option to lock down permissions on a per-user basis so that only certain individuals have access to certain portions of the website.
As a result, you can sleep well at night knowing that you do not have to worry about losing any content due to a server crash or other catastrophic event. All of this is made possible by the mere fact that you are the one responsible for backing up your own data, and you can do this simply by scheduling regular full backups.
3. Free Domain Names
One of the primary reasons why people choose to establish a WordPress website is that they can use one of the popular free domain names. For example, let’s say you have a passion for blogging and decide to set up a WordPress blog to share your experiences and thoughts on various topics. Even though you have chosen a relatively obscure topic for your blog, you can use the.com domain for your site. As a result, your site will be accessible to anyone who wants to read it without having to know what it is that you are actually doing.
In some cases, you can even benefit from the various extensions that are available for you to choose from. For example, you may want to set up a blog about fashion, and even though the overall topic of your blog is not fashion-related, you can use the.com domain for the sake of simplicity. In this case, you can simply choose a fashion-related extension such as.co.uk for your site to ensure that it is accessible only to people in the United Kingdom. Similarly, you can use a more general-purpose domain extension such as.com for your site to attract a wider audience.
4. Free SSL Certificate
Another significant advantage of having a self-hosted WordPress website is that you can use the free SSL certificates that are offered by nearly all web hosts. SSL or Secure Sockets Layer is a technology that allows for an encrypted connection between a web server and a web browser, ensuring that all of the information that is transmitted is kept private and secure. In the event that your site gets hacked, the hacker will have a very difficult time accessing your financial information or other critical data. When you use SSL, the connection between your web browser and your web server will look like this:
This is a very important feature, especially when you are operating a site that serves as a financial or banking transaction. As a result, you should always opt for SSL whenever possible.
5. Free, Comprehensive Support
One of the significant advantages of having a self-hosted WordPress site is that you have access to comprehensive support. Specifically, let’s say that you have set up a WordPress blog and decided to add a few blogs on the same WordPress installation. In order to streamline the process, you choose a managed WordPress hosting service, and everything goes smoothly. However, at some point, you encounter a problem and need help. In most cases, the managed WordPress hosting service will have a live chat software option or a phone support team available to help you out whenever you need it. Even if you need some assistance after hours, they will be able to provide you with some help in order to keep things running smoothly.
As a result, you will not need to worry about getting your WordPress website up and running properly, as you can rely on the support that is provided by the web host. This is a great benefit for anyone who is just getting started with WordPress or who is looking for an option that they can use without needing to deal with too much technical hassle.
In summary, the above are just a few of the significant benefits of WordPress hosting. Let’s examine each one in more detail.
1. Free Automatic Updates
WordPress hosting ensures that your website is always up-to-date with the latest version of WordPress. This is a significant benefit, especially for those who are just getting started with a website or blog. When you opt for this type of hosting, it does not burden you with the technical task of maintaining a secure WordPress website or updating it to the latest version. Instead, after you set up the WordPress website, the hosting service takes care of all of this for you.
In most cases, the automatic updates for WordPress do not require any additional action from you. As a result, you can simply sit back and relax, knowing that your website will be continuously updated to the latest version without any effort on your part.
2. Free Backup
Another significant benefit of WordPress hosting is the fact that you have a permanent backup of your website. In the event that your site gets hacked or suffers some other form of data loss, you can simply restore it from the backup. All of the content that was on your site prior to the backup will be there, and you will not need to worry about any of it being lost.
Backups are essential when it comes to maintaining a website. In most cases, web hosts will offer a basic daily backup for free. In some cases, they may offer additional options such as full or incremental backups. In any case, you should take advantage of the free backup option that is provided by your web host.
3. Free Domain Names
As mentioned above, one of the primary reasons why people choose to establish a WordPress website is that they can use one of the popular free domain names. Even though your website’s content will be the most significant factor in its success, having a reliable domain name is also vital.
In most cases, you can obtain a free domain name from your web host. Alternatively, you can register a new domain with any of the numerous registrars that are available, but you should avoid any registrar that does not offer free domain names, as it is likely that you will have to pay fees at some point.
Additionally, many people prefer to use an existing.com or.net domain when setting up a website. If you already have a domain that you have purchased previously, it is likely that it will be easier for you to set up your website. In most cases, you will need to register the domain with your web host, regardless of whether you choose to use their shared hosting service or their standalone hosting service. In either case, once the domain is registered with your host, you can simply install WordPress to create your website. Even if you choose not to use their shared hosting service, you will still need to have your own server to host your WordPress installation. Once this is done, you can simply install a free WordPress to begin using their service.