Best Free WordPress Blog Hosting – How to Choose the Right Host for Your Business
You’ve decided to create a blog and are in the process of choosing a host to publish your content to. After much googling and browsing review websites, you’ve come across a few blogs that sound promising but aren’t exactly what you’re looking for. Regardless, you want to create a successful blog, so you push on, trying out a few different hosts until you find one that perfectly suits your needs.
At some point, you’ll realize that there are plenty of free blog hosting platforms out there that offer a wide array of features. However, since you’re still new to this whole blogging thing, it’s hard to know what exactly to look for in a blog host. Therefore, in this article, we’ll discuss what to check for in a blog hosting service and give you an idea of what features to look out for.
Features
As you’d guess, the first thing to consider when choosing a blog host is the features that are available. When it comes to hosting a blog, the two standard features that almost all hosts offer are
- caching
- SSL/TLS certificate generation
- email notifications
- free backups
- free domains
- free custom themes
- free plugins
- free daily posts
Caching is a feature that allows web pages to be retrieved from a server more quickly by storing previously-fetched content on a visitor’s device. Most blogs speed up web page load times by using caching. This means that when a user visits a page with content that’s been cached, the page will load much quicker than it would if the content wasn’t cached. When choosing a blog hosting platform, make sure to check out whether or not they offer page caching.
An SSL/TLS certificate is a security feature that allows websites to be accessed over an encrypted connection. When you load a page over an encrypted connection, your browser displays a little padlock icon next to the URL in the address bar. In addition to avoiding web intrusions and giving your blog a better identity, using SSL/TLS certificates also prevents content from being scraped and republished without your permission. If your blog is going to feature content that you don’t want appearing on other websites, using SSL/TLS is a must.
Email notification is a feature that allows users to subscribe via email to get news and updates from a website. Since most people read the news online, this feature allows them to stay connected to the events that surround their niche.
Free backups and free domains are two features that give you peace of mind in knowing that your content is safe and secure. When you host a blog on a free domain, you’re giving the website administrator complete charge of that domain. In the event that your free domain expires or is discontinued, you can regenerate it with no fees.
Free themes and free plugins are similar in that they give you the freedom to customize the appearance of your blog without needing to understand code. However, themes and plugins can also be used to steal content and republish it as your own without giving credit. For this reason, it’s best to avoid using these features unless you have additional security measures in place.
Free daily posts are yet another feature that you should look out for. Some hosts will give you unlimited posts, while others will only give you a certain amount each month. One good thing about this feature is that it allows you to experiment with different content types and see what works best for your audience.
Location
Another important factor to consider when choosing a blog host is where the service is
located. If you’re looking for an US-based host, you should probably choose one that’s located in the United States as well.
In the event that you’re looking for a host in a different country, then you should determine what kind of legal requirements and documents you need to provide in order to operate your blog legally. The easiest way to find out what you need is to contact the country’s legal department and ask them to provide you with a list of all the legalities you need to follow.
When it comes to operating a blog, the most important thing is to choose a host that provides you with the security and freedom you need to do what you love. For this reason, make sure to select a host that’s both reliable and offers the features you need to make your blog stand out.