Best Wob Hosting for Life: WordPress
Welcome to WordPress.com! You’ve decided to host your website on their reputable servers, and now you’re considering what software you should use to create your content. Well, in this guide we’re going to discuss the best web host for life – WordPress.com.
The Essentials
One of the first things you’ll want to decide is what programming language you want to use to create your content. WordPress supports a ton of languages, so you don’t have to choose just one. If you don’t know much about coding, though, you might want to consider taking a bit of a learning curve before you start creating. Luckily for you, we’ve got you covered on that front as well. Below we’re going to discuss some of the basics of coding and why they’re important to know before you start making serious money with affiliate marketing or blogging.
Database
When someone visits your site – whether it’s a digital nomad or a regular person with a laptop – they’ll probably want to save your content somewhere. Fortunately for you, WordPress comes with a built-in database that stores all of your content. This database is called “Apache MySQL.” It’s basically a fancy name for a collection of programs that allow you to connect to a server and access its files. The term “database” literally means “data base” in this case, so it’s the perfect name for what WordPress has stored for you! Think of a database as a collection of information that can be used by anyone with access to it. If someone guesses your username and password, they can access your database and pull all of the content you’ve ever published (along with your private data as well).
Secure
If you’re publishing content online, you need to make sure that the information you’re posting isn’t accessible by anyone else. Luckily for you, WordPress comes with some amazing security features that make it extremely hard for someone to break into your website and access your personal information. When you sign up for a free account with WordPress.com, they give you a password that you can use to protect your blog or website. Additionally, your host will likely give you a custom-made SSL certificate that allows you to encrypt your site’s traffic, ensuring that everything from the payment to the content is kept private. Just to be 100% sure, you can create a back-up of your site’s databases just in case something happens.
Reliable
If you’re using WordPress to power your site, you’ll want to make sure that it’s built on a stable foundation. After all, the last thing you want is for your new blog to be plagued by hackers who have gotten into your database or infected your site with malware. Luckily, WordPress is designed to be “highly secure” and “very stable.” Their developers take great pride in ensuring that their web host is up to date with the latest security patches so that malicious attacks can be spotted early and dealt with appropriately. In the event that your blog gets infected with malware or malicious software, you can contact their support team to get it removed. In most cases, the damage can be contained with minimal effort (and minimal fees, if any).
Permanent
When someone clicks a link to visit your site, they’re either going to stay for a while and read what you’ve published, or they’re going to leave after just a few minutes. Naturally, you don’t want to jeopardize the latter, so you need to make sure that your content is still available whenever someone wants to return. Fortunately, WordPress is set up for just this purpose. When you use WordPress to create your blog or website, it automatically saves everything that you post to a special folder in your database. That way, no matter what happens to your computer or internet connection, your content will be preserved in the event that you need to return to it. When you log back in, the blog or website will automatically show you all of the new content that has been published while you were away. This feature is called “WordPress Restores” and it’s one of the coolest things about this program.
Capabilities
Another thing you’ll want to consider when choosing a web host is the capabilities of the program. Do you want to be able to install the WordPress software yourself? Or do you want to use their one-click installer so that you can get up and running in no time? Do you want to be able to install plugins that can expand the functionality of your site? Or do you want to go the other way and strip your site back to its basics? All of these questions can be answered by simply looking at the documentation that comes with the web host’s control panel. For example, if you’re planning on using a plugin to enhance your user experience or install a security feature, you’ll want to make sure that the plugin or feature is compatible with your web host’s software.
Customer Service
Finally, one of the most important things to consider when choosing a web host is their customer support. Do you want to have live chat support when you need it? Or do you want someone to email you back within 24 hours? These are all extremely important questions to ask yourself before making a decision. Live chat support can be very important when trying to solve a problem on the fly, while waiting for an email to come through can feel like an eternity when you’re trying to get some sleep. Of course, you can also choose to send an email and get a quick response – it’s all about your preference. Just remember: you’re paying for their service, so you’re going to want to make sure that they’re standing by to help when you need it. The bottom line is this: if you want to have a site that’ll be here when you return and that you can build on confidently, you’ll want to choose a web host that has all of these qualities.
Now that you have an idea of the essentials, let’s discuss the rest of the features that make WordPress the best choice for web hosting. Keep in mind that everything from the basics to the additional features is important and each one plays a role in making your site stand out above the rest.
Best For Blogging
If you’re new to blogging or website creation in general, you’ll want to choose WordPress. It’s a great choice for several reasons. First, WordPress’ code is extremely powerful and flexible, allowing for virtually anyone to create a professional-looking blog or website. This is important because, as we discussed above, not all web hosts are created equal. Some are simply trying to up-sale and don’t have the capabilities to provide the best user experience. Second, WordPress is extremely popular and well-supported. This means that you’re bound to find helpful resources online when you need them. Finally, WordPress is open-source, which basically means that its source code is available to the public for anyone to download and use as they see fit. This ensures that new updates and security fixes are rolled out quickly and efficiently.
Best For E-commerce
If you’re looking to create a store or are just getting started with online selling, you’ll want to choose WordPress. Not only does it have all the makings of a great e-commerce store, but it also has all the tools necessary to build a professional-looking e-commerce store on your own. This is important because not all web hosts are created equal when it comes to e-commerce. Some hosts may try to up-sale their services by jacking up the prices on regular plans or worse yet, asking you to pay separately for the e-commerce platform itself. Avoid this by choosing a host that offers integrations with major e-commerce providers like Shopify, Bigcommerce, and WooCommerce. This way, you won’t have to worry about any unnecessary extra fees and you can focus on building your business.
Best For Mobile
If you’re looking to build a mobile-friendly blog or website, you’ll want to choose WordPress. Not only does it make sense from a design standpoint, but it also lets you test out different content layouts to see how they look on a smartphone. This is important because a lot of web hosts are designed for desktop use only and might not have the capability to display content nicely on a mobile device. Avoid this by choosing a host that offers special packages for mobile users or has the capability to serve up mobile-ready content automatically. The sooner you get this feature, the better. You don’t want to find yourself scrambling to make something work when you’re already dealing with clients on the go.