Best WordPress Hosting Services – How to Choose the Right One?

WordPress is one of the most popular open source content management systems, and it’s largely due to its ease of use and versatility in allowing anyone with a bit of computer know-how to set up a blog or website around any niche. Launching a website with WordPress is essentially free, and it doesn’t require any prior knowledge of programming or web design.

Despite its popularity, however, WordPress has one major flaw that keeps it from being the best choice for all websites — the hosting. Specifically, the free version of WordPress (the one that comes with the WordPress.com hosting) is limited in terms of what it can do. To truly take advantage of the power of WordPress, users need to look for a premium-level hosting service.

Here, we’ll discuss the best WordPress hosting services available, along with which ones are worth your hard-earned cash. We’ll also cover some of the common pitfalls that even experienced webmasters can fall into when choosing a hosting service.

A Closer Look At The Free Version Of WordPress

WordPress first launched as a free version that was limited in terms of what it could do. Since then, the platform has evolved and matured, and most people are now familiar with the basic features that this version of WordPress offers. This familiarity, however, comes with significant downsides. Learning to use WordPress effectively requires a solid understanding of web servers, databases, and all things related to hosting — a difficult task for beginners. Even for experienced webmasters, it can be a challenge to effectively harness the power of WordPress when using the free version.

This is one of the primary reasons why we recommend that users steer clear of the free version of WordPress; aside from the fact that it’s simply limited in terms of what it can do. Even in its current form, the free version of WordPress is still very buggy and is best used for simple blogs and websites that don’t require any complex features. If you’re looking to build a professional-looking site or blog that’s going to draw in a significant amount of traffic, we recommend that you look for a premium-level hosting service.

The Benefits Of Having A Premium-Level WordPress Hosting Service

Let’s take a quick look at the major advantages of having a premium-level WordPress hosting service.

• Increased Performance – One of the first things that most people notice when they sign up for a WordPress hosting service is how fast it loads their website. Because most webmasters have at least some experience using WordPress, they’re familiar with the platform and know what kind of resources it needs to run smoothly. A premium-level WordPress hosting service will provide the resources necessary to ensure that your site loads quickly and operates at its maximum potential. This, in turn, will cause you to receive more website traffic and ultimately lead to greater earnings.
• Faster Coding – Once you have a WordPress hosting service that’s optimized for your type of website, your next step is to dive in and begin coding. While it’s always a good idea to hire a freelance coder to assist you with any complex web programming, for the absolute beginner, it’s often easier to just do-it-yourself. The extra speed and flexibility that you get from learning to code using a premium-level WordPress hosting service is invaluable in helping you get your site up and running quickly.
• Increased Scalability – When you have a professional-looking site that’s performing well, it’s time to move in for the kill and ensure that it continues to perform well. The best WordPress hosting services allow for greater scaling than most others, ensuring that your site will be able to handle any amount of traffic that you can throw at it. If you’re looking to build a site that eventually turns into a money-maker, consider going with a hosting service that’s highly scalable.
• Full Use Of All The Platform’s Features – When you choose a premium-level WordPress hosting service, you’re not limited in terms of what it can do. Most of the features that WordPress offers can be used, although many require a bit of programming knowledge in order to fully utilize them. For example, if you want to use WordPress to its fullest potential, you need to ensure that all the SEO features are turned on. Turning on SEO for a WordPress site is very easy, but it requires a bit of research and understanding of how search engines work. If you’re looking to truly take advantage of WordPress, it’s essential to go with a service that offers all the features in their entirety.
• Security Is Paramount – When choosing a WordPress hosting service, the main thing that you need to keep in mind is that security is of the utmost importance. Like with any other kind of website, if your CMS (Content Management System) is not safe, then all the other parts of your site (the design and the code) are at risk as well. When it comes to securing your WordPress site, the best service providers offer advanced features and protocols that help keep your site safe from threats such as hackers and malware. With the right tools and a bit of knowledge, you can ensure that your site is as safe as possible.

The Differences Between The Various Types Of WordPress Hosting Services

Just because your WordPress site is hosted on a particular platform or server, it doesn’t mean that it’s limited to that particular server. In order to truly take advantage of the platform, you need to look for a hosting service that offers multi-site functionality, which means that you can launch another website or blog from the same platform.

Unfortunately, not all hosting services offer this feature, leaving you with a bit of a dilemma. If you need a hosting service that offers this feature, be sure to look for the gold-standard in terms of customer service. With the right support, you can be sure that this is one headache that you’re going to be able to avoid.

Other than the features mentioned above, you need to look at the various other aspects of the service to ensure that you make the right choice. One important aspect to consider is the cost of the service. Just because a company is offering a great deal does not mean that it’s a good choice for your needs if you’re looking for a long-term relationship. A good rule of thumb is to look for a hosting service that costs at least twice as much as the cheapest option available, if you’re planning on using certain features.

Also, if you want to move your site to another hosting service, be sure to look for a way to transfer your content without losing too much of it. Because you’ve already invested so much in developing content for your site, you don’t want to lose a large amount of content when moving to a new hosting service. This can be as simple as backing up your content regularly or using a third-party tool to export your content before deleting it from the old hosting service.

In summary, when choosing a WordPress hosting service, make sure that you consider all the major factors — from the performance of the site to the security of the platform. Also, make sure that you look for a service that offers the features necessary for the type of site that you have in mind. Last but not least, be sure to consider the cost of the service; if money isn’t a concern, then go with the cheapest host available, however, if you’re planning on using certain features, then look for a service that costs at least twice as much as the cheapest option.