WordPress vs Hosting: Which Do You Need?
WordPress is the most popular blogging platform around currently and for good reason. Not only does it provide users with a free blogging platform, but it also gives them the ability to customize the appearance of their blog posts to fit their needs. However, even with these wonderful perks, there are times when you may want to consider switching to a different blogging platform.
There’s a wide variety of premium WordPress hosting available today, so if you’re searching for a new platform, consider these alternatives.
Features Matter
One of the things that makes WordPress so appealing is that it provides so many features for free. You won’t have to spend a penny to launch a blog on the popular platform. You won’t even need to buy a domain to do so. Simply grab a free WordPress account and you’re good to go. However, while the convenience of using WordPress is wonderful, it doesn’t mean that you should jump at the first opportunity to use it. Remember: features matter.
Many people blog on WordPress simply because it’s the most popular blogging platform available. However, if you want to make sure that your blog is able to stand out among the millions of blogs on the platform, you may want to consider paying for some premium features.
Responsive Design
Blogging platforms are getting more and more sophisticated these days, and one of the biggest changes that you’ll see is the ability to fully responsive design your blog. If you’ve ever tried to browse through a website on your phone only to find that the text was huge and difficult to read, you’ll understand what responsive design is.
When someone visits your blog on their phone, they’ll most likely want to browse through your content using the device’s mobile screen. To ensure that your blog looks good on any smartphone, you’ll want to ensure that its layout is adjustable so that it fits all screens. With a responsive design, the layout of your blog will change according to the device being used so that everything is easy to read and the content fits the screen perfectly.
Security Hardening
As we mentioned above, blogging platforms are getting more and more sophisticated these days, and one of the biggest changes that you’ll see is the inclusion of some extra layers of security. Whether you’re getting paid to blog or just doing it as a hobby, you’ll probably want to ensure that your blog is as safe as possible.
There are many ways in which an attacker can get access to your blog’s content if you don’t take the necessary measures to ensure that it’s protected. A poorly-secured blog, for example, leaves the content open to anyone who wishes to access it. This could include potential hackers who wish to steal your blog’s content, scammers who wish to use your blog to spread malicious content, or even terrorists who wish to use your blog to arrange a terrorist attack.
Taking a couple of hours out of your day to secure your blog against these kinds of threats is more than worth it, and a good security program will make your blog a lot more secure than a standard one. Just remember: the more complex the better. The more layers of security you have the stronger your blog will be against any kind of threats.
Saving And Backups
If you’ve ever tried to set up a blog in the past and encountered endless errors, you’ll understand what a pain it can be. When you finally get your blog up and running, you’ll realize just how much work went into it, and how much you’ll want to keep it.
Blogging platforms give you the ability to save your blog at any time, which makes backing up that content a whole lot easier. Just take a few minutes each week and save a copy of your blog to an external drive or storage area. Not only does this ensure that you can always retrieve your blog’s contents if necessary, but it also gives you the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you have a copy stored away somewhere. This is especially useful if you’re planning on making major changes to your blog’s content in the future. You can always go back and modify the previous backup copy if needed.
Easier Installation
Installing and using a new blogging platform can be a painless process if you know what you’re doing. Simply grab the appropriate plugin and activate it on your WordPress dashboard. Then, you can click on the plugin’s button and follow the instructions. More often than not, this will involve creating a free account on the WordPress website and using their handy impromptu installer to get the plugin up and running on your blog.
This is a far cry from the days when you had to manually enter your domain name into your blog’s settings and then wait for the configuration page to load. Then, you’d have to click on the “Install Now” button to begin the process of getting the blog up and running.
Flexible
Last but not least, let’s not forget about the most important piece of any blogging platform: its flexibility. You can use WordPress to create blogs in a matter of minutes and then customize them with the appearance of your choice. Change the theme, modify the header and footer, and then you’re good to go. Plus, if you ever want to switch to a different platform, you can with relative ease.
WordPress’ flexibility is one of the things that makes it so desirable as a blogging platform. However, while this may be desirable for hobbyists or those who are simply experimenting with blogging, if you’re looking for a professional blog, consider moving to a different platform. The more complex the blog the more likely it is to have custom features that can be accessed through a dashboard.
WordPress may be the most popular blogging platform currently, but it’s far from the only option out there. Just remember that features matter, and you should only choose a platform that you’re certain can handle the features that you want to use.