How to Find Free WordPress Hosting
WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) in the world, powering thousands of websites across the globe. Its versatility, rapid-fire updates, and abundant (and user-friendly) feature set render it as an all-purpose solution for anyone looking to set up an online presence.
Many web hosts provide WordPress-ready web space for free, allowing anyone to launch a fresh blog in no time at all. And, though premium hosting service providers exist, they tend to offer a variety of hosting packages that cater to specific needs, whether you’re looking for a simple, free blogging platform or a platform that can support professional-level websites and applications.
Whether you’re a seasoned blogger or you’re just looking to get your feet wet, this article will teach you how to find the best free WordPress hosting according to your needs.
Choose A Hosting Package That Suits Your Needs
When choosing a hosting provider, you’ll first want to consider what features you need. Do you need a free blogging platform? Or do you need a platform robust enough to support your high-volume, commercial site?
This is often a difficult balance to strike, as you’ll discover. Although some hosts offer a free service, those hosts usually come with certain restrictions — like the lack of a private SSL certificate or the inability to store uploaded files above a certain size — that you might not want to accept. What’s more, by hosting a commercial site on their platform, you’re subjecting yourself to their Terms of Service (TOS), which you should read carefully.
Instead of risking your own personal information by hosting a commercial site on a free platform, consider paying for a premium plan to avoid these issues. That way, you can rest assured that your sensitive data will be kept private, and you can focus on growing your business.
Free Blogging Is Nice, But It Has Its Limitations
Although WordPress is a fantastic content management system, it’s not necessarily the best choice for everyone. If you’re looking for a fully featured, static site generator, then you might want to consider one of the many CMSs available, such as Joomla! or Drupal.
WordPress is great for people who want to blog regularly. For those who need a content management system (CMS) that can support complex pages and allow for greater flexibility, then WordPress might not be the right choice.
That doesn’t mean that free blogging is a bad idea. Instead, it just means that you need to choose your hosting provider wisely. Those who aren’t familiar with CMSs might prefer the simplicity of a blog, as they don’t have to worry about administration or updates. But, if you’re looking to create a professional platform that could support your email marketing campaigns or complex eCommerce stores, then you might want to consider a CMS.
Make Sure You’re Using The Right Hosting Provider
No matter which CMS you choose, you’ll need to make sure that you’re using the right web host. Some hosts are much better suited than others for certain tasks, and it’s important to find out what those tasks are before committing to using a specific host.
There are many reasons why you might want to choose a host with solid SEO (search engine optimization) features. If you’re looking for a solution that can help your site rank high in search engine results, then you might want to consider a premium host that offers SEO-friendly features. For example, can you see how fast your site’s load time is? If so, you might want to try out a hosting provider that offers dedicated IPs (Internet protocol addresses) or allows you to purchase your own domain name. These are just some of the features that might make a big difference in terms of how visible your site is in search results.
A good host should also have a money-back guarantee, so you won’t be charged if you try out the service for a month and decide that it’s not for you. Additionally, make sure that the host you choose offers 24/7 live chat support, email help, or phone support. If any of these resources fail to provide you with adequate assistance, then you might want to consider looking for a new host.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate For Free Blogging
Every website needs an SSL certificate to ensure that confidential information like credit card numbers and personal information is not being intercepted as it travels from your device to the server.
To remain secure, all websites need to deploy an SSL certificate. If you’re running a free blog on WordPress, then you’ll need to secure it using an SSL certificate. Luckily, most reputable hosts will provide you with free SSL certificates, and you can install them quickly and easily using some of the provided tools (like Certbot for WordPress).
Once you’ve got your SSL certificate installed, all you need to do is connect to your hosting console and update the HTTPS (Secure Sockets Layer) settings to point to the certificate. Congratulations! You’re now engaging in “secure browsing”. You can also find out more about implementing SSL for your own WordPress site in the official WordPress documentation here.
Where Can I Put My Photos?
One of the first questions you’ll probably ask yourself when setting up your blog is “where can I put my photos?” The good news is there’s an easy answer to this question: wherever you like!
If you’re using WordPress, then you can make use of the popular Visual Composer to easily lay out your blog’s design. With Visual Composer, you can drag and drop images, videos, and other content items to create a fully functioning blog in no time. You can upload your photos from your phone or computer and arrange them however you like.
If you’re using a different CMS, then you can look for the equivalent tool or follow the steps below to quickly and easily upload photos to your blog’s main page.
First, navigate to your website’s dashboard. Click on the Settings button located at the top of the page. Then, click on “Reading” in the sidebar. Finally, you’ll see a link named “Photo Album” where you can upload your photos easily. Make sure you save these settings so you can easily access them whenever you log in.
How Am I Going To Publish My Articles?
The second most important question you’ll need to ask yourself when setting up your blog is “how am I going to publish my articles?” There are many different methods to doing this, so you need to make sure that you choose one that’s going to work best for you.
First, you can use a third-party tool to automatically publish your articles, or you can do it manually. The great thing about a third-party tool is you can often find a free version, which will allow you to try it out before committing to making a purchase. Some good examples of third-party tools are HubSpot and Marketo.
If you decide that you want to publish your articles manually, then you’ll need to look for a way to get the word out. There are a variety of services available, like Google Analytics, which can help you track the success of your articles. With a bit of research, you can find a solution that will suit your needs.
How Do I Connect My Domain To The Blog?
Once you have your SSL certificate installed, you’ll need to connect your domain to the blog. To do this, follow the instructions below:
1. Navigate to your dashboard.
2. Click on the Settings button located at the top of the page.
3. In the sidebar, click on “Domain” and then choose “Manage DNS”.
4. Choose the “CNAME” option.
5. Type in the domain you want to connect, like “blog.example.com” and then press Enter.
6. Choose the A record option.
7. Type in the IP address of your website, for example, “192.168.1.3” and then press Enter.
8. Choose the Save Changes button to save the settings.