How is Hosting a WordPress Site Different From Just Having a Domain?
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) around, and for good reason. It is incredibly user-friendly and offers a lot of flexibility. In this article, we will discuss the various ways in which hosting a wordpress site is different from just having a domain.
Features of a WordPress Site
If you’ve ever installed WordPress, you’ll know that it is a very flexible CMS. This means that it can be used to create many different websites and blogs with just a few clicks of the mouse. This also makes it incredibly user-friendly. Just remember that with flexibility also comes a bit of complexity when it comes to setting up and maintaining your site. You can use plugins to make your life easier, but this also makes your site more susceptible to attacks from hackers. It is always recommended to opt for hosting packages that include security features like free backups and spam filters.
Themes
Themes are one of the most important aspects of a wordpress website. They give your site its overall appearance and tone. Themes also control the layout of your blog posts, how you display your social network profiles, and much more. A lot of times, people think that all they need to do is install and activate a theme, and their site will look exactly like they want it to. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. While it is fairly easy to install and activate a theme, it takes a lot of effort to make sure that the theme they choose fits their needs.
Backups
It is critical that your website is constantly backed up. This is regardless of whether you are hosting the site yourself or you have hired someone to do it for you. Without regular backups, you will lose all of the hard work you put into creating your site if something happens to it, including any content you have uploaded to it. On the other hand, having regular backups makes sure that you can always restore your site if needed. Not only that, but it also allows you to quickly and easily restore your site if it gets hacked or suffers from any other kind of malicious attack.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about making sure that your site shows up when someone searches for keywords or phrases that are relevant to your site. This is often a tedious process that can take a lot of time to achieve optimal scores in. Not every webmaster is capable of doing this, and if you are the first to realize that your site is not showing up in the search results when someone searches for your chosen keywords, you’ll have to start over from square one and do it all over again.
Managing Content
Managing content is all about controlling the flow of information from point A to point B within your site. When you first set up your wordpress site, you’ll notice that it comes with a few pages including a content page, a settings page, and a login page. The content page is where all of your content will live, including blog posts, product listings, galleries, etc. The settings page is where you can control various aspects of your site, including the name, theme, language, and a few other options. The login page is where users can log in and make changes to content or settings on your site.
As previously stated, WordPress is incredibly flexible and can be used to create many different types of sites. This means that you won’t always need to use the same options when creating content for your site. Keep this in mind whenever you are creating content for your site. This might mean that some of your content does not match what is shown in the preview, so be careful before you publish anything.
Additional Considerations For Hosting
There are several other things that you need to keep in mind when you are hosting your site, particularly if you are doing it yourself. These include making sure that the DNS is set correctly, ensuring that your site has an overall good reputation, and keeping your site secure.
DNS is short for Domain Name System. This is a set of protocols that allow computers to find and communicate with each other via the internet. If you ever installed a new domain name or transferred one from another registrar, you’ll need to change the DNS associated with it. This can be a tedious process, and it’s always a good idea to hire a professional to help you with it. Once your DNS is set correctly, you can check it by going to the site name (ex: google.com) and entering it in the address bar of your browser. If you see the letter “p” followed by an “o” and then a “c” (with the period at the end), this means that your DNS is set correctly. You can also use the “whois” command in your terminal to look up your domain’s information, including its DNS settings. The overall reputation of your website is based on a number of factors, including the quality and quantity of your content. These factors are all based on how other websites and search engines view your site. You can use various tools, including Google’s toolbar, to check your site’s reputation.
Now that you’re aware of the differences between just having a domain and hosting a wordpress site, you can take the time to plan out what you need and want for your site. If you want to learn more, take the time to read the handy tips below. They will help you get started and understand what is entailed in hosting a wordpress site.