I Forgot to Remove My WordPress Hosting – What Now?
I Forgot to Remove My WordPress Hosting.
It’s no secret that WordPress enjoys a near-perfect reputation among webmasters and bloggers across the world. Countless websites were built using the popular CMS, and the demand for WordPress hostinggrows every year.
It’s an excellent choice for those who’re looking for a flexible, cost-effective solution, and it’s no wonder so many people have been drawn to this platform.
Unfortunately, many will quickly discover that WordPress hosting can be a bit more complex than they bargained for. Despite WordPress’ popularity, many users don’t know how to properly take care of their web hosts or what specific considerations should be taken when selecting a web host for their WordPress-powered site.
Do you find yourself asking the same questions as many other WordPress users who just forgot to take care of basic administrative tasks?
In this article, we’ll answer all your questions about WordPress hosting and get you back on track to removing your hosting provider’s name from your website’s URL.
Why Should You Delete Your WordPress Hosting Provider’s Name From Your Website’s URL?
If you’re seeking a basic explanation, then continue reading.
The short answer is that there are numerous reasons why you should request your host provider to remove the word “wordpress” or “mu-WP” from your website’s URL address. Here are just a few examples of why you should care about having your host provider remove these words:
1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) –> Having your host provider remove the word “wordpress” or “mu-WP” from your website’s URL can help with SEO. “WordPress” and “mu-WP” are often used as keywords by search engines when ranking websites in search results. Sometimes, your site may even appear at the top of the search rankings because of these words.
When an organic search engine visitor arrives at your website and sees that the word “wordpress” appears multiple times throughout the page, they may assume that your site is primarily about blogging and might not be that interested in what you have to offer. (Although, in general, search engines favor websites that are up to date on their HTTPS security protocols, they don’t always apply this rule.)
On the flip side, having your host provider remove these words can also help with SEO. If someone who’s seeking your product or service sees that your site mentions the word “wordpress” or “mu-WP” in your content, it might make them assume that your website is related to blogging and could be a good fit.
On the whole, whether you want to call it SEO or call it something else, cleaning up your website’s URL can only be a good idea.
Is Having Clean Url Bad For Your Search Ranking?
While getting rid of “wordpress” and “mu-WP” from your website’s URL can be beneficial in terms of SEO, this doesn’t mean that having a clean URL is always the best option. Sometimes, keeping your hosting provider’s name in your URL can actually help with SEO. Here are a few examples of when keeping a link to your host provider in your URL can be beneficial:
1. Customer Support – If you’ve got stellar customer support, then it might be smart not to remove their name from your URL. Having a link to your hosting provider in your web address can give your customers the confidence that they’re checking out the right website if their issue isn’t already resolved. (In general, customers prefer to do business with companies that provide excellent customer service, so this is probably a good idea.)
2. Branding – If you’ve got a brand new website and are seeking to establish yourself as an expert in your industry, it may be beneficial to keep your hosting provider’s name in your URL to give the impression that you’re the real deal. Your website’s “About” page might not yet be filled out, but having a link to your website in your URL can help your potential customers find out more about you and your company without having to dig very deep.
There are, of course, instances when you should remove your hosting provider’s name from your URL. Here are just a few examples:
1. When You’re Established –> If you’ve been blogging for a while and have amassed a decent amount of content, you might decide to switch to a different platform because you want to continue to grow your audience. If this is the case, you should consider removing your hosting provider’s name from your website’s URL because:
a. It’s generally a bad idea to constantly redirect your website’s traffic to other platforms. Having a clean URL that points directly to your website is always the preferred option. (You can, however, append your hosting provider’s name to the end of your URL if you want to point people to your former blog site.)
b. Switching to a different platform is an important decision that you have to make, and it requires a ton of research.
c. Established websites tend to stand out from the rest and should be treated as such.
What Is A Clean URL And How Do I Get One?
To answer these questions, let’s start with the basics: What is a clean URL?
A clean URL is a URL that follows a specific set of guidelines set out by the search engine optimization (SEO) gurus at Google. When creating a clean URL, you must leave out any words or phrases that appear in the URL of your current website. These words and phrases are called “keywords” and appear in the text of a web page, often in bold or italic text. When a user enters these keywords in the Google search bar or clicks on a website that uses these keywords, the search engine will assume that you, the blog owner, are seeking to have your content promoted.
For example, if you have a blog about fashion and you want to have your blog’s URL listed in Google, you should remove any words that could potentially be construed as words that appear in the domain name of a fashion site. In this case, the words “fashion,” “style,” “clothing,” and “trends” should be removed from your blog’s URL.
You can also make sure that any other words or phrases that appear in your blog’s content are not used as keywords. This could be difficult, especially if you’re using the same keyword in a different context throughout your content. (For example, you might use “style” in reference to your shoe size in one section of your blog and use “style” in reference to your favorite fashion trend in another section.)
In any case, ensuring that your URL is clean and following the SEO guidelines laid out by Google can only be a good idea.
My Host Provider Is Good, So Why Should I Switch?
If your host provider is already familiar with SEO and is prepared to take care of all the keywords and redirects you might want to use, then there’s really no need to switch platforms. Your host provider can help you get your URL clean and can even make suggestions on how to improve the structure and content of your blog if you’re not aware of the power of SEO.
Still, if you’ve been reading our blog for a while and recognize that we often recommend WordPress as a viable option for bloggers and website owners, then you might wonder if it’s time to make the switch. In that case, we recommend downloading the free WordPress app from Google and launching it on your phone. Doing this will bring up a dashboard where you can update your website’s various settings and features. (We have more information on how to do this in our handy FAQ section below.)
From the WordPress app, you can also connect your Twitter account so that every time you post a new article, it will automatically appear on your followers’ newsfeeds.
Once you’ve made the switch, visiting your website via a clean URL should be relatively easy. (You can also use a free tool like Redirection Manager to help you with redirecting your existing website’s traffic to your new domain.)
In summary, deleting your hosting provider’s name from your website’s URL can be a good idea, particularly if you’re looking to improve your SEO scores. If you’re happy with your current host provider, then there’s no need to switch because:
a. Clean URLs are only available to those who have them. (You can request to have your hosting provider apply these changes to your website at any time.)
b. Your existing host provider can help you get your URL cleaned.