Is Cloud Hosting Better for WordPress?
Many businesses have migrated to the cloud in one way or another, whether moving their entire operations or simply hosting their websites on a remote server. With the ability to scale capacity up and down as needed, the cloud has become a popular choice for those seeking to maximize their resources while maintaining low costs. This has primarily been attributed to the popularity of platforms like WordPress, which was initially designed for use in the cloud but can also be hosted on-premises.
While there are advantages to using the cloud for hosting, you have to be aware of the limitations brought about by the digital nomad lifestyle you might lead. More and more businesses are realizing the benefits of a hybrid strategy, utilizing both cloud and traditional hosting to form a scalable and resilient web architecture.
Scalability And Resilience
Scalability is largely dependent on the size of your customer base and how much traffic you receive. As a business owner, you might decide that you want to grow your site and make it more of a go-to resource for your community. In this case, you would want to ensure that you have the capability of scaling up (i.e. increasing the amount of server resources) to meet the demand.
Resilience is a little different. In order to be resilient, your web application or website needs to be able to withstand failures without becoming inoperable. Depending on the type of application you are building and the demands it is facing, you might want to consider how you can improve the durability of your web platform. For example, if you are hosting a WordPress site, you might want to look into the different strategies for scaling down (i.e. decreasing the amount of server resources) to ensure that your content is still available when required.
Cost
Cost is always a major factor when deciding where to host your business’ website. As a business owner, you have to ask yourself the question: is it cheaper to pay for high-end cloud hosting or will it instead be more cost-effective to hire a webmaster to handle the heavy lifting and maintain your site’s hosting? The cost of cloud hosting can vary widely depending on the hosting plan you opt for, with some companies offering unlimited disk space and bandwidth for only a few dollars a month. You also need to factor in the cost of the additional tools and software you need to run your business. The price of all these together can add up quickly, especially if you are a small business lacking the financial resources of a large corporation. If your goal is to save money as much as possible, then opting for a VPS (i.e. virtual professional server) is the way to go.
Security
Your business’ website is likely to be a target for hackers and cybercriminals. The main reason is that anyone can register a domain name and set up a website as easily as uploading a blank template to a WordPress platform. Essentially, all that is needed is some hosting and an online identity. Since these entities are virtually easy to set up, it is little wonder that cybercriminals take advantage of this fact by launching malware attacks and compromising web servers belonging to high-profile websites. Like any other aspect of technology, cybersecurity is always progressing, with newer and better methods of infiltration and attack becoming available every day. To give you peace of mind that your website is as safe as possible, you need to take the time to learn about the latest trends in the industry and implement the necessary measures to stay ahead of the competition.
Mobility
If you are a business owner or a digital nomad who travels a lot for work, then the ability to quickly and easily access your web content from any device that has an Internet connection is a must. Even if you only use a simple text-based browser like Google Chrome or Apple Safari, you will still be able to access and read your site’s content. However, if you are planning to use a more complex content management system (CMS) like WordPress or Drupal, then ensuring that your site can be accessed from anywhere and displayed accurately is a whole other ballgame.
WordPress was designed with this fact in mind, with mobile-optimized templates and a REST API that enables developers to create apps and tools to maximize your experience using the content management system. If mobility is a concern for your business, then WordPress is the quintessential solution, enabling you to upload content and launch a website quickly and easily while on the go. Whether you are a professional on the move for work or a digital nomad who is the primary occupant of your vehicle, WordPress makes content easier to find, consume, and retain.
User Experience
Regardless of what type of business you are in, you inevitably have to interact with customers and potential customers on a daily basis. If you are not happy with the experience those interactions give you, whether it is with your website’s design or the way it functions, then you have everything to gain by improving the user experience. One way to achieve this is to move to WordPress, a content management system that was specifically designed to be simple to use and get up and running quickly while enabling you to make significant improvements to the way your site functions over time.
WordPress is made up of a variety of components that work together to form what is essentially a complete web publishing platform. This is a lot to take in, so let’s examine each part of WordPress and how it contributes to the entire user experience. We will begin with the most essential element and work our way to the less important ones.
Database
The database is the backbone of WordPress. Not only does it enable you to store and retrieve content easily and quickly, but it also provides a safe and secure place for your website to store and retain customer information, blog posts, and more. The most basic form of a WordPress database is MySQL, but you can also choose to use a more complex database like MSSQL, PostgreSQL, or Oracle.
The advantage of a database-driven CMS is that it makes content easy to update and maintain. Should you choose to host your site on your own server, you would have to log in to your website every few weeks to update content or add new posts as needed. If you use a hosted service like WordPress, then all you need to do is update the database via your dashboard and the changes will be reflected automatically on your site.
Security
As we mentioned above, your business website is almost certainly a target for hackers. The good news is that as a business owner, you have everything you need to keep your site protected and secure. You simply need to choose a good password and ensure that it is not too long or complicated, as well as enable HTTPS if you are using a service that supports it. With these two measures in place, your site will be as secure as you make it.
Speed
Finally, we arrive at the most important element of any website or web application: speed. Everyone has different Internet connections, some faster than others, and if your site is not optimized for speed, then you are doing your visitors and business colleagues a disservice. There are various ways you can speed up WordPress, from compressing images to using a caching tool like WPCache or Expensive Glass to prevent browser caching. You can also use a free tool like Google PageSpeed Insights to analyze the speed issues on your site and find ways to improve it. Should you decide to move to a faster database or use a caching tool, then you will see significant differences in page load time and overall user experience. Remember: speed is all about the user experience, so if it is not good, then it does not matter how great your product or service is, people will not enjoy using it and you will lose business as a result.
Functionality
The functionality of your website is a little bit different from the others mentioned above. Functionality relates to the features and functions your website offers. For example, if you are creating a food-related blog, then you might want to include a recipe section or maybe even a food ordering platform. Depending on your niche, you might want to include features like event planning or travel blogs to attract specific audiences.
When it comes to functionality, you have two options. The first is to build it into the design of your site or app and present it as a choice to visitors. For example, if you are creating a food-related blog, then you might want to include a choice for people to view recipes as thumbnails or full-sized images. This is a great way to add more options and make your site more user-friendly.