Managed WordPress Hosting 2017: What You Need to Know

WordPress powers over 24 million websites and is the second most used CMS (content management system) next to Joomla! Every year, more and more businesses are discovering the benefits of using WordPress to power their websites. If your product or service is related to digital marketing, SEO (search engine optimisation), or simply just blogging, you’ll most likely already know what WordPress is and how it can benefit your business.

The main advantage of using WordPress is that it’s free. Yes, the platform is free and open-source, which means that anyone can download it and use it for any purpose. However, this also makes it extremely accessible to businesses of all sizes. Unlike proprietary software, which is only available to large companies, WordPress is totally transparent and its source code is available for anyone to peer through.

Why Is WordPress’ Growth So Exponential?

Thanks to the power of the internet and social media, word of mouth has never been more important. With customers increasingly relying on digital content to find the products and services they need, business owners are scrambling to ensure they have a web presence that supports their marketing plans and attracts potential customers to their website.

While other content management systems (CMSs) are trying to imitate WordPress’s success, the facts are that WordPress is leading the way and continues to thrive due to its open source nature.

WordPress’s popularity can be largely attributed to its success as a community-driven project. From its humble beginnings in 2003, WordPress has grown to empower millions of website owners and has even earned the nickname “the content management system you should never outgrow” from the WordPress team itself!

The Rise of the WordPress Premium Tier

For years, WordPress was only available as a free or paid wordpress.com plan. However, it wasn’t until 2016 that the platform finally offered a robust and feature-rich premium tier.

This was a much-needed addition to the WordPress family as many businesses have discovered that they can benefit from a few extra perks that come with a premium account.

An important distinction to make is that you don’t actually need to sign up for the premium plan to use WordPress. It’s completely free to create a blog or website using the platform. However, the nice thing about the premium plan is that it gives you access to a whole range of features, tools, and additional benefits that you might not find on your free version.

What Makes WordPress Special?

WordPress is, in fact, quite unique. Firstly, it was built to be modular. This means that its code is structured in such a way that allows for easy upgrading. Secondly, WordPress was designed to be flexible. Thirdly, its success can be largely attributed to the fact that it’s simply the best when it comes to user-friendliness. Lastly, WordPress is probably the safest and most trusted web host out there. The team behind the platform strives for ultra-high reliability and security, which is why they’ve been able to maintain a FIVE-STAR rating for over 10 years now!

All of this might seem rather academic, however, it’s all about what the user experience is like. When a business decides to switch to WordPress, they’re doing so because the platform makes it easy for them to set up a functional website with blogging capabilities. In other words, WordPress makes it easy for anyone to get up and running quickly and painlessly with a professional-looking web presence.

Does WordPress Really Need An Extension To Be Effective?

WordPress has, in fact, been around for over a decade now and it has evolved to meet the needs of millions of users, both businesses and individuals. This is why it’s often considered to be the “the de facto standard” for blogging platforms.

The reason WordPress is able to continue growing even after all these years is that it keeps improving and evolving to meet the needs of its users. However, this also means that it’s a constantly changing platform and this can be rather frustrating for those who are looking for something that will “just work” out of the box.

Thankfully, there is an easy solution to this. WordPress has continued to grow and evolve because of its open source nature. This means that any developer can take the code for WordPress and enhance it to give users even more functionality and robust features. This also means there are dozens of different WordPress extensions that you can use to enhance your blogging experience. For example, if you’re using WordPress for a business, you might want to consider getting the WooCommerce plugin, which is designed to work with WordPress.

The important thing to note about these WordPress extensions is that they’re all completely free, so there’s no risk of trial and error. You can quickly try out different plugins to see which one works best for your needs.

Is The WordPress Community A Blessing Or A Curse?

Depending on which side of the fence you sit on, the WordPress community can either be seen as a blessing or a curse. Those in support of the platform often cite the fact that it has empowered millions of people to become self-sufficient webmasters as a major plus point. They believe that the open source nature of WordPress allows for anyone with a decent amount of technical ability to jump in and contribute to the project, which has in turn led to an increase in quality.

On the other hand, those against the platform often view it as a plague because of the amount of spam, malware, and hacked websites that are linked to it. It’s also one of the most popular platforms for Phishing messaages, which is why malicious actors frequently target the platform as a way of stealing personal information. In short, the WordPress community can be both a blessing and a curse depending on which side of the fence you sit on.

What Is a Hosting Package And Does It Include WordPress?

A hosting package is generally referred to as the equipment, space, and connections required for a website or blog to be hosted on a remote server. Essentially, a hosting company is responsible for ensuring that your website is up and running smoothly on a daily basis and has plenty of storage space and bandwidth.

Unless you’re paying for a custom-designed website or you’re comfortable diving into some techy-stuff yourself, hiring a reputable web designer or developer is usually the best bet when it comes to getting your site up and running quickly. However, if you’re looking for an alternative, there are dozens of hosting companies that offer WordPress-compatible hosting plans that you can investigate.

What Is The Difference Between Regular And Premium Hosting?

Regular hosting is the basic plan offered by most web hosts and it usually includes a free domain, storage, and a few extra features such as caching and SSL (secure socket layer) encryptions. In other words, it’s the bare minimum a business needs to get started. However, if you’re looking for additional features, you should consider the premium plan.

The main advantage of choosing premium hosting is that it gives you access to a wider range of features and tools that will make your blogging or website managing experience much smoother. For example, premium hosts often offer one-click installs for WordPress, which make getting the software (even if you’re not technically inclined) a whole lot simpler. This is one of the main reasons why businesses choose premium hosting over regular hosting.

Is It Worth The Extra Cost To Use A VPS (virtual private server)?

A virtual private server (VPS) is essentially a dedicated server that’s been configured to work with your chosen web host. A VPS gives you the benefits of a physical server but, unlike a physical one, you can spin it up and down as often as you like. This also means you can scale your resources up or down as needed, depending on how much traffic you’re getting or how many people are signing up for your newsletter.

There are a few crucial points to keep in mind when choosing a VPS. Firstly, you’ll need to look for a reputable web host that offers managed VPSs. This will give you the peace of mind of knowing that your server is being managed by experts and that it’s been configured to perform at its optimum capacity. Secondly, you’ll need to make sure that your web host offers enough RAM (random access memory) and storage space to comfortably run a WordPress blog or website. Thirdly, you’ll want to check out the hosting reviews before making a decision. This way, you can find out which web host is best suited for your needs and requirements.