Why You Shouldn’t Use Hosting for WordPress

Many people use WordPress to build their websites. If you’re one of these people, you’ll probably have heard of [https://ghost.org/ Ghost], a brand new content management platform that’s all the rage right now. It’s become so popular that there are actually websites that exist solely to serve as a blog platform for Ghost writers. If you’re looking for a blogging platform, however, you should probably steer clear of Ghost.

You see, while Ghost is a fantastic choice if you’re looking for a simple blog platform, it’s essentially a web hosting service with a blog-writing tool attached. And that’s where the trouble comes in. By hosting your content on their servers, you’re giving up a lot of flexibility and control over the way your site functions. Let’s take a look at why you shouldn’t use a web hosting service for WordPress, shall we?

Security Issues

Let’s face it, as much as we love a good ol’ fashioned blog post, having a platform that allows you to update content easily and without having to worry about breaking something isn’t a problem that goes away by itself. It’s a common misconception that just hosting your content on a server makes it secure. The truth is, if you use a third-party service for hosting your WordPress site, you’re giving up all the security benefits that the platform provides. There are two major concerns you should have when it comes to security and these have to do with [https://www.ghost.org/security/ Ghost] themselves and third-party vendors who offer a free version of their services. Let’s take a look at what we mean.

First Up, Ghost

If you’ve been paying attention to the news in the last few months, you’ll know that Ghost has been courting a bit of controversy. The reason for this is that, although Ghost is a fantastic option for people who want to run their own blogs, it’s not without its issues.

For one thing, not all the hosting providers support all the features that Ghost requires. So if you’re using a hosting provider that doesn’t, you could find yourself in quite a pickle. Another con is that, for the time being, Ghost is only available for paid plans. If you’re looking for a blogging platform that’s absolutely free, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

Next, Who’s Hosting The Ghost Sites?

Since you’re reading this article, there’s a good chance that you know who hosts the sites that look like Ghost sites. These are the sites that have an about page that looks like it was copied and pasted from the Ghost template and they never update their content. So who exactly is hosting these sites? If you check their domains, you’ll see that they’re registered to a company called Voxilis LLC. What’s interesting is that the hosting company Cloudways offers a special deal where you can get an additional domain with free hosting for the initial term. So if you’ve ever wondered who was collecting all the blog posts that you were publishing and how they were turning a profit, it’s time for you to start asking questions.

What’s so bad about Cloudways? Well, they’re a Swiss company that was founded in 2014 and they claim to offer [http://www.cloudways.com/hosting/ Swiss hosting]. According to their website, all you need to do to get started is [http://www.cloudways.com/hosting/ click here] and you’ll wind up at the sign-up page for their hosting service. But if you check out their terms of service, you’ll see that they’re not actually offering what they claim to be offering.

Here’s the issue: when you fill out the sign-up form for Cloudways, you’re agreeing to their [http://www.cloudways.com/terms/terms of service VOW]. This stands for [https://voxilis.com/voxilis/ Swiss Voluntary Obligations]. Basically, what this means is that, for the first year of service, Cloudways will do their best to assist you in setting up your site. And, since they’re a Swiss company (hence the SVOW acronym) and they claim to provide [http://www.cloudways.com/hosting/ Swiss hosting], it’s reasonable to assume that you’re agreeing to abide by their rules. So if you want to keep your personal information secure, it’s best to avoid Cloudways altogether.

Don’t Get Scared By The H1-Z0-9 Domain Names

Did you know that some websites are named after the Hexadecimal code used to identify a certain website style? These are the kinds of websites that have an H1-Z0-9 domain name and they’re considered to be the [http://www.alexa.com/traffic rankings of the internet].

It’s interesting how a trend that started in graphic design can now be found on the internet. Sometimes it takes a bit of an [http://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/hexadecimal HR] (Hacker, Rebel, and Criminal)

When it comes to security, you should always be wary of any site whose domain name starts with H1-Z0-9. Even if the look of the site is that of a cartoon cat sitting in front of a laptop, if you’ve got an H1-Z0-9 domain name, it’s probably a good idea to put two and two together and consider the possibility of a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber_attack Cyberattack].

Back To WordPress

Despite all the issues that come with using a third-party host for WordPress, there are still a lot of benefits to it. The best part is that you can usually get a free [http://wordpress.org/blog/ WordPress.org] account with web hosting. This way, you won’t have to worry about paying for the service and you can focus on building your blog. The only downside is that, as a free account holder, you’re limited to 1 site and you can’t use their custom themes or plugins. As a beginner, this shouldn’t be a major issue as you can just [http://themeisle.com/buy-wordpress-theme/ build] a simple website with the standard theme provided by WordPress.org. And if you do get banned from 1 site, you can always create a new blog on your own domain name.

As for plugins, if you’ve been paying attention to the news in the last few months, you’ll know that WordPress is one of the most popular content management platforms out there. If you’re looking for a blogging platform that offers a ton of [https://wordpress.org/plugins/types/ Add-ons], you might want to check out [https://wordpress.org/plugins/ directory].

As a last resort, you could try using a VPN to keep your personal information secure while browsing the web. This way, when you visit a site whose domain name starts with H1-Z0-9, instead of them having your personal information, they’ll have the scrambled version. Of course, this is a bit of a hassle and it can slow down your browsing experience. But, in the end, it’s better than having your information exposed online.

What About The Free Version Of Ghost?

Most of the time, when we think about security, we think about the cost that comes with it. It’s always better to avoid free services because they tend to be [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-quality software] and it’s usually created by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_people Cyberpunks] who are trying to make a quick buck or two. While this might not be a problem for small blogs, it’s something to keep an eye out for if you’re running a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Website Big Website], especially if you’re accepting guest posts or doing any sort of forum-based activities.