How to Host Your WordPress Blog on Performance Hosting
Choosing a web host is one of the most important decisions you’ll make when launching your website. After all, you’ll be tethered to them for the duration of your contract. So, it’s important to go through the various features and review the terms and conditions thoroughly before committing.
What is performance hosting?
Performance hosting is a type of hosting that focuses on delivering high performance to your site visitors, coupled with great support. Typically, performance hosts are larger corporations that prioritize quality over quantity, which gives you the advantage of receiving top-notch support when needed. Furthermore, they often have multiple data centers across the globe, which gives them the advantage of being closer to your users, regardless of where they are located. They also enforce a strict privacy policy, limiting the amount of data they collect on their users.
Why should you choose performance hosting?
There are many advantages to choosing a performance host for the platform you’re working on. Here are just a few:
- Quality Over Quantity: As we mentioned, high-quality performance hosting focuses on delivering quality over quantity. This means they don’t distribute their limited resources across multiple low-cost hosting plans, instead investing in high-performance servers that are faster, more secure, and more stable.
- Location Is Location: One of the biggest advantages to choosing a performance host is the location of the data center. Since your content is stored on a remote server, being located near to it reduces the odds of downtime due to hardware failures.
- SSL Certificates: Another important factor to look at is whether or not the hosting company provides SSL certificates for free. If so, this is usually a sign that they are confident that your website will be secure, and it gives you the advantage of not having to purchase them yourself.
- 24/7 Live Help: Did you know that many hosting providers offer live chat support? This is extremely helpful if you’re ever experiencing problems with your website and want someone to help you straight away. In addition, some hosts offer email support which is even more convenient when you want to get in touch with someone but don’t have their contact details readily available.
- Dedicated IP Addresses: Did you know that most web hosts give you a dedicated IP address? This is a unique IP address that is permanent and cannot be changed. The advantage of this is that it provides a level of security that cannot be achieved with a shared IP address. If you’re ever worried about security, then this is the feature you need to look out for.
- Additional Domains: Did you know that some hosts offer additional domains? For example, if you’re running a WordPress blog and want to have another one for your email marketing purposes, you can purchase the domain name and set up the WordPress installation manually on the server. This saves you the hassle of having to install and configure WordPress on each individual domain name separately.
- Free Backup: Did you know that some hosts offer free backups? This means you don’t have to purchase a backup solution separately. Just sign up for the service and they’ll take care of everything for you.
- SSD Drive: Did you know that some hosts offer solid-state drives (SSD) as a feature? This is a storage device that does not use moving parts like a hard drive, which makes them faster and more stable. Thus, if you’re looking for a dedicated server host that also offers great performance, then this is definitely the service you should consider.
- Free Domain Transfer: Did you know that some hosts offer free domain transfers? This means you can easily transfer your domain name to them if you decide to, provided you meet the criteria. The most ideal situation is when you have a free domain and you decide to switch to a performance hosting plan. In this case, it’s best to contact the company directly to negotiate this special deal.
How to host your WordPress blog on performance hosting
Choosing a performance hosting plan for your WordPress blog is extremely straightforward. Just follow these simple steps:
- Visit the website of the hosting provider you’re interested in using and read the reviews. This will give you an idea of whether or not the host you’re looking at is reliable and capable of delivering the level of service you’re expecting.
- Locate the plans suited to your needs. You want to focus on the shared hosting plans for this purpose, as they’re the most cost-efficient, and also the most basic. Remember that you can always upgrade later if needed.
- Once you’ve found the plan that suits your needs, download and install the WordPress installer from the site. This can be found directly from the hosting provider’s website.
- After the WordPress installer is installed, log in to your account.
- Visit the dashboard and click on the Tools button at the top right. This will bring you to the WordPress tools page.
- From here, click on the Import button to begin the WordPress import process.
- Follow the on-screen instructions and enter your FTP password when prompted. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, which is the technology that allows you to upload files to your server. For example, you could upload all your blog posts to the server using the built-in FTP client on your computer or other devices (e.g. mobile phones). To connect to your new host, you will need to download and install an FTP client on your computer. Popular choices include FileZilla and Transmit.
- When the upload process is complete, click on the Publish button to finish the process.
- Congratulations! You have just published your first blog post. Take a minute to check out the URL (aka the web address) of your blog so that you can get back to editing your post whenever you want.
If you have any questions regarding the process, don’t hesitate to contact the hosting provider’s customer support team. They’ll be able to assist you.