How to Choose a Free WordPress Hosting Service

You want to create a blog? You want to share your ideas and showcase your work with the world? You want to do all of this for free? You can, with a WordPress hosting service.

WordPress is a popular content management system (CMS) used by millions of websites across the world. It’s free, open-source, and extremely easy to use. What more could you want?

There are many benefits to using WordPress for your blog. Here are just a few:

  • Widely available.
  • Secure.
  • Feature-rich.
  • Free.
  • Hundreds of themes and plugins to choose from.
  • User-friendly.
  • WordPress is mobile-friendly.
  • Extensive documentation.
  • It gets better with every update.
  • Tons of inspiration on the web.
  • And the list goes on.

WordPress is also quite flexible – you can use the software to create a variety of different types of blogs. However, if you’re just looking to create a standard blog with some content management features, then you can choose from a number of different free WordPress hosting services.

So which one should you go with? That’s what we’re going to tell you. We’ll cover everything from security to features, plus we’ll throw in a few tips on how to choose the right WordPress hosting service for your needs.

Security Is Of Utmost Importance

Any experienced web-designer or developer can tell you that security is one of the most important aspects of a website. It’s not always easy to find a free WordPress hosting service that lives up to your standards. For that reason, you should always go with a premium WordPress hosting service that offers some form of security.

Doing business on the web is a brave new world. With that comes a responsibility to protect your data and your visitors’ data. No matter what type of business you have, whether it’s a small food blog or a large financial institution, you have to ensure that your website is as safe as possible.

WordPress can be set up so that it’s secure by default. However, you can always go above and beyond and secure your WordPress installation yourself. Here’s an overview of the various types of security that you’ll find in a premium WordPress hosting service.

Basic Login Security

If you’re looking for a free WordPress hosting service, then you don’t need to spend a dime on security. All you need is a simple login security scheme. A good login security scheme is essential no matter what type of business you have. Having a good login security scheme can help deter hackers, shield your site from identity thieves, and generally make your site more secure.

Most free WordPress hosting services offer two forms of login security. The first is a login name and a password. The second is two-steps-authentication via a security code sent to your mobile device (usually via a text message). Either way, a good login security scheme can help protect your site from unauthorized users.

A Secure Database

A good database security scheme goes beyond basic login security. A good database security scheme will encrypt your data and ensure that it’s not easily accessible by other users, hackers, or predators.

That’s why if you decide that you want to keep your data safe and secure, then you should look for a service that offers a secure database. A few examples of secure databases are MongoDB, MariaDB, and CouchDB. These databases are ideal for use with WordPress as they don’t require any setup aside from creating a username and password.

Additional Security Features

If you’re looking for an extra layer of security, then you should look for a service that offers additional security features. Some popular additional security features that you may find useful are free backups, malware scanning, and vulnerability scans.

Malware scanning is a good addition to any security program. When you’ve got malware on your site, it’s a pain to remove. Besides, if you’ve got malware on your site, it may be a sign that you’ve got a larger security problem.

Vulnerability scans look for security holes in your site. When a hacker finds a security hole, they sometimes use it to gain access to your site. If you’ve got a security hole in your site, you may be inviting trouble. A good vulnerability scan can help detect these types of issues before they cause harm.

Additional Tools

If you’re looking for an even more advanced level of security, then you should look for a service that provides additional tools. A few examples of these types of tools are CAPTCHA, login alerts, security audits, and more.

CAPTCHA stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. Basically, what it does is prevents automated programs from messing with your site. When a person types in a captcha, they’re presented with a challenge. If they succeed in solving the challenge, they’re given access to the site. Otherwise, they have to start over again. If you use a CAPTCHA on your site, you may be reducing the amount of spam and unwanted content on your site. While this may not seem like a feature, it can certainly be considered one.

Login alerts work in a similar way to CAPTCHA. When a person tries to access a restricted area of your site, they’re presented with a challenge. If they solve the challenge, they’re given access to the site. Otherwise, they’re asked to log in again. While this may not seem like a feature, it can certainly be considered one. You can even go so far as to require your users to log in with a valid email address before they can access content on your site. This way, you’ll be sure that they’re human and don’t intend on abusing the system by using bots or fake email addresses.

Secure And Confidential

Finally, if you’re looking for a safe and secure way to do business online, then you should look for a service that provides this as well. A few examples of these types of services are https://wordpress.com (a secure form of connecting to your WordPress dashboard), and https://myblog.wordpress.com (a secure form of connecting to your WordPress dashboard).

The above URLs provide a degree of security and confidentiality. When you visit them, you’re presented with a padlock, indicating that your data is encrypted and private. In addition, they’re verified to be genuine by WordPress. So you can be sure that you’re connecting to the right place and the right person.

Keep all of this in mind when deciding where to host your WordPress. In the end, nothing’s more frustrating than setting up a blog and spending hours upon hours troubleshooting security problems. Do your best to find a free WordPress hosting service that can live up to your standards, and you’ll be able to enjoy your new blog without any worries.