What Is Scale WordPress Hosting and Why Should You Know About It?
WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) used globally for creating blogs and online stores. It was originally designed and developed by the Americans for journalists in newspapers and online publications in the early 2000s.
Since its inception, WordPress has become incredibly popular and is in fact one of the biggest and most well-known open source projects of all time. The community around the project continues to grow with each new release, gaining popularity among mainstream CMS users and webmasters worldwide. In fact, it’s been ranked the top ten most popular CMSs globally by W3Counter.
If you’re looking to launch a blog or online store and need an inexpensive option that’ll get the job done, then you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll discuss three things you need to know about using WordPress for your website.
Firstly, What Is WordPress Hosting?
When we talk about WordPress hosting, we’re usually talking about the platform itself. However, before we begin, it’s important to define what exactly we mean by “hosting.”
- Domain name: The domain name is the address of your website (e.g., mywebsite.com).
- Server: A server is a computer that allows for the storing and retrieving of data.
- Paid plans: Most hosting providers offer paid plans with varying terms and rates. When deciding which plan to go for, consider the intended use of your website along with your budget. If you’re planning to publish content frequently, then the best choice would be the paid annual plan. However, if your site is going to be a catchall for blogs and you don’t need to store enormous amounts of data, then the basic plan may be the best option for you.
- Interface: The interface is the basic layout and design of your website. The look and feel of your site will be based on your selected theme, which can be modified through the use of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Secondly, Why Should You Consider WordPress For Your Online Store?
WordPress is definitely the biggest and most popular option when it comes to general purpose CMSs. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s the best fit for every type of website or online store. Here are some of the reasons why you should consider WordPress for your site.
- Relatively simple setup: When setting up your WordPress site, you’ll need to provide only the domain name and an email address for the account holder. A few clicks and you’ll have a basic WordPress website ready to go live.
- Scalable: As its name implies, WordPress is highly scalable and can handle an incredible amount of traffic. All you need is a good host and a little bit of skill to make sure that your website functions properly under all circumstances.
- Flexible: Due to its open source nature, WordPress is extremely flexible and can be customised to suit your needs. If you have a specific theme or plugin that you think could be improved upon, you can always download the source code and make changes yourself.
- Mainstream: Due to its popularity, WordPress has become one of the biggest names in the online sphere. Thus, if you’re looking to create a blog or online store for yourself or your business, you may already know what option to choose.
- Affordable: Due to its easy setup and popularity, WordPress is one of the biggest and most well-known options when it comes to hosting. However, one of the best things about this option is that it’s extremely affordable. You’ll find that the prices fluctuate from provider to provider, but you’ll typically pay less than $5 per month for the basic plan (which is usually sufficient).
Thirdly, How Do You Install WordPress In Order To Use It?
Installing WordPress is actually very easy. You can do it in less than ten minutes depending on your chosen hosting provider. In this section, we’ll discuss the steps involved in installing and configuring WordPress.
- Go to the provider’s website.
- Click on the Get Started button.
- After you’ve clicked on the Get Started button, you’ll see a form with your selected plan’s domain name and price. For a limited time, you can get a free trial of the service.
- Enter your details into the form and click on the Continue button.
- You’ll now be taken to a confirmation page. If you’re using a free trial, then you’ll need to click on the Verify button to activate your account.
- The last step is to log in and activate your WordPress account. After this step, you can start using the platform to create your blog or online store.
As you can see, installing WordPress is very simple. You’ll need to have a domain name and an email address for the account holder. After that, you can upload a layout for your website (called a theme) and begin building out your content.
Is WordPress The Only Suitable Option?
While WordPress is the most popular content management system used globally, it’s not necessarily the only or best option for every website or online store. Here are some of the other widely used and recognised CMSs:
- Joomla: The creators of Joomla (which is also an open source project) have made it very clear that their aim was to create not just another blogging platform but an entire CMS. In other words, Joomla is not just a blogging platform but a full-fledged content management system with all the bells and whistles.
- Drupal: Like WordPress, Drupal is also one of the biggest and most popular content management systems. Its popularity is probably due to its creator, the American company Acquia, which actively promotes the platform.
- CMSWire: Like WordPress and Drupal, CMSWire is also an open source project with a specific focus on content management.
- SilverStripe: SilverStripe is another popular content management system that was specifically designed with corporate websites in mind.
- Miva: Finally, the Miva website makes it very clear that this platform was designed with eCommerce in mind. It specifically offers a no-cost solution for online store owners who’re looking for a content management system.
In case you’re wondering, all of these CMSs are free to download and install. It’s very unlikely that you’ll need a programmer to make minor modifications to one of these CMSs. The functionality should be more than enough for your needs. You can choose one of these platforms and begin the process of installing WordPress in under ten minutes.
The Bottom Line
If you’re looking for a free and open source solution that’ll help you create a blog or online store, then you can’t go wrong with WordPress. It’s extremely popular and has been around for a very long time. If you need an inexpensive option that’ll get the job done, then you should definitely consider WordPress hosting. Even if you decide that it’s not the right solution for your needs, you can always use one of its many plug-ins to connect with other services and systems.