How to Replace My WordPress Site on a Hosting Provider
You’ve decided to rebuild your personal or business website from the ground up. Congratulations! You’ve taken one of the most daunting tasks a webmaster can face and managed to complete it. Your new site will be a labor of love that you can’t wait to share with the world.
On the road to success, you’ll need a website to showcase your work. You know the type of site; the one that speaks to your audience, provides value, and allows you to grow as a person and business. That’s what you want, right? A site that provides value and enables growth.
To get there, you’ll need to host your site, maintain it regularly, and update it with relevant and valuable content. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, it is. But you’ll also need to consider how you’re going to replace your existing WordPress site with a completely new one. The process is tedious and requires a good bit of planning. If you want to replace your WordPress site, here’s how you can do it.
Step one: Select the right hosting plan.
When it comes to hosting, almost everyone has a love/hate relationship with shared hosting. On the one hand, shared hosting can be incredibly cost-effective; on the other, it can be slow and frustrating to work with, especially if you’re just starting out. No matter what, without a proper plan, you’ll never be able to launch your new blog or website. So, to save you the effort and financials of trial and error, we’ve gone ahead and curated a list of the BEST WordPress hosting options available today. This way, you can find the right fit for your needs without any doubts. Let’s get into it.
Insightful Blogging
We’re firm believers that before you can truly grow as a business or individual, you have to be able to share your knowledge and expertise with the world. To that end, we’ve made it our mission to help bloggers find the right hosting solution and show them the way to become more insightful and independent journalists. If you’re looking to start a blog or just need help choosing a hosting plan, check out our list of the best WordPress hosting options below. We hope this list will assist you in making the right decision for your needs.
CloudFlare
While most hosting companies offer some form of premium or business-class hosting, few offer the type of performance that you get from a CDN (Content Delivery Network). A Content Delivery Network distributes and delivers your content to your visitors, ensuring that your website is available and loads quickly regardless of the location of the user.
That’s great for performance. But, what’s even greater is that the service keeps track of malware and spam for you. So, if your host gets compromised by hackers or spammers, CloudFlare will step in and help regain control of your account.
This is a fantastic option if you’re looking for a free and easy way to get started. However, you should keep in mind that as a CDN service, CloudFlare’s pricing is based on the bandwidth used. So, if you have a modest blog with occasional traffic spikes, you may want to consider paying only for what you use.
BlueHost
If you’re looking for a truly one-stop-shop for all your web hosting needs, consider BlueHost. Not only do they offer a one-click installation which allows you to launch your website in less than 10 minutes, but they also provide a money-back guarantee if you meet the right criteria. So, in essence, BlueHost is both friendly and trustworthy (which is a rare combination).
One of the biggest plusses of BlueHost is that they offer unlimited email accounts and features, meaning you can seamlessly launch an unlimited number of websites from one account. This makes setting up your new site relatively easy. Just pick a name for your site (we suggest picking a snappy and memorable name that isn’t already in use), click on the button to continue, and then click on the install button to get things started. From there, you can login to your control panel and get to work optimizing and customizing your site.
DreamHost
DreamHost is a bit of an acquired taste. For those who love the unique flavors and creative food options at Starbucks, consider DreamHost. That’s because they offer a wide range of unique features, some of which are part of a pay-what-you-want plan. In addition, their support is top-notch. Plus, as a DreamHost user, you’re assigned your own personal tech support person who is available via phone, email, or live chat. So, while it may take some time to figure out how things work (and what doesn’t), you’ll find that the entire process is well-worth it. Especially when you consider how affordable and how much value DreamHost offers.
Hetzner
Speaking of affordable and value for money, consider Hetzner. Similar to BlueHost, Hetzner provides a one-click installation for WordPress and offers a money-back guarantee. What’s more is that they offer a free domain name and an affiliate program if you join their affiliate network. So, if you’re looking to start a blog, the cost-effectiveness and simplicity of the Hetzner service is hard to beat. You’ll just need to remember that like other web hosts, their pricing is based on the amount of traffic you send their way. So, if you have a busy blog with a lot of content, you may want to consider paying more for the extra features they offer.
Pantheon
Even more value for money? Consider Pantheon. Similar to the other services on this list, Pantheon provides a one-click installation for WordPress. Not only that, but their hosting plans come with free backups, free domain privacy, and free security updates. Plus, they offer a 30-day money back guarantee.
However, unlike the other services on this list, Pantheon’s pricing is based on what they call “pay-as-you-go” plans. What this means is that instead of having a set price for their plans, Pantheon’s pricing is based on the amount of memory and storage you use. Essentially, they’re not like other web hosts and instead take a different approach. Which means they can offer a great deal without the fear of running out of space or having to pay extra for more storage. So, if you’re looking for an economical option or just want to try something new, Pantheon is the perfect fit. But, if you have a very high traffic site or just want to be sure you can always access your site, then another company may be a better fit.
Step two: Install WordPress.
Once you’ve selected your hosting plan, it’s time to install WordPress. Much like setting up any other website or blog, WordPress installation is both secure and easy. In fact, since WordPress is so popular and a one-stop-shop for blogs and websites, most hosting companies, such as BlueHost and DreamHost, offer a one-click installation.
If you’re using WordPress on a regular basis, then the best approach would be to get a dedicated IP (Internet Protocol) address from your Internet service provider. This will give you a static IP address (one that doesn’t change) that you can use to access your site whenever you want. When setting up your site with a dedicated IP, make sure that you contact your Internet service provider (ISP) and ask them to connect the required IP(s) for your domain. They’ll be able to guide you through the process and get things up and running in no time. And for a relatively small fee, they’ll even give you some bonus IPs to use as needed (usually for services like cloud storage or web hosting).
Once you’ve installed WordPress, it’s time to move onto the next step.
Step three: Customize your site.
After you’ve installed WordPress, it’s time to start customizing your site. This step is relatively straightforward and is mostly done through the WordPress dashboard. You’ll just need to pick a theme for your site (it should be a clean and uncluttered theme, not one that’s already been used for multiple sites), choose a name for your site, and get to work filling it with content.
To give you a better understanding of what a theme is and does, here’s a brief overview of the most common features you’ll find when customizing a WordPress site: