How to Choose a WordPress Hosting Provider – Best WordPress Hosting in the US
You want to have a website. Maybe you want to be able to sell your products online or maybe you just want to have a blog. Whatever your reasons, you need a place to put it. You could use your own WiFi, create an account on a shared hosting provider’s website, or choose one of the many WordPress hosting providers out there.
Whether you’re choosing a free plan or paying a few hundred dollars a month, you’ll need to know what you’re getting into. Here are some essential questions to ask.
How Much Bandwidth Do I Need?
If you’re running a business, you’re going to need a lot of bandwidth. Much more than someone just wanting to run a personal blog. Having at least 1GB of bandwidth is recommended. If your business is growing, you’ll quickly need more.
The great thing about having so much bandwidth is that most hosting providers offer a generous amount of it. Whether you’re on a free plan or a paid plan, you’re going to have at least 1GB of bandwidth with most hosting providers.
This is more than enough bandwidth for most purposes. You won’t need to upgrade for at least a year or two. If you’re planning on using the site frequently, you might want to consider paying for a bit higher bandwidth.
How Many Databases Do I Need?
If you’ve ever purchased a computer or smartphone with more than 4GB of RAM, you’ll know how important database management can be. Without databases, all of the website’s content is going to be extremely slow. Even with a fast Internet connection, it can take a while to load web pages when a large number of pages are required.
If your site is going to have a lot of content, you might want to consider buying or renting a server with a large hard drive and managing the content manually. If you’re not comfortable doing so, you could always opt for a web host that offers databases pre-installed.
Because of the enormous amounts of data involved in managing a blog or business website, a database with unlimited space is a great option. This way, you won’t ever have to worry about running out of room once your data grows beyond a certain point. You can find many such databases in the market, including the well-known MYSQL, which is an open source database. You’ll just need to decide whether or not you want to go with a free or paid plan.
Is My Website Going to Be Updating Or Will It Be Static?
In the same way you wouldn’t leave your home without your smartphone, you shouldn’t create a website without making sure it will be updated. Even if you’re going to use a theme that is already pre-installed with tons of fancy features, you’ll need to update the site frequently to keep it fresh. Otherwise, it will start looking and functioning a little bit dated.
To help you keep your site fresh and up to date, many web hosts offer a one-click install for WordPress. Once you’ve installed WordPress, you’ll find a ton of free plugins to help you with just about any feature on your site. As an example, you could use the Google Analytics plugin to track all the site’s traffic and statistics. You’ll also want to install a contact form to allow visitors to get in touch with you easily. Some web hosts offer a free version of WordPress that is limited to a certain number of database tables. If you’re feeling adventurous, you could always try out a hosted WordPress solution where all the technology is taken care of for you.
As for whether or not your website is going to be updated frequently enough to keep its freshness, that depends on you. If you’re going to use the site frequently, you’ll want to update it as often as possible. Frequent updates mean faster loading times for your users and therefore increased engagement.
On the other hand, if you’re just creating the site for fun or as a side project, you can opt to update it less frequently. As long as you keep the site active and up to date, it will look great regardless of the frequency with which you update it.
How Many Php, My sql Or Perl Executables Do I Need?
Besides the operating system, you’ll need to determine how many PHP, MySQL, or Perl executables you need for your site. PHP stands for “Hypertext Preprocessor,” which is a programming language that allows you to build dynamic, interactive websites. MySQL is a database management system that allows you to create and maintain databases. Perl is a programming language that is extremely powerful and can be used for a wide range of purposes. It can be used to build dynamic websites or it can be installed on a server and used to access and manage the database.
If you’re not particularly familiar with any of these languages or you’d just like to keep things simple, you could go for a web host that comes with all the pre-installed software you need. This can save you a lot of time and frustration in the long run.
Is There A Technical Support Person Available?
No site is an island and you’re never going to be able to cover all the bases by yourself. This is where a solid technical support person comes in. The great thing about having someone available to help you is that, when things go wrong, you can always count on them. For instance, if you’re using the WordPress platform and you start running into problems, you can always go to the official WordPress support forum and ask for help. Many companies offer a money-back guarantee if you meet the right conditions, so you’re covered either way.
These are all important considerations. Not only will choosing the right host make a huge difference in how your website looks and functions, but it will also affect your business’ growth in a significant way.