How to Optimize WordPress Hosting for UK Users
When it comes to UK websites, you’ll often hear people say that they are looking for “performance and reliability over features and price”. Although this is true in general, it isn’t always the case when it comes to web hosting. In fact, there are several reasons why you might want to consider paying a bit more for your web hosting in the UK.
DDoS Attacks
One of the biggest problems for people in the UK is DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks. This is where a hacker exploits a server or network glitch to slow down or stop other servers from functioning. This may be done because they want to take down a website or business, or it could be because they want to send spam or perform other malicious acts.
When this happens, web hosts in the UK will often find themselves buried under thousands of failed connections from all over the world. This can cause serious damage to their uptime and reliability, because without any service level agreements in place, they are completely exposed to this kind of attack. For this reason, most web hosts in the UK will include a DDoS firewall or Anti-DDoS plugin with their packages. These plugins will detect and block any traffic that looks suspicious or could lead to an attack. This is particularly useful for people in the UK who are running WordPress sites, as it will protect them from the large amounts of attacks that can beset a WordPress site. If your blog is beset with spam or people trying to hack it, it could be because your web host is getting a DDoS attack. If this is the case, it’s well-advised to look for a new web host as soon as possible, or at least ask your current host to implement some additional measures to protect your site from being knocked offline by these attacks.
Regulated Internet Access
Depending on where you are in the world, your internet service provider (ISP) may or may not allow you to run a website. Some ISPs, such as those based in the US and UK, have policies that don’t allow people to run certain types of websites (ex: porn or adult-related websites).
If you are based in one of these countries and want to run a WordPress website, where do you go to ensure that your website is compliant? You could look into a reputable VPN service that offers secure connections to unblock websites and ensure that your business can continue to operate as usual.
Bandwidth Management
If you’re going to be running a business that’s active on the internet, you’ll need to consider how much data you need to store and how much you need to use. Naturally, this will depend on how much traffic you get, but you also need to factor in how much space you need to keep for growth. If you’re running a WordPress site and using services like Google Analytics and Widget Logic, you can bet that you’re going to hit the 10GB+ range within a year. It’s well-advised to look for a web host that offers a certain amount of data transfers per month as part of your plan, as this will make a massive difference to your overall satisfaction with the service.
Global Load Balancing
Depending on your needs and wants, you might want to look into the global load balancing (GLB) service that some web hosts offer. With this feature, all of the requests for your site are distributed across multiple servers in data centers around the world. So instead of having all of your processing power located in one place, which could potentially lead to overheating and failure, GLB ensures that your server stays cool and is available to serve requests 24/7.
GLB is particularly useful if you have a large amount of daily traffic as it will balance the load across multiple servers, ensuring that none of them are overwhelmed and that your site stays up and running smoothly.
Other Useful Features
Other features that many web hosts offer, which may be useful to specific users or groups, include the ability to install WordPress plugins and themes, manage mailboxes via the Command Line Interface (CLI), and the hosting of multi-user websites (such as forums and social media platforms).
If you’re using WordPress as your content management system (CMS), you’ll find several plugins that can help you manage the platform more effectively. One handy tool is the WP-CLI, which provides a command line interface for WordPress users, as well as several other useful tools.
Summary
WordPress hosts in the UK offer several advantages over other hosting providers. First off, thanks to the large amount of people in the UK who use the platform, there are several plugins and tools that can help you manage and optimize your site for maximum performance. Additionally, many ISPs in the UK will allow you to run a website, which is something that most other web hosts will prevent.
Since the vast majority of people in the UK use the internet for their daily needs, businesses that are active online have the advantage of accessing a large market. If you’re looking to start a business or want to make the most out of your existing website, WordPress hosts in the UK are a great option, as you’ll have the ability to reach millions of users worldwide.