How to Choose the Right WordPress Hosting for Your Site
WordPress is probably the most popular blogging platforms in the world, and it’s not difficult to see why. The software is free, easy to install, and it has a large community backing it. Combine that with the fact that it’s incredibly flexible – if you know what you’re doing – and you have a recipe for success.
On the surface, choosing a web host for your site may seem easy. After all, you want to find a company that’s reliable and has a good reputation. However, this choice can be a bit more complicated than you’d think. There are a lot of misconceptions about what makes for a good web host. Moreover, not all the big-name companies are created equal, and not all the smaller hosts offer the same perks as the larger ones. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the things to look out for when choosing a web host for your WordPress site.
Features Matter
Although you may not think it, the features available on a web host are just as important as the price. After all, you’ll be spending a good chunk of change on this service, and you certainly don’t want to be paying for features you don’t need. The key is to find a hosting company with a lot of the tools you need and that also offers a bang for your buck. Here are some of the features you should be looking out for.
Geo-Blocking
One of the things you absolutely need if you’re running a global blog is geo-blocking. Simply put, geo-blocking is the ability to restrict the audience for your content to a certain geographic location. The most common example of this would be to only allow visitors from North America to read your blog post. You can do this through the use of Google webmaster tools, which we’ll discuss in more detail below.
Security Measures
With most any internet-connected device, security is a major concern. Whether you’re trying to protect your personal information or the information of your business, ensuring your data is safe and secure is of the utmost importance. One way to do this is through the use of security certificates and passwords. Another way is to make sure your web host is taking the appropriate steps to secure your site. When it comes to web security, you want to choose a web host that is both reliable and has a good track record. A reputable company will have taken the time to secure their network, and this will be evident in the way they protect your personal information and the content on your site. Some good indicators to look for are things like firewall protection, up-to-date antivirus software, and the use of strong, complex passwords.
Speed
Even if you’re running a fast machine with lots of RAM, speed still matters. When you’re dealing with massive amounts of data – whether it’s blog posts, images, or anything else – speed is of the utmost importance. One of the best ways to ensure fast speed is through the use of a caching layer, which caches data on your behalf to reduce the number of requests to the remote storage. Caching is extremely important, particularly if you’re dealing with large amounts of data, and this is why you want to make sure your web host is using a suitable caching layer for your site. If caching is not available, then you certainly don’t want to go with this host.
Scalability
Although we just mentioned speed, scalability is just as important when considering a web host. This is the ability of a host to easily scale to accommodate increasing traffic. An ideal scenario would be to find a hosting company that is both fast and scalable. This will allow you to effortlessly handle any amount of traffic that comes your way. This is a big deal, as without enough bandwidth, your site will experience delays and, in some cases, may even fail. The good news is you can often find this combination in a single hosting package. Just make sure you’re not compromising on any other aspect in order to get it.
Reliability
Last but not least, we have reliability. This is the ability of a company or a product to consistently perform as expected. When choosing a web host for your WordPress site, you want to look for a company that is both reliable and offers a good reputation. A reliable company will have invested heavily in high-quality, redundant equipment and will be on-site 24/7 monitoring their services. This is important because if they’re unable to provide reliable service, then you’ll have a bad experience as a consumer, and this may reflect badly on your business.
Choosing a good web host for your WordPress site is not an easy task. There are a lot of misconceptions about what makes for a good web host, and not all the big-name companies are created equal. In order to find the best possible service for your needs, you must do your research and read reviews from existing customers. With dedicated team members standing by to help, you’re sure to find what you’re looking for.