How to Choose the Right WordPress Hosting Provider
WordPress is one of the most popular blogging platforms around today, and with good reason. It’s incredibly easy to use and provides an abundance of features that even the most seasoned bloggers can utilize. If you’re looking for a free blogging platform, then you should definitely check out WordPress.
A Simple Guide to Choosing the Right Hosting Provider
While WordPress provides an amazing array of features that you can use to build your blog, it doesn’t hurt to have a little guidance when picking a host for your site. In this article, we will discuss how to choose the right WordPress hosting provider based on four key points: price, features, support, and reliability.
Let’s get started.
Price
One of the first things you’ll want to consider when selecting a WordPress host is price. You don’t want to invest in high-priced hosting simply because it has fashionable fonts or is promoted on social media. Instead, you should look for a hosting provider that offers great value for your money.
There are many bare-bones hosting providers out there, and while they might be perfect for smaller blogs or websites with modest traffic, they’re not always the best suited for large businesses or those looking for premium features. The key is to find that sweet spot where price and features meet and work together to provide excellent value for your business.
Features
Next on our checklist is features. Just because a company offers a lot of features doesn’t mean they’re the best choice for your blog. In fact, some hosts are deliberately crippled in an effort to squeeze every last bit of profit out of your wallet. You don’t want to feature a host that doesn’t provide the basics, like caching or domain security, so you can focus on building your audience.
Each hosting provider is different and, as a result, some feature sets might be more expensive than others. For example, Bluehost states on their website that WP-Engine, the parent company of Bluehost, is a “Pro-rated Shared hosting plan with a monthly price of $2.95.” This is in comparison to the $5.45 per month charged by HostGator for their Standard plan.
Even within the WordPress ecosystem, there are multiple tiers of features, and depending on how much you’re willing to spend, you can narrow your choice to a handful of hosts that offer a great feature set for a reasonable price.
Support
An even more crucial consideration when choosing a host is support. Even if you’re tech-savvy and can handle basic tasks like creating a website, if you’re not aware of what specific questions to ask, you could end up in a situation where you need human assistance. Luckily, most reputable hosting providers offer a live chat feature, which allows you to immediately connect with an operator who can assist you with any inquiry.
The better the support, the less anxiety you’ll experience while utilizing the service. If all other points remain equal, go with the provider who offers the best support
Reliability
The last thing you need is for your blog to crash or behave erratically due to a lack of reliability. When it comes to hosting, downtime is always a bad idea, so make sure the company you choose is as reliable as possible. You can utilize tools like Pingdom or Alexa to easily monitor the status of your host’s website. If you see a lot of errors or poor performance, then it’s time to move on to the next provider.
In the end, nothing but your personal experience can be the best guide to choosing the best hosting provider. As a result of our research and experience, we’ve put together a detailed scoring system that serves as a guideline for comparing providers and allows you to make the right decision based on price, features, and reliability.
In Conclusion
Taking the time to do your research and choose a reputable hosting provider can save you a great deal of money and frustration down the road. At the end of the day, you’ll want to choose a host that matches your needs, has a great reputation, and offers the best value for your money. With that in mind, we hope this article will help guide you toward choosing the right WordPress host for your needs.