Why WordPress Hosting Is Better Than Business Hosting

WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) in the world, and for very good reason. We went ahead and hosted a WordCamp US last year (and we have another one coming up!), and it was amazing to see the growth of this community and what it’s been able to accomplish in such a short time. If you’re looking to build a following or just want to make your blog better than it is, then WordPress is what you want to go with.

Features, Features, Features

Let’s be honest, nobody wants to build a site that doesn’t have many features, right? It makes blogging quite a bit more difficult, doesn’t it? Well, luckily for you, we are here to tell you about the incredible features that come with a WordPress-hosted site!

WordPress gives you a basic blogging platform with many features you could extend with a few plugins. Some of these features are quite self-explanatory (e.g., the ability to blog), while others may require a little bit of exploration (e.g., SEO features).

Even if you’re not exactly sure what some of these features are, you can rest assured that once you understand what they are and how they work together, you’ll have a much better idea of whether or not they’re useful for your blog. Plus, there’s bound to be a WordPress expert out there who could help you figure out what features would be most useful for your blog.

Scalability

WordPress gives you the ability to scale your site as you grow. This is big for several reasons.

First, if you ever read the word “blogging” on this platform, you’ll understand exactly what it means. If you’re looking to start a blog and don’t have the money or the space for a paid hosting plan, then WordPress is the perfect solution. When you launch a WordCamp and start getting a following, you’ll quickly understand the value of having a scalable solution.

Second, if you have multiple sites, each one can have its own domain name. This means you can have a wordcamp.com, a blog.wordcamp.com, and even a store.wordcamp.com, and you’ll be able to reach each one with its own unique URL. This is huge in terms of creating a professional image for your site and brand. Before you know it, you’ll have an entire network of sites that all lead back to your central command.

Third, whenever you launch a new site on WordPress, it’s automatically saved and has all the information you need to extend it. This means you don’t have to worry about losing any content when you switch hosts or domains. Additionally, when you switch hosts or domains, all the posts and pages will be picked up by the new provider and you won’t have to worry about losing any content. (This applies only to content that was already published. If you have content that you’ve never published, then it’s up to you to ensure that it gets saved when you switch hosts or domains.)

Finally, when you reach a certain level of popularity on WordPress, you can take advantage of the tool called “multi-site management”, which allows you to manage and create blogs for multiple brands or companies. This is a great way to extend your online presence, and provide different perspectives on the same topic. For example, you could have a lifestyle blog for Samsung, and a technology blog for HP. The possibilities are endless!

SEO

SEO plugins are quite handy when it comes to SEO-optimization and managing the organic reach of your content. The best part is that you don’t need to be a web developer to implement them. All you need to do is activate the plugins on your WordPress dashboard and provide the necessary information to make the changes. (Some of these SEO plugins require you to have some previous experience, but you can still follow the simple instructions provided to easily implement them all.)

You can use the SEO plugins to enhance the discoverability of your content, or you can use them to track the performance of individual posts and pages. Sometimes it’s helpful to track the performance of individual pieces of content to determine the strength of an idea or topic, as well as the most effective wording and structure for each one.

Built-in Visual Composer

Speaking of content, wouldn’t it be great if you could have a team of professionals create engaging content for your blog? You can with WordPress! All you need to do is activate the visual composer plugin on your WordPress dashboard, and you’ll be able to quickly and easily edit the layout of your blog posts, pages, and even your website, with just a few clicks of a mouse.

You can use the visual composer to create as many unique variations of your blog’s layout as you want, all within the same dashboard. This means you can have a fresh new look for your blog every single week, without having to worry about any inconsistencies (like a broken link on a previous post).

Additionally, you can use the visual composer to directly edit the content of your blog posts and pages, as well as your website’s copy. You don’t need to depend on a third-party tool to do this, which some people have a problem with. (More on that in a bit.)

User Management

You’ll need a user manager (also known as a WordPress administrator) to set up and run your blog. Fortunately, users are the lifeblood of any blogging platform, and WordPress has you covered with the built-in user manager. Simply go to Dashboard → Users and hit the Add New User button to create new users or activate existing ones. (Keep in mind: this is a feature that can be accessed by anyone with a login, so if you’re worried about security, then this is probably not the best option for you.)

Another thing you can do with the user manager is to create different user roles. For example, you could have a role named Content Creator that has full access to all the features mentioned above (including SEO and visual composer), or a role named Admin that has only limited access to these same features. (You can even create a role with no access to some features, in which case you’d have to download and install the appropriate plugins to have access to the ones you want.)

As a WordPress admin, you’ll have the ability to assign different user levels and assign different roles to different users, as well as set specific permissions for each role. This way, you can ensure that certain users only have access to specific features on your site, and be able to track who has been accessing your content.

Caching

When a user visits your site for the first time, it’ll have to go through a process called “caching” in order to ensure that the page is actually what the visitor is looking for. This is why it’s important to have a fast server and ample storage space. (And no, the reason behind the term “caching” has nothing to do with cooking.)

Once a visitor has checked out a few pages on your site, they will have cached the page, which makes subsequent page views faster for this user. (This also means that if you’re planning on having a coupon code or special offer at the end of a blog post, then this information will have to be freshly inputed for every single user who comes back to the site after reading the blog post. If you want to have a weekly (or even daily) deal, then this could end up being a real pain point for you as the admin of the site!

Multiple Sites

If you’re someone who manages multiple blogs, then WordPress’ built-in “multi-site management” feature is for you. With this feature, you can have a whole network of blogs (each one belonging to a different brand or company) all connected to the same WordPress dashboard.

To set this up, you’ll need to enter the URL of the site you want to connect to (this can be the same or different from the primary site), choose a display name for the network, and then select the “Multi-site mode” option. (You can find this option under the General tab in the WordPress dashboard.)