WordPress hosting has changed drastically over the past few years. It’s not enough anymore to just have a rock-solid shared host that has provided excellent uptime and performance for a number of years.
With things like Multisite, privacy protection-enhanced hosting, and other advanced WordPress features becoming more common - even expected in a premium WordPress hosting environment- it can even get a little tricky knowing what you should be looking for in a Web Host.
Choosing a hosting company is not as easy as it sounds. There are lots of features to look for in a good web host.
Read on to find out the features to consider while looking for your WordPress hosting provider.
Table of Contents
1. Uptime
There is nothing worse than getting a website attacked, especially a business website. But having a website downtime is no better. It can cause real problems for your business.
The standard industry norm is 99% uptime.
If your website uptime falls below that percentage, you are going to lose your visitors’ trust. It can also affect your search engine ranking. Despite all the SEO myths that are circulating over the internet, SEO is crucial.
And consequently, all these are going to hit hard on your sales.
If you are using dedicated servers, look for high availability. Your server should remain online for 99.99% of the time, if not 100%.
When using a shared host, your site should be up at least 99.95% of the time.
2. Speed
It is crucial that your site has a fast loading speed as slow sites can lead to losing visitors and potential customers. A good WordPress host is always looking for ways to improve site speed. This is why it's important to consider the location of the servers as well. If you are targeting North America as your audience, you might want to choose a Canadian web hosting site.
A good web host will use SSDs (servers with solid-state drives) as they are able to access data faster as compared to traditional hard drives; limit the sites that utilize one server to increase the number of resources made accessible to each site on every shared hosting server, and use caching to display site more quickly.
You can also consider using WordPress performance optimization services to speed up WordPress.
3. Trustworthiness
For newbies, it is not easy to find a WordPress hosting that they can trust. If you look at the market, there are a plethora of companies trying to make a quick buck from novice WordPress users.
To ensure a web host you have chosen is genuine, go for reputed names that are supported by the consensus of the general WordPress community.
For instance, AccuWebHosting, Bluehost, DreamHost, and WPEngine are web host companies you can trust.
4. Managed Services
As a business, you have enough tasks to handle already without the extra burden of managing the server on which your WordPress website is hosted.
A good web hosting service will manage the server for you. From ensuring that the server’s operating system is up and functioning to updates, everything will be taken care of.
You can even use tailored managed services depending on the level of service you need. You can communicate your needs to the vendor.
5. Reliable tech support
Not everyone is tech-savvy. Even if you are, you will still need tech support from time to time. And for a newcomer, you will be having numerous doubts in the initial stage.
Reliable tech support that works round the clock is thus among the most crucial web hosting features you should look for.
To find out if your web host provides it, read plenty of reviews on forums and platforms. Also, see that the vendor is offering several help options, including live chat, email, and direct phone calls. Only then will they be able to solve your issue in real-time.
6. Pre-installed apps
Another essential feature to look for in a web hosting provider is their pre-installed apps. These special widgets will allow you to build a website quickly and manage things efficiently.
The most basic app is the control panel which platforms like the Bluehost feature. It makes controlling even the most complex server processes easy with an easy-to-use interface.
Apps as such also allow you to install WordPress and other CMS in 1 click. Plus, it features a SimpleScripts installer to help you install different add-ons and apps with ease.
7. Programming language support
This one is a no-brainer. But for those new to WordPress, ensure that your web host allows programming language support.
It is necessary if you want to shift from one language to another. You should not limit your options to PHP except when you are 100% sure that you will require other programming languages.
Go for a hosting service provider that offers a huge list of languages.
8. Security features
With the advancement in tech, many sophisticated hacking software tools have been developed, enabling the bad guys to scan any website and network and look for vulnerabilities. Your site can never be 100% secure.
Thus, it is crucial to find a web host that offers the best tools out there to protect your data against different kinds of threats. SSL encryption, strong firewalls, email scanning tool, spam removal tools, and intrusion prevention tools are necessary.
9. Backup services
Even when your site is protected with security features, it still may still be hacked. Backups can be a lifesaver. In case you lose all your data in a security incident, backups will help you recover your website.
Ensure to store your backups remotely on different servers instead of storing them only on the platform you’re hosted. By doing so, you can still access your backups even if your server goes down.
Also, see that your web host provider is backing up their servers as well. It is not guaranteed that your host will not have any server issues.
10. Unlimited storage space
Of course, you will not need unlimited storage space if you run a very small business. But depending on your site’s purpose, you will have to choose a web host that provides enough storage space to meet your needs.
Usually, cheaper plans will give you little storage space. If you require a lot of space, you will have to opt for higher plans and never run out of memory.
11. Free trial
You don’t just want to jump in straight and pay for a web host service that you may not like after the initial use. Go for a website hosting service that offers free trial periods.
It will give you time to get to know the service provider and see if they can offer what you need. In this period, you will know if it is worthwhile to continue using the service. You might also encounter likely obstacles that you had not considered before.
The best part about a free trial offer is that you can discontinue using the service at no cost if a service does not meet your expectations.
Wrap-Up
For most people, finding good WordPress hosting can be difficult. This is because there are so many options that your mind may just go blank when it comes to choosing a host.
There are a lot of hosts out there that offer cheap WordPress hosting with a lot of reliability. But you should check out the features mentioned above before signing up for a cheap one.
Author Bio:
Lucy is a creative content writer and strategist at Marketing Digest. She specializes in writing about digital marketing, technology, entrepreneurship, and education. When she is not writing or editing, she spends time reading books, cooking and traveling.