At the core of every successful WordPress site are the foundations that keep it together. Web hosting happens to be one of them.
It is easy to dismiss the importance of web hosting as you can just pluck your way at random from hundreds of choices. While your primary goal is to put up your site, it is even more critical that you set up your WordPress website on solid ground.
This reason is precisely why you need to understand how your web hosting of choice will pave the way to your siteβs success.
How important is web hosting to your site?
Web hosting is responsible for keeping your site live. The term uptime refers to the percentage that the web hosting guarantees your site to be online and available for viewing.
Most web hosting can assure 99.9% uptime, which means that your site will only experience downtime for 43 minutes every month. Some of the better-performing web hosting services can offer as high as 99.9999% uptime or only three seconds of downtime every month.
Aside from being a repository for your WordPress CMS and other files, your web hosting determines your site speed. While there are on-site factors that play a role in your siteβs loading speed, you can easily manipulate them to improve site performance. What you canβt control is the server stress of your web hosting.
Once your WordPress site generates a massive stream of traffic, your web hosting will be the one responsible for processing user requests from loading your site on their browsers. If your traffic is too much for your web hosting server to handle, then your site will take a long time to load.
Worse, your site will break and go offline until further notice!
You donβt want this to happen because going offline may cause your visitors to move to your competitors. Therefore, you need to choose the right hosting for the benefit of your business.
Types of web hosting
There are five types of web hosting that you need to be aware of.
Shared Hosting
This hosting type is the most affordable solution because you share the server with other websites. Therefore, when a site on the server drives lots of traffic the performance of your site suffers. For shared hosting, we suggest checking out Bluehost, SiteGround, and even Namehero.
VPS Hosting
If you want your site to enjoy the benefits of a dedicated server at reduced costs, VPS hosting is your choice. This hosting is located within shared hosting, so it’s still a step down compared to other premium hosting services. However, the advantage it holds over sharing hosting is it prevents hosting neighbors from affecting the performance of your sites. For VPS WordPress hosting, we would suggest taking a look at Liquid Web and A2 Hosting.
Cloud-based Hosting
Instead of having a single server to host different sites, cloud-based web hosting takes hundreds of individual servers to power a single online server. As a result, users will have greater bandwidth and disk space, not to mention the ability to resist the surge of traffic. For those who are interested in cloud-based web hosting, we can suggest HostGator.
Dedicated Hosting
All the server resources will be at the disposal of your sites. Since you won’t be sharing the server with anyone else, you can expect the best service and performance for your sites. However, on top of the monthly payment for the hosting, you may have to shell out extra for a system administrator who will ensure that your hosting is running at optimum levels. Take a look at Liquid Web and WP Engine.
Managed WordPress Hosting
If you want to focus on running a website and let someone else take care of your hosting problem, then managed WordPress hosting with Liquid Web is your choice. From installing WordPress, protecting your site from malicious attacks, and scaling your hosting performance, this hosting type will do everything for you.
What kind of site do you run?
The hosting you want to run depends on the type of site you run. Not all sites are built the same, which is why each attracts varying amounts of traffic.
Below are the most common types of sites you can run on WordPress and the most appropriate hosting you should use.
Portfolio/branding site
You created a site where you can showcase your sample works for potential clients to see. Assuming that you have no content strategy, you are more likely not to attract a lot of traffic to your site. Therefore, you can go with the most affordable solution which is shared hosting.
Blog
You are publishing content on a regular basis to build a readership and generate lots of traffic. In this case, you may want a more long-term solution if you expect your traffic to grow exponentially. Subscribing to a cloud-based hosting from the very start, while more expensive, will help your site withstand an onslaught of traffic once the time comes.
Business site
You are using your site as a platform to sell your products or services. You are releasing different content types to attract your audience in hopes of converting them into customers. With such a technical approach to marketing your business online, you need to go with at least a virtual private server so you can have all the resources you need to keep your site online as much as possible.
eCommerce Site
You have set up an online shop so you can sell your items. A successful eCommerce site can attract millions of traffic, so you want the best of the best. As mentioned earlier, going offline because your server crashed due to massive traffic is bad for business. Therefore, managed WordPress WooCommerce hosting ensures that your e-store will run in tip-top shape no matter what happens.
Whatβs the best hosting for you?
The kind of WordPress site you are running will dictate which type of web hosting you need.
However, another problem is choosing which web hosting service provider to go with. Multiple providers are equally good in their right and some provide nearly identical services to the naked eye.
Review the list of shared hosting or pick one of these WordPress hosting services before selecting a host. Refer to the reviews to give you a better idea of each web hosting company’s distinct features.
More importantly, you need to keep testing and measuring the performance of your web hosting. If you don’t feel comfortable with your chosen web hosting solution or you think your site could perform much better, don’t be afraid to choose another hosting provider.
As a website proprietor, it is imperative to ensure that your site is user-friendly and accessible to your intended audience. You have to consider the needs and preferences of your target visitors so that you can attain your desired level of success for your WordPress site. Whether it is through the speed and efficiency of your web hosting or the additional features that you offer, your primary goal should always be to provide a positive experience for your users.
What about you? Do you have any web hosting type and provider that you would recommend to our readers? Feel free to share your thoughts by commenting below!
One Response
Great Article Christopher.
I loved how you compared different types of hosting.
Levi