7 Things to Look For When Selecting WordPress Hosting Companies
WordPress has dominated the content management system (CMS) market for years. It now has 60% of CMS market share and it runs nearly 40% of all websites.
WordPress is great, but it’s only as good as your hosting company. A slow website host can impact your conversions and your bottom line.
You can’t ignore the importance of choosing a website hosting company. Out of the thousands of WordPress hosting companies out there, how can you find the one that suits your business?
There are a few specific things to look for. Read this article to discover what they are.
1. Security
Some people might put this further down the list in terms of importance. You simply can’t do that anymore. Since WordPress is so popular, it’s also a target.
There are hackers that hope that sites are run by novices who don’t know much about security. They use weak passwords and fail to update plugins.
A website that gets hacked on a shared hosting account could affect every website on that server.
Your host should provide automatic updates and offer SSL certificates. Security has to be a high priority for your hosting company.
2. Hosting Services
What kind of hosting plans do you need? If you have a small site, look for WordPress blog hosting or a shared hosting account.
WordPress hosting providers usually provide a range of hosting services for the most basic sites. They also have expanded services, which allows you to scale as your business grows.
That allows you to upgrade to enterprise WordPress hosting without changing hosting companies.
Find out what kind of other services they provide outside of hosting. Some offer WordPress maintenance
One thing to be aware of is that there are small hosting companies who purchase hosting from other companies and white label the service.
This is called a reseller hosting account. The company you’re dealing with might be a step between the hosting company and your account.
3. Speed and Reliability
Never trust a WordPress hosting provider that says they’re 100% reliable. That’s pretty much impossible. They can have 99.9% reliability, which is standard.
If a company claims a perfect record, they’re misleading you and you shouldn’t work with them.
Make sure the hosting company performs regular backups. You should always perform your own backups as well, but a server backup ensures all of your data isn’t lost if a server goes down.
Speaking of reliability, check out the technical support options. Some hosting companies have live chat, along with support over the phone.
Other hosting companies only allow you to send a message through your account dashboard. If you have a small site and you know what you’re doing, this will probably be OK.
For larger accounts, you need to ensure that you have outstanding support if your site goes down.
4. Cost of Hosting
You might be tempted to look for the best cheap WordPress hosting. You have to balance cost with quality.
The WordPress hosting price also depends on your needs. The most inexpensive plan is shared hosting.
That’s not the right plan for you if you have 100,000 visitors to your site. You’ll need to have a higher-level plan that costs more.
Most hosting companies offer the first year at a significant discount. Understand what the price is after the discount before you make the commitment.
If you want to control the costs, commit to a long-term contract. You’ll pay for a few years upfront, which is much less than a monthly or annual renewal.
5. Reputation and Reviews
The best WordPress hosting companies have a great reputation and hundreds of positive reviews. Search for different hosting providers online and see what other customers have to say about them.
Reddit is also a good resource to check.
Keep in mind that the larger hosting companies have affiliates. These affiliates post online reviews and get a commission if you click on the link and purchase hosting.
That can skew the reviews, so you need to check more than one source for information.
6. Backend Ease of Use
The backend of the hosting company is what allows you to manage your website, install WordPress, add email addresses, and so much more.
Programmers and developers are fine with a hosting company that doesn’t offer much of a backend. They have the knowledge and expertise to figure many of these things out for themselves.
You, however, are not a programmer. You need a user interface that’s intuitive and easy to use.
Hosting companies offer CPanel, which is a standard user interface. It’s a little challenge to learn at first, so see if the hosting company has a knowledge base that walks you through it.
The best WordPress blog hosts have a customized backend that’s easy to navigate and manage.
7. Hosting Hardware
This does matter because it impacts speed and reliability. You should know what kind of servers WordPress hosting companies use.
You want to make sure that you’re not working with some guy who keeps a server in his basement. You want to ask if they use the latest technology.
Ask them when they last upgraded the hardware and how often they do so.
Sorting Through WordPress Hosting Companies
There are plenty of great WordPress hosting companies. How can you ensure you hire the best WordPress hosting company?
You no longer just have to go with the first company you see. You have all of the tips and information you need to choose a WordPress hosting provider.
Think about your business needs and focus on the services and reputation of the business before you turn your attention to the cost.
That gives you the freedom to find the best provider for your website, whether it’s a blog or ecommerce store. Be sure to check out the blog for more business and tech tips.