WordPress Web Hosting: Things You Wish You Knew

Entrepreneurs, business owners and other professionals are slowly learning about the importance of a website to their business performance; however, no one expects them to do a full dive into the world of website development. Maybe they will do a quick research about the basics of creating a website on Wix or WordPress, but they will not concern themselves with WordPress hosting, cPanels and other technical stuff. They might even attempt to design their own website since platforms like WordPress offer free templates, but busy people don't have the time to perfect every nook and cranny of the web development process.

Entrepreneurs and business owners need to focus on what they are good at, which is the business side of things. Sure, they can keep on trying to absorb the technical side of website creation; still, their best chance of getting things done is through a professional web development service provider who understands the different options of web hosting for WordPress and a team that can design and develop the whole thing.

Beginners and WordPress Web Hosting Options

Most entrepreneurs don't really concern themselves with the technicalities of web hosting once their web developers get their website up and running. Business owners may hear it once or twice during the development process when the developers are asking about the web hosting plan their client prefers. The next time they would show some interest in it is when there's an issue that shuts down their website, e-mail, web analytics, etc.

Now, most web development agencies want to give their clients a good impression, but of course, they can only do so much if there is a budget limit. If you are a beginner in everything web development related, you might make a mistake when choosing your web hosting service provider or plan. Understanding the difference between a managed and shared web hosting can significantly affect the performance of your website.

If you find yourself constantly disappointed with your website performance and you are sure that you have checked every other aspect of the site, then you might need to check what's up with your web hosting.

Things You Wish You Knew About WordPress Web Hosting

In an ideal world, all you need to do is to snap your fingers, and you'll get what you want: a perfect website, booming business, truckloads of money, and a happy life.

Unfortunately, this world is nowhere near perfect (aside from being perfectly placed in the Solar System for life to exist). So you, dear beginner/entrepreneur/business owner, need to learn one, two or five things about web hosting that you wished you researched about before you ended up in an unhappy place.

Here are several things you wish you knew about web hosting:

1. Not all web hosting service providers provide scalable options.

Everybody has to start somewhere, and sometimes "somewhere" is small, low, and cheap. It is a very business-minded decision to try and start somewhere low-tiered with your web hosting before eventually upgrading when your business and website are doing great.

This plan makes sense, except when you work with a web hosting service provider that can't accommodate your growth. For example, if you decide to build your website on a low-cost shared server, then a time will come when you will have outgrown their shared hosting services.

Transferring to a new server takes a lot of work, so you need to think long-term before deciding on a web hosting for your WordPress site.

2. You don't have to get your hosting services from the same place you register your domain name.

Thinking of the domain name is a fun yet stressful step when getting your website ready. You have to come up with a creative name that effectively represents you and your brand.

Different WordPress web hosting companies have different plans and offers. Some offer domain name registration for free, and some don't. Most of the time, you do not have to get your hosting services from the same place you register your domain name.

There are different reasons why you may prefer not to get your hosting and your domain name from the same company. For example, if you register your domain name from Company A, but a high-quality web hosting plan is available at a lower price at Company B--- it makes sense for you not to get your web hosting services from Company A.

Note: You can also buy multiple domain names for your website for many different reasons that you can learn from here

3. WordPress web hosting customer services are not created equal.

It is a no-brainer that you should be concerned about the inclusions of the web hosting plan that you proceed with. However, it may not occur to you that you should also check the quality of the customer service a company provides. This little detail is even more crucial if you are not tech-savvy or if you have a small or no IT department at all.

Obviously, companies with 24/7 customer service are preferable. However, aside from the availability of support, checking the quality of supplemental services such as smart databases, forums, and ticketing systems are also important. But of course, nothing beats live customer support. Just make sure that their reps are as good as they advertise.

Different Types of Support

There are different kinds of support that a web hosting company can offer. You just need to check which ones you prefer and check if the company you're eyeing has them:

• Live Chat Support - This form of support is gaining popularity as it provides clients a quick access to support personnel. Live chats can help with various concerns and questions. It may be used to answer general sales or technical issues.
• Phone Support - This type of customer support is probably one of the most common. It allows clients to contact customer support through the phone. Queueing can be frustrating whenever the company has a little bit too much customer questions to answer. But it is still a nice feature to have.
• E-mail support- This type of support is another common way of getting in touch with support. Most web hosting companies offer this option since it has become almost second nature to people as a communications method.

4. Most web hosting companies have a dedicated sales team that can suggest the right hosting plan for you.

Since the whole point of a website is doing everything online, you may think that you are on your own; that you need to just click on a plan and go. The thing is: you don't have to do this on your own. Going back to the first item, not every web hosting company offers scalable options. So you should really take your time to see your options.

Most WordPress web hosting companies have a dedicated sales team who will gladly walk you through their plans. If you are running a startup company, it does not make sense for you to get the most expensive plan with the biggest space and the highest capacity; however, you should still consider the possibility of growth in the near future. If you are not sure which of a web hosting company's plan offers both a reasonable price and scalability, you should contact the dedicated sales team to help you decide.

You should try and make an estimate of your possible growth over the short to medium term. Let the sales team know so that they can let you know if they have a web hosting plan that is suitable to your needs. They will gladly talk to you about your needs and recommend an appropriate plan for the level that your company is at currently.

5. There is more than one type of web hosting.

It is a beginner's mistake not to research the things they purchase for their business. So when you are considering web hosting, do not make a decision solely based on the price point. There are different types of web hosting, and they all have different pros and cons.

Four Types of WordPress Web Hosting:

• Shared Hosting - This is the cheapest type of web hosting among the four options. It is as inflexible and least configurable as it is cheap.
• VPS Hosting - Virtual Private Server hosting only gives you a certain amount of disk space, memory and processing power.
• Dedicated hosting - This type of hosting allows you to rent a server. You will have access to the server's full memory, processing power and disk space. This option is for tech-savvy site owners or companies with IT departments.
• Managed Web Hosting - This is the best option for people who are not tech-savvy. Server management and other technical tasks are taken care of by the web hosting service provider.

Final Thoughts

Like most things, WordPress web hosting is simple to understand with enough research and experience (but of course, leave the technical stuff and maintenance to experts). There are many web hosting companies that offer plans that can satisfy your needs. If you feel like you made a mistake in your first attempt at creating a website, fret not, because you can still make things right.