WordPress Web Hosting Term Guide for Beginners

Creating a website is not magic. It is a combination of the right tools, experience, and knowledge. Even when you decide to hire professional web developers and designers to do the job, understanding the process will help you make the right decisions for your website. Some of the things you should learn when it comes to websites are Wordpress, web hosting, and the basics of web design.

WordPress is one of the most popular platforms for building a website if you understand how to use it and its themes, then what you should worry about is finding a good web hosting service provider.

WordPress Web Hosting: Expectations vs. Reality

There are many web hosting service providers, types and plans out there. If it's your first time dealing with web development-- then chances are you will get confused. If you are expecting this part of the process to be a walk in the park, then you are seriously mistaken. Understanding WordPress web hosting can significantly help you make the right decisions when it comes to choosing your service provider and plan.

You are not the only one with expectations when it comes to finding the right web hosting for your website, most web hosts assume that you are familiar with at least the basic hosting terms. So, you should get acquainted with the basics. Once you understand the basics, it is easier to learn everything else as you go.

Why Do You Need WordPress Web Hosting?

Anyone who wants a website for whatever reason needs a web host. What is it and why do you need it? Simply put, you need web hosting to share your website with the world. It is a service wherein you hire a host so you can use their servers to publish your website. The web host will let you use their servers as a storage for your website files. The servers will allow visitors to access your website through a link or your URL.

Unless you want your website to gather dust in your digital cupboard (a folder in your computer), you need to either set up your own server or work with a Wordpress web hosting service provider. Although setting up your own servers is an option, it is complicated and time-consuming. Investing in a good web host and plan will save you from a lot of stress and hassle in the long run.

Web Hosts are Not Created Equal

It is the age of technology, so it's only natural that there are many web host service providers that you can choose from nowadays. However, these web hosts are not created equal. Here are some factors that make them different from one another:

• Price - Each web hosting service provider offers different plans and packages. Understanding their pricing and inclusions will help you make a decision.
• Performance - You can expect some differences between the performance of one web host from another. After all, these web hosts use different kinds of servers and types of equipment.
• Security - A lot of websites handle sensitive user information, which makes a secured web hosting a must. Some web hosts handle security more meticulously than the others.

Other factors make web hosts different from one another, such as their specialisation. For instance, some WordPress web hosting service providers are known for their shared web hosting services while others pride themselves for their managed web hosting offers.

Businesses who are aiming for significant growth should stay away from shared web hosting for a lot of reasons, while the same shared hosting services are considered as a practical choice for hobbyists who are not expecting ROI from their page. It all comes down to what you are trying to achieve.

Understanding WordPress Web Hosting Terminologies

You probably experienced just saying "yes" to things you don't understand at least once in your life. For example, when you just click "Yes, I agree" for every ‘Terms and Conditions’ you encounter when signing up on new websites because they're long and frankly, you're not absorbing the information as well as you'd like. But it's probably safe, right? One of these days you'd unknowingly buy a wish or favour from some mischievous mystical entity with your soul, and you wouldn't even know!

This issue comes from not understanding the process or the terminologies. Understanding the basics of Wordpress web hosting and some terminologies will help you avoid all sorts of confusion while looking for the right service provider and plan. You can save money by being able to identify which services you need and avoiding proceeding with a plan that has things that you don't need.

Basic Terms

Here are some basic terms that you will encounter while researching web hosting:

• Servers - Computers used for hosting websites and applications.
• Domains - The virtual address that users need for accessing your website.
• TLDs or Top-Level Domains - Suffixes of every domain. Some examples include .com, .co, .io and more.
• Subdomains - Subdomains allows you to set up more than one website using the same domain name.
• CMS or Content Management System - The software built to assist you in creating and managing certain types of websites and content.
• Bandwidth - The amount of data that your website can transfer to users or visitors in a certain amount of time.

You will encounter these six terms all the time, so you should remember them.

Plan Terms

Once you are ready to look for a WordPress web hosting plan, then you are going to need more than just the basic six terms. Here are some terms you will encounter while you are searching for the best suited hosting plan for your website:

• Hosting Plans- Packages that web hosting providers offer. The hosting plan determines the type of services you get.
• Shared Hosting - This type of web hosting uses the same server for multiple websites.
• Reseller Hosting - As the name suggests, it involves reselling hosting services from another company.
• VPS or Virtual Private Servers - This type of hosting uses software that allows each website to have their own virtual server despite using the same physical server.
• Cloud Hosting - This type of hosting stores data across multiple different servers in different places that are all connected-- this offers better performance and scalability compared to regular VPS.
• Dedicated Server Hosting - As the name suggests, this type of hosting gives you your own server. Since you get a whole server all to yourself, this kind of hosting is an expensive option.
• Managed Hosting - This type of hosting service offers to handle all the maintenance tasks involved in running a website.

As mentioned previously, the type of plan will depend on what you are trying to achieve. Understanding WordPress web hosting plans.

Advanced Web Hosting Terms

Here are some advanced WordPress web hosting terms that you will come across in the long run:

• Migrations - Some circumstances require you to move your website and domain to a new host and registrar, this process is called website and domain migration. SSL or Secure Sockets Layer Certificates - Certificates that lets people know that your website is safe and secured.
• E-commerce - This term is used to refer to the online selling industry. This term covers the selling of goods and services online.
• Web Builders - These are tools that enable people to build a website without knowing how to code.
• DNS or Domain Name Servers - Servers that hold the record about which domain name is assigned to a website.
• Control Panel - Graphics interface tool that allows you to interact with your server.
• FTP or File Transfer Protocol - Technology that allows you to interact with the files on your server and transfer them to your local computer. You can also do this the other way around where you transfer files from your local computer onto the server.

The basic and plan terms will help you in the beginning, but as time goes by-- you will be dealing with the more advanced side of WordPress web hosting.

For instance, you started with a small online shop with an affordable web builder using a shared web hosting plan, but your business gained a significant amount of audience and sales. You now need an effective eCommerce site with better web hosting and a new domain name registrar for better web performance. You will be dealing with website and domain migration and it would help if you know all the common advanced terms.

The Final Takeaway

First times are almost always scary-- like your first day in school, first big meeting at work, etc. Looking for the right WordPress web hosting service provider and plan for the first time can be intimidating if you have absolutely no idea what you are looking for-- so learn as much as you can as you move forward. Set a goal, do your research and make sure that all your decisions point to where you want to go. Saying that you want a website is easy, but creating and maintaining it is a whole different story. Start on the right foot and make the right decision on your web hosting.