The Dos and Don’ts of WordPress Hosting

Of the top 10 million websites on the web, over 35 percent of them run on WordPress! That is why it’s no wonder that web hosting providers literally fight to get you as a client, and each of the providers is presented as the most valuable option among the rest.

But, not every web host is equal in the marketplace, in terms of quality, and pricing packages. While you look for an affordable solution, it is advisable to check what exactly you get for the price, as well as reviews from previous clients. Finding the right company that truly cares about your WordPress site performance can make all the difference when it comes to your online presence.

This is why we want to help you choose the right hosting partner for your WordPress site by going through some major dos and don’ts as well as explain the characteristics of a reliable provider, and some of the stumbling blocks that you need to keep an eye out for when considering a web hosting service.

Do Choose Quality, but Stay Frugal

Let’s say you enter a car dealership, where there’s everything from cheaper smaller compact cars, to larger and more expensive cars that offer more options and space. Picking a car is a matter of necessity and taste, so we assume that you’ll be careful about what you choose to spend your money on.

Choosing a hosting provider for your website is basically the same – what you pay for and what you want is entirely up to you. It’s a matter of quality, but will you spend your entire budget for nothing is the question.

There are some tricks that hosts use to make you overpay for your hosting service, such as:

A Limited-Time Offer with an Unreasonably Low Price

If you looked for hosting solutions for your site, you’ve probably encountered a pop-up or an ad saying that there’s a limited time offer in which you can purchase a package for more than 50% off. But, after that period is over, you need to agree to pay the full price.

The goal of these low-cost offers is to capture you as a client and keep you as long as possible afterward. They’re willing to lose money in the beginning, only to get you to pay full price later because let’s face it, most business owners are reluctant to shift to a new provider once they kick-start their WordPress site.

Huge SSL Costs

For a better security, search engine ranking, and UX alike, a safe SSL connection to your website is crucial. The SSL certificate should be included in your hosting package, and companies should not overcharge you for it.

But novice users are not aware of the above, which results in some hosting companies to deliberately charge them for a normal SSL certificate. Most commonly, that’s the case with low-priced and unknown WordPress hosting companies. 

Remember, you want the best possible solution for your budget, one that will satisfy your requirements, but it is economical at the same time.

Don’t Believe Downtime Is Normal

Web hosting companies are really confident when it comes to guarantees. But the question is how many back their words with results and actions. Constant website uptime is an excellent selling point, but does the “affordable” hosting provider have the capacity to keep your WordPress site running in spite of high traffic spikes and malware?

Lots of providers will promise you the sky and make you believe that occasional downtimes are just a “normal” thing for even the biggest blogs on the Internet. However, their “normal” can ruin your reputation and online experience. 

Anything shorter than 100% uptime means not only reduced traffic but also a drop in revenue as well. When it comes to a quality hosting service provider and a reliable  web experience, there’s no room for any downtime or website failures.

Choose a Host with High-Speed Data Delivery

One of the most important benefits that you can receive from the right hosting provider is a significant performance boost for your WordPress site.

It’s no secret that page load time is vital for the success of your business. Whether you produce content or want to sell a product on your website, the speed of information delivery can make the difference between gaining new customers or losing them to your competitors.

Only a one-second slowdown can cost Amazon up to $1.6 billion each year! That is why you must have a reliable hosting provider equipped with the latest infrastructure and solid-state drives. A modern SSD can read data much faster than a standard hard-disk drive, it can be more expensive, but the performance is well worth it.

Powerful hosting providers also use VPS environments or cloud networks that allow them to dedicate much more resources to each client, which results in faster page and database loading. When the hosting infrastructure is set for speed, the provider should make additional efforts to optimize the speed of your website.

A top-notch hosting plan also includes first-rate caching plugins and CDN access, measurements that can have a significant effect on your website speed. Caching helps your website  deliver content faster and at the same time, decreases the load on web servers. A powerful host will provide you with a caching system of plugins and add-ons for all of your static files and databases.

Don’t Even Talk if 24/7 Support Is Not Included

There’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to ask someone for help when you really need it. Your business’s success, at that very moment, might depend on whether the glitch, bug or the issue can be solved quickly. You may need to immediately call, chat, or have someone enter your WordPress code and fix the problem.

A first-rate host will offer you every kind of support, from a ticketing system, to live chat, email, and even phone and video calls–24/7/365! Having multiple support options at any given time means that critical issues will be resolved quickly and with additional preventive measurements.

Do Opt for Robust Security Plan

Hackers love finding gaps in WordPress sites. Even though the core of WordPress is pretty robust, still, you may need additional layers of protection for your website.

One of the most vital roles in WordPress security is the automatic updates of the core, themes, and plugins, which, fortunately, are an option that is included in almost every hosting plan on the marketplace. If you are working with a professional WordPress Development Agency, your developing team would most likely provide an additional layer of monitoring, making sure that automated updates do not override any functionality on the website.

Other useful traits that you need to look for when it comes to web security are automatic backups and SSL certificates. SSL certificates are especially necessary because of their capability to encrypt the communication between servers and visitor browser. Furthermore, SSL certificates progressively contribute to your good search engine ranking.

Besides automatic updates and SSL certificates, a valuable hosting plan will also include regular scans and solutions for malware and viruses, web firewalls, and protection from DDoS attacks.

Get a Managed WordPress Partner

When you know what traits are that you need to look for, it’s time to turn to the experts who will become your partners in WordPress dominance! 

You need a partner that is an expert in both servers and WordPress site, and a partner that will keep your website running under the heaviest of traffic spikes, that will resist daily security attacks and provide you with a superior foundation for your content.

It takes knowledge and technical expertise to get your website up and running and keep it that way while you scale your business online. A managed hosting service administers and sustains each technical aspect of your WordPress website.

The amount of websites that turned to managed hosting has expanded rapidly in the last decade, and in conjunction with WordPress, it has become a dominant way for businesses to manage their content online. The four key advantages of having a managed hosting provider for your site are:

• Better Website Security: Managed hosting services provide first-rate security packages, including regular backups, malware scanning, and continuous updates that stop hackers from hijacking your site.
• Supervising Uptime: Uptime directly affects your UX and search rankings. A managed hosting provider will conduct 24/7 website monitoring, which releases you from all the worries of whether your website performs during high traffic spikes.
• 24/7 Support: A managed host will provide you with experts that have an excellent grasp of all the technical details, and know precisely how to resolve complex problems fast.
• Customizable Solutions:  The majority of Managed Hosting providers work for website from virtually every industry, from eCommerce, to Digital Publishing, and everything in between.

If you’re considering a managed hosting for your WordPress website, in our experience, there’s no one better in the industry than Pagely.

Their infrastructure is your best option to achieve better scalability and to get enterprise-level security of your WordPress website.

Wrapping Up

Hosting solutions for your WordPress website are not something that you should take for granted. You shouldn’t just choose whatever provider that comes your way. Yes, a quality host costs money, but this is a long-term investment in your business that lets you sleep at night knowing that someone is looking after your website.

It’s always tempting to accept a super-affordable solution, but remember that with a cheap and unproven hosting provider, you’re putting your company at risk.

You have the guidelines, now make sure that you find a reliable partner who will help you grow so that you can deliver an impeccable experience to your target users.