To Choose Or Not To Choose; 10 Things To Consider While Selecting A WordPress Hosting Provider

If you wish to create a WordPress website or blog, choosing the right WordPress hosting provider is one of the most decisive calls you will have to make. Technically, web hosting is the action of hiring location on server hardware where the data of your website is stored. In other words, it is the place where your website resides.

There are hundreds of hosting providers or web hosts in the market, and the majority of them insist on having attractive features like endless bandwidth, unlimited disk space, etc. But in reality, all WordPress hosting providers are neither the same nor functions in the same way. So, if you fail to select the best hosting provider company, running an online website or business can be a headache for you. There are also different kinds of hosting plans such as shared, managed, and VPS hosting and choosing the proper hosting plan is also a challenge for beginners.

However, for learners who are about to launch their websites, it is always better to choose a shared hosting plan. It has many subscribers due to its low cost and affordability. Whereas, if you want your host to look after all the technical aspects of running a site, you can go for Managed WordPress hosting. But, generally, it is quite expensive for beginners who have just started off and haven’t started to receive any profit yet.

In this article, we will share the most important things to consider while selecting a hosting provider for your website that will extend its fame and success. 

1. Price of hosting plan

For most people, money is the first factor they consider when choosing a web host. But bear in mind that opting for an inexpensive solution isn’t always the best idea, especially not for the long-term. The cost of web hosting relies upon a number of factors such as the quality of support and the condition of servers amongst others. While going through potential choices, remember that managing a skilled and resourceful workforce, good hardware and a stable network connection will cost a serious amount of money. 

Amidst the various kinds of hosting plans available, shared hosting is the most alluring one for new customers because they are the cheapest. But before confirming it as your hosting plan, make sure that you can afford their renewal plans too since many hosting providers give a shared hosting plan at a low rate but with a high renewal rate. You can surely kickoff with budget-friendly web hosting, but you should scale up with the growth of your website.

2. Security

It is imperative that you must choose a hosting provider that can protect your site from cyber-attacks. Hence, web hosting security is essential for any website; be it a personal site that you use simply to blog occasionally or a large- scale business site. Though the security of your site has a lot to do with the way you create it, a reliable hosting provider can also play a crucial role in keeping hackers at a distance.

A high-quality provider offers features such as daily backups to recover your data, the latest cybersecurity software to save your website from malfunctions, SSLs to secure payment transactions, and more. Lastly, your hosting provider must give you a user access control; it should allow only authorized people to approach the administrative features of your website.

3. Server reliability and Uptime

You never want your website to pause even for a fraction of second. So, it is vital to select a web host that is functioning on a powerful server with good hardware and solid network connections.

Choose a WordPress hosting provider that guarantees as much uptime as possible in order to prevent costly disruptions to your business.

It’s true that no WordPress hosting provider can promise you 100% uptime, but the best providers get nearly close, offering 99.9% uptime score. Choose a WordPress hosting provider that guarantees as much uptime as possible in order to prevent costly disruptions to your business. Anything below 99% cannot be considered as a decent host. 

4. Customer Service

Customer support is another aspect that has to be taken into account before finalizing your web host. In fact, one of the biggest assets of having a hosting provider is that you will have a proficient team to help you whenever you need assistance.

It is always better to prefer a company that provides relentless, high-quality customer service. Though a lot of companies proclaim such full time, quality support, they might take hours or even days to answer back to you in response to your query. A good way to find out web hosts that probably stick to their word is by searching for any customer reviews or testimonials available online. This helps you to ensure that they have good trustworthiness in customer support. Also, make sure that they provide support via multiple channels such as email, chat, landline, etc. 

5. Features and Performance

Before reviewing the features of a web host, you must have a clear idea about the features you need for the smooth functioning of your website. Figure out the list of benefits or advantages a particular web hosting company has, over other companies.

Bandwidth limit, space on hard disk space, and the number of domains allowed are some of the few essential features that one must ensure before selecting the web host provider. The majority of the companies provide these basic features, but only a few offer additional features that might be useful later on.

One such additional feature is an email service that permits you to set up email accounts using your domain name. Other features include providing access to website tools like Drupal, WordPress, shopping carts, etc which are provided only by some top hosting providers. These applications allow you to design and build your own website without the help of a professional. 

6. Backups

In this digital age, no matter how much you try, your site can still get hacked or can crash making it out of reach for visitors. A large number of websites are being aimed every day for cyber-attacks because of their security weakness. Owing to such situations, it is necessary that you need to choose a web host that generates multiple backups for your website’s files on its server. So that you can easily restore your website again.

If your web host takes the site backup regularly, then you don’t have to worry about such terrible cyber- attacks.

7. Upgrade options

As mentioned earlier, most people prefer a shared web hosting plan when they create a new website. This way you can save money during the initial period of your online business. But if you aim to take your website to the next level, you will have to associate with a hosting provider that has the power to help you grow all along the way. Therefore, ensure that the company provides you with the flexibility to upgrade your subscription.

For example, you may want to change to a VPS or dedicated server to strengthen the web site’s security and storage capacity. This could be best in case you select a hosting company that allows upgrading at a time when the website grows. For that, you will have to look at the upgrade options in the hosting provider to ensure that it can entertain the future progress of your business. 

8. Plugins Compatibility

As you all know, plugins are the inevitable component of all WordPress sites since it provides additional features to WordPress. Unfortunately, some plugins do not go well with the hosting company’s servers, and such plugins are banned by them.

Plugins enhance the functionality of your website, and if any of them is banned by the hosting company, then it is a significant loss for you.

Now, you may not find this as a big issue but remember that plugins enhance the functionality of your website, and if any of them is banned by the hosting company, then it is a significant loss for you. Hence, make sure that the hosting provider allows you to install and experiment as many plugins you want on your website without any limitations.

9. Control Panel

No matter how little you know about technology, once you become a website owner, you should be prepared to study and perform new tasks like installing a new CMS, adding a new plugin, and so on. To do this without much hassle, you would need access to a control panel(backend). They can connect you to some of the most important website management features, through a transparent interface. So, avoid a service provider that doesn’t offer you a user-friendly control panel.  

10. Hosting Hardware

Last but not the least, it is advisable to check the hardware of the hosting provider. The hardware is what determines the hosting performance that affects the loading speed of the website. You can check on; what kind of hardware are they using? Do they have ample resources to meet the clients’ needs? Are they using servers of the latest technology? These are just some of the questions you need to find out regarding the hardware of the hosting provider. 

Choosing the right hosting provider is your first step towards building an impressive WordPress site. We hope that this article will help you to settle for the best hosting provider based on your needs. If you think we have left out any other aspects that need to be considered while selecting a hosting provider, please take a moment to share it with us. Also, read our next article to find out the best web hosting deals for 2020.

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