It can be a tricky proposition when it comes to choosing a WordPress host from among the many options that are currently on the market. You have to take into account the different platforms and types of hosting options even before you begin to look at the individual companies that are offering hosting solutions.
Which one is best for your particular website and its individual needs? Yes, cost and budget can be a big deciding factor for many people. But is it really worth it to choose the cheapest option if you are sacrificing functionality and stability at the expense of your website? Obviously not.
Let’s look at the different factors and features you need to examine when choosing your hosting service.
Cost and Hosting Options
Let’s get this one out of the way right up front: cost is certainly a factor for many people. Today, some companies are running specials as low as $1 a month for web hosting. Don’t fall for this! These sites offer almost zero customer service. Ultimately, you get what you pay for.
If you are interested in saving money, the least costly option is Shared Hosting. This means that you will be on one server with other websites sharing resources.
WordPress Hosting is a shared server that has been optimized heavily to bring speed and utmost performance to any WordPress website hosted on the platform.
VPS (virtual private server) Hosting is housed on a shared server, but each website is portioned off so as not to share server resources. This gives you more resources and privacy.
Dedicated Hosting is one of the most expensive hosting plans. This option allows you to be the only customer/website on the entire server. This is prime for large websites.
A shared server can cost around $5 a month while VPS starts to move into the $10-15 range. Managed WordPress Hosting can start around $8 up to $30. Finally, a dedicated server is the most expensive, starting around $100 per month depending on processor speed.
Performance and Speed
Another element to consider is the speed of the host’s server. When we say that a shared server is a lesser option than the others because of shared resources, ultimately we are talking about processing power. If you are running a blog or personal website, a lower tier server host is fine. But if you are trying to run a large business online, your business will live or die based on how fast the website loads. Most WordPress Hosting packages are speedy quick as the server is directly optimized for WordPress.
Many people expect a website to load within two seconds. If it doesn’t, they move on to another site, perhaps to a competitor’s website. Host server speed is definitely an important consideration.
WordPress Features
One of the things that will differentiate hosting services is if they specifically offer features and support for WordPress websites. If your website is WordPress based, then you want to choose a host which provides premium WordPress Hosting.
Reviews
One way to know if the hosting provider that you are considering is the right one, is to check their reviews. If positive, it’s probably a good option. If there are a few negative, read through all of the plan details and make sure they have a money back guarantee.
Choosing the right option from among all the WordPress hosts doesn’t have to be a daunting task. There are lots of different providers that are currently available that can give you a great hosting solution with high-performance speeds at a cost that won’t break your budget. Consider InMotion Hosting’s WordPress Hosting plans.
