Choosing a home for your WordPress website, is one of the most important decisions you will need to make as a website owner.
Your WordPress hosting provider has a great impact on your website performance, security, and the ability to use new technologies and features.
Short introduction to the world of web hosting
Any website on the internet is nothing more than a bunch of files, sitting on a web server (a computer that is configured to serve files over the web).
When someone accesses your website, some files will be downloaded from the web server to his computer, and at the end of the process, out of these files, the browser will display one of the pages on your site.
That’s pretty much the whole process in a nutshell.
Shared hosting vs Private hosting
As we said above, every website needs a web server as a host. Operating a dedicated private server for your site may be too much of a hassle when you are only starting.
Enter shared hosting.
Using a shared hosting service means you share a single server between many sites.
Shared hosting lowers the entry point for new websites owners. For only a few dollars a month your site will be “on-air”.
There are few benefits in favor of this arrangement:
– Shared hosting is much cheaper than private one
– You don’t need to maintain the server
– You don’t need to setup the server
But also some drawbacks:
– Your site will run on limited resources
– Less security
– Customization options are limited if they exist at all
How your web host affects your website
Performance
In some ways your hosting is like the fuel in your car. The better it is the better the performance will be.
When using shared hosting you actually share server resources with other clients of your hosting provider.
The more crowded it gets on the server, less resources are left for each user.
Security
When using shared hosting all server security are left in the hands of the hosting provider.
This is not a bad thing in itself, as it means fewer headaches for you, but if for some reason your hosting provider makes a mistake here – your website will suffer.
It should be said that with the major ‘big names’ hosting providers this is less concerning. But if you use one of the small cheaper providers, you better watch out.
Up time
Any web server may become non reachable occasionally. Sometimes it is being shut down for maintenance, and other times it may go down unexpectedly because of an issue.
Most shared hosting providers will promise an up time above 98% which is not that bad considering what you pay.
The thing to remember is that you have absolutely no control on when the server goes down.
Technology
Shared hosting providers are pretty strict regarding to what you can do at the server level.
You are usually limited to a predefined set of modules and components and you will not be able to install other components or test new things.
It will only be fair to note that most of the shared hosting drawbacks have minimal effect on most websites that are only starting their evolution.
Frequently asked questions about choosing a hosting provider
Can I change my mind?
Yes you can, but… migrating your website to another host, gets more complex as your site ages. There are more media files accumulated, plugins and settings that might not get along with your new host from the start.
Are here any recommended shared hosting providers?
Siteground, Hostgator, Bluehost, Inmotion, Dreamhost, are hosting providers you probably can’t go wrong with when it comes to WordPress shared hosting.
Of course there are quite a few differences between each one, regarding resources and the over whole service quality. You should check out their sites and the packages they offer, and see what aligns with your requirements and budget.
Do I need my hosting provider to be the same as my domain provider?
Not at all!
Any free hosting providers you can recommend?
Unfortunately the answer is no.
In fact, I would recommend staying away from these services even if you are only starting out. If you are on a budget, spend that 2 – 3 dollars for a very basic hosting package – it will worth it.
Does my hosting provider data center location matter?
Having you website hosted in a data center located at the same country as your target audience can certainly boost performance. However, this is particularly true with large websites that serves thousands of visitors per day. For small websites with limited visitors per day, I would not bother too much with this.
Can I have a website without hosting?
Nope, you can’t. As previously mentioned in this article, you need to use some kind of hosting service in order to let people access your site.
Which are the best WordPress shared hosting companies?
If we have to peak only a few:
1. Bluehost, Hostgator: overhaul best return on your investment
2. Siteground: less cheap, but you get great support and maybe better performance.
It will only be fair to note that there are many other great WordPress shared hosting providers, not listed in this article.
If you have any questions about WordPress hosting or just want to add your opinion, use the comment section bellow. You can also message us privately using the contact form.
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