How To Choose The Best WordPress Hosting Plan

How To Choose The Best WordPress Hosting Plan

WordPress hosting is one of the most tricky subjects to discuss. If you want to create a WordPress site, one of the first decisions you will need to make is choosing a hosting platform.

There are various hosting options, and deciding which is right for you can be tricky. This article will break down the different hosting features to help you find the best one for your website.

Type Of Website Hosting

There are five main types of hosting. All of these hosting types can be used to power WordPress sites. However, depending on the specifics of your WordPress site, you may need to choose one over the other.

Find out which type is best for you by looking at each type below.

1. Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is the popular type of hosting where most people start their journey to host websites. As the name implies, shared web hosting means your website shares a server with other websites.

The biggest advantage of shared web hosting is the cost. The pricing plans are typically much cheaper than other hosting options, making them a great option for small businesses and individuals on a budget. Shared hosting also offers flexibility, allowing you to upgrade your plan as your website grows.

However, there are some disadvantages of using shared plans as well. One of the biggest disadvantages is your lack of control over your server. Because you are sharing a server with other websites, you do not have as much control over the server’s resources as you would if you were the only website on the server. As a result, it can lead to performance issues if another website uses too many resources on the same server.

Another downside of shared web hosting is the security. Because you are sharing a server with other websites, your website is at a greater risk of being hacked. For example, your website could also be compromised if another website is hacked on the server.

For those reasons, many people move from shared plans to other hosting types once their sites start growing.

2. Cloud Hosting

Cloud web hosting is a type of hosting that uses cloud computing technologies. It is a new way of hosting websites and apps. 

In cloud web hosting, a network of servers is used to store and manage data. The data is spread across different servers in different geographical locations. This way, the data is always available and can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

There are many benefits of cloud web hosting. One of the main benefits is scalability. With cloud-web hosting, you can easily scale up or down your hosting resources per your need. It is not possible with traditional web hosting. 

With cloud-based hosting, you only pay for the resources you use. Therefore, it makes it very cost-effective.

Another benefit of cloud hosting is that it is very reliable. For example, if one server goes down with traditional web hosting, your website will also go down. But with cloud-based hosting, your website will be up and running even if one of the servers is down. Again, this is because the data is spread across different servers in different geographical locations.

It is also very secure. With traditional hosting, your data is stored on one server, making it vulnerable to hacking. But with cloud-based hosting, it is not the case, making it very difficult for hackers to hack into your website.

Cloud platforms are becoming increasingly popular as businesses look for ways to reduce their IT costs. Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft Azure, etc. are the famous cloud platforms used by big companies such as Netflix, Airbnb, Walmart, Xerox, etc.

It is also possible to further break cloud web hosting down into two categories (along with many other types of hosting):

  • Managed: The hosting company will provide a managed hosting panel from where you can adjust the server resources.
  • Unmanaged: The hosting provider will not provide a managed panel; you are solely responsible for adjusting the resources.

Non-tech people prefer to get managed to host whereas developers prefer to have unmanaged hosting to configure servers by themselves. 

The cost also differs in both categories. Such as, managed hosting will cost you higher compared to unmanaged.

You can also use a cloud panel such as ServerAvatarRunCloud, or Cloudways to manage, which costs less. With cloud panels, you can easily manage automatic backups, SSL installation, access file manager, database, security updates, etc.

3. VPS Hosting

While hosting through a VPS is similar to hosting through Cloud, the major difference is that you get dedicated resources from a single server. In other words, you do not get the whole server’s resources, but all the resources assigned to your website are 100% isolated from others.

VPS hosting is much like shared hosting in that multiple users share the same server. However, each user has their own “virtual” server that is completely isolated from the others. Each user can install their operating system, applications, and data. 

Another benefit of VPS hosting is that it is much more secure than shared hosting. Since each user has a virtual server, the chances of one user’s actions affecting the others are very low

VPS hosting used to be very popular, but since Cloud web hosting was introduced, VPS hosting has taken a seat back. Still, VPS hosting is the second best option if you do not want to get into computing technology.

You can also connect server panels with VPS to manage its resources and scalability.

4. Managed WordPress Hosting

WordPress hosting is a type of web hosting specifically optimized for WordPress, which means it comes with a few extra features and benefits geared towards WordPress users.

The major difference between WordPress hosting from regular hosting is they manage most of the features of WordPress. Managed WordPress hosting plans include such as:

  • Automatic WordPress installation
  • Automatic plugins updates
  • Automatic WordPress themes updates
  • Automatic daily backups
  • Automatic WordPress updates
  • Server-level cache, including CDN
  • Enhanced security
  • Free SSL
  • WordPress-specific expertise and support

The benefit of getting Managed WordPress hosting is that you get everything in an already managed environment. In addition, you do not have to worry about backups, SSL, etc., since the hosting company manages them.

The major disadvantage is the cost associated with Managed WordPress. If you compare the identical features with other hosting plans, Managed WordPress is more expensive.

5. Colocation Hosting

It is the advanced level of hosting used by large enterprise-level businesses.

Colocation hosting is a web hosting type where the client leases space from a data center provider. The client provides its server equipment and is responsible for its maintenance and upkeep. The data center provides security, power, cooling, and connectivity to the Internet.

As a WP user, you do not need this hosting. However, it is just explained here for knowledge, so you understand the term and the hosting type.

Conclusion

It is important to understand the requirements and compare all the hosting types to decide which one you want to start for your website hosting.

The best thing is to compare all the features, prices, pros, and cons and see which has the most points per your requirement. Our ultimate WordPress guide can help you consider factors before deciding on your hosting platform.

At Nexerasoft, we recommend either going with Cloud or VPS hosting with a server panel such as ServerAvatar or RunCloud. So, for non-techy people, a server panel is more than enough to get started.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I switch my WordPress hosting provider later?

Yes, you can. You can find different WordPress hosting options, and If you want to move your website to a new hosting, you can export your content from your current WordPress site and import it into your new WordPress website. There are a couple of WordPress plugins available such as WPvivid.

Do I need cPanel WordPress hosting?

cPanel is not required for WordPress hosting solutions, but it can make managing your hosting WordPress website easier. cPanel plan comes with managed features. If you are comfortable using a control panel, then it may be worth considering a cPanel WordPress host. However, if you are comfortable managing your WordPress website without a control panel, you do not need to use cPanel.

Do I need to have my domain and WordPress hosting from the same provider?

No, you do not need your domain and WordPress hosting from the same provider. You can use any domain registrar and any hosting web service.

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