Once you’ve purchased your domain name, you need somewhere to host it, as all domain name registration does is give you the right to use that web address. There are so many web hosting packages on the market today, and most (but not all) are compatible with WordPress.
Your web hosting choice for WordPress, should be based on the following. It must have:
- PHP 4.3 or greater
- MySQL 4.1.2 or greater
And should also ideally have:
- An Apache or Nginx server
- SuPHP or similar (which executes PHP securely)
If you’re not sure if the package you’re looking at has these then send their sales team an email with the four bullet points above.
You will also want to consider other features when comparing hosting packages, though it is up to you to decide which ones you really need. Here is a checklist:
- Does it have POP3 enabled? This will allow you to download your emails to a single-location such as an Outlook or Apple Mail account.
- Does it have IMAP enabled? This allows you to check your email from several computers by forwarding emails to your Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo account.
- Can you have multiple domains in one hosting account? Many hosting companies offer packages with ‘unlimited domains’ which means you pay the same amount no matter how many websites they host for you.
- Does it have one-click WordPress installation using Fantastico? This will make installing WordPress on your site a lot easier, though it is possible to install it manually.
- What back-up procedures do they offer for your site?
- What support is available?
- What are their uptime guarantees?
- What have other WordPress users experienced?
- Do they tie you into a contract or offer a money back guarantee?
With prices starting under $2 per month it is easy to see why people make mistakes in purchasing hosting, they end up going for the cheapest without checking these other factors. Now that Google has officially annouced that they take speed into consideration when ranking sites, it is now more important than ever to make sure you are getting good value from your hosting provider, not just a good price.
After experiencing problems with a previous host, YourWordPressExpert.com looked into hosting providers using the criteria above. We were very surprised that our former host had performed so badly with regards to speed issues because they tended to rank near the top on hosting reviews. However, when searching for reviews by customers using WordPress, they told a different story and many other customers were too experiencing slow page load times on their WordPress sites just as we were.
In YourWordPressExpert.com’s search for a new host we shortlisted two – BlueHost.com and HostGator.com
BlueHost has a proven track record with 14 years hosting experience. They have good customer service, offering 24/7 live support via email, live chat and phone, and speed tests show they have fast loading websites. Their terms of service are simple and easy to understand so you will be assured that there are no hidden clauses. There are drawbacks though, BlueHosts plan is inflexible, they only offer one plan and it costs $6.95 per month, though this does include one free domain name.
HostGator is the industry leader, and they guarantee 99.9% uptime. Their plans are very flexible, and upgrading and downgrading is easy. You have the option to pay monthly and are not bounded by a long term contract. The main drawback of HostGator is the price, costing up to $14.95 per month for the Business Plan. However, if you only have one website then their ‘Hatching Plan’ does work out cheaper than BlueHost. Also for larger companies they offer VPS and dedicated hosting which means you get your own servers giving you greater control over their set up, increased speed; uptime and security.
YourWordPressExpert.com chose HostGator because of the flexibility, having multiple plans means our hosting package can grow as our business grows. Having switched once, we know how much of a pain it is, and would rather avoid it if we can. We also find it easier to keep all of our domains registered with GoDaddy.com as this makes it convenient for managing their renewals and for switching web hosts should we need to. For this reason we were not enticed by the free domain offered by BlueHost. Unless money really is tight, do not be persuaded by a ‘free domain’, this is just another tactic to tie you to the host as people fear loosing their domain name when they move hosting providers (and this can happen if you don’t do it right).
As YourWordPressExpert.com did not try BlueHost we can’t comment on their performance, though their offer and WordPress user reviews indicated they would be a good choice for start up companies on a low budget. We can say however, that we are very happy with HostGator and from experience recommend this to all of our clients.
Other services offered by Your WordPress Experts:
Affordable Expert WordPress Web Services
1. WordPress Theme Customization Services
2. Affordable Quality WordPress Websites
3. Website Redo
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