WordPress Hosting

Scalability

You might not require a huge amount of storage or traffic bandwidth from your web host right now, but what if your business takes off? What if you eventually need additional functionality? It’s important to choose a web host that can scale to meet your future requirements because it means you don’t have to repeat this process in the near future or go to the trouble of moving your site from one host to another.

Generally, a host will display the range of plans they offer and the additional features available with each one. If you’re not sure what it all means or what you might need going forward, it’s worth getting in touch with their sales team. They should be able to help you decide which plan is right for you today and which one you should look at next.

Security

Having robust security for your site is increasingly important. It can damage your brand if your site is frequently down because of DDOS (denial of service) attacks or if it gets infected with malware. Customers won’t want to give you their personal information if your site is not secure (as shown by the little padlock in the browser address bar). Does your host offer:

• Firewall protection?
• Virus and malware protection?
• A free Let’s Encrypt SSL install and an automatic renewal? What are the SSL certificate options?
• Automated backup solutions for your site?
• DDOS protection?

If you have an e-commerce site, an SSL certificate is particularly important as it ensures any data the customer enters into your site (such as their name, address, and phone number) is securely encrypted before it travels through cyberspace.

Support

If you’re not a WordPress expert, it’s a good idea to select a plan that has a technical support team available to you – ideally, one with a good knowledge of WordPress. Technology isn’t perfect, and things go wrong occasionally, so it’s a big help if you have a skilled technician on call. Another thing to consider is how easy it is to get hold of them and your contact preferences. I am happy with 24/7 chat, but you may prefer to pick up the phone and talk to someone directly. Some hosting plans only offer email support, which might not be responsive enough for your needs.

Reputation

Spend some time reading reviews online. You should be able to find some on Google reviews or the company’s Facebook page. If they received a complaint, how did they respond? Bear in mind that many hosting companies have affiliate plans, so the person reviewing the hosting may receive a commission. I also have affiliate links and receive a small commission if you purchase a product or service from a provider you visit from my link.

Cost

As with most things in life, when it comes to WordPress hosting, you get what you pay for. While it might be tempting to opt for the cheapest plan you can find, saving $20 a month will be a false economy if your site doesn’t perform efficiently or you spend hours emailing and phoning support to rectify problems.

Self-sufficiency

Something I strongly recommend to all my clients is to opt for a solution that gives you complete control over your web hosting and your domain name. Having full access to both of these means that you can easily switch web design companies at any time. We want our clients to stay with us because they choose to, not because they have to!