An Overview of WordPress Hosting,
WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) software used to build, modify, and maintain websites. In technical terms, WordPress is written in PHP and run on a MySQL or MariaDB database. In addition, WordPress features include plugins and themes, among others.
If you’ve been thinking about building a website using WordPress, then you’ve probably come across WordPress hosting at some point.
Fast growth comes with rapid adaptation to the latest technological advancements. To maintain maximum speed and efficiency for our customers, we constantly improve our servers’ infrastructure with advanced solutions, including LiteSpeed, caching, security matters, pre-installed plugins, and auto migrations.
Indsoft makes every step of building a website intuitive for beginners and straightforward for web professionals by offering a full package for WordPress hosting.
What Is WordPress Hosting?
In the purest sense, WordPress web hosting is a host that’s been optimized to run WordPress. The additional features offered will vary depending on the type of WordPress hosting you go with. But, generally it’ll be equipped with features like one-click-install, so you can quickly install WordPress on your site, or automatic updates to the WordPress core.
Generally, WordPress hosting will have support staff that’s better versed in WordPress-related technical issues than your standard hosting staff.
Keep in mind that WordPress hosting is not a requirement if you want to run WordPress. You can run WordPress on almost any style of host as the requirements to run WordPress are quite minimal.
In fact, the only technical requirements support for running WordPress include MySQL 5.0.15 or higher and PHP 5.2.4 or higher. However, just because you can run WordPress on technically any host doesn’t mean you should. A WordPress host will help you get the most out of your website and offer you greater levels of performance across the board.
The Different Types of WordPress Hosting Available
Above you learned that any kind of hosting solution can technically be WordPress hosting, once you install WordPress. However, actual WordPress hosting is a specific type of hosting environment that’s been optimized to help WordPress run better.
Here are the most common types of WordPress hosting that you’ll find.
1. Shared WordPress Hosting
Shared WordPress hosting is the cheapest form of WordPress hosting you’ll be able to find. Think of it as a step up from traditional shared hosting in that it’s optimized specifically for WordPress.
Still, with a shared WordPress hosting solution, you’ll be sharing server resources with other websites. This sharing of the web server environment is what helps to keep costs low.
The web server you’re sharing will still be optimized for WordPress though, so you will get improved performance over a traditional shared server.
Other common features you’ll find in traditional WordPress hosting include the ability to use a one-click WordPress installer, so you can install WordPress in a couple of minutes. Some hosts will even give you the ability to pre-install WordPress the moment you sign up for hosting.
Other features you may find include automatic updates to the WordPress core, along with your themes and plugins, and of course, a knowledgeable support team.
Any other WordPress-related features included in your package will be host specific.
2. Managed WordPress Hosting
Managed WordPress sites enjoy one of the highest levels of hosting available for WordPress sites. Managed WordPress hosting takes the stress out of hosting and managing your site, as you’ll have a team of WordPress experts behind you every step of the way.
Typically, managed WordPress hosting will utilize a dedicated server. However it can also be configured with VPS hosting, cloud hosting, or even a shared server environment. The exact type of server specifications depends upon the hosting provider you end up choosing. Most often you’ll find that managed WordPress hosts utilize dedicated servers, so that gives you more control over server setup and scalability.
Here are a few of the biggest benefits of WordPress managed hosting:
- Incredibly fast speeds. If you run a WordPress site, then you can get extremely fast loading speeds by using an optimized server environment.
- High levels of security. With WordPress hosting you have a secure hosting environment designed to protect against WordPress-specific attacks.
- Up to date server. With automated updates you can ensure your site remains fast and secure without any added work on your end.
- Dedicated support team. WordPress hosting offers you a support staff that’s well versed in WordPress and can help you quickly remedy any hosting or site issues.
- High-level of uptime. If your site makes money, then every moment it’s offline you’re losing money. A WordPress host can help stop this from happening.
Managed WordPress hosting is one of the more customized hosting solutions available. As a result, there are some drawbacks that might not align with the goals of your site.
For example, there are typically plugin restrictions. Certain plugins can be banned due to their codebase, their security protocols, or a variety of other reasons. So, if you’re using a plugin that the host doesn’t allow, then you’ll need to find an alternative or consider a different form of hosting altogether.
Also, if you want to run any other kind of site beyond WordPress you can’t do so with managed WordPress hosting. There simply isn’t support to run any other kind of site on the heavily customized server environment.
Lastly, the costs of managed WordPress hosting might be prohibitive for some website owners. If your website is very profitable, then investing in managed WordPress hosting can help improve your site’s performance, while saving you time on any technical hosting tasks. If you have a small budget, then there’s no shame in starting with shared WordPress hosting and upgrading once you have the budget.
The Benefits of WordPress Hosting
Some WordPress hosting advantages include:
It’s incredibly fast. Every aspect of the server has been tweaked to cater to the way WordPress is set up, enabling quick loading times. This level of hosting can often drop page loading speed and response time by a second or more.
It’s more secure. WordPress hosting includes security protocols that address WordPress-specific vulnerabilities. You can trust the team behind a managed WordPress hosting service to stay on top of any WordPress security issues as they arise and address them faster. And in the unlikely event you do get hacked, you’ll have a support team who has experience with WordPress-specific attacks and their fixes.
Your server is always up to date. The team who manages your hosting will ensure the server is always running the latest software, so your site performs as efficiently as possible. Their goal is to keep you happy, and your website working at top-capacity at all times.
Dedicated customer support. The support teams who run managed WordPress hosting accounts are WordPress experts. That level of specialized knowledge pays when you have a problem. They offer experienced support, troubleshooting, and hosting problem solutions whenever needed.
Increased uptime. Between seamless integration with your server and content management system (CMS), and automatic updates that keep your website running in the best version of WordPress available, your site will stay accessible to visitors more often.
WordPress Migrations Automated. We offer an in-house developed and fully automated way to migrate websites – users just have to provide their WordPress admin panel’s URL, login credentials, and the login information of their previous hosting account. Once it’s verified, Indsoft will migrate their WordPress websites in just one click.
Are There Any Drawbacks to WordPress Hosting?
WordPress hosting is a more customized hosting solution, which means it’s not for everyone.
The specialized features it includes mean it typically comes with a higher price tag than some other web hosting options, particularly shared hosting. For some small business or individual website owners, that makes it a tougher sell than a basic shared hosting plan.
In addition, there are limitations on how much customization you can do across your site. Some WordPress hosts limit what plugins you can use, often due to security concerns. If your site requires plugins to function that are on a host’s restricted list, you may need to find another hosting option or seek out an alternative plugin. (Indsoft customers on our managed WordPress plan can find the full list of disallowed plugins here.)
And as you likely already guessed, you can only use WordPress hosting if you have a WordPress site. If you chose another CMS or website builder to create your website, WordPress hosting isn’t an option.
Who Needs WordPress Hosting?
WordPress hosting makes the most sense for anyone who has a site built on WordPress and wants:
- Enhanced security and easier updates that involve less work and required knowledge on your part. Managed WordPress hosting means a team takes care of that stuff for you, and you don’t have to worry about it.
- More customization options. Because a WordPress hosting plan is specifically configured for the CMS, more experienced WordPress developers can potentially extend the content management system’s functionality and do more with it.
When considering your WordPress hosting options, remember that different plans and providers will be offering different types of WordPress hosting plans. If your business is on the smaller side, look for shared or cloud WordPress hosting, so you don’t spend more money than you have to. For bigger businesses with more traffic and complex needs, you’ll want to find a VPS or dedicated WordPress hosting option.
And for the benefits we’ve described in this section, you specifically want to find managed WordPress hosting. Most plans you see advertised as WordPress hosting will fall into this category, but double-check so you know what you’re getting into.
Do You Need WordPress Hosting for a WordPress Site?
Nope! Don’t think your choice of WordPress means you’re required to go with a WordPress web hosting plan. Any web hosting plan you choose should be able to work with WordPress.
WordPress hosting just means you’ll tap into more WordPress-specific features than with a more general web hosting plan.
WordPress Hosting through a Web Hosting Service
Another option for starting a WordPress website is to purchase hosting via a web hosting company like HostGator. Choosing to host your WordPress website through a self-hosted platform comes with several advantages, including:
- You own your domain name
- A fully customizable website with access to free, premium, and third-party themes and plugins
- 2.5X faster load times for your WordPress web hosting because of low-density servers, CDN, and multiple caching layers
- Efficient content management
- Automatic website backups with one-click restores
- Advanced security
- Excellent customer support
- eCommerce functionality
- And more!
When it comes to building your WordPress website through a hosting company, here are some things you may purchase:
- Domain name
- Hosting plan (WordPress managed hosting or shared hosting)
- Paid WordPress or third party themes
- Paid WordPress plugins or third party plugins
Let’s take a closer look at the Indsoft pricing options, the features, benefits, and freebies you get when you sign up for managed WordPress hosting with Indsoft.
Hopefully, by now you can answer the question: what is WordPress web hosting? And you can decide if it’s the right step for your new site. If you’re ready to learn how to build a website or how to register a domain name, contact the experts at Indsoft today for more information.
Contact us for Free Trial : +91-022-2863-1151 or email us : mailto : billing@indsoft.net
