7 Key Parameters of Judging a Good or a Bad WordPress Hosting Service

7 Key Parameters of Judging a Good or a Bad WordPress Hosting Service

There is more to a WordPress hosting service than just bandwidth and storage. What is a “good” WordPress hosting service? Depends on what you need. If you are a casual blogger posting articles for a limited audience, a free WordPress hosting service might just be good enough.

However, if you run a small eCommerce site or a site with higher traffic and more security needs, free services simply do not cut it.

Several companies offer WordPress hosting services, which can make it difficult to choose the right one. Here are a few key parameters separating good WordPress hosting services from the bad ones.

Server Reliability and Uptime Scores

Uptimes and speed directly impact revenue.  According to a Hostingtribunal post, the American economy loses $500 million every year as a direct result of slow websites.

If you choose a service provider with bad servers and poor network connections, your website might face longer offline times. It will not only reflect in your revenue but also affect your ranking on search engines adversely.

Therefore make sure that you check the uptime scores of the service provider. An ideal WordPress hosting service should be able to boast an uptime score of more than 99.5%. Stay away from any service provider that has an annual uptime score below 99%.

Features

These are some of the questions that you must ask while choosing the right WordPress hosting service.

  • Does the company offer migration tools or options?
  • Do they offer backup services for your website data?
  • Do they support HTTPS and offer SSL encryption?
  • Would you need to install any other kind of scripts other than WordPress on a subdomain in the future?
  • Can you get support for unlimited domains and subdomains?
  • Are the PHP and MySQL versions current and compatible with your WordPress site?

Security

Cybercrimes are not limited to financial websites or other sites with sensitive client data. Websites of every kind are targeted by hackers these days as cyberattacks are at an all time high. If your website gets attacked, it can cause irreparable damage to your data.

WordPress security is an extensive and complex area, and you will have to rely on the hosting service provider to ensure the protection of your website. One of the easiest ways to set the good ones apart is to check whether the support queries get answered promptly or not. These are some is the security aspects that you would want to check:

  • Managed web applications firewall layers
  • Malware monitoring
  • Removal of malware
  • Automated security updates

Type of Hosting

What type of hosting services do you require? Do you have WordPress sites only, or would you need a hosting service for HTML/CSS/JavaScript sites as well? You can choose between managed WordPress hosting or shared web hosting services, depending on your needs.

Managed WordPress hosting offers services for WordPress platforms only, which means you will not be able to host HTML/CSS/JavaScript websites with them. So if you have WordPress sites only, this is actually a desirable feature for you. You will know that their efforts are dedicated to WordPress and they can provide better updates, site builders, staging sites, and other features.

Traditional shared web hosting services support several platforms, including WordPress. Once you select and purchase a package, you can install a WordPress site with a few clicks and get your site running.

Shared web hosting is popular because their plans are less expensive than managed WordPress hosting. However, if you choose shared web hosting, make sure that you understand the features and support they provide to ensure that they meet your requirements.

If you wish to choose a dedicated hosting for WordPress websites, you should read the advantages and disadvantages of different service providers.

Registration and Maintenance Costs

Most website owners feel that they should go with the cheapest hosting service. In the case of WordPress hosting, as it is with any other services, you get what you pay for. Although, that does not mean that every expensive plan can ensure the best of services.

Therefore make sure that you cross-check the features along with the plans. Also, make sure that you check the renewal prices and maintenance costs apart from the registration cost. That will help you to estimate and manage the funding each month.

Staging Site

If your business is up and running, it can be quite difficult to change the design or improve your website. You may have to wait past midnight when the traffic is low so that you can make the changes quickly, which may not be convenient. Therefore look for WordPress hosting that offers a staging website in their plans.

A staging site is a replica of your website that you can host on a subdomain that would not interfere with your live WordPress site. You can make the changes on the staging site and get it live without disrupting the website traffic once you are ready.

Storage Needs

You will also need to ensure that you get adequate storage for your website for current and future needs. For example, if you need 1 GB of storage right now, you should not choose a plan with 1 GB limitations. In the future, the traffic to your website will increase, so make sure you consider that. Good WordPress hosting services offer the ability to choose additional storage as your website traffic grows.

WordPress hosting can seem confusing, and website owners often fall prey to the marketing gimmicks of companies. The truth is there are a handful of service providers that can offer the best support for your WordPress site. We hope you can use the information provided in this article to make the right decision for your business.