If you are planning to create a website or a blog under WordPress, you will need to know the basics to choose your hosting and the related domain names. The hosting solutions are mainly based on the servers offered by the host.
The choice of the host above all!
Before choosing a hosting for your website, you must consider the host or the service provider who will provide you with the services to host your project. At first glance, many accommodation options are similar and can be found with many providers. However, the host can make a difference in your choice because of its services parallel with its hosting packages.
The geography of the host
The choice of the host can also be a question of geographical location, an important point to avoid longer access times to your server.
What is hosting?
The question may seem silly, but since there are many solutions behind web hosting, it is important to understand the basics. In addition, we very often make the amalgamation between the server and the storage unit, which is ultimately the space where your site will be stored.
A server is a computer unit on which a system is installed, hosting the storage units, configured according to many criteria. It’s like a computer that contains hard drives with open access to the Internet.
It is accessed online via an IP address attached to the URL of your domain name to be chosen in parallel with your hosting.
Hosting is the storage space on which you will install your project; a website, a blog, an application, etc. Our main focus here is WordPress. This hosting, or storage unit, can be either attached to a dedicated server or to a shared server (we will see these terms a little below) to make your website accessible to Internet users who surf the Internet.
WordPress hosting is, therefore, a mechanical hard drive or SSD, a more current solution to date, on which you will install WordPress and your website. It necessarily involves a server and access to it through an interface that will allow you to make settings, modifications, installations, etc.
The choice of hosting
The choice of hosting depends on several criteria, starting with your skill level in managing a server and whether or not you want to have control over its many settings.
WordPress hosting
WordPress hosting means that your storage space will already have the CMS and administrator access to create your web project. All you have to do is enter your login and password to access the WordPress back office. In addition, some essential plugins for WordPress will also preinstall in many cases.
Depending on your ability to manage a server, if you opt for a dedicated server, for example, you will always have the possibility of launching a WordPress installation in a few clicks. Only the creation of your database beforehand is necessary.
WordPress Hosting
We are therefore going to discuss here shared and dedicated servers. Each has its specificities as well as advantages and disadvantages.
The shared server
A shared server is, in principle, a solution where several storage units (hard disks) are shared between several users, which has the clear advantage of hardly having to configure anything.
The major drawback of this type of server is the sharing of bandwidth between several users. This means that one of the server users may need more bandwidth for reasons of higher traffic in particular. However, when a website grows in load, it becomes interesting to switch to a dedicated server offer.
The dedicated server
The dedicated server is indirectly your own server. This is the one on which you can access multiple settings to best optimize your website and the traffic it generates.
You manage it entirely, and if necessary, your hosting provider will assist you in your settings.
Among the dedicated servers, you have the VPS (Virtual Private Servers), which behave like dedicated servers but with the particularity of a software overlay virtualizing them.
Within a single machine, you have several VPS assigned to different users. It is like a pooling of servers, which retain the advantages of the fully dedicated server. Each of the VPS remains independent of the others. The disadvantage of dedicated servers is the knowledge one needs for the many settings and adjustments necessary for its optimization.
The support of the host and its reactivity
I raise an important point here, which you can overlook easily by focusing on the offers delivered by the hosts. This is the support and its reactivity in the event of a problem encountered on your server or indirectly on your website.
On the one hand, WordPress receives regular updates, including the many plugins you need to optimize your site. In parallel, you also have other points which evolve, the OS feeding the servers, the PHP language, etc.
You cannot know everything and, at the same time, ignore the problems that a website may encounter. There are many as long as you regularly get your hands dirty. When you know that a site is mainly the foundation of an online business, it is imperative to have responsiveness from the support. Either to solve the problems you encounter or at least lead in their resolutions.
Outsourcing levels
Beyond that and for specific needs, you have outsourcing or the handling of your server by your host to intervene if necessary. There are several levels of outsourcing according to your needs. In all cases, the 1st level is almost essential because it assists you and, above all, integrates the backup service of your server.
We are never safe from a malfunction, a conflict between plugins, an online attack, or any problem that can make your site inaccessible or, at worst, completely deleted. The backup service is therefore essential.
In conclusion
Choosing the right host and WordPress hosting are essential steps in the creation of a web project. It is a question of knowing how to assess your needs or to go. In most cases, on a ready-to-use WordPress hosting.
It will always be possible to change it later. Do not forget about the support and the backup service. This will save you unnecessary stress in the face of possible problems.
