5 Common WordPress Hosting FAQ Answered
Want to learn more about WordPress? Read this article to discover answers to common questions regarding WordPress hosting.
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems. According to Earthweb, there are over 455 million websites worldwide that use WordPress. This equates to about a quarter of sites.
Are you considering launching a small business using WordPress? Then you’ll need to find a web host specifically designed for WordPress hosting. This means that the host has key things in place to ensure you have the correct setup and attributes to build a successful online presence.
There are loads of great WordPress host providers out there, but which one is best for your website? If you’re interested in learning more about what to consider this article goes into some of the most common questions you should be asking as well as their answers.
What Is WordPress Hosting?
A WordPress host is like a general web host, in that they both provide an online space to store digital assets. Customers can then see these online, which is the front end. Developers can access the files, which is the backend. Your host is the middle man so to speak.
The difference between WordPress hosting and general hosting providers is that a WordPress host offers more features. Additional services include how the server is configured and optimized for use with WordPress. Hosts that specialise in WordPress hosting will enable you to use a one-click install of WordPress. They also automatically update the WordPress software.
A host that’s dedicated to WordPress will be configured so that your content management system (CMS) has the smallest requirements. Currently, this is a PHP version 5.2.4 or higher as well as MySQL 5.0.15 or higher.
Reasons to Use Dedicated WordPress Hosting
Why is dedicated WordPress hosting better than regular website host providers? Let’s take a look at these reasons:
- Optimized server performance: This ensures visitors to your site have a great experience. Your website’s performance needs to be optimised. Having a host that uses servers configured for WordPress ensures that your website will run efficiently
- Knowledgeable support team: By using a dedicated WordPress host, you’ll have access to a customer support team that understands your problems. Some aspects of WordPress can be complicated, and knowing you have an expert team at your fingertips when things go wrong gives you peace of mind
- Business growth. As your online business expands, and traffic increases, you need a dedicated server which will grow with you. WordPress hosting ensures you have enough resources and keeps your site speed quick
- Improved security. By using a dedicated WordPress host, the servers are optimised to the most up-to-date security configurations. This ensures your site is less likely to fall victim to hackers and helps to reduce downtime
Is There a Difference Between Managed and Shared WordPress Hosting?
Yes, there is a difference. Depending on the nature of your online business, one may suit you more than the other. Here is the main difference to help you decide which managed or shared WordPress hosting is better for you.
- Shared Hosting means the server is shared between other websites. A dedicated WordPress host still gives the benefits of the WordPress server.
- It’s configured to run your WordPress site, however, you share the space. This is usually fine if you’re starting out or your traffic is minimal. The advantage of this is that you get all the benefits at a very affordable price
- Managed Hosting offers you more premium benefits. Using a managed WordPress host will include faster loading time. It also has improved security features and improved site performance.
- This is the best option if you have a high-traffic site. It does come with a premium price tag
Is It Easy to Migrate My WordPress Site From Another Host?
Yes. If you’re currently using another hosting provider for your WordPress site. It’s easy to switch to a dedicated WordPress host. The method of migrating is different between hosting providers. Check with both the old host and new hosting provider for the correct instructions. Before you make any changes, it’s important to back up your site.
The better hosting providers will provide a switching service as part of the package. They will ask you for various details and then do all the technical stuff for you. If you’re not comfortable changing the host yourself, and this is a service that your new host doesn’t provide, you may want to find a different WordPress host provider.
How Do I Protect My WordPress Website From Hackers?
Security is important, regardless of the style of website you have. Having a security breach in the form of hackers, spam or malware can be detrimental to your business especially if it causes downtime, fraudulent activities and leaking of sensitive data.
By using a dedicated WordPress host, you give your sites the best chance of being hacked. The hosting provider will protect your site from security breaches. They will also have spam filters on things like page comments and forms.
It’s important to note that regardless of how secure your website is, it’s important to have secure logins with two-step authentication set up. This will send you a notification of any brute force attacks on your site.
Can I Speed Up My WordPress Site?
A top advantage of using specialist WordPress hosting is that it will make your site run at the optimum speed. In recent Google updates, slow sites have been penalised as they are frustrating from a user point of view. A slow site causes a higher bounce rate which can also hinder any SEO efforts you are doing.
A WordPress site can be slow for many reasons. One of them is your host. We spoke about the differences between shared hosts and managed to host earlier. If you’re having a surge in traffic then one way to speed up your WordPress site is to move to a managed WordPress host.
Aside from your host, there are numerous other things you can do to improve your site’s speed.
- Optimise images to keep the file size as small as possible
- Use a WordPress caching plugin, this helps by removing some of the steps used to generate your page
- Ensure you’re using the latest version of WordPress, this also goes for any plugins too
- Remove poorly coded plugins, not only can these cause bloat, but they can also be a security risk
- Speak to your host provider to see what other elements on your site can be further optimised
Get Your WordPress Hosting Provider up to Scratch
At JW Host, were proud to offer dedicated WordPress hosting. Our lightning-fast UK-based servers support all your WordPress needs, whatever style of site you have, whether it’s a sales page, shop or blog. Our service is perfectly tailored toward busy professionals and entrepreneurs, for any size company looking for quality and value.
Perks of using JW Host include live chat and ticket support. Our knowledgable support teams are UK and in-house based. No more speaking to bots and trying to get a logical straightforward answer to your WordPress problems.
We cater to everyone who has a WordPress site, and who requires a fast-loading site and guaranteed uptime. Our easy-to-navigate hosting control panel is clean, simple and user-friendly. We aim to get your WordPress site online in no time without the stress.
Speak to a member of our team today to learn more.
