Beginners Guide to WordPress Hosting

In our Blog: A Beginner’s Guide to WordPress Hosting – Part 1, we gave you a breakdown of what WordPress hosting is and how it works. In Part 2 we are going to look at how the aspects of WordPress hosting can give you an amazing website that will keep people coming back for more.

WordPress Themes, Templates and Plugins

When you create a website using WordPress, you can choose to use a theme for the overall design of your site and how your content will appear to visitors. Themes also offer a degree of functionality for different elements of your website. WordPress offers a range of themes, from simple ones versatile enough for any type of website, to others specifically tailored for ecommerce sites, portfolios, or blogs.

Templates are included in WordPress themes, and they control the layout of a specific page or pages of a site. You can have different templates for different pages on your site, for example, your homepage having a separate template to your contact page.

WordPress plugins allow you to add features and extend the functionality of your website, think of them like apps for a mobile phone. With thousands of plugins available, it’s important to choose those that are reputable, well-supported, and most importantly have the correct functionality for your site.

Finally, your site needs to be a responsive, meaning your site should look and function well on all devices, from desktops to smartphones.

Optimizing for Speed and Performance

No-one likes a slow website. Slow loading speeds can frustrate users leading to a high bounce rate. A fast-loading, well optimized WordPress site performs better, keeps visitors engaged and gives a superior user experience.

For example, if you use a standard web server, it generally will be running multiple Content Management Systems (CMS) for potentially hundreds of websites. Having all those on a server can slow down its performance and in turn your site.

On the other hand, hosting your site on a WordPress server, WordPress is the only CMS loaded on it and it is configured specifically to run WordPress effectively.

Hosted.com uses LiteSpeed servers, the fastest web server tech available for WordPress hosting combined with the LiteSpeed Cache plugin to optimize and enhance your site’s speed and performance.

Our dedicated infrastructure has been designed and optimized to prioritize a WordPress website’s performance, security, and stability, so you get the fastest and best WordPress hosting.

WordPress Hosting and Uptime

Uptime is the amount of time that a website is up and accessible to users. In other words, it is the time during which a website is up and running without any issues. A website that is down even briefly can deter visitors and potential customers. It’s also a measure of reliability of your site and your hosting provider.

That’s why all Hosted.com WordPress Hosting Packages guarantee an uptime of 99.9% as part of our Service Level Agreement to all our clients.

Security Features

A good WordPress hosting service should provide security measures to protect your site from threats. Look for features like regular backups, malware scanning, and server monitoring.

WordPress hosts tend to be more vigilant about platform security with malware scans, firewalls, and proactive threat detection.

Your site’s visitors need to feel secure. This is especially if you are running an ecommerce store. An SSL certificate shows visitors that your website is secure. It means that the padlock and “https://” domain name prefix will show in the browser when people visit your website.

With Hosted.com you get one of the most trusted WordPress platforms, that offers: free SSL certificate, 24/7 monitoring, and protection with tailored security solutions including Patchman, Monarx, ImmunifyAV and Bitninja.

Backups, Updates and Maintenance

Getting hacked, software conflicts, and human error can all bring down a website. That’s why backups, maintenance and updates are so important.

Backups ensure that if the worst happens, you can restore your site. A good WordPress hosting provider will offer regular, automated backups to safeguard your files and data.

Regular maintenance is essential for a healthy website. Managed WordPress Hosting from Hosted.com takes these tasks off your hands, allowing you to focus on your business.

All our WordPress Hosting plans come with daily Acronis backups, so you can restore your data instantly if needed.

We make use of a Smart Update tool* to update your plugins automatically. It will also compare pages afterwards to make sure there are no breaks on your site.

SEO Optimization in WordPress Hosting

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is how your site can be more visible to search engines and rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs) when users search keywords related to your website.

WordPress offers a range of SEO plugins like Yoast SEO, Rank Math and SEOPress to help optimize your site and drive more organic traffic to it.

Dedicated Support

When things go wrong, having dedicated customer support is non-negotiable, especially when you’re starting out. Having a hosting service that provides support when you need it can save you time and stress.

Hosted.com’s dedicated support team will provide everything your website needs on the backend. You can rest easy knowing they take care of everything happing behind-the-scenes can resolve any query you may have.

You also get access to our Customer Portal where you can manage your plan from one convenient platform.

Hosting to Scale Your WordPress Site

As your website grows, so too must your hosting resources. Scalability is the ability of your hosting to grow with your site. Your WordPress provider should have plan options, so you get the necessary resources, storage space and bandwidth to handle increased traffic and content.

With Hosted.com, upgrading to accommodate more content and traffic has never been easier. Our sales team is available to help you choose the right plan and upgrade.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  1. Uptime is essential, so ensure your hosting provider can keep your site up and running.
  2. WordPress optimized servers help keep sites loading fast along with choosing the right theme, caching plugin, and updating regularly.
  3. Choose a hosting provider that offers the best security for your site and users.
  4. Backups, updates and maintenance are essential for a healthy WordPress site.
  5. When running an ecommerce site, plugins like WooCommerce help manage everything from inventory to payment and shipping.
  6. SEO is how your site gets better visibility on SERPs. WordPress offers a range of plugins to improve SEO and help sites rank higher.
  7. Make sure your hosting provider has the expertise to help you if something goes wrong.
  8. A good hosting provider should have the resources to help you scale your website.

Read Part 1 of A Beginner’s Guide to WordPress Hosting.

FAQs

Who Should Use WordPress Hosting?

WordPress hosting should be used by anyone creating a website using the WordPress platform. It is especially useful for beginners, small businesses, and startups due to its ease of use, backups, updates, and support.

Can I Install WordPress on My Computer?

Yes, you can install WordPress on your computer, however it requires a certain amount of IT expertise and only developers do it, as it needs to be set up as a server. Hosted.com WordPress Hosting allows people without the expertise a platform for the WordPress as well as including 1-Click WordPress Installs for plugins and functionality on all our WordPress Hosting Plans.

How Do I Backup My WordPress Site?

You can back up your WordPress site manually via your provider’s control panel or use plugins. To make things even easier, Hosted.com offers daily Acronis Backups that backup your site automatically.

Where Can I Find WordPress Themes?

The WordPress website has a huge library of free and paid themes available. Additionally, you can look at pages like >ThemeForest who offer a wide range of themes for all types of websites.

What is Shared Hosting vs. WordPress Hosting?

Shared hosting is a service where multiple websites share resources and space on a single server. WordPress hosting is a specific type of web hosting designed specifically to power WordPress sites. It is configured for the unique needs of WordPress websites in terms of performance, stability, and security.

Other Blogs of Interest:

– What Is WordPress Hosting? Definition, Features & Benefits

– 10 Top Free WordPress Themes for your Website

– A Beginner’s Guide to WordPress Hosting – Part 1

– How Long Does It Take To Build A Website With WordPress

– Web Hosting for WordPress Website – 6 Helpful Tips

*Ts & Cs apply
Free Domain Registration applies to the following domain name extensions: .com, .online, and is only applicable at time of purchase.

Free Domain Registration depends on the selected hosting plan and only applies on 12, 24, and 36 month billing cycles.
All listed prices exclude Premium domain names.

DISCLAIMER: Any pricing reflected on images is for demonstration/reference purposes only and does not constitute actual pricing. E&OE.