With all the types of WordPress hosting, how do you know which one is right for your business?
WordPress works on various web servers, giving users a lot of flexibility in selecting their hosting service. In this post, we’ll review the types of WordPress hosting and how to choose one to meet your needs.
What Are the Basic Requirements of WordPress Hosting?
WordPress is a PHP-based content management system and works on almost any server with PHP support.
WordPress works best with any web hosting service that meets these requirements:
- PHP version 7.4 or greater.
- MySQL version 5.7 or greater OR MariaDB version 10.3 or greater
- HTTPS support
Additionally, WordPress recommends Nginx or Apache as the best servers. But you can use any server with PHP and MySQL support, ideally matching the requirements above.
Shopping for WordPress hosting is a lot like shopping for a new computer. How you’ll use your computer influences which set up is best for you. If you only check email and use word processing programs, almost any computer will work. If you’re doing graphics or video editing, you’ll need a computer with more processing power and memory.
WordPress is the software that runs your website. If you’re updating a site without many visitors, the hosting you choose probably won’t matter for your site’s performance. But, for business websites and ecommerce sites, milliseconds matter when it comes to converting visitors to customers. Business sites need reliable and fast hosting to ensure their sites work at optimum WordPress performance.
The Different Options of WordPress Hosting Available
WordPress users have a lot of flexibility in selecting a hosting provider. Let’s look at the most common types of WordPress hosting.
Self Hosted
For the technically inclined, you can set up your own web server and self host a WordPress website. This option is costly and time-consuming. It also comes with the least amount of 24/7 WordPress hosting support. If something goes wrong during a holiday weekend shopping rush, you’ll be the one who has to fix it.
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is a more affordable option for hosting your WordPress website, but cheap hosting doesn’t save as much as you’d think. One server hosts multiple websites. Each website receives an allotted amount of resources for storage, bandwidth, and processing. The hosting service is responsible for maintaining and updating the server.
Shared hosting is like the coworking environments for websites, the WeWork of the web. The host covers the utilities and maintains the office, and you rent a small corner for yourself. But, if the guy next to you trips a breaker using his space heater, the lights will go off in your office too. Similarly, when one site on a shared hosting server receives a large influx in traffic, the performance of every site on the server can be negatively affected.
VPS Hosting
VPS hosting, or Virtual Private Server hosting, offers additional security and privacy with some of the cost-saving benefits of shared hosting. Your site still runs on the same server as other websites, but you receive a dedicated virtual machine on the server. Think of it as renting office space in a downtown building. The landlord still maintains the building, but you’re responsible for what happens in your space. If something happens in the office next to yours, it shouldn’t impact you. VPS hosting solves some of the performance issues of shared hosting plans.
Dedicated Hosting
For website owners who want even more control and privacy, dedicated hosting services offer web servers for hosting only your site. It’s like renting an entire office building. You’re the only company in the building, and other tenants won’t impact your business. Dedicated hosting plans tend to be more expensive compared to shared or VPS hosting plans.
Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting avoids the constraints of hosting a site on a physical server. Shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting plans utilize one physical server for your site. If that server crashes, your site will go down until the host gets the server back online or moves the site to a different server. Cloud hosting utilizes distributed computing and runs websites on different servers in the hosting service cloud. Cloud hosting is considerably more scalable and can easily handle large influxes in traffic.
Managed WordPress Hosting
Managed WordPress hosting is a web hosting service designed specifically for WordPress websites. Managed hosting includes additional features such as one-click installs for WordPress and automated updates and backups. Managed WordPress hosting can utilize any of the types of hosting we’ve reviewed so far. For example, you could pick from shared managed WordPress hosting or opt for cloud-based managed WordPress hosting.
Which Hosting is Best for Your Business?
Cloud-based managed WordPress hosting offers the most convenience and best performance for WordPress users. Check out this post on the benefits of managed WordPress hosting to understand how managed hosting services can save you time and increase the performance of your website.
Cloud-based hosting services, like Pressable, also offer the best performance for WordPress sites. With a cloud-based server, you never have to worry about a neighbor’s site taking your site down. Cloud hosting is more secure and scalable and can easily adapt to your needs. Cloud hosting also is more reliable. Pressable’s cloud hosting offers a 100% uptime guarantee.
Pressable Offers Might Be the Answer
Pressable is the best type of WordPress hosting. With hosting plans for any size and type of business, Pressable is the obvious choice for serious and even not-so-serious WordPress users.
Alfred Bassetti
With over a decade of invaluable experience. Alfred is not just about numbers; he's dedicated to bringing customers closer to their hosting needs through his expertise in Inbound sales, WordPress support, and Google Data Analytics Certifications. His skills in project planning, web design, and development make him a well-rounded contributor to the Pressable team. He focuses in helping people get the best possible experience with hosting by bringing customers closer to their needs!
