Choosing your WordPress hosting is undoubtedly one of the first decisions to make when... creating your WordPress website.
From the outset, technical questions arise and they are not insignificant, because choosing the right WordPress hosting will determine the rest of the process of implementing your site.
So, what is WordPress hosting and how do you choose the right WordPress hosting provider?
What is WordPress hosting?
WordPress hosting is the server on which your website will be hosted.
Indeed, there are different types of servers on which it is possible to store your website.
Only once the server is found will it be possible to install WordPress and show your website to the world.
The WordPress hosting provider will therefore act as the link between you and the internet user, so that the latter can access your site, since its function will be to store the various files of your website and make this content available.
Thus, without a WordPress host, the site will remain inaccessible or only available locally on your computer.
The different types of hosting providers
Depending on your needs and the different options available, you will be able to choose between several WordPress hosting solutions.
1 – The shared server
A shared server offer is generally the least expensive option.
This is therefore an interesting solution if you are looking for discounted WordPress hosting.
Shared servers therefore offer this advantage, but also have some disadvantages.
Indeed, this is a server shared with other websites. The server assigned to your website will therefore not be dedicated solely to you.
Since the hosting is shared, the server configuration will most often be handled directly by the hosting provider to suit all of its tenants. This is the case, for example, with OVH.
When we talk about configuration, we are most often referring to:
- The allocated RAM;
- Processor power;
- The disk space available to store your website;
- Bandwidth
Some shared hosting providers, however, offer the ability to modify the configuration with few restrictions, such as o2switch. This allows you greater freedom of choice at a very competitive price.
In fact, this is the one we recommend if you are looking for the best value for money to launch your WordPress site.
Finally, the performance of this type of server is limited, and if your site is intended to offer more content and welcome ever more visitors, you may quickly encounter problems, such as slower loading times.
However, they are very well suited for showcase websites and small e-commerce businesses.
2 – The dedicated server
Unlike shared hosting, a dedicated server will be used solely for hosting your website.
The disadvantages, such as limited capabilities, the inability to perform adjustments and maintenance, are therefore avoided.
Be aware, however, that while a dedicated server allows you to benefit from better performance and a customized configuration according to your needs, it also requires having the necessary skills, or using a service provider, to carry out this task.
Indeed, everything is configurable and adaptable according to the resource needs of your site, so you will need a minimum of knowledge to set it up.
The price of the dedicated server must also be taken into account, which will often be higher than that of the shared server.
This type of offer will be perfect for a website intended to receive a lot of traffic and whose data needs to be well secured.
3 – The virtual server
The virtual server, or VPS, is halfway between a dedicated server and a shared server.
A virtual server is a high-performance, shared physical server whose resources are shared between several virtual servers.
In principle, it is therefore a shared offer, but in fact, the virtual server will be completely dedicated to hosting your website.
It will therefore be possible to benefit from a certain level of performance, a configuration similar to a dedicated server, as well as the WordPress website maintenance.
It is therefore an ideal compromise between shared and dedicated servers.
It is important to note that some shared server services offer pre-configured servers to facilitate their use, when one does not have all the necessary information. technical skills necessary. However, it is advisable to seek professional guidance to ensure that mistakes are not made.
4 – Cloud hosting
The cloud server works in much the same way as the virtual server.
It is available from many hosting providers at widely varying prices and has some interesting advantages.
This type of hosting has the advantage of being scalable, since it will be possible to upgrade according to your needs and the evolution of your website.
Thus, the server is able to absorb significant traffic spikes without any downtime.
It adapts somewhat automatically to the resource demand of your site.
Similarly, the fact that your site is hosted in the cloud allows it to be available 100% of the time, unlike a standard server where your site will be unavailable if it fails.
However, depending on the hosting provider chosen, certain technical skills may be required to use a cloud server.
This is not usually the server that would be recommended for WordPress hosting for a standard website without high traffic.
5 – WordPress Specialized Hosting
WordPress-specific hosting services, as their name suggests, are solely dedicated to hosting websites created with the WordPress CMS.
These are generally shared hosting services. high performance, or everything is done to ensure that the configuration, setup and daily management of your site are as simple and intuitive as possible.
They generally allow you to create WordPress sites in one click, have security specifically dedicated to the CMS, back up the site, offer to clone it in one click to carry out tests, or even to carry out updates from your account.
Be aware, however, that some will not allow you to modify certain settings of your site or edit certain configuration files on your FTP server, such as the file wp-config.php.
We recommend Kinsta, a WordPress specialist, if you wish to use this type of hosting.
Note that sites hosted by Kinsta use Google Cloud infrastructure, offering very interesting performance.
Their rates are often more expensive than a typical shared hosting provider.
Therefore, there are many hosting options available, and everything will depend on the needs of your website or business.
Feel free to browse the websites of the many hosting providers and compare their offers to get an idea of what will suit you best.
If you don't know which solution to choose, L'WP Maintenance Agency will be able to assist you in creating your website, and therefore help you choose the hosting solution that best suits your needs and budget.
