It’s easy to get confused when choosing a good web hosting for your blog or website.
Especially, when you are not aware of the right criteria for selecting a web host.
I am aware of this because I was at the same place once.
Now I run my own Web Design and Digital Marketing Agency and I have the experience of working with almost every hosting provider out there.
I have worked with the good ones and also the worst ones.
I have tested each of them not by running some sample tests but pure experience.
Now I definitely have more technical knowledge about web hosting, but that wasn’t always the case when I started my first blog.
Today, I will not only tell you about which is the best WordPress hosting in my opinion but also a few key pointers you can use to choose the right hosting for you.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
How I selected hosting for my first site?
You can skip this personal story of mine, but I highly recommend you to read it.
This was when I was just getting introduced to the world of blogging.
I had no clue about what is hosting and how it works.
I was also skeptical and confused by all the bloggers recommending me all different sorts of hosting and claiming that to be the best,
But I valued my money and I also valued the site I was about to start.
As I was keen on finding the best hosting for my site in a budget, so I made a plan.
I made a list of all the top bloggers, YouTubers, and influencers in my niche and I tried to find which hosting they were using by using a free internet tool.
I saw that almost all of them were using the same 4-5 hosting companies.
So I figured these must be the best hosting companies out there.
Then I analyzed the price, features, and reviews of these hosting companies to finally arrive at a conclusion.
The reason I shared this with you is because I know the pain of making a decision when you don’t truly know how to make that decision.
I am also aware of countless examples when my clients purchased some hosting just because it was dirt cheap or some other reason and regretted later.
How to choose web hosting?
Now coming back to the question, you have been waiting for.
I just want to make it really easy for you to understand so there’s no geeky stuff that you are going to find.
There are 5 things you need to pay attention to while purchasing any hosting plan.
These five things are:
1. Speed
The site speed of your site is a very crucial factor in today’s and age.
Not only will you lose visitors if your site takes forever to load but your site will also be penalized by Google in search rankings.
One simple way of testing and comparing all the hosting providers is to load the same site on each hosting and test its speed.
You will find many people conducting such tests and posting results on the internet.
Well. that’s one way of doing things but it’s not a true representation of site speed over a long period of time under various conditions.
Also, site speed is a very tricky terrain as there are some factors which are completely dependent on your hosting like Latency, the Geographical location of server, how many total visitors it can handle etc.
But there are several factors which depend on site as well such as level of optimization, selection of right theme, number of plugins etc.
Ideally, the load time should be as low as possible.
2. Uptime
There is no worse nightmare than noticing that your site has just vanished from the internet.
Uptime is a term which is used to describe the period for which your site stays available(online) in a year.
Downtime in inevitable as even the tech giants like Google suffer from it, but very occasionally.
Despite the 100% uptime claims made by hosting companies, the sites do suffer from a downtime.
You will notice hosting companies making a claim of having 99.9% uptime while some having an uptime of 99.999%.
You should pay close attention to this because:
99% uptime means your site will be down for 3 days and 15 Hours
99.9% uptime means your site will be down for 8 Hours and 46 Minutes
99.99% uptime means your site will be down for 52 Minutes
99.999% uptime means your site will be down for 5 Minutes.
3. Customer Support
If you are spending too much time getting in touch with customer support of your hosting, it means there’s something definitely wrong with your hosting.
But good customer support is absolutely essential when you need it.
I have seen Siteground Hosting beating all others in this department by miles.
All their representatives have a sound technical knowledge and will always be there to assist you 24*7
This is something you can’t do without.
4. Security
The importance of good security in a hosting is known only when it is breached.
Security just like site speed depends on a lot of factors.
Some of these factors are dependent on you while others depend on your hosting.
WordPress which is the most popular blogging platform in the world is built on PHP.
And PHP is not the most secure coding language out there.
It is essential that your hosting is using the latest version of PHP.
Moreover, most sites are often hosted on Shared Hosting in which same resources are shared by many sites hosted on the same server.
There needs to be some sort of protection and isolation for your site so that it does not get infected in case others are infected or hacked.
5. Value for Money
All deals are not similar.
Some hosting providers give you more bang for your buck than others.
Some of the other essential features in a hosting are:
- Daily Backups of your site so that you can easily restore your site in case something goes wrong.
- SSL Certificate to secure your site and enable HTTPS for your site. (Green Lock symbol in the browser)
- Unlimited Email Accounts and Databases
- One Click WordPress Install
- Free Cloudflare CDN
You should definitely take this into consideration while choosing your web hosting.
Top 3 WordPress Hosting Providers
Essentially all we need is a good, fast, secure and reliable hosting to take care of our site.
I have tried almost every known hosting provider out there and even some unknown ones.
There were a few who disappointed me with their services despite big names.
While some totally impressed me with their dedication towards customer satisfaction.
I’m listing only the top 3 Hosting Providers which can be the best fit for your hosting needs.
1. Siteground
Siteground is an independent hosting company which is solely dedicated to meet the customer’s expectation.
Siteground is my number one choice to start my websites or blogs and also my first recommendation to clients.
Initially, they may seem a bit pricier option but if you compare the features they offer even in their most basic plan, it gives you the most value for money.
It is also a favorite amongst customers as it is often rated highest on most review platforms.
They provide daily backups even on their most basic plans and it can be an absolute lifesaver.
Additionally, you will get all the best features like:
- Daily Backups
- Free Unlimited Email Accounts
- Free SSL Certificate
- Cloudflare CDN etc
Ratings
Speed: 5/5
Uptime: 5/5
Customer Support: 5/5
Security: 4.5/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Final Rating: 4.9/5
2. Bluehost
Bluehost is my second preference for hosting your site.
Their web hosting is pretty solid and they are the most well-known hosting provider out there.
Bluehost and Siteground are the only companies which are even recommended by the WordPress itself.
Bluehost is also very cheap as you can host your site for just 2.95$ when you purchase their plan for 3 years.
Any site hosted on Bluehost comes with all the necessary features.
I have put this in the second position because their basic plan does not come with daily backups which is a very essential feature.
Ratings
Speed: 5/5
Uptime: 5/5
Customer Support: 4/5
Security: 4.5/5
Value for Money: 4.5/5
Final Rating: 4.6/5
3. Optional
I am keeping the third option as optional because both the first options are capable of satisfying most needs of the customer.
In case you are expecting a lot of visitors on your site then you can go with WPXHosting
By a lot of visitors, I mean more than 250k monthly visitors.
In case, the price is an issue and you want a good hosting at the cheapest price then you can go with Namecheap.
Their customer support is good and this is the best you can get at the price you are paying.
Final Words
Each blog or website is important to the person who starts it.
Most people who are looking for hosting go with the Shared Hosting option.
This is the most affordable and best solution to host any new website or blog.
In Shared Hosting many websites are hosted on the same server and because of this performance of individual website might suffer if the hosting itself is not good.
Siteground offers the best possible solution for any new blog or website.
As your blog or website eventually grows you can switch to WPXhosting or get yourself a VPS hosting.
But for all the other websites, all you need is a fast, secure and reliable host and Siteground fulfills much more than that requirement.
Articles For Further Reading:
Blogging for Beginners: The Ultimate Guide
Blogging FAQ: All your Questions about Blogging Finally Answered
How to Choose a Blog Niche that you won’t Regret
How to come up with a future-proof Blog Name in 30 minutes
Top 10 Blogging Tips For Beginners
