What type of WordPress hosting you settle on is your number one consideration as a WordPress website owner, but it’s an often-overlooked element, and it can affect how your website performs. Choosing the wrong solution could result in lower speed of access, lost traffic, poor SEO results and ultimately, lost revenue.
There are many things to consider, because your choice hinges on what type of business you run, your budget, how much traffic you are expecting, and maintenance issues. So, without further ado, here are the different types of WordPress hosting so you can weigh their respective merits:
Shared WordPress Hosting
It’s the solution most beginners choose because it’s “cheap and cheerful”, costing less than other forms of WordPress hosting and offering straightforward deployment. The downside is that it isn’t dedicated WordPress hosting, which means that your website has to share server resources and space with whoever else has bought a shared solution too. If they get lots of traffic, then there’s a chance that your website may slow down. If they operate shoddy security measures, then your site may also be at risk. That’s not to say that these things will happen of course, but they are something to bear in mind.
As a beginner, or someone with a site that’s still under development where loading times aren’t an issue, shared hosting may be perfectly adequate for your needs, but if you want to modify system files or tweak your performance, you’ll need something better.
Reseller WordPress Hosting
This is a kind of like renting a room in your home out to someone as a way of making extra income. You lease a section of server space from a host, and you sell what you don’t need to others on behalf of that host. Compared to shared hosting it gives you more control over your account (which comes via control panel) and it usually comes with billing software too so that you can invoice your clients. You might get free templates to use also, technical support and private name servers. Worth considering if you want to make some extra income.
VPS WordPress Hosting
VPS WordPress hosting is a little bit like shared hosting, except that the user is given exclusive access to various resources, so there is no encroachment by other users. Such hosting plans are generally flexible, you normally pay only for what you use, and they offer greater control of things like the operating system and configuration options.
Unless you’re an expert at VPS WordPress hosting or if you don’t have the time to spare then you might want to consider hiring a system admin to take care of things for you.
It’s also good to be aware that this hosting option is not as responsive in case of system failure as Cloud WordPress hosting, so it might be a while before you’re back up and running things go wrong. If uptime is crucial to your business, then do bear this in mind.
Cloud WordPress Hosting
Cloud WordPress hosting may be the ultimate solution because it is scalable, meaning you can always match your usage to your changing business needs. Even if your site becomes super popular and heavily used, you still won’t notice any slowdown in performance, and you will also get technical support to keep in shape. This degree of flexibility usually comes at a price that, so you will need to compare plans to see whether it’s going to be cost-effective for you.
Dedicated WordPress Hosting
Dedicated WordPress hosting means that you get a whole server to yourself without having to put up with managing a physical box on your premises. It’s dedicated to your needs (hence the name), so you’re renting a server from your hosting company and given complete control of it, which is great if that’s what you need. All the resources are there for your business to use, so nobody else’s clunky website is ever going to slow your super-shiny one down.
It’s a cheaper option than managed hosting, because you have to do all the managing yourself of course. It’s smooth, fast, and reliable, so your visitors will not be frustrated by slow-running services. Your host will keep your installation of WordPress up to date, keep your security in shape, and offer you various tools to keep it all running smoothly.
Managed WordPress Hosting
Managed WordPress hosting is a bit like having a dedicated server, but in this case it’s the host that keeps everything running smoothly, including patch updates and maintenance. In this way it’s a bit like VPS, Cloud or dedicated hosting, but it’s intended for companies who don’t want to handle the management and maintenance responsibilities themselves.
Conclusion
All of these solutions are a little bit different and it will probably take some time before you work out which one is right for your business. A lot here depends on current load, your business scalability/growth plans and affordable expenses level.