Selecting your web host provider is the next important step. It really is a continuation of securing your domain name. Usually you will use the same vendor for both domain name registration and web hosting although it’s not mandatory. It’s possible to have your domain name registered with a different provider but I would suggest using the same company for both. It’s just way more convenient to have both products with the same provider. You will renew them together at the same time with one payment to one vendor, simple.
Choose Your Web Host
The host and plan you choose should be based on your needs. Knowing your hosting needs is crucial to getting the right host for you. Will you have a simple one page information site to let customers know where to find you and your hours with need for little or no changes? Planning on running an e commerce site with 1000’s of visitors daily? Will you have a need to run more than one website? Will you need special software to run an online app or service? Shared, VPS or Dedicated hosting? I’ll limit our discussion to Shared hosting as that’s by far and away the most widely implemented and AFFORDABLE hosting for new small business startups. Feel free to comment or post any questions about VPS or Dedicated Hosting! Here’s a great post explaining shared WordPress hosting.
WordPress Hosting Reviews
Shared hosting is when a hosting provider will host multiple websites on the same server hardware. This allows the hosting company to sell these plans at much more affordable rates. Plans start at under $5 per month and can go up to about $25 a month. Most hosting packages include similar features, so how can you choose the right one? You have to use a hosting company that has a great reputation. The hosting companies I’ve personally used are all highly rated and all receive top reviews. The hosting package you should use is one optimized for WordPress. A great resource from Review Signal to help rate WordPress hosting for less than $25 a month is found here.
Choose Speed and Security
I have used the least expensive hosting and for the most part it performed well. The exception was how slow my site would load. One thing that will turn off visitors is a site that doesn’t load fast. How long will a user stay on a web page before deciding to stay or leave? Not very long! According to Nielsen Norman Group “To gain several minutes of user attention, you must clearly communicate your value proposition within 10 seconds.” So, you can see, a slow loading site can cost you visitors, SEO ranking and sales. When I switched to hosting that was optimized for WordPress I noticed a huge difference in how quickly my site loaded. The package I used was the Ultimate from Godaddy and the 1st year was only $7.99 /month. This package allowed me to host 2 websites and included 1 SSL certificate. The renewal price was $14.99 /month for the hosting and the SSL cert renewal is $69.99.***UPDATE*** I recently changed my WordPress hosting from Godaddy to SiteGround. The difference is amazing! The time it takes to load the site is way faster than when it was hosted at Godaddy. The SiteGround support was incredible in helping me move hosts. I went with the GrowBig package. The price is the same as it was at Godaddy but the package is better IMO. I now have more email accounts, I can host multiple websites, the cPanel is great to use, anti spam & hacking protection is included as well as free SSL certs to use HTTPS! You should use an SSL certificate (https) even if you are not collecting any sensitive information. HTTPS is the way of the future according to Google Webmaster Blog. Making the Internet safer is a top priority and they are starting to rank https sites a little higher in search results that use the SSL certificate.
***DISCLAIMER*** I will receive a commission from the web hosting affiliate links above if you choose to make a purchase . Purchasing through the above links does not affect the price you pay.
