You’ve built your own WordPress blog, which is awesome, but now you have to keep it going. It sounds like a lot and it doesn’t have to be.
WordPress hosting from MacHighway will make your life easier.
Read on to find out why.
WordPress Hosting from MacHighway
What is WordPress hosting?
Basically, it’s hosting that is specialized for WordPress. It makes your page run more smoothly and keeps it secure among other advantages.
Many hosting plans include a one-click WordPress installer. There are four types of WordPress hosting.
Shared WordPress Hosting
This type of hosting is usually cheap. The hosting company only has one server that many users host their sites on. This means that each site has limited space on the server.
Shared WordPress hosting does include a one-click installer and cPanel. These tools are especially helpful for beginners as they make setting up the site easier.
For example, cPanel is a user-friendly control panel for web hosting. Some hosts also automatically update your site, which is important for security.
Mainly because of the limited space and resources it offers, shared WordPress hosting is good for sites with light traffic.
Managed WordPress Hosting
With this type of WordPress hosting, the host provider takes care of the features and maintenance. You’ll have experts keeping your site fast and secure, so you can focus on the non-technical aspects of your site.
Some things that the provider looks after are security, speed, maintenance, monitoring, site backup, server-side caching, and server activation. Many hosts offer staging sites so you can test your site before making it public.
Managed WordPress hosting is more expensive because of this service. Another disadvantage is that there are some WordPress plugins you won’t be able to use.
Managed hosting great for people that have the money to spend, need a way to handle a large WordPress site, and don’t have IT staff. You also have to be fine with not having much control when it comes to technical things.
Dedicated WordPress Hosting
Dedicated WordPress hosting gives you your own server, which means a ton of resources and security – a must for high-traffic sites. The user also has complete control.
However, the price is really high and there’s a good chance you’ll be in charge of management.
This option is only recommended for big companies with money and staff.
VPS WordPress Hosting
VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting is also known as cloud hosting.
It allows more separation between users on the same server, so there are less (5-20) people on a single server. Each user is given a certain amount of resources or space and if they go over that amount, it will only affect their site.
The host gives users security and resources, but it’s expensive because it’s difficult for providers to keep up servers with a low user count.
Having your own portion of the server is similar to a dedicated server in that you have more control than shared or managed hosting. This type of WordPress hosting is good for sites with higher traffic such as popular blogs.
Free WordPress Hosting
Free WordPress hosting may be free, which sounds fantastic, but it comes with a lot of drawbacks. It’s not a great balance at all. This option isn’t recommended.
Users can have issues with pop-up banners and ads, shut-downs, and accessing files. They also can’t have free custom domains or place their choice of ads.
Sooner or later you’ll feel the need to pay for a better host.
Pros and Cons
Here’s a listed summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the four kinds of WordPress hosting:
Shared WordPress hosting
- less expensive
- less secure
- limited resources
- one-click installer and cPanel
- some come with automatic updates
Managed WordPress hosting
- technical aspects managed by experts
- less control
- some have staging sites
- more expensive
- not all plugins work
Dedicated WordPress hosting
- more resources
- more secure
- more control
- expensive
- manual management
VPS WordPress hosting
- separation from other users – no hogging
- limited resources, but more than shared hosting
- expensive
- more control
Free WordPress hosting
- free
- pop-ups
- shut-downs
- no access to files
- no custom domains
- can’t place ads
If You’re Building Your Blog
Still haven’t built your blog? Use MAMP (Macintosh, Apache, MySQL, and PHP).
It’s an application that gives you access to a local PHP server and MySQL server, so you can develop and test your site offline. No need to worry about breaking WordPress if you make a mistake.
You can download MAMP for free.
After you build your blog locally, then you can get a WordPress hosting plan. This will move your site from offline to public.
MAMP is the easiest way to connect to a local server. The long way is setting up a local mirror site. If you’re interested, there’s more information on it here.
Choosing Machighway.com
Most of the time a single person running their site isn’t going to have the same host type as a large company.
Beginners of web hosting are better off buying a shared hosting plan because it’s the least expensive and easiest to handle. More experienced users should consider managed hosting or if they have some extra cash and higher traffic, cloud hosting.
Medium-sized businesses will benefit most from cloud hosting. Large companies should most definitely use dedicated hosting.
It’s Worth It
WordPress hosting from a Mac will help your site run smoothly and securely. It also makes it easier to handle your WordPress site.
A hosting plan is worth the price, especially if you have a larger or more complex site.
Learn more about MacHighway here.
