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The No-BS Guide To Choosing A WordPress Host – WPCAST019

October 15, 2014

In this episode, we talk about the different types of hosting options for your WordPress site – shared, managed, dedicated, or closed systems.

http://media.blubrry.com/wpcast/wpcast.fm/wp-content/blogs.dir/483/files/episodes/WPCAST019.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:06 — 21.2MB)

The Changelog

  • First episode we’re recording in person, both in Bangkok with new microphones
  • Thanks for the 5-star reviews!
    • MoneyPlan SOS from US
    • davbrn from UK
    • LuisMartinspt from Portugal
    • PiersJW from Australia
    • downandproud from Australia

The Core

  • We’ve seen people have bad experiences with shared hosts like BlueHost – slow, less secure
  • Lots of hosting comparisons are skewed due to affiliate links to lower quality hosts
  • Examples of these (we don’t recommend): BlueHost, HostGator, GoDaddy, DreamHost, etc.

What You Should Look for in a Hosting Provider

  • Fast load times for usability and SEO, especially important for mobile
  • Preventing malware and the chance of getting hacked
  • High uptime – check your uptime with Pingdom, Uptime Robot
  • Great support, ideally specialized WordPress support

Beginner – Shared Hosting

  • Inexpensive but lower performance, security, etc.
  • We only recommend this option for less non-business websites
  • Recommendations:
    • A Small Orange
    • SiteGround

Business – VPS / Dedicated Server

  • Can be very cheap to start out (if you have low usage)
  • Requires more overhead and a capable in-house team
  • For most business, we don’t recommend this option
  • Options:
    • Digital Ocean
    • AWS

Business – Managed Hosting

  • WordPress-only, blacklist for some plugins (caching, backup, security, etc)
  • Fast, secure platform
  • Recommendations:
    • WPEngine (David’s choice, has staging area) (non-affiliate link)
    • Synthesis (most cost-effective for extremely high traffic sites)
    • Flywheel (Doug’s choice, fastest and highest uptime)

Business – Closed System

  • Can be a great solution depending on your requirements, upside is no technical work for you
  • Limited features and customization, can’t install your own themes and plugins
  • Options:
    • WordPress.com (designed mainly for blogs)
    • PodWP (Doug’s company, designed for podcast websites)
    • EfficientWP (Doug’s company, designed for business websites)

Our conclusion: invest in quality and peace of mind.

What host are you using, and are you happy with them? We’re happy to give recommendations!

http://media.blubrry.com/wpcast/wpcast.fm/wp-content/blogs.dir/483/files/episodes/WPCAST019.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:06 — 21.2MB)

Thanks for listening! If you liked this episode, please leave us a review in iTunes.

We’d love for you to comment below, or leave us a voicemail or message with your feedback.

Filed Under: Podcast • Tagged With: a small orange, bluehost, efficientwp, flywheel, hosting, managed hosting, podwp, siteground, synthesis, wordpress.com, wp engine

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