The appeal of simplicity and being assured of a proven product come together when choosing to create a WordPress website. It’s been many years since the online publishing platform got its start as a place for bloggers to take their content onto the web, and in the time following it has definitely established itself as the primary option for anyone who needs a basic yet entirely functional website for themselves or their business. It’s not free to use WordPress to build a website, but the cost is nominal and well worth it considering you’re nearly assured of getting a perfectly good website at an affordable price. Once you’ve done that then managed WordPress hosting may be something you want to consider.
Most Canadian web hosting providers will offer this service, and here at 4GoodHosting we are no exception. If you’re a business owner who prefers the set-it-and-forget-it approach whenever it’s a possibility then we believe that you’ll prefer this type of web hosting. What it does is remove the entirety of everything you’d need to do to optimize your website and put all of that on the web host’s plate. There are a whole host of benefits that come with that, but the one that will be most persuasive for any business owner is better SEO for a website. Plus seeing to it that all WordPress updates are installed as soon as they’re available.
In these types of instances paying more for web hosting makes a lot of sense, and especially if anyone is a busy individual who doesn’t have much time or inclination to be handling this stuff. And it will go without saying that managed WordPress hosting is going to be better for any of those folks who aren’t computer or web-savvy in the slightest. A quality web hosting provider in Canada IS going to have that savvy and all of it will be bundled up in these types of web hosting packages that are tailored to WordPress. Going with managed hosting will usually make a lot of sense, but there are other considerations that go into choosing the right WordPress hosting plan in Canada.
This is what we’ll look at with this week’s blog entry, and always we recommend doing your due diligence if you have a new business venture of any sort and know that you will be leaning on your website to make sure you have the right type of visibility. If you are a service provider the ongoing reality is that 90% of the time a prospective customer is going to be made aware of you via their smartphone and the web, and that’s another reason why a mobile website builder is also something you may want to consider. That’s another topic, so let’s get right to discussing what should go into choosing a WordPress hosting plan.
Shared Shortcomings
Web hosting is an umbrella term that refers to all types of hosting services. That includes dedicated and shared hosting, cloud hosting, and VPS hosting. WordPress hosting is a type of web hosting that is specifically designed to meet the needs of WordPress websites. It includes features like pre-installed plugins, automatic updates, and optimized servers for enhanced performance. The primary difference between WordPress hosting and conventional web hosting is that WordPress hosting is going to be optimized for a WordPress-built website and might include some additional features like premium plugins. These typically will not be offered with regular web hosting.
The reason this is a discussion is because there’s no obligation to host WordPress websites on a WordPress hosting plan. And it’s not like a standard shared webs hosting plan isn' suitable for WordPress sites. They will be, but the customer may need to be a little more involved with the ‘upkeep’ of the site and being more responsible website SEO and security. With this look at managed Wordpress web hosting we should compare our most popular shared web hosting and WordPress hosting plans.
Let’s cut right to it and start with the features you’ll get with Managed web hosting and the ones you’ll be missing out on if you choose to go with a less expensive shared hosting plan for your website. You’ve already gone ahead with building a WordPress website and so it’s quite possible you’re looking to keep the economical approach going and maybe go with the least expensive Canadian webs hosting option. If that’s the choice then web hosts will provide technical assistance when needed, but they won’t always have experts to handle specific issues related to your chosen CMS.
You’ll also get less WordPress-related maintenance. With shared web hosting WordPress users are responsible for updating plugins and themes. You may also have to update the WordPress core and perform maintenance tasks like malware tests without technical assistance.
Nothing of the benefits of having an optimized server. Websites run on standard servers that support various CMSs and site builders. This means no WordPress-optimized servers or built-in WordPress performance plugins.
Optimized for WordPress
Managed WordPress hosting is going to be much better if you want to be assured of your website being optimally set up on the information superhighway. This type of web hosting can fall under different web hosting categories including VPS and Cloud hosting for WordPress and as you’d expect the difference is in the extra features. Go with the managed hosting plan and you’ll be benefiting right from the get-go with pre-installed plugins to help enhance website performance.
You may also have specialized tools for users who run multiple WordPress websites. Some WordPress specific hosting plans include a multisite feature that lets you manage several sites from one dashboard, and so if that’s you then there are many benefits to choosing a managed plan over a regular shared web hosting service plan. Set up is going to be easier with pre-installed plugins and themes help create an optimized WordPress host environment, easing technical setups and installations.
We stressed at the start how you’ll have better performance with managed WordPress hosting too. This is primarily because you’ll have a server that has been configured specifically for WordPress sites. Often, built-in caching software is also included to ensure faster website page load speed and web hosts ensure their WordPress-specific servers run the latest software for optimal compatibility and seamless performance. Any and all other technicalities are left to your web hosting provider and the most valuable of them is having your site’s SEO optimization constantly updated.
Go VPS for Expected Growth
The ideal scenario for any business is that ever-greater numbers are coming to their website, and if they tend to arrive at the same time it is quickly going to become a situation where they’ll want to switch to SSD VPS hosting. A virtual private server is the instant fix for website that can’t handle traffic spikes, and of course it’s hugely important that anyone who wants to know more about your business can do so via the website. A VPS is much better for site security too, especially when paired with a good SSL certificate for anyone who handles transactions through their website.
With VPS the server that hosts your website will have protocols in place to address WordPress-specific security issues along with pre-installed security plugins to fight malware and cyberattacks. Although there are many guides and tutorials are available that outline the steps you can take to secure a WordPress website, regardless of your web hosting type.
People will tell you there can be a bit of a long learning curve to getting good at WordPress, and so managed WordPress hosting is going to be better if that’s something you’re not up to taking on. Go managed and you’ll have greater site management and professional support, in addition to expert tech assistance. It is ideal for beginners with minimal WordPress experience.
Experienced users or those managing multiple sites may find that choosing this option means more intuitive management. There are always going to be options with Canadian web hosting, but if you have a WordPress site then there really is a lot to be said for going with Managed hosting if that site is serving the interests of your business.
