Selecting a Good WordPress Hosting Company

If you are developing a new site in WordPress, it may make sense to select a hosting company that has specific experience with WordPress. Since WordPress will be powering your entire site, it’s important to have a hosting company that understands its unique requirements. Here are some things to keep in mind when selecting a WordPress hosting company.

1. Specific WordPress Experience. Does the company you are considering hosting with have specific WordPress experience? Is their site built in WordPress? Have they built other company’s sites in WordPress? If they understand WordPress from a user and developer standpoint, they are going to be a lot better at supporting you from a hosting standpoint.
2. Backups of Files & WordPress Database. WordPress relies not only on website files, but on a database where all of your unique content is stored. If your site is hacked, you’ll need to have both restored. Make sure your prospective hosting company does complete and regular backups. You might also want a way to keep a local backup of your site. Do they have an easy way to enable that?
3. Security. WordPress itself is very secure and stable, however, many of the plug-ins written for WordPress are not. This can lead to the unfortunate problem of your website getting hacked which either causes it to be down or to display unwanted spam content. What kind of steps does the hosting company take to ensure that your site is secure? What is their response if your site does get hacked? A reputable company will restore your site for free and help you prevent future problems.
4. Automatic Updates. WordPress is regularly updated to fix bugs and add features, as are many of the plug-ins that you might add to your WordPress installation. It can be a time-consuming process to constantly monitor your site for updates and install them when available. Does the hosting company offer a way to do this for you? If so, it will not only save you time but ensure that your site is as up-to-date and secure as possible.
5. Website Performance. It’s well known that the faster your site is, the more likely people will stick around and the better the rankings you will get in search engines like Google. Does the web host you are considering employ any special features or strategies for making your site perform as fast as it can?
6. Curated Themes & Plug-ins. Since not all themes and plug-ins are created equal, does your web hosting company help you pick the best ones? A bad theme or plug-in can cause several problems with your website, including slowing it down or causing it to crash altogether. In almost every category, there are multiple options for plug-ins so selecting the right one can be a time-consuming and even overwhelming task. Pre-selected plug-ins and themes can save you tons of time and eliminate headaches down the road.

Keep these tips in mind when you are looking for a hosting company for your WordPress based website.