Six WordPress Hosting Questions And Their Answers

For many first-time website creators, putting their content online seems like the part that should be the easiest. After all—you’ve already gone through the work of choosing a company to help you make your website, written out all the copy, and made everything look good. Shouldn’t getting others to the page you created be simple?

Well, yes…and no.

Web hosting is a service many companies offer, and far fewer are successful at. If you’re looking for hosting for your WordPress site, you’ve already made the (excellent) choice to utilize a service that’s customizable and versatile. However, it is WordPress combined with an excellent hosting service that will get you the quality experience and quick load times you’ve been looking for.

Here are six common questions many ask when it comes to WordPress hosting, and their answers.

What’s The Difference Between Web Hosting And WordPress Hosting?

It is true that WordPress hosting and web hosting are essentially the same things. In both cases, you utilize the service of a web host to hold your content and provide the servers and customer service necessary to keep your site afloat. However, it’s called WordPress hosting for a specific reason.

WordPress is massive. In fact, about one-fourth of the Internet is powered by WordPress. Web hosts are acutely aware that budding entrepreneurs and artists are likely to use WordPress, and are looking for a good host to get their content online.

That’s why many web hosting services offer what’s called WordPress hosting—which is web hosting streamlined and designed to work alongside WordPress.

Think of web hosting as a general service, and web hosts as companies aiming to please the most amount of clients. By taking your WordPress site to a generalist host, your site won’t be optimized in the same way that it could be with WordPress hosting.

What’s Migration?

You’ll often find many web hosts offering “migration,” “1-click setup,” and similar services when trying to get you to utilize their services. These services claim to be able to do all of the work for you, and many are wondering how that could be possible.

Migration, to put it simply, is giving the information of your website over to your chosen web host so that they can present your information to the world. Many web hosts do much of this work for you—copying the content of your website and moving it over after gaining permission from you.

Migration works differently with every provider, so be sure to find out what you need to do to make that process as simple as possible.

What’s bandwidth? How much do I need?

Like with standard web hosting, WordPress hosting will utilize bandwidth. Most web hosts charge different prices for different bandwidth needs.

Remember that websites on the Internet exist on servers and computers around the world. Your web host is, for lack of a better term, the host of your content. When someone enters your URL into their web browser, they are essentially asking your web host to show them the content.

Bandwidth comes into play here. Simply put, the more people want to access your site, the faster and more efficient your web host needs to be. So, the more people use your website and possibly download content, the more bandwidth you’ll need.

Simple websites with pictures and text often don’t need a whole lot of bandwidth, but websites that allow users to download lots of content, or websites with high amounts of traffic at once, do. Consider those concepts and talk to your web host about your bandwidth needs.

Do I Need A Domain? What Is A Domain?

Your web host provides the content you want to show your customers or audience, but that audience needs to know how to get to the content.

That’s where the domain comes in. The domain, simply put, is the URL, or web address. You’ll need to tell your web host what domain you own and set up your domain with them so that anyone who enters that domain will get directed to the right location.

Domains need to be purchased, and many places sell domains online. Many web hosts offer domain registration, and even WordPress has their own service. Make sure your audience knows where to go and how to get to the content you want to deliver to them.

What’s SSL? Do I need it?

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. Think of it as a way for your customers to know that your website is legitimate.

Content online passes through lots of hands between two users. For instance, your web service provider will “pass along” information, and if you’re browsing online, satellites do as well. SSL works to obscure, or “encrypt” information on one end and reveal it, or “decrypt” it on the other.

The process is especially important for websites that require visitors to give up sensitive information, like their credit card number or social security number. Knowing you’re using SSL is simple—since the standard hypertext transfer protocol at the beginning of a URL (HTTP) will have an additional letter signifying the secure connection (https).

You’ll need SSL for the safety of customers if they’re passing secure information to you. Talk to your web host for detailed information about your situation.

What’s The Best Web Host For WordPress?

While there are many fan favorites, it’s difficult to assess which service is the best hosting for your WordPress site. If you want your audience to watch lots of videos or know that thousands of people are going to flood your online storefront, you’re going to want a WordPress host that specializes in helping out small business and budding e-commerce sites.

If you just want an online portfolio or the simplest and cheapest setup you can get, there are many places that will buy a domain for you, direct you to press a few buttons, and get your website up and running in no time at all.

Do your research, consider your website’s needs, and pick the best home for your piece of the Internet.