When it comes to running your website, there are a lot of things to consider. There’s the fun stuff, of course, like the visuals and copy, but then there are the back end things like security, site uptime/downtime, Google Analytics, SEO, etc. How is your website performing in search results? Is the information on your site protected? Is your site crashing frequently? Many of these issues can boil down to the same thing: Web Hosting.
A website is hosted on servers, and the location of your website and all its data is known as Web Hosting. As with many things, you get what you pay for when it comes to Web Hosting. It’s important to evaluate your needs, but more often than not, Web Hosting is worth investing in.
A cheap Web Hosting company may have the benefit of low rates, but those low rates could cost you in the long run. Slow runtimes, clunky mechanics, and frequent downtime may turn people away from your site and business, possibly permanently. Google is always analyzing website performance, and if they note poor performance, you may not get pushed out in search engine results. And when it comes to security, opting for cheaper hosting might put you at risk when it comes to security.
“…it’s a bit like renting an apartment in an apartment building. Some sites may not be as up-to-date or secured as others, which can leave a door wide open for hackers. And like an insect infestation in an apartment building, once hackers gain access to one site on a server, they can usually make their way through the entire server and into your site. So even if you do everything possible to secure and lock down your site, you could still be attacked at the server level because of somebody else’s problem.” (Prime Design Solutions)
Quality Web Hosting is so important for these reasons, and certainly worth considering investing in. A website that runs well will boost your business, and a secure website will protect you and your users. Look for a company that will give you the most bang for your buck by providing you with excellent service, care, and reliability.
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Some important factors to look for when shopping quality Web Hosting are where the servers are located, how the web hosting company handles their tech support (i.e. trained professionals who can answer tech questions vs farming out callers to a more generic call center), how often the company will back up your site, how quickly are support and sales questions answered, if the company updates their servers regularly and if they scan frequently for malware and viruses.
There are two main types of Web Hosting: Shared Hosting, and Managed Hosting. Shared Hosting means that you are sharing the server your website is hosted on. Now, on the cheaper, inexpensive hosting servers where thousands of sites are sharing the same server, this can lead to the issues we outlined earlier. If, however, you are using a high-quality hosting platform, you’ll only be sharing the server with those paying for the same quality services. Joe Fylan, on the Winning WP website, says “managed WP hosting is where you pay more to have better features, like auto backups and tools that actually keep your website running smoothly.” (winningwp.com)
WordPress, a popular website builder, has a WordPress-specific hosting service called WP Engine. WP Engine falls in the “Managed Hosting” category and therefore offers an array of user benefits including:
- “Stunning” speed
- Powerful security, and
- Best-in-class customer service.
This managed hosting is designed to deliver an optimal experience for WordPress websites.
WP Engine delivers innovation-driven technology that:
- Secures your WordPress site
- Optimizes server settings for faster load times
- Performs daily backups, and
- Automatically updates your WP plugins. (Digital.com)
WordPress is a widely used website building platform, and if you have a WordPress-based site, it makes sense to host with a WordPress server, as doing so streamlines hosting services such as security, speed, support, tools, and staging.
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WP Engine has 3 tiers for hosting, as well as an option for a custom plan. Within each tier, the number of WordPress installations allowed changes, as well as differences in storage and traffic capacity. The Plans break down as follows:
Startup: 10 GB of storage and the ability to support 25,000 visitors per month makes this the perfect plan for those just starting up their business, or those new to the Web Hosting Market. This plan covers one WordPress site.
Growth: 20 GB and 100,000 visitors per month make this plan perfect for the business on the rise. This plan covers up to 10 WordPress sites.
Scale: 30 GB of storage and the ability to support a whopping 100,000 to 400,000 makes this the perfect plan for businesses that are already booming (with websites that need to catch up). This plan covers up to 30 WordPress installations.
Custom: The Premium and Enterprise plans allow for up to 150 WordPress installations, with storage from 300 GB to 1TB and the ability to support millions of monthly visitors. Perfect for high-traffic sites.
WP Engine is great for small businesses and other WordPress website creators as it allows you to focus on your business, product, service, or content, rather than worry about website issues. WP Engine scales with your traffic, meaning that even during peak times or unexpected boosts, you will experience less crashing and downtime. WP Engine also updates the core coding of your site automatically, keeping your site up to date and running smoothly when paired with the well-coded architecture of a WordPress site with the potential for a 99% uptime rate.
“Basically, this chart shows that as the number of visitors increases (blue line), our test site’s page load times remained consistent (green line). That’s a good thing because it means your site will load just quickly for the 1st visitor as it will for the 50th person visiting at the same time.” (Image & Quote themeisle.com)
For those whose business is building websites for others, WP Engine is an incredibly useful tool. Several of the plans allow more than one installation, and allows you to create completely transferable sites. This means that you can stage and build sites for clients without needing to create a new account on your end. Once approved, the site can be transferred to the client’s WP Engine account before going live.
Since WP Engine is a managed hosting platform, it works almost like a concierge service, providing you with excellent onboarding support, resources to improve your SEO, as well as connect you to the best themes and web designers to help you build your most beautiful site. You can also stage your sites before going live, allowing you to perfect any changes before releasing anything to your consumers. You also get WordPress-specific customer support that can be reached 24/7 via LiveChat, phone, or email.
Though WP Engine has even more pros, including automated site migration to make the transition over to WP Engine simple, and auto daily backups and plug-in updates, there are some drawbacks. WP Engine only works with WordPress sites and does not allow you to register for a domain name. Some companies bundle hosting and domain name to make the process easier, but in many cases the two are separate, so if you are considering moving your WordPress website to WP Engine, you can do so while holding onto your current domain name.
All of these features combine to make a service that is very beneficial to everyone from small business owners to people just starting out with a fresh website. A well-hosted site gives you the peace of mind to focus on your business without the worry of a crashing site, and a site that runs well is more likely to boost your SEO. If you believe in your business, product, or idea, and are willing to invest that bit of extra in it, WP Engine is an excellent service for WordPress-based websites, and there are many other quality hosting options as well. Winning WP and Digital.com both go into intricate detail on all the features of WordPress Engine if you are interested in learning more.
Digital.com – WP Engine Review
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