Understanding the role of an external WordPress hosting company when embarking on a website project can be a little overwhelming. You are suddenly faced with technology lingo that you may not have ever come across. Purchasing a domain name and hosting package is essential for every website project so we aim to explain the roles of each service to ensure you understand exactly why you need to make these purchases.
Domain Name / Web Address
Each website has a unique domain name to identify it from the rest. For example, the domain name of this website is www.studioarcadia.fun Domain names are also sometimes called ‘web addresses’ or ‘URLs’. Having a unique domain name for your company allows your audience to search for your website through Google or type it manually in your browser’s search bar. To obtain a domain name for your company, you will need to contact a company that registered domain names.
Hosting Package
Once you have obtained your domain name, you will need to purchase a hosting package. A website host or server is a space on the internet in which we can put your website’s files so that they will be visible to the public. It’s similar to having a folder on your computer’s desktop with files inside. A website host is simply a folder on your hosting company’s online server that contains your website’s files and makes them visible to the public.
Recommended Hosting Packages
Based on SPEED, EASE OF USE, and PRICING.
I’ve used a lot of web hosts myself (via clients). From small blogs or portfolios to bigger shopping sites with many tracking/ad/conversion scripts running. There are a lot of options to choose from. Below is a recommendation based on my personal experience.
My top Shared Managed Hostings
Pro tip: A quick Google search will not find solutions based on our three criteria. You will most likely get the list of companies offering the highest affiliate, not the best product.
Shared hosting is great for new websites, where traffic will be low. It’s easy to use, allows you to host and manage many sites, and is still fast if you pick a good web host.
SiteGround – popular and considered top of the shared hosting tier. Fast, good features and support!
HostArmada – low cost, good performance, and skilled and friendly 24/7 support.
ScalaHosting – low cost, reliable service along with helpful 24/7 support. They offer low-cost VPS hosting as well under their proprietary SPanel (which saves on the usual WHM/cPanel costs).
AMDhosting – cheap, good performance and support. All WordPress features you need.
My top unmanaged VPS hosting
For sites with traffic over 20k/month, large e-commerce sites, or any site where you are ready to make $$$
It’s an important distinction to make that shared hosts are focused on features, ease of use, and customer service. VPS hosts are focused on hardware and speed. They are 2 entirely different businesses.
DigitalOcean – good pricing and interface, solid speed. Considered by many the top VPS hosting at the time of writing the post (2022).
Linode – solid, reliable, fast.
Vultr – simmiar to DigitalOcean. Offers small $2.50 micro-plans.
Online Store / eCommerce Hosting
If you are planning to sell products on your website using an eCommerce solution, a basic hosting plan will also suit you perfectly if you have fewer products. However, if you are planning to sell a larger number of products (in hundreds) or will have a high volume of people visiting your website then you should opt for a more suitable package. If you’re unsure which hosting option is best for you please contact me before making a purchase.
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