When you’re first starting out in business, and the costs of getting yourself set up are mounting, it’s perfectly reasonable to look out for the most cost-effective options for your website. And while lots of people I work with are happy to put a good amount of their budget towards building their websites, I often get asked to recommend the very cheapest hosting possible. The thing is, the cheapest WordPress hosting isn’t always the best for your website or, indeed, for your business.
In this blog, I’ll explore what hosting is and why you need to make the right decision about hosting for your business. I’ll also recommend the best hosting platform available for WordPress users, and no, it’s not the cheapest option!
What is WordPress hosting?
First things first, let’s look at what WordPress hosting actually is. Website hosting is a web service that stores and maintains your website’s files and applications on a server so that they are accessible to Internet users. And WordPress hosting is a hosting service specifically designed to meet the performance and security needs of websites built using WordPress. There are a few types of hosting services you can choose from:
- Shared Hosting: This is the most budget-friendly option, where your website shares server resources with other websites. It’s a great choice for blogs and small businesses starting with lower traffic volumes.
- Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting: VPS hosting provides more control and allocates a specific portion of a server’s resources to your website. This means you don’t share resources directly with other sites, which can be a big plus if you’re experiencing traffic growth or need to handle more data securely.
- Dedicated Hosting: With dedicated hosting, you rent an entire website server, meaning all the resources are exclusively yours. This type of hosting is great for large businesses or websites with high traffic, which require extensive control and security.
- Managed WordPress Hosting: This service is tailored specifically for WordPress sites, offering one-click WordPress installation, automatic updates, and takes care of technical aspects such as speed optimisation and security.
The costs of cheap hosting
It’s perfectly understandable that low-cost hosting might be attractive. It’s budget-friendly, which is great when you’re just setting up your business, but you need to look at the hidden costs, which can be significant.
Cheaper hosting plans often come with:
- Frequent Downtimes: This can lose you customers and sales.
- Slower Website Speeds: This can impact your user experience and SEO rankings.
- Poor Customer Support: When problems arise, getting help can be slow and frustrating. Who wants to wait weeks for a support ticket to be processed?
- Limited Scalability: As your business grows, cheaper hosting may struggle to handle increased traffic.
And don’t be tempted by free hosting services. They’ll generally want to use your site for free advertising and you won’t get a custom domain. If you want to be a credible business online this will compromise your site and doesn’t look unprofessional.
Why paying a bit more might be worth it and what to look for when choosing a hosting provider
It’s important to think of hosting as an investment in your business’s future. While cheaper options might save you money initially, quality hosting can provide significant advantages. Here’s what to look out for:
- Uptime Guarantees: Ensuring your website is always available to visitors. Look for providers offering at least 99.9% uptime, which means your site will be operational for all but a few hours per year, minimising potential revenue loss and customer frustration.
- Robust Security Features: Protecting your site from large-scale attacks and cyber threats. Most hosting providers will offer free SSL certificates and include regular malware scans, daily backups and custom firewalls to protect at a server level.
- Speed and Performance: No compromises on server speed and response time. Faster loading times directly impact user experience, search engine rankings, and conversion rates. Choose hosts with high-performance hardware, website caching, and content delivery networks (CDNs).
- Easy Website Management: Smooth and easy-to-use interface. An intuitive control panel can save you hours of frustration, allowing you to manage domain name systems (DNS), emails, and website settings with minimal technical knowledge.
- Quick Support Response Times: Getting help quickly when you need it most. Prioritise hosts offering 24/7 support through multiple channels like live chat, phone, and email, with demonstrated track records of resolving issues promptly and effectively.
Investing in quality hosting might seem like a bit of a luxury, but it’s critically important to your online success. Better hosting improves your site’s speed, enhances its security, and provides you with scaling solutions, which are crucial for a growing business.
So, who would I recommend for WordPress hosting?
There are many WordPress Hosting providers, but I recommend SiteGround. They are well known for their reliability and excellent customer support, and it’s a great choice for small businesses that need a balance between cost and functionality.
Their chat button and response times are almost immediate – I have never had to wait any more than a few minutes – which is great if you are trying to solve a problem or get to the bottom of an issue quickly.
The SSL (encryption) certificate comes pre-installed on your site, so there is no faffing around trying to manually install it yourself. You can also select a free one-year domain, but I prefer to register the domain outside of hosting, as it gives you more flexibility and options if things change going forward.
Your site will also come pre-loaded with Siteground’s own Security and Speed Optimer plugins that you can configure for caching, HTTPS, site and login security.
For most small businesses, the Start Up plan with 10GB of web space and hosting one website will be more than enough. But if you’re looking for more web space, staging option, or you want to host more than one website, then go for the Grow Big or Go Geek plans.
While their plans are slightly pricier than the cheapest options out there, I really rate them and can confidently say that the benefits to your business are worth the small extra investment.
You can check their website and packages by clicking here: SiteGround. My own website is hosted on Siteground, and whilst I receive a small affiliate commission, I only recommend services I have personally tested and used myself.
Making the right choice for your business
Choosing the right hosting should be based on several factors, such as the size of your business, the levels of traffic you expect, and the complexity of your website.
You also need to think about both your current needs and future growth. Cheap hosting might seem fine for today, but what about tomorrow?
Opting for the cheapest WordPress hosting available might not always be the best decision for your business. The hidden costs can end up being more expensive in the long run. Quality hosting not only supports your current business but also sets you up for future growth.
If you’re uncertain about what hosting to choose for your website, don’t hesitate to get in touch. I can help you think through your options and choose a solution that meets your business needs and budget.
