As a consumer, you may have considered hosting your website on WordPress. That’s a great choice. Surely you must have spent enough time on selecting a theme, template and the design elements etc. But going ahead, people forget to put the same amount of effort in selecting a hosting provider for the simple reason that they consider it unnecessary. By doing so, customers face problems later on, complaining about support issues or server downtime etc. In such a case, make sure you have a checklist for choosing a WordPress Web hosting provider that partners with you thoroughly because he is also responsible for the success of your online business. This article seeks to shed light upon those questions every consumer opting for a WordPress hosting plan must ask a web hosting provider before buying the plan. This list is not entirely exhaustive but it pretty much covers all the necessary aspects, so here goes:
1. How scalable is the storage space provided?
It is important that you get an idea as to what kind of storage space your web hosting provider is guaranteeing. And also, what scope does he provide you to scale the same storage space. Allow us to explain why. Let’s say, your WordPress web hosting provider promises you with 2GB disk space in a plan and even before you run out of the same, you experience problems like insufficient disk space or site space beyond normal usage. This is a result of not enough research on your part.
Ideally, any consumer must know how much leeway of space is given by the hosting provider, should the consumer face storage issues. In addition to this, consumers must also know what the immediate plan of action is once they face such a problem since there is a chance that business gets affected directly. Such cases call for a web hosting provider that allows you to upgrade the storage space with just a click. This not only solves the storage issue at hand but also prevents unnecessary to and fro which ends up wasting time.
2. How much bandwidth is provided?
With storage, follows the important question of bandwidth. It is essential that your WordPress web hosting provider guarantees a bandwidth which is proportionate to the storage space he provides you. For e.g. If your WordPress hosting package is giving you 10GB of disk space and only 1GB bandwidth, it will result in slow loading speed of web pages. This is obvious because the capacity or bandwidth of data does not support the space that is guaranteed. Hence, to be on the safer side, choose a provider that gives unmetered disk space with 1TB of bandwidth. This will take away any problem related to reduced monthly visitors or slow page loading etc.
3. What kind of server uptime is guaranteed?
Most web hosting providers claim that their servers never go down. That is impossible because hosting providers need to maintain servers and check for discrepancies if any so that they sustain through their period of service. In addition to this, unforeseen circumstances like an earthquake, electricity or power issues etc. affect the servers. Today, there are ways and means by which hosting providers are maintaining business continuity for clients. Especially with the rise of data centers. But ensure that your hosting provider tells you about the downtime in advance since it gives you, as a user, space and time to deal with the same and make any changes in your online business plans for those particular days. A healthy uptime rate as per industry standards is 98%. Anything over and above that is a bonus.
4. Does the provider allow the addition of Domains and Subdomains?
There might be a time where you feel that you need more than one website if you are running an online business. Especially with two separate IP addresses. In such a case, you should know whether your WordPress web hosting plan allows you to host multiple domains. Web hosting providers give users an admin panel that allows one to control the hosting and assists them with adding domains and subdomains.
5. Does the provider have a plan for site’s backup?
Getting a full understanding of your hosting provider’s back up plan will put you at ease right from the beginning, even if there is a cyber attack or malware problem. There are security and data backup add-ons like CodeGuard which take the whole backup of your website and place it in a secure cloud environment. If your hosting provider is aware of such practices, you are in safe hands.
6. How is the security of the hosting guaranteed by the provider?
This is the final question your checklist should have. With this, you will pretty much cover all the aspects that go into choosing a good WordPress web hosting provider. Get an idea of the kind of security plan he advocates. Most websites are prone to DDoS attacks. Integrations like SiteLock protect as well as prevent such attacks and also help to mitigate backdoor hacking. Moreover, any vulnerabilities or malware is removed instantly once your web hosting provider integrates this within your website.
Also, keep a check on
Other important things like database support, email accounts and features, tech support, free domain etc. They may not be necessary on an immediate basis but ask your WordPress web hosting provider for the same, since these will be required in the near future.
