Finding a hosting option that fits the needs of your future website calls for weighing carefully what you should opt for. With so many hosting providers and such a great variety of hosting types offered, it is difficult to decide which one is best.
Actually, there is no such thing as the best hosting service. All of them differ in the range of features included, and so a particular type may be the best option for some and something to avoid for others. Beginner website owners often find themselves being at a loss as to what kind of hosting services can help their online project take off. The answer to it is that depends on what your website is going to be like.
Choosing a CMS for your website is just as important as choosing a hosting provider. And these two steps are two sides of the same coin. Without a reliable CMS, your website will not run smoothly, and it is also true of hosting services. One of the most widely used systems is WordPress, the industry leader that boasts being used by around 30% of the Internet. It is not without reason that WP remains the CMS of choice: the range of opportunities it provides is impressive. That’s why the emergence of hosting services tailored to the system in question came as no surprise.
Today, now that WP is so popular, you are most likely to be choosing between managed WordPress hosting and shared hosting. These two are what most people usually consider using, and it may be difficult for those new to the industry to understand what the difference between them is. Let's take a closer look at them.
Managed WP Hosting
The term denotes a type of hosting designed to suit WordPress perfectly. It does not only help to enhance the features WP is characterized by, but it also implies a higher level of customer service and website maintenance, as 'managed' means you are accompanied by a team of professionals always ready to lend you a hand and knowing the CMS inside out.
For any website, it is very significant that its load time is minimal. By using Wordpress Hosting, a major advantage is its incredible speed. Every aspect of the server helps in enabling quick loading time. This hosting minimizes the loading time and speeds up your website.
A. Pros of Managed WP Hosting
- It makes your website faster. WP is a fast system by itself, but since the server is configured in such a way that its adjustments correspond to the peculiarities of WP, website performance improves, and loading times are reduced.
- Having a team of professionals managing your website means you can delegate software updating and other chores to them.
- Managed WP hosting is generally more secure due to better security protocols. Should your page fall victim to attackers, the problem will be tackled by those who know how to help it recover fast.
- Better uptime. Since the number of websites you share resources with is way smaller, downtime is less likely to occur.
B. Cons of Managed WP Hosting
- You are not allowed to use any other CMS’s except for WP.
- Certain plugins are disallowed, which means less flexibility.
- It costs quite a lot, compared to shared hosting.
All in all, managed WordPress hosting is an option for those websites that expect a large number of visitors and require better performance. Its cost is what puts off many new website owners, but it is worth investing in it if you want to develop your project and generate a lot of traffic.
Shared Hosting
The most popular option, shared hosting is affordable yet not devoid of shortcomings. The very name of it suggests that you share resources with a lot of other users, which means uptime and loading times are often sacrificed. When choosing a hosting provider that offers shared hosting, do some research and check if its performance has recently been good.
As to advantages, shared hosting is probably the best option for new websites that are not supposed to be exposed to heavy loads anytime soon. They cost way less, and you can use any CMS you like. In most cases, the range of plugins allowed is not as restricted as in WP-oriented hosting services.
As seen from the description above, managed WordPress hosting is superior to shared hosting in terms of performance, but it also requires investing more money in it, so it is best for those who want to roll out projects aimed at a large audience. Shared hosting is valued by users who want to try their hand at running a website without significant limitations or spending a fortune on it.