The Top 4 Web Hosting Providers for Your Blog
Does a good host really have that much of an impact in how a WordPress website performs? Absolutely. Not all hosting platforms are built the same, and some may be more versatile than others when it comes to functionality. Even the most profound SEO practices can’t improve a website that is based on substandard hardware.
Choosing the right web host is much like picking a place to build a house. A developer needs to make sure that the digital “ground” is solid and capable of supporting the structure. Otherwise, even the best constructs would sink and fall into disarray.
Below are four of the top WordPress hosting providers on the Internet. Each has its own benefits, which could fuel the overall success of virtually any website platform. Picking one of these is perhaps the most difficult part of setting up a site.
1. MilesWeb
If you are looking for the best WordPress hosting that is inexpensive and full of features, MilesWeb is the one. The company offers you the most reliable WordPress-optimized servers. MilesWeb provides comprehensive features like an SSL certificate, free domain name, and so on with the WordPress hosting plan.
MilesWeb also features:
- Unlimited Websites Hosting
- Free Domain Name
- Unlimited Email Accounts
- Unlimited SSD Disk Space
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- Free SSL Certificate
- Website Builder
- Control Panel + 1 Click Installer
- WordPress Optimized
- Unlimited MySQL DB’s
With MilesWeb, you get exclusive features like Cloudflare Railgun, SFTP access, dedicated WordPress support, daily backup, server-side optimizations, and much more.
The company is best known for offering a 99.95% uptime guarantee and the best human support. For those who want to create their own website, MilesWeb also furnishes a website builder tool. MilesWeb is the best for WordPress bloggers, portfolio, and SMB websites.
2. GreenGeeks
When it comes to an eco-friendly platform and a strong backbone for a WordPress website, GreenGeeks is one to consider. Not only does the company provide a solid base for the site, but it’s also one of the premier companies using wind to power the business. As a result, GreenGeeks generates approximately 300 percent of the power necessary to operate a website and puts it back into the grid.
GreenGeeks also features:
- Unlimited web space and bandwidth
- Free domain name registration or transfers
- Static State Drives in Raid-10 configuration for speed
- US-based tech support 24 hours a day
- 9% uptime
- Servers optimized specifically for WordPress
- 30-day money back guarantee
The core for WordPress is automatically updated to ensure the site remains current and protected. The system has built-in DDoS and Brute Force protection as well to keep the site operating normally. As an added bonus, GreenGeeks also scans for security vulnerabilities in real-time.
An attractive addition to GreenGeeks is the ability to add the website to a content delivery network with just a click of the mouse. This vastly improves site performance and speed, which will then impact search engine optimization. This is outside of the optimized HTTP and MySQL tweaks to enhance performance even further.
3. SiteGround
SiteGround is an exceptionally popular provider and is often the location where people download free themes and templates for WordPress and Joomla. The organization uses the fast NGINX web server and a super caching platform for all content management systems including WordPress. Another key aspect of SiteGround is the HTTP/2 enabled servers for faster and secure connections. However, this platform requires SSL certificates to fully appreciate.
SiteGround also features:
- 10GB web space and monthly bandwidth allotments for approximately 10,000 visitors per month
- Free domain name registration or WordPress transfers
- Static State Drive support for fast website hosting
- 24-hour WordPress tech support
- WordPress staging area for the more expensive hosting accounts
- 9% uptime
- 30-day money back guarantee
Like others in this list, SiteGround offers access to CloudFlare’s CDN network. Combined with the server technology, caching techniques and HTTP/2, this company offers some of the fastest website bases on the Internet.
The only real down side to SiteGround is the limitations on space and bandwidth. Although technically it would take a great deal of data to fill up 10 gigabytes in WordPress, this does reduce the capacity for delivering digital downloads to visitors and eCommerce for the smaller accounts.
4. HostGator
HostGator is one of the top 10 largest hosting companies in the world housing over eight million domains. The company provides some of the most comprehensive tools available and has a long list of supporting features. HostGator also provides a $100 Google Adwords offer when setting up the account for the purpose of marketing the website.
HostGator also features:
- Unmetered web space and bandwidth
NOTE: Unmetered means that the website doesn’t surpass the allotment in the terms of service. For example, sites that surpass using 25 percent of the server’s resources may need to be addressed. However, it’s rare for this to happen.
- Free domain name registration or WordPress transfers
- Unlimited MySQL and phpMyAdmin access
- 24-hour support via live chat, phone or ticket system
- Online support portal with over 500 video tutorials
- 9% uptime
- 45-day money back guarantee
For those who want to customize the WordPress site even further, HostGator provides more than 50 scripts that can be added for various functions.
HostGator offers an unlimited number of email addresses and uses SpamAssassin to help clean up the messages. Developers also have the option for IMAP support to retrieve messages to a smartphone.
5. A2 Hosting
Many people praise A2 Hosting when it comes to developing a website. The plans in place for WordPress hosting are worth noting, however the smaller accounts may be lacking when compared to some of the others in this list. For instance, A2 Hosting only delivers HTTP/2 capabilities to the more expensive plans. However, new accounts are provided with a $100 Bing and Yahoo ad credit to boost marketing.
A2 Hosting also features:
- Unlimited web space and bandwidth
- Free website transfers
- 5 MySQL databases
- 24-hour tech support
- Free access to CloudFlare’s CDN network
- 9% uptime
- 30-day money back guarantee, or a prorated refund based on unused service after 30 days.
Although the services through A2 Hosting are a bit limited when compared to others, the company does offer various solutions for boosting speed and performance. Unfortunately, most of these are offered through the more pricey account types.
For those looking for a great theme, a new account at A2 Hosting comes with a discount coupon for TeslaThemes. This includes blogs, business models and using WooCommerce. For those looking to operate more than one WordPress website, this could be ideal to find premium formats at a discount.
Choosing the Best Host for the Site…
Finding a good WordPress hosting provider is only the first step to building a successful website. Although the hosting company provides the landscape, it’s up to the developer to actually build the “house.” With a strong foundation, even the smallest of blogs can withstand the test of time.