CHOOSING THE RIGHTWORDPRESS HOST

Chris Edwards @ChrisEdwardsCE

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Will you tell me who I should host with?

@ChrisEdwardsCE

NOI Will Not

@ChrisEdwardsCE

@ChrisEdwardsCE

I will teach you how to find the right host for YOU

THE MANY TYPES OF HOSTING

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Shared Dedicated

VPS Cloud

WordPressHOSTING

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Shared Hosting

One powerful server running many websites. All resources are shared and are sometimes oversold

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Dedicated Hosting

One server running one website. All resources are for your site alone. Can be costly.

@ChrisEdwardsCE

VPS Hosting

One server running four containers that act similar to a dedicated server. Resources are split up and you are dedicated your share of resources.

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Cloud Hosting

Many servers pulling different resources as needed. The allow you have your dedicated amount but can be upgraded on the fly to add additional resources.

@ChrisEdwardsCE

WordPress Managed Hosting

Normally setup as either shared hosting or cloud hosting. Your host manages your resources and has built the hosting environment just for WordPress, normally with

special caching layers.

WHAT TO LOOK ATWHEN CHOOSING A HOST

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Let’s Talk Support

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Does support work when you work?

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Not everyone is 24/7

@ChrisEdwardsCE

How do you reach them?

@ChrisEdwardsCE

How much will they do for you?

@ChrisEdwardsCE

What about features?

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Let’s talk about what matters

@ChrisEdwardsCE

SSD hard drives are a big deal

@ChrisEdwardsCE

One-Click Staging will make updates a breeze

(No more cowboy coding)

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Backups will save your bacon when you do mess up

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Caching will turn your site into a rocket

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Free migration will make your move much easier

(Sorry Roy)

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Other Cool Things

•PHP 7 or HHVM Support •NGINX & HTTP/2 •Security Packages •CDNs

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Watch Out!

@ChrisEdwardsCE

CDNs are not always free, look at the details

(Also, the free CDN may be something you can get on your own, for free)

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Cheap prices may only be introductory

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Unlimited domains may only be addon domains(I’ll tell you why that is bad news)

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Plugins may not work with some managed WordPress hosts.

(They could even be banned, for good reason)

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Free domains could make it difficult to change hosts later

@ChrisEdwardsCE

cPanel is not really that big of a deal

WHAT DO I NEEDFOR MY SITE

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Analytics are key here

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Figure out your bandwidth needs

Bandwidth needed = Average page views x Average page size x 30 x 1.5(Page size can be found at tools.pingdom.com)

Some plans work based off monthly traffic. This is simple, check your analytics.(If you have huge peaks of traffic, talk to sales first)

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Figure out your bandwidth needs

Shared Dedicated

VPS Cloud

WordPress

Small website or hobby blog with lower traffic Would not recommend anymore If you plan to be a cheap reseller Great for businesses or larger traffic (not 100% WordPress) Great for Businesses or larger traffic (100% WordPress)

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Invest in your hosting

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Don’t cheap out on hosting

If you’re an online business, the web is your storefront. Don’t cheap out on subpar hosting just to

save a few bucks.

This is the time to invest what you can spend in hosting. Many times, the more you spend the better

service you can get.

@ChrisEdwardsCE

I am smart and want to setup my own server with Digital Ocean

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Have fun and knock yourself out

If you want to get geeky, you can setup a cloud VPS server with Digital Ocean or Linode for pretty cheap. If you know what you’re doing, you can do amazing. In fact, places like

Flywheel actually run on Linode boxes.

I used to do this, but, the time, maintenance and effort were not worth saving $15 bucks a month from a managed host.

@ChrisEdwardsCE

What about you? Who is your host?

@ChrisEdwardsCE

I now use SiteGround Cloud VPS to host a few personal blogs my wife and I own.

For clients, I use what fits their budget and business best.

I have 2 large clients on Flywheel Hosting. I have 1 large client on WP Engine.

I have many small clients on SiteGround WordPress Shared.

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Great, but who do you recommend?

@ChrisEdwardsCE

Depends(If I mentioned them in this presentation, they’re ones I like)

TIME FOR QUESTIONS