Choosing WordPress Web Hosting

This story shares the 5 web hosting types to help you determine the best one for your business:

• Shared Hosting
• WordPress Hosting
• VPS (Virtual Private Servers) Hosting
• Cloud Hosting
• Dedicated Hosting

As the name suggests, it is about sharing a server with other people and that’s why it is quite cheap. However, similar to everything in life, it too comes with its own share of pros and cons.

• Great for sites with low numbers
• Affordable pricing - Starts at about $8 to $10 a month
• Offered at discounted rate to new customers
• Doesn't need maintenance at client end

• Speed is affected as server is shared by many computers
• Web crashes due to compromised uptime and reliability
• Security is compromised due to multiple sharing of sites on one server.
• Limited power and storage ability
• Customer support goes to higher paying clients on large plans.
• Best option for blogging sites

Managed WordPress hosting is another type you need to choose in terms of cost. The services offered by this hosting are customized as per your needs but with restrictions. Average cost lies between $25 to $35 per month and the hardware and software are focused towards the WordPress application.

• Websites run faster than shared hosting
• Geared towards WordPress
• Affordable compared to cloud or dedicated options
• Easy usability with more features compared to shared hosting
• Better customer support and compatible with heavy traffic

• Management is done by web owners mostly
• CMS must be WordPress
• Only WordPress Plugins work
• Not flexible like other hosting plans

VPS stands for Virtual Private Server which is a wordpress hosting type, more powerful and balanced than other options. Sharing of servers is there but in a different way. There are various virtual machines which separate users even when there is only one actual physical server for hosting sites.

• Separate virtual machine for hosting a site
• Better security

• Not that flexible
• Expensive option
• Doesn’t include an entire server of resources

Cloud hosting is similar to VPS hosting, however, there are minor differences. Unlike the site being hosted on a physical server like VPS, cloud hosting hosts your site on a network to make it a powerful option. It is called cloud VPS and is becoming powerful with time. It's even very cheap.

• More Flexibility and features to draw on
• Affordable compared to dedicated hosting
• Fast Speed
• High security
• Separate space from other user websites
• Scalable
• Better customization and flexibility
• Better Reliability

• No physical server
• Expensive compared to Managed WP Hosting
• Not a good option for technical people wanting to customize their root access

Dedicated is the best hosting option but is only suitable for large business owners and enterprises. You get an entire server for hosting your site, but it too comes with its own share of management and responsibility. You will need to manage the installations, maintenance and physical repairs.

You will need to manage the installations, maintenance and physical repairs. The pricing lies between $120 to $140 however, for medium sized machines, it goes around $500 per month and even thousands for the best type of servers.

• Free to setup the way you want and run it as per your rules
• Completely dedicated and without any sharing
• Scalable as your site grows

• Requires extra administrative work to be done by your team
• Needs domain knowledge for maintenance, etc.
• Very expensive
• Gives a lot of power
• Takes long recovery time in case of hardware failure

You now know the different types of hosting with their pros and cons to decide which hosting is best for wordpress. One thing is for sure, you can always switch to another web hosting type depending on your requirements. There is no fixed answer to what is the best wordpress hosting option.