WordPress Hosting Demystified

Adapted from Trafton Esler's "A Hitchhiker's Guide to WordPress Hosting", this talk covers the hosting options available to WordPress users and pros and cons of each.

Transcript

1. Heather Acton me@heatheracton.com http://heatheracton.com ! WPLC Meetup 01-15-2014 ! Adapted from Trafton Esler’s “Don’t Panic. A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Web Hosting” WordPress Hosting Demystified
2. Intro • Former mechanical engineer turned independent web developer • Specialize in custom WordPress implementations for businesses & nonprofits • Organizer WordCamp Chicago 2011 & 2012 • Founder / Organizer WordCamp Lake County Meetup Group • Love Dave Matthews Band and craft beer
3. What do you value in a WordPress host? • Cost • Convenience • Ease of setup • Security • Availability / uptime • Support Take note of these now, as you’ll use them later to choose the right option for your needs.
4. What hosting options are available? • Shared hosting • Dedicated server • Virtual or cloud hosting • Application specific - aka “WordPress hosting”
5. Let’s talk about Shared Hosting • GoDaddy, Bluehost, Hostgator, JustHost, 1and1, and many more providers • Many websites hosted together on one server • Low security • Slow page loads • Low availability - expect some downtime • Low cost - less than $10/month • Free email hosting • WordPress “one-click” installations • Hosting-only support
6. How about a Dedicated Server, then? • Rackspace, Linode. Many shared hosts also offer dedicated plans - GoDaddy, Hostgator. • High cost - upwards of $100/month • One whole server, just for your site(s) • Very fast • Very secure • YOU are responsible for setting up, securing, and maintaining the server itself • Email hosting on same server…or not • Hosting-only support, sometimes paid required for advanced help
7. Dedicated Servers sound scary. How about Virtual or Cloud Hosting? • Amazon Web Services, LiquidWeb, Media Temple (dv) • Mid-range cost - $30-75/month - varies based on use and the build • More complex to set up than shared, but not as hard as dedicated • Flexible to scale - add more resources as traffic grows to optimize page load and avoid downtime • Fairly secure - not as secure as dedicated but not as dangerous as shared • Hosting-only support, sometimes paid required for advanced help
8. Managed WordPress Hosting • WP Engine, page.ly, Pressable, Synthesis • Pay by site and/or by traffic - $30/site/month, $100/10 sites/month • Easiest setup. Most deliver a WordPress base install with paid hosting. • Easiest ongoing optimization and maintenance. They do it all for you. • Pay when you need to scale • Hosting configuration is optimized for WordPress • Very secure • Very fast page load • Very high availability • Hosting AND WordPress support, typically top-notch and fully included in the monthly rate
9. Questions
   &
   Discussion