What to Look for in a Host: Choosing a WordPress Host Q & A

At one of our past meetups, the questions about hosting plans and providers almost took over the scheduled talk, so I figured it might not be a bad time to just focus a talk completely on Hosting & Hosting providers. We'll discuss:
- What do YOU need in a hosting plan (not everyone is the same)
- What to look for & what to avoid
- Recommendations and Reviews

We'll also arrange to have plenty of time to discuss the questions that you folks normally have regarding hosting.

Video for this presentation: https://youtu.be/8T57JQWMOHI

Transcript

1. What to Look for in a Host
   Choosing a WordPress Host: Q & A
   WordPress St. Petersburg
   

   View Slide

2. Jim True
   Support Lead & Community Manager

   Pods Framework
   pods.io | @podsframework
   jimtrue.com | @jimtrue
   

   View Slide

3. Who has raised a Baby?
   

   View Slide

4. What are some things a Baby Needs?
   NAME

   Birth Certificate
   ID

   Social Security #
   ADDRESS
   Place to receive mail

   Know who to contact if lost
   HOME
   Shelter & Place

   to Grow Safely
   HEALTH
   Food & Nourisment

   Balanced Diet
   SUPPORT
   Medical Attention,

   Protection
   

   View Slide

5. Your Website is Kinda like your baby
   

   View Slide

6. Things your Baby Web Needs
   NAME

   Domain Name 

   lucas-spider.com
   ID

   IP address
   ADDRESS
   Name Services/DNS
   HOME
   Web Hosting
   HEALTH
   High Speed Network

   & Web Server/DB
   SUPPORT
   24/7 Tech Support
   Backups & Virus Protection
   

   View Slide

7. Name: Domain Name Registration
   • Business, Personal or Brand in the name: Must Be Unique
   • Extensions (.com, .net, .org, etc.) some are restricted but lots have
   been added just to help with ‘uniqueness’
   • Year to Year Registrations (renewal terms can be longer)
   • Prices vary: $9.99 - $15 - $25+, Annually

   Premium Domain Extensions can cost much more
   lucas-spider.org
   That’s not
   my address!
   

   View Slide

8. Name: Name Search Tools
   • WHOIS: Tracks Names, Expiry Dates, Registrants & Contacts

   Official: whois.icann.org
   • InstantDomainSearch.com, NameMesh.com
   • Almost all Website Hosts provide some form of Domain
   Registration & WHOIS Searching
   • Requirement: Name Services (Points your Name to your Address)
   • Beware the UPSELL and the Name Brokers (Fake WHOIS)
   

   View Slide

9. Top 5 Name Registrars*
   • GoDaddy: Add on’s obviously & Hosting
   • BlueHost: Addon’s & Hosting
   • HostGator: Addon’s & Hosting
   • NameCheap: Free Domain Privacy
   • domain.com: Domain Privacy, Bulk Registration & Transfers
   • BuyDomains: Broker House selling Premium Domain Names
   * From WPBeginner: 

   https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/how-to-choose-the-best-domain-registrar/
   

   View Slide

10. ID & Address: Internet GPS/Post Office
    Get you from: tampabay.org
    TO
    104.28.28.88
    

    View Slide

11. Name Servers (& DNS): How?
    https://www.youtube.com/c/LucastheSpider
    That’s where
    I live!
    Name Servers (DNS)

    Lookup “youtube.com"
    for it’s IP address

    (the host)
    Host for YouTube:

    Looks up the rest
    of the Address
    HI!
    

    View Slide

12. Nameservers: What you need to know
    • Your Host should give you the Names of their Nameservers to
    change at your Domain Registration, since Nameservers are
    configured with the Domain Name.
    • Some Hosts have no Name Servers or CName Registration
    (lucas-the-spider.wpengine.com) so you need another service
    like CloudFlare (free for one domain)
    • Most Hosts know how to help you configure your Name
    Servers, so don’t sweat it: Ask for Help!
    

    View Slide

13. Home: Web Hosting
    SHARED
    VPS
    DEDICATED
    3 Primary Types
    

    View Slide

14. Web Hosting: Shared
    Community Swimming Pool
    

    View Slide

15. Web Hosting: Shared
    No Splash Protection, $
    

    View Slide

16. Web Hosting: VPS
    Sectioned Swimming Pool
    

    View Slide

17. Web Hosting: VPS
    Easily Accommodate Growth, $$
    

    View Slide

18. Web Hosting: Dedicated
    Private Pool
    

    View Slide

19. Web Hosting: Dedicated
    No one bugs you, $$$$
    

    View Slide

20. Health: All the Tech Stuff
    • Good Network Connectivity & Fast Hardware
    • Strong Stable Database: MySQL 5.6+ or MariaDB 10.0+
    • Strong Stable Web Servers: Apache or Nginx (some Windows, but not as
    common for WordPress)
    • Strong Stable Programming/Scripting Environment: 

    PHP 7.2+ Suggested > Should be EASY to switch
    • Interface/Client Dashboard: Cpanel (ugh!), Database phpMyAdmin, SSH,
    SFTP/FTP, GIT
    • STAGING Copies and Management!
    

    View Slide

21. Support: Backups & Uptime
    • Daily Backups and Documented Backup Retention
    • One Click Backup & Restore On Demand
    • Backup Includes FILES & Database
    • You can manage these yourself: Updraft, BackupBuddy, etc.
    • Uptime Guarantees or at least reporting
    • Uptime Monitoring: uptime.com
    

    View Slide

22. Support: Human IT Staff
    • Multiple Contact Methods: Email, Live Chat & Phone
    • Coverage: 24/7/365? Holidays?
    • Responsiveness & Knowledge:
    • Do they know WordPress?
    • Do they know Databases, etc?
    • Friendliness Matters: Check out their PreSales Support
    

    View Slide

23. Managed WP Hosting
    • Handle all the WordPress Upgrades (not your plugins unless there
    are issues)
    • Typically VPS or Dedicated Servers
    • One-Click Staging Copies and One Click Staging to Production
    • One Click WordPress Installs
    • No Email, Domain Registration or anything else: Focus on
    WordPress
    

    View Slide

24. Required Recommendations
    • PHP 7.2+, MySQL 5.6+ or MariaDB 10.0+, 

    https support*
    • FREE SSL (since it’s now required), easy to configure
    • FREE Backups (if not user generated, should be daily
    and include your files & your database).
    • Support: Phone, Email & Live Chat
    • NO Penalties for Changing Hosts, NO Hidden Fees
    https://wordpress.org/about/requirements/
    

    View Slide

25. What’s the Best WP Host for YOU?
    https://www.wpbeginner.com/wordpress-hosting/
    

    View Slide

26. Top 5 WordPress Hosts*
    https://www.wpbeginner.com/wordpress-hosting/
    

    View Slide

27. What’s the Best Managed Host for YOU?
    https://www.wpbeginner.com/managed-wordpress-hosting/
    

    View Slide

28. Top 5 Managed WordPress Hosts*
    https://www.wpbeginner.com/managed-wordpress-hosting/
    

    View Slide

29. End-Users: Things to Beware!
    • Maintain Ownership of your Domain!
    • Make Sure you KNOW who your Web Server Host is and that you
    can talk to them yourself.
    • Beware Mom & Pop Web Hosting or Developers who will host you:
    What happens if they win the lottery or get hit by the bus?
    • Final Note: You should be able to quit your web developer (and they
    you) at any time and you shouldn’t lose your website just because
    that happens.
    

    View Slide

30. Developers: Things to Beware!
    • You should be able to get to Server Logs without having to write an
    Act of Congress. DDoS and other bad people are out there and you
    shouldn’t be charged when something outside your control
    happens
    • Backups: YOU should have control over them and be able to initiate
    restores.
    • Beware the UpSell and Beware the ‘well we fixed it, but don’t know
    what was wrong.’ Ask for explanations when there is downtime.
    

    View Slide

31. Questions?
    

    View Slide

32. Thank You!
    https://www.youtube.com/c/LucastheSpider
    

    View Slide