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

Jim True
August 02, 2018

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

Jim True

August 02, 2018
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Transcript

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

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  2. Jim True
    Support Lead & Community Manager

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

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  3. Who has raised a Baby?

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  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

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  5. Your Website is Kinda like your baby

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  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

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  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!

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  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)

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  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/

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

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  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!

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  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!

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

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  14. Web Hosting: Shared
    Community Swimming Pool

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  15. Web Hosting: Shared
    No Splash Protection, $

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  16. Web Hosting: VPS
    Sectioned Swimming Pool

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

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  18. Web Hosting: Dedicated
    Private Pool

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

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  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!

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  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

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  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

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  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

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  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/

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

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

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

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

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  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.

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  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.

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  31. Questions?

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

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