Choosing a WordPress Host

Jeff Matson | InMotion Hosting@TheJeffMatson | @InMotionHosting

Know your expectations

● Pricing● Support● Uptime● Features

You know WordPress. Your web host knows servers

A good host will keep their server running fast, secure, and up as much as humanly possible.

Your job is to keep your site running efficiently.

Ensure that your host can handle you in 5 years

● They should still be around.

● They should be able to accommodate your growth.

Shared hosting

● Best for new/low traffic websites.● Lowest pricing.● Lack of features and customization.● Multiple individuals sharing the same server.

VPS hosting

● Allows your own virtualized environment.● Still shares a physical machine.● Cheaper than dedicated, more expensive

than shared.● Allows for more customization.● Less resource allocation than dedicated,

more resources than shared.

Dedicated hosting

● Your own server to do what you want on.● The most expensive option.● Unlimited customization options.● Able to handle high-traffic sites.

Managed WordPress hosting

● Handles updates for you.● More focused on WordPress sites.● Pricing varies greatly.● Typically within a shared or VPS

environment.● Little to no server-side customization.● Limited to WordPress.

Are you a sysadmin?

No? Then you need support:● Server maintenance● Security updates● Server-related questions● Custom configurations

Support needs to know more than you

● Their job is to know their servers, just as your job is to know WordPress.

● 90% of issues should be resolved at the first level of support.

● Response times and resolutions should be prompt.

Beware of dirt cheap hosting

● Ridiculously cheap hosting is cheap for a reason.

● Usually little or no support.● Low performance.● Too much downtime.

Uptime is critical

In January 2013, Amazon went down for ~50 minutes resulting in ~$5M in profit loss.

If your hosting is down, you’re not making any money and potentially losing customers.

Speed will make or break you

Amazon has reported that they have a sales increase of 1% for every 100ms speed increase.Yahoo traffic increased by 9% for every 400ms of speed improvement.Mozilla reported a 60M/year download increase by speeding up pages by 2.2 seconds.

Secure it or lose it

● Do they actively watch for hacks?● Do they employ additional security methods?● Are they storing passwords in plain-text?● Do they actively run security audits on all

servers?● Are you well protected from other users?● Do they have additional protection from

WordPress brute force attacks?

Marketing buzzwords are for suckers. Know what they mean.The host should be able to accurately explain exactly what they are promoting.

If they can’t explain what their “proprietary technology” is, it doesn’t actually exist.

Honest reviews, not paid reviews

Know who is recommending the host.

Do your homework and research!

The best sources for recommendations are all around you.

Questions?

Jeff Matson | @TheJeffMatsonInMotion Hosting | @inmotionhosting

inmotionhosting.com