Choosing a web host can be overwhelming, here are eight factors to consider when looking for a hosting plan for your WordPress site.
- Security – Do they scan for malware, keep their systems updates, implement firewall rules and monitor the network?
- Storage – The more media (like images, videos and PDFs) you upload, the more storage you’ll need.
- Bandwidth – This is the amount of traffic and number of page views your site can handle. Keep in mind that if you purchasing a shared hosting plan, unlimited bandwidth might not really mean unlimited.
- Reliability – Do they do maintenance a lot or do their servers go down a lot?
- Customer Service – Where is the company based, is it in a different timezone? Is it easy to get in touch with them and do they offer support?
- Features – Are add-ons like site transfers, backups and domain privacy included?
- Scalability – You may need to increase the resources available to you as your traffic increases. Do they offer scalable packages or can you easily move to a different plan?
- Price – Initial costs are normally reduced, so what is the reoccurring cost? You do get what you pay for with hosting as high-powered servers and managed plans are expensive.