WordPress Hosting: What To Look For In A Webhost

June 29th, 2008

by Chris Channing

If you are hip on the blogging scene, then no doubt you’ve heard of WordPress. WordPress is one of the most popular blogging platforms around. Likewise, it has become something of a phenomenon as webhosts are now offering WordPress-specific webhosting. The question is- should you go for a generalized host or a WordPress-specific host?

Features To Look Out For In WordPress Hosting

First and foremost, WordPress users want a platform that is easy to install. This means that advanced editing of configuration files is out of the question- and webhosts know it. Even general webhosts give access to auto-installers for WordPress, so the initial installation shouldn’t be what worries bloggers.

One big downfall for normal webhosts is their lack of support for recent upgrades. When an important security upgrade comes out, WordPress users need to upgrade their blogs as soon as possible. If they don’t, they may run the risk of losing their entire blog to hackers. With normal webhosts the upgrading can be delayed, since they aren’t specializing in any single product.

When a blogger needs to upgrade a blog, he or she will soon find that the “one-click” upgrade feature most webhosts have is very dangerous. These installers write over previous files: meaning that old themes, plugins, and other content can be lost for good. In this case, WordPress-specific hosts take the win as they allow for better upgrading options.

Anyone WordPress user that has been on the front page of websites such as Digg.com know that with excessive demand comes downtime. This is because WordPress is database driven- meaning that if a lot of people are on your blog at the same time, it is bound to go down. WordPress-specific webhosts take this into effect and offer better performance and efficiency at the database level.

Bloggers Get Added Bonuses

Whenever it comes to the normal webhosts, there aren’t many extra features they can offer for WordPress users. But with the WordPress hosts, there are usually a myriad of extra features to enjoy. This can range from special plugins and themes to other WordPress-specific services.

Interestingly, Wordpress hosts have an overlooked benefit: their exclusivity of their WordPress themes. Free WordPress themes are popular, but it seems that everyone has them. But thanks to the exclusivity of WordPress themes from webhosts, the problem of having a unique design is easily solved.

Custom designs for WordPress blogs can easily run hundreds of dollars. As compared to the low fees of a WordPress host, it’s no contest as to which route every WordPress user should take in regards to themes.

It seems that WordPress hosts win, when it comes to providing better services to bloggers and their fanbase. If you haven’t already, you should look into these WordPress hosts as soon as possible.

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