Episode 10

Many people use WordPress, so I wanted to share three of the best web hosting plans for WordPress. There are several WordPress hosting plans, and many people I have talked to don’t know which is best for them. The ones I’m sharing here are ones I’ve personally used before when I had a WordPress site, and I think they’re the most reliable and love to share them with you. 

WordPress is the most popular CMS platform. According to a 2020 study, over 400 million sites worldwide are powered by WordPress. That’s crazy! When I had a WordPress site, I first used HostGator and found some issues with it. There was a lot of spam, the site was slow.

You’re probably wondering what web hosting has to do with SEO? Well, it has to do a lot with SEO. You’ve probably heard me talk about it numerous times that Google does not like slow websites, nor does anyone else coming to your website. They’re going to go onto another site that loads a lot faster. How fast (or slow) your website is has a lot to do with how Google ranks your site. If your site is not loading in three seconds or less, really ideally two seconds or less, then it’s not going to refer you over other sites that are loading faster. A lot of this also has to do not only with what you upload to your site, – your images, fonts, etc. – but it’s also your web hosting platform. Some platforms are just faster than others.

If you’re getting a lot of spam comments, or if you’re creating a blog post in your dashboard and it’s just lagging. It could be your hosting provider, and it may be time to look into a different hosting provider

To make sure your website is off to a good start, these are the three web hosting platforms I recommend.

1. WP Engine

The first platform I recommend and think is the best option is WP Engine. It is the most expensive option, but it’s the best one. There are more than 120,000 customers and 140 countries currently relying on this platform for their web hosting. I had been recommended WP Engine by my web developer after using HostGator, which like I mentioned was getting a lot of spam, had a lot of glitches, and kept crashing. I would not recommend HostGator, especially if you have a large website. WP Engine is especially great for larger websites. 

WP Engine also has a reliable hosting architecture and it’s optimized for developers. A lot of web developers really like using it. It’s fast and reliable, has less spam, and it integrate with solutions like Google, Amazon, BigCommerce, and much more. On top of it being a robust hosting platform, it has amazing customer service. 

Now, as I mentioned before, it is expensive. The entry-level plan is $25 per month, and this plan can accommodate up to 25,000 visits per month, which is about 2.5 times higher than most entry-level plans from other web hosting providers. They have more robust plans as well, and what you choose just depends on your needs. 

2. SiteGround
SiteGround is the second runner up to WP Engine. It’s a little bit more affordable, and they offer managed solutions for sites of all sizes. So whether you have ten thousand monthly visitors, a hundred thousand monthly visitors or somewhere in between, they can really accommodate your needs. The entry-level hosting plan starts at $6.99 per month, and it does offer 24/7 support, migrations, free SSL (secure socket layer) certificates. Check out SiteGround to see if that is a more reliable option for you.

3. DreamHost 

Last, but not least is DreamHost. Several of my clients use DreamHost and are quite happy with it. It’s just another hosting provider for WordPress, and it’s recommended directly by WordPress. They’ve been on WordPress’s list for well over 10 years. So regardless of your web site type, your theme, your budget, or your hosting needs, DreamHost has a solution for you and the plans are affordable. They start as low as $2.49 per month. They have the basic plan for smaller websites and more what we call the virtual private server for larger websites. They state that they have over 750,000 WordPress installations for their hosting services, and again, they can accommodate larger websites. They also have award-winning customer support that’s available 24/7, they do automatic WordPress updates, and have the free SSL certificate, privacy protection, and free email hosting, which does not come with WP Engine. With WP Engine, you have to use another email service provider, like Google suite to get your email. So it’s something to think about as well. 

Now I know it can be really confusing, especially if you are switching to WordPres or you already have a WordPress site where the host is not working. As I mentioned, these are the top three that I personally have used, and I know are reliable since I work on their sites and I can see the site speed when my clients are using these platforms. So check them out, see what works best for you and your budget, and then you’ll be on your way to SEO success.