Choosing where to host your website or blog can be a difficult decision when starting out; you don’t want to spend any more money than you need to, but at the same time, you don’t want your blog to be painfully slow for readers, or even worse to be constantly offline. Which level of hosting you choose depends mainly on your blog’s resource usage – how much bandwidth is used, how much disk space is required, and probably most importantly how high your blog’s CPU usage is likely to be. But what are the different hosting options?
Firstly, there are the free options. The most popular of these are Google’s Blogger service, and WordPress, although there are hosting companies which offer free hosting packages to enable you to use any self-hosted Software. Blogger and WordPress are both secure and very quick for free hosts, but both are fairly limited in terms of the scope for customization, when compared to self-hosted Software. However, for a blogger starting out, Blogger and WordPress are ideal, and can always be upgraded later. Free hosting accounts from hosting companies allow for more customization, however they are notoriously unreliable and slow, which can create a bad impression for your blog.
The next level up from free hosting is a shared hosting account, which is probably the most popular option for new websites. Shared hosting is when a hosting company splits a server between several different users, also splitting the resources. These hosting accounts are set up with easy to use Software, and allow enough resources to comfortably run a couple of smaller sites. Even for popular blogs, shared hosting accounts will usually suffice.
Popular sites using a lot of resources can be hosted on a server, either a VPS (Virtual Private Server) or a Dedicated Server. A single blog is very unlikely to ever require the use of a server for hosting, but if the blog is very popular and uses a few plugins, a server may become a requirement. Servers also offer peace of mind, as you don’t have the issue of other users’ websites using too many resources and slowing down your websites. Servers are generally for more experienced users, as they must be set up before use, which can be complex for inexperienced users.
It’s important to remember that moving a website is not particularly complicated, so you can start off on the cheapest hosting packages and move your way up as you start to make more money. Several websites can be hosted on a single Shared Hosting account, as long as they don’t use too many resources.
Firstly, there are the free options. The most popular of these are Google’s Blogger service, and WordPress, although there are hosting companies which offer free hosting packages to enable you to use any self-hosted Software. Blogger and WordPress are both secure and very quick for free hosts, but both are fairly limited in terms of the scope for customization, when compared to self-hosted Software. However, for a blogger starting out, Blogger and WordPress are ideal, and can always be upgraded later. Free hosting accounts from hosting companies allow for more customization, however they are notoriously unreliable and slow, which can create a bad impression for your blog.
The next level up from free hosting is a shared hosting account, which is probably the most popular option for new websites. Shared hosting is when a hosting company splits a server between several different users, also splitting the resources. These hosting accounts are set up with easy to use Software, and allow enough resources to comfortably run a couple of smaller sites. Even for popular blogs, shared hosting accounts will usually suffice.
Popular sites using a lot of resources can be hosted on a server, either a VPS (Virtual Private Server) or a Dedicated Server. A single blog is very unlikely to ever require the use of a server for hosting, but if the blog is very popular and uses a few plugins, a server may become a requirement. Servers also offer peace of mind, as you don’t have the issue of other users’ websites using too many resources and slowing down your websites. Servers are generally for more experienced users, as they must be set up before use, which can be complex for inexperienced users.
It’s important to remember that moving a website is not particularly complicated, so you can start off on the cheapest hosting packages and move your way up as you start to make more money. Several websites can be hosted on a single Shared Hosting account, as long as they don’t use too many resources.