Please don’t be frugal when it comes to choosing the host for your website. This is the most important investment that a blogger makes. I hear horror stories of times when bloggers got lucky and had a post go viral only to have their site crash for days. Lost blog traffic translates to lost readers and lost ad revenue.
If you use WordPress.org, then you need to pay for server space to host your website. If you are confused at all – head over to this blog post to learn about the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.
I reached out to bloggers in Mediavine’s community to source some recommendations and warnings regarding website hosting services. My advice is that you want to pick a company with customer service that you can count on. You want to be able to call if something goes wrong and to be able to speak with someone right away. If you break something on your site, trust me it happens, you really want to have a host that can pull a site backup for you and fix things.
Think about how many hours – or even years – you have put into building your website. You need to protect it.
The Good Website Hosts
I would say that these hosts are the best because I asked around and no one had a bad thing to say about these few companies.
Agathon – I just moved my personal site, The Kittchen, over to Agathon and since they are a faster provider than my previous host, my site traffic is up 18%! Mediavine is a huge fan of this company and I was seriously impressed when I got to meet them in person at the Mediavine conference.
WPOPT – Bloggers LOVE this company. Several bloggers only had the best things to say about their experience with WPOPT. They say it is affordable and that the customer service is exceptional.
A2 – People love the prices and the customer service.
OrangeGeek – The third most recommended.
The Bad Website Hosts
Go Daddy – Sure, use them to buy your URL. Do not use them as a host, they are notorious for having websites crash and having poor customer service.
BlueHost – This received the most complaints when I asked around. People hate BlueHost with a passion. Here is the big issue. They have a lucrative referral program, so lots of bloggers recommend BlueHost because they can make money every time they get someone to sign up. I heard complaints to people having their website crash and it taking days to get it back up.
Siteground – People complained about poor site speed, which is a problem since Google wants sites to be fast. People also click away if the site takes too long to load.
The bottom line here is that you will get what you pay for. You want your website to be viral ready, you never know when a blog post might take off dramatically increasing your site traffic. Hosts like GoDaddy and BlueHost aren’t viral ready and the last thing you want is for your site to crash just when it is getting a boost in traffic. A good host is an investment, but it is the most important investment you can make in your site.
One last piece of advice is to ask your host about automatic site backups – they are always a good idea.
It would be really helpful if you shared any opinions in the comments.