How to choose the best hosting for a blog
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 6:14 am
There are many factors you need to consider when choosing a hosting service for your blog. Take a look at some of them below.
Reliability :
uptime - best blog hosting
Obviously, your readers can visit your blog 24 hours a day and will expect it to be active at all times.
That’s why it’s essential to choose a reliable blog hosting service that offers maximum uptime. Anything less than a 99.9% uptime guarantee is unreliable.
There are many ways to conduct due diligence on your hosting server's uptime guarantee, such as running a speed test. Now, this is not feasible if you are in a hurry to start a blog.
To make it easier for you to analyze whether the hosting provider you want to choose is reliable, we have created a test site on the major hosting providers and performed some speed tests using different tools.
We used two different speed testing tools, telegram group philippines Pingdom and Load Impact, to analyze the uptime guarantees offered by the hosting providers and website performance during traffic spikes on each hosting service.
Speed :
page speed test - best blog hosting
Just like uptime guarantee, speed is another critical element you'll need to consider when choosing a hosting provider for your blog.
Almost half of your visitors expect your blog to load in just 2 minutes. Worse yet, most of your readers will abandon your blog if it takes more than 3 seconds to load.
While you can find plenty of tips and tricks to increase your page loading speed, they won't work if your page is hosted on a slow hosting server.
To get a hosting service that doesn't compromise on speed, you don't need to subscribe to an expensive hosting plan. Many hosting providers offer cheap hosting for those just starting out as bloggers, which is sufficient for most beginner bloggers.
Characteristics :
Features: Blog hosting features
Creating a blog on WordPress is the most popular way to get started in the world of blogging. If you are a first-time blogger, there is a slight learning curve and then you can grow your blog as you wish.
Due to the increasing popularity of WordPress, almost all website hosting companies offer easy 1-click installation options for WordPress and other website scripts like Joomla and Drupal.
In addition to a 1-click installer, you'll want to take a deeper look at other features offered by your web host:
Number of Domains: Generally, hosting plans are categorized based on the number of domains you can use. Understand how many blogs you want to host on your account and choose the right hosting provider that offers the most affordable hosting plan for your needs.
Disk Space and Bandwidth : Shared hosting plans often come with unlimited disk space and bandwidth. While hosting companies often advertise that you get unlimited resources for your site, the reality is that you will still have usage restrictions. If you have a blog, you must adhere to your hosting company's terms of service.
Email Address : Some hosting providers also limit the number of email addresses you can set up with your hosting account. Make sure to check this aspect as well before choosing a hosting provider.
Free Offers : Check out what comes free with your hosting account. For example, you can get free blog files, domain, and database transfer. Some providers also offer free Google AdWords and Bing credits to promote your new blog.
Free Domain : Reputable hosting providers like Bluehost also offer a free domain when you sign up for a new hosting account. Purchasing a free domain along with your hosting account is the easiest way to get your new blog up and running. Keep in mind that purchasing a domain name from another domain registrar could save you the renewal fee in the long run.
Free SSL – As well as free domain registration for the first year, some web hosting providers also offer a free SSL certificate. Installing an SSL certificate on your blog will add a little green lock icon to the address bar, making your blog look trustworthy. This can also be a great feature if you plan to sell products later on, so your visitors immediately understand that their sensitive data, such as credit card information, is being sent over a secure connection.
With WordPress.org, you should also know that you will have access to thousands of free website plugins and themes that you can use. For example, you can find tools to optimize SEO rankings, add social sharing buttons, and other such functionalities. New bloggers will love the ease of use of this platform.
Customer Service:
24/7 support is a standard feature offered by all popular blog hosts.
Support is typically offered through 3 options: phone, ticket-based email, and live chat. While 24/7 support is a standard hosting feature, you'll want to check if the hosting provider you choose offers free, round-the-clock support through these 3 options.
For example, Bluehost doesn't offer ticket-based support in an effort to focus more on providing personal, direct support via phone or chat. This can be intimidating for users who want to get help for advanced issues that may take a little longer to resolve.
Similarly, with DreamHost, Live Chat is also only available from 5am to 10pm PST and they don’t even offer free phone support for shared hosting. If you need phone support, you will need to purchase the phone support addon separately.
The key is to not fall into the trap of hosting providers' claims that they offer free 24/7 support. Before choosing a hosting provider, research what modes of support they offer throughout the day.
Be wary of web hosting companies that advertise 24/7 support but only offer email support around the clock. Offering only email support around the clock is pointless because it usually takes about 24 hours to resolve an email request. You will need to make sure that the 24/7 support team is available for free via phone and live chat as well.
Documentation
Make sure your hosting provider offers extensive documentation to help you navigate through all aspects of web hosting. With an extensive knowledge base, you won’t have to waste time with live chat support because you can easily discover solutions on your own by doing a quick search.
You'll find helpful articles, guides, and how-to guides that answer all your questions about your web hosting account.
Refund Policy
Refund policy is another factor you need to consider. Most blog hosting providers offer at least a 30-day money-back guarantee to try out their hosting service risk-free.
Please note that there are some hosting companies that charge absurdly high cancellation fees, so our advice is to avoid those providers at all costs.
Some hosting companies, like A2Hosting, even offer an anytime money-back guarantee that allows you to get a prorated refund even after your trial period has ended.
Reliability :
uptime - best blog hosting
Obviously, your readers can visit your blog 24 hours a day and will expect it to be active at all times.
That’s why it’s essential to choose a reliable blog hosting service that offers maximum uptime. Anything less than a 99.9% uptime guarantee is unreliable.
There are many ways to conduct due diligence on your hosting server's uptime guarantee, such as running a speed test. Now, this is not feasible if you are in a hurry to start a blog.
To make it easier for you to analyze whether the hosting provider you want to choose is reliable, we have created a test site on the major hosting providers and performed some speed tests using different tools.
We used two different speed testing tools, telegram group philippines Pingdom and Load Impact, to analyze the uptime guarantees offered by the hosting providers and website performance during traffic spikes on each hosting service.
Speed :
page speed test - best blog hosting
Just like uptime guarantee, speed is another critical element you'll need to consider when choosing a hosting provider for your blog.
Almost half of your visitors expect your blog to load in just 2 minutes. Worse yet, most of your readers will abandon your blog if it takes more than 3 seconds to load.
While you can find plenty of tips and tricks to increase your page loading speed, they won't work if your page is hosted on a slow hosting server.
To get a hosting service that doesn't compromise on speed, you don't need to subscribe to an expensive hosting plan. Many hosting providers offer cheap hosting for those just starting out as bloggers, which is sufficient for most beginner bloggers.
Characteristics :
Features: Blog hosting features
Creating a blog on WordPress is the most popular way to get started in the world of blogging. If you are a first-time blogger, there is a slight learning curve and then you can grow your blog as you wish.
Due to the increasing popularity of WordPress, almost all website hosting companies offer easy 1-click installation options for WordPress and other website scripts like Joomla and Drupal.
In addition to a 1-click installer, you'll want to take a deeper look at other features offered by your web host:
Number of Domains: Generally, hosting plans are categorized based on the number of domains you can use. Understand how many blogs you want to host on your account and choose the right hosting provider that offers the most affordable hosting plan for your needs.
Disk Space and Bandwidth : Shared hosting plans often come with unlimited disk space and bandwidth. While hosting companies often advertise that you get unlimited resources for your site, the reality is that you will still have usage restrictions. If you have a blog, you must adhere to your hosting company's terms of service.
Email Address : Some hosting providers also limit the number of email addresses you can set up with your hosting account. Make sure to check this aspect as well before choosing a hosting provider.
Free Offers : Check out what comes free with your hosting account. For example, you can get free blog files, domain, and database transfer. Some providers also offer free Google AdWords and Bing credits to promote your new blog.
Free Domain : Reputable hosting providers like Bluehost also offer a free domain when you sign up for a new hosting account. Purchasing a free domain along with your hosting account is the easiest way to get your new blog up and running. Keep in mind that purchasing a domain name from another domain registrar could save you the renewal fee in the long run.
Free SSL – As well as free domain registration for the first year, some web hosting providers also offer a free SSL certificate. Installing an SSL certificate on your blog will add a little green lock icon to the address bar, making your blog look trustworthy. This can also be a great feature if you plan to sell products later on, so your visitors immediately understand that their sensitive data, such as credit card information, is being sent over a secure connection.
With WordPress.org, you should also know that you will have access to thousands of free website plugins and themes that you can use. For example, you can find tools to optimize SEO rankings, add social sharing buttons, and other such functionalities. New bloggers will love the ease of use of this platform.
Customer Service:
24/7 support is a standard feature offered by all popular blog hosts.
Support is typically offered through 3 options: phone, ticket-based email, and live chat. While 24/7 support is a standard hosting feature, you'll want to check if the hosting provider you choose offers free, round-the-clock support through these 3 options.
For example, Bluehost doesn't offer ticket-based support in an effort to focus more on providing personal, direct support via phone or chat. This can be intimidating for users who want to get help for advanced issues that may take a little longer to resolve.
Similarly, with DreamHost, Live Chat is also only available from 5am to 10pm PST and they don’t even offer free phone support for shared hosting. If you need phone support, you will need to purchase the phone support addon separately.
The key is to not fall into the trap of hosting providers' claims that they offer free 24/7 support. Before choosing a hosting provider, research what modes of support they offer throughout the day.
Be wary of web hosting companies that advertise 24/7 support but only offer email support around the clock. Offering only email support around the clock is pointless because it usually takes about 24 hours to resolve an email request. You will need to make sure that the 24/7 support team is available for free via phone and live chat as well.
Documentation
Make sure your hosting provider offers extensive documentation to help you navigate through all aspects of web hosting. With an extensive knowledge base, you won’t have to waste time with live chat support because you can easily discover solutions on your own by doing a quick search.
You'll find helpful articles, guides, and how-to guides that answer all your questions about your web hosting account.
Refund Policy
Refund policy is another factor you need to consider. Most blog hosting providers offer at least a 30-day money-back guarantee to try out their hosting service risk-free.
Please note that there are some hosting companies that charge absurdly high cancellation fees, so our advice is to avoid those providers at all costs.
Some hosting companies, like A2Hosting, even offer an anytime money-back guarantee that allows you to get a prorated refund even after your trial period has ended.