WordPress hosting choices

Choosing which hosting provider is right for you.

It’s no surprise that many Realtors are confused as to how all this web hosting stuff works.

So let’s get to it:

Web hosting. What is it exactly?

Let’s start with the hardware.

Web servers are dedicated computers, built with specialized components. They are loaded with advanced software, capable of delivering webpages over the internet.

Servers are stacked in a rack similar to the photo to optimize space in dedicated, climate controlled data centers.

When you sign up for hosting you will be actually renting space on one of these servers.

There are literally hundreds of companies that operate as hosting providers. So where to start?

It usually comes down to just 3 types of choices.

Shared hosting – sub $10 per month.

This is the usual choice for most. It’s OK if your main focus is elsewhere and the site is intended as just another piece in your marketing program. I usually recommend HostGator where it’s appropriate for these types of agents.

But there are a couple of downsides you should be aware of:

• Support can be a little thin if something goes wrong.
• Your site will share an internet address with others. Sometimes this can cause a problem (you might be sharing with porn sites). There is a tool to check for this if it scares you (it should).
• Your sites loading speed can fluctuate. Google is paying way more attention to site loading times in ranking sites. If other sites have spikes in traffic this will affect your site, as you are ALL using the same server resources.

Mid level managed hosting – around $30 per month

There have been several dedicated hosting companies pitching directly at WordPress users. The best known of these is WPEngine. Stepping up to the next level has a number of advantages.

• Support is better with dedicated WordPress experts.
• Specialized services that include one-click backup/restore, optimizations for speed and scalability. A development area for testing changes before going live on the main site.
• Security features that include automatic software upgrades.
• The one downside I hear is that they can be a little picky on which plugins you can use on your site. Many “related post” plugins are completely banned. Sometimes this will frustrate power users.

Virtual private servers – VPS – starting around $40 per month

For most real estate agents looking at this option, they will be considering “Managed VPS Hosting”. Unmanaged is much cheaper, but just too complicated for most agents (understanding Unix and how to setup and operate a server).

I personally use WiredTree who have proved themselves on a number of occasions.

• All services including management, software upgrades, server monitoring, server repairs and maintenance of equipment are managed for you.
• You have dedicated server resources – no spikes form other users. Disk space is flexible. As your business grows you may need more space and this can be added seamlessly by your provider.
• VPS almost always comes with a dedicated IP address. That means no one is sharing your internet address.
• Pay a little more and you can use a server with SSD’s – these are solid state (flash) drives that typically can deliver webpages up to 5 times faster than a normal server hard drive.
• via:http://www.webrealestatetools.com/real-estate-tools/real-estate-blogs/wordpress-hosting-choices?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Webrealestatetoolscom+%28webrealestatetools.com%29