Choosing a hosting company may seem pretty straightforward, but there is a big fork in the road when it comes to making this particular decision. Different hosting companies offer different technologies, and knowing which of those is the best fit for your goals requires a little understanding of those differing technologies. I want to go over some of the major differences in the types of hosting companies and cover some of the options you may have skipped over because they seemed too technical. Before choosing your hosting company, you should understand the basic technologies you see on nearly any hosting company website, so you are making the best decision based on a fundamental understanding and not a lack of it.
Types of Hosting
There are three main categories of hosting and some overlap in offerings when it comes to the companies offering them. This should give you a basic understanding of what there is to choose from, which is useful for matching your level of comfort with technical learning, investment of time, and level of control vs. convenience and shortest time to a published website.
DIY Hosting
Do-It-Yourself hosting, like Shopify and Wix, provides a one-stop solution for setting up a website for your business or an e-commerce solution. However, customizing outside of their standard product requires additional licensing fees or other steps that may require the development of code in order to integrate beyond their ecosystems. The trade-off is that it is extremely user-friendly and you can get up and going very quickly, and these platforms can be used right away with no additional learning required.
Traditional Hosting
Traditional hosting companies typically provide a wide array of server sizes and levels of control, from the operating system command line to fully managed solutions not too different than what is offered by the DIY hosting companies. Many traditional hosting companies offer choices for server control panels such as cPanel and Plesk that allow you to install a content management system, such as WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal with a single click, set up email accounts, and more. What I recommend for most self-managed WordPress websites is to find a hosting company that offers managed WordPress hosting, such as InMotion Hosting or WordPress.com.
Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting requires a higher level of technical understanding of computer hardware, networking, and software knowledge in order to take advantage of the tools and products offered. These types of hosting companies offer products from the hardware level and up, pairing hardware and software according to selection, allowing for a multitude of solutions to be constructed. This option is a bit of a heavy lift if you don't need this level of control. This is beyond the scope of what we'll cover in our blog posts or podcasts.
Considerations
Server Control Panels
Server control panels are a great option for those managing their own web presence because they provide a lot of the tools you will need in a point-and-click environment, and are supported by documentation. If required, you can usually get phone help from those hosting companies for the control panels. However, if you want a robust email solution, already have a CRM, or know you only want a WordPress website, you may consider managed WordPress hosting.
Managed WordPress Hosting
If you know you want to use WordPress but aren't using our services, we recommend shopping for managed WordPress hosting, and we have recommendations for that, too. If the ease of a DIY hosting company appeals to you and you also like WordPress, WordPress.com is the ideal hosting solution for you. If you like WordPress and you want a little more control over customization, I recommend InMotion Hosting.
OS Accessibility
Having access to the operating system is required for certain types of customization, such as OS based cron vs the built-in WordPress cron, which could be crucial to ensuring some functions run on schedule, depending on your software requirements. Most websites won't require this level of control, and there are alternative methods to ensure cron jobs run on time. Consult with a professional if you think you may need this level of control over your hosting environment, as this can become a time-consuming chore if you don't actually need this, or costly to change course if you need OS access and don't have it.
Management Services & Agencies
We offer web presence management services that include hosting for email and websites. Services and agencies like ours are an option if you would be more comfortable with fully managed or collaborative services while maintaining your oversight and involvement in your web presence. Feel free to contact us for more information.
Learn How
Though I will be providing useful guidance for any platform, to follow along with our blog posts and podcasts, I suggest either shopping for a hosting company that offers specialized WordPress hosting or signing up at WordPress.com so that you have all the same tools we'll be working with. Don't miss out—sign up for our newsletter for only $3 per month and get full access.
Discover more from Gap Creek Media
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
