What is WordPress?
If you are reading this article, chances are that you already know what WordPress is. In short, WordPress is a website content management system (CMS) used to create and manage websites. It allows website owners to update their own website content, images, design features and much MUCH more. At the time of writing, WordPress powers over 800 million websites worldwide.
Shared Web Hosting
The meaning of shared web hosting is all in the name. Your WordPress website shares space and resources with other websites on the same server. Think of it as economy class for your website.
Can you host your WordPress website on shared web hosting?
Absolutely! Most WordPress websites will run perfectly fine on shared web hosting. As a website owner, it will be your own responsibility to keep your website updated and secure when hosting on a shared service.
Managed WordPress Hosting
Managed WordPress hosting normally consists of the following:
Dedicated Server Resources
Unlike shared web hosting, managed WordPress hosting normally dedicates a larger amount of server resources (CPU, Memory, Disk I/O) to your website. This allows your website to handle more traffic.
Managed Updates
As mentioned, when you host your WordPress site on shared hosting, you are normally responsible for all the updates (WordPress core & plugins). With managed hosting, your provider will take care of these updates on your behalf and ensure that your website remains functional once the updates are done. This ensures that your website is always up-to-date and secure from malicious attacks.
Staging Environment
This is a very important feature of a managed WordPress hosting service. A staging environment allows you to create a copy of your website in a different location, for example staging.yourwebsite. You can then test new features and make content changes in the staging environment without affecting your live website.
Website Security
Server security can only protect your website up to a point. Hackers commonly exploit weaknesses directly on the website, for example outdated WordPress or plugin versions. Managed WordPress hosting normally includes a suite of plugins to increase the security on your website.
WordPress Experts
It goes without saying that all support staff should be trained WordPress experts.
Who needs managed WordPress hosting?
- Larger WordPress websites that have outgrown a shared hosting environment.
- Website owners who want to focus on their business and let professionals handle their website security.
- Website owners who would benefit from features like staging environments.
Still confused? Contact us today to chat to a Web Guru WordPress expert.
*Photo by Jason Dent on Unsplash
