What is the best web hosting provider? I get asked this question a lot and have searched for an answer for years. Free or not so free must be considered.
If website speed is the answer, what is the question?
The biggest penalty Google applies to websites is when they are too slow to open.
Therefore I have chosen Wealthy Affiliate as my host of choice in all situations.
I want to know how quick my site is to open and be in control of the changes needed.
First of all the following are essential for any host.
- Site speed choice. Accelerated or extreme
- Security: Free https security
- Support: 24/7 and chat
- Site Health Check
Ok, I should do better with mobile but you get the idea. You will know at any time the most important factors in your web by using the free website checker included with every domain.
These are 1200 word posts on general topics and not written to prove my point. However, I have learned a few rules along the way
Yes, it comes with a free site for all you beginners.
Keywords are the secret to being read.
The use of Keywords is essential for any Website, blog or funnel. You need to understand both traffic and competition or all the speed in the world won't help.
The free keyword tool provided is a scaled-down version of the professional Jaaxy server. You will use this every time before you write a word to understand your chances of being read.
Your SEO title and Meta description
Above all you must understand these two items on every site. If you are unsure, you will need the training provided at Wealthy Affiliate to bring your knowledge skills up to date.
Yoast SEO plugin will also help with your SEO setup and is an important element in every site.
What is the best web hosting provider?
Other hosting services
| Bluehost | Starts at $7.99 month however Discounts are available |
| HostGator | Again $10.95 on a monthly plan |
| Dreamhost | $4.95 a month on a monthly plan |
| GoDaddy | Packages available |
Over many years I have tried a variety of hosts and all have let me down in one way or another. None are perfect and if you are going for a super high volume expect to pay a lot more at most services.
I settled at Wealthy Affiliate about four years ago and have not had a day of doubt. Hey, we all have problems from time to time and I'm sure I have exercised my lungs about issues but they do get fixed and fixed quickly.
24-7 support is responsive and actions all wordpress and hosting problems.
However they are not your only problems. WordPress is a great beast but at times it will confuse even the best and that is when you want help.
A support forum is available
With over two million users at Wealthy Affiliate all focused on building WordPress sites, there is always someone available to answer the hard questions.
Your domain host is not there to solve your writing problems so you require that extra support. Furthermore, you want it now when you are tearing your hair out in lumps screaming with frustration because it won't work.
Therefore with several levels of support there is always someone to help.
Total training package on just about any subject.
The training package at Wealthy Affiliate is really extensive even in the free version. Certainly to go that bit further you probably need to upgrade to a full program.
I often go back to the training to re-learn those important issues I have either neglected or forgotten.
Members also provide training so there are many levels that provide a full service.
Blogging is a lonely journey
Building websites. Funnels and blogging is a time commitment that mostly has you working on your own. Relating to others is difficult because generally, they don't understand your path in WordPress or online.
This is when you need an active forum of members talking about their wins, failures, successes and Messups so that you can sympathise and learn from others.
Just this morning I received a lesson on subdomains, now I don't normally use them but it is a great idea to cloak affiliate links so the readers do not know where they are going. I generally use PrettyLinks but it got me thinking about which is best.
Eliminating plugins is a constant struggle but they do slow your site down and using subdomains might just be an idea.
What is lifestyle blogging
Use just one host provider or several?
Having tried both ways, I am now exclusive to one provider that handles all my traffic for one monthy payment.
Each one may offer something different but I am not hopping around trying to compare offerings.
Since I have 11 separate sites the single cost comes down to around $2 a month for first class hosting. this is hard to beat. Plus I can go to 25 sites for the same cost.
As you grow your business one host becomes very effective.
Your domain name pricing struggle
Domain names start cheap and then go up every year because you are locked in. This is a form of extortion that needs to be managed to save a bundle of money.
You will see offers of $5 a domain that will jump to $20 in the second and subsequent years and this is with high profile vendors.
Wealthy Affiliate discloses the second year price when you sign up with them, however they don't have country digits only dot com, net. info etc
Therefore I am still being reamed by GoDaddy
Is free hosting really free?
As always, a yes and no answer.
many free services are provided with the handbrake on as they share badwiths or domain hosting.
If you are serious about the internet be serious about your hosting because it will make a huge difference in performance.
Wealthy Affiliate does offer a fully functioning free site because they know that the majority will upgrade at some point. We all want more than one site for a whole bundle of reasons.
However, it does provide the opportunity to try before you buy and experience the offer first hand.
Special times to buy hosting.
The best time is when you need it and the second best time is in a promotion. I went on a monthly plan and then went annual on Black Friday and saved a heap of money.
What is the best web hosting provider without an affiliate program?
Affiliate program included
The whole idea of Wealthy Affiliate is to grow the site with referred memberships called affiliate marketing. When you join you can start earning money from day one. A couple of memberships will just about cover your annual cost of your full program
Conclusion
I have tails of misery with some hosts as websites have been wiped out or support will not attend to my problems. You put an enormous amount of energy into building a page and to see it wiped out is a shame.
Check into Wealthy Affiliate and have a look around, follow the members and see what they have to say and even ask a few questions. It is a very friendly location so take your time, it is a lifetime decision.
What is the best web hosting provider by Peter Hanley
About me
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