Good hosting is critical.

If there is one thing that we can not stress enough, it’s the importance of good hosting.

No matter what you have spent on your website, don’t scrimp on the hosting environment.

Hosting is the most crucial thing to get right because it is the backbone of your site.

WordPress has a unique set of requirements and these need specialised hosting.

If you stick your site on some cheap-as-chips hosting company, it’s going to cause problems.

Get better hosting

Why consider managed hosting?

Unless you are experienced in managing and optimising a hosting environment, we suggest you leave it to the experts.

One thing, above all else, is true of website hosting.

Everything is fine with it until it’s not.

If your website goes down, it’s very unlikely that a prolonged period of downtime is going to be acceptable – even for the most basic of websites.

With DDOS attacks on the rise, even against the most unlikely websites or servers, it’s crucial that your site is hosted with a company that is optimised both for hosting and for security.

Cheap hosting is counter-productive.

When you’ve invested a significant amount of time and money into your website, why host in on some pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap hosting account.

As your website is your 24/7 marketing machine, we really don’t think that hosting it on a $5 per month budget host is the right way to go.

We host the vast majority of our client’s websites on WP Engine as we’ve found (from over 20 years of experience) that these guys are one of the best hosting platforms around.

But they are not cheap, and there are good reasons why.

Get a hosting proposal from Toast

Managed hosting

Some hosting companies pile their sites high on servers. Your site could easily be sat on a server with hundreds of other websites.

Any one of these sites could take the entire server down at any time.

Any site owner could get the entire server blacklisted for spammy practices at any time.

A single site could become the target of a DDOS attack at any point, taking down every website on the server.

Managed hosting services do not allow their servers to run over-quota, so there are plenty of resources for each site and everything is more stable.

If your website is mission-critical, or you are looking to host a corporate website, uptime is important.

When the sh*t hits the fan.

One of the things that really, and we mean really separates hosting companies is the level and speed of the support that is offered by the hosting team.

Managing a site is a completely different skill set from managing a hosting environment, so we advise all our clients to invest in the best hosting they can afford.

If there is a mission-critical issue with your website, you need it fixed now, not in 48 hours.

This is where server support teams come in, and WP Engines‘ are the best we’ve ever worked with.

Get on better hosting

Hosting for Homes Plus.

When your website is mission-critical, you can’t have your hosting letting you down.

We set up and manage a bespoke hosting environment for the large Homes Plus group site, currently running at 100% uptime.

See the project

So how much should hosting cost?

Hosting charges can vary a lot depending on your requirements.

When looking at hosting services, consider these main points:

  1. How mission-critical is my website?
  2. How much storage do I need?
  3. What level of security is right for my site?
  4. Are speed and technical optimisation important to me?
  5. How much help do I need with managing the hosting?
  6. Do I have more important things to be doing than managing my hosting?

The answers to these questions will help determine the best sort of hosting account for you.

Most answers are as follows:

  1. My site is absolutely mission-critical
  2. I need at least 5GB of storage
  3. I need the highest levels of security
  4. Speed and technical optimisation are crucial for my SEO
  5. I need on-demand help with any hosting issues
  6. I have 1000 other things to manage on top of worrying about hosting

If you have a website that is crucial to your business, surely what you invest in hosting should be a reflection of what your website is worth to you.

If you have an e-commerce site that generates £5000 a month in revenue, £150 per month is not a large hosting bill as a percentage of turnover the site generates.

If your site generates 40 enquiries per month that turn into £20,000 worth of new business per month, £350 is not a wild budget for your hosting.

The point here is that the hosting budget should be directly linked to your requirements rather than some arbitrary figure decided by a quick Google for cheap hosting companies.

Get a bespoke quote

So what next?

If you think your hosting could be letting your site down, there are some options.

Option one.

We could run a free website audit on your site to check the site over and get some insight into potential hosting issues.

Get a free audit

Option Two.

You can check for hosting issues on your website yourself using Google Page Speed Insights.

(results will open in a new tab)

For example https://www.your-domain.com

Option three.

You can contact us and let us know your requirements – we’ll put together a bespoke proposal for your hosting.

Get a proposal

10 things to consider when looking at WordPress hosting.

There’s far more to hosting than just the price. Below are ten things you might not have considered when looking for the best WordPress hosting.

Server Location

The physical location of your hosting server can affect the website’s loading speed. Choosing a server closer to your target audience can significantly improve page load times.

Resource Allocation

Shared hosting plans often have resource limits. Users should consider their website’s resource requirements, such as CPU, RAM, and bandwidth, to avoid performance issues.

Scalability

Websites can grow over time. It’s important to choose a hosting provider that offers easy scalability options, such as upgrading to a VPS or dedicated server when needed.

Backup Solutions

Regular backups are crucial for data recovery in case of accidents or security breaches. Check if your hosting provider offers automated backup solutions and how often they back up your data

Security Measures

Hosting providers should have robust security features, including firewalls, malware scanning, and DDoS protection. Make sure your host takes security seriously.

Support Quality

Consider the quality and availability of customer support. Hosting providers with 24/7 customer support can be a lifesaver when you encounter issues.

Uptime Guarantees

Look for hosting providers that offer a high uptime guarantee (e.g., 99.9%). Downtime can negatively impact your site’s reputation and SEO.

Data Center Redundancy

Hosting companies should have redundant data centers to ensure your site remains online even if one server goes down.

Resource Restrictions

Shared hosting often imposes restrictions on the number of visitors or concurrent connections. Be aware of these limitations, especially if your site experiences spikes in traffic.

Renewal Costs

Many hosting providers offer attractive introductory prices, but the renewal costs can be significantly higher. Consider the long-term expenses when selecting a hosting plan.

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