Recommended WordPress Hosting
Published in Jun, 2009 . Last Update on Sep 24, 2011 In case you are looking forward to start a WordPress blog, listed below are some of the best web host for WordPress users.
| WordPress Hosting | Features | Auto Install? | Action |
iPage |
Bandwidth: Unlimited Disk Space: Unlimited Monthly Price: $4.50/mo |
Yes, via in-house program |  Read Review Order Now! |
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Fat Cow  |
Bandwidth: Unlimited Disk Space: Unlimited Monthly Price: $4.67/mo |
Yes, via in-house program | Read Review Order Now! |
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JustHost
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Bandwidth: Unlimited Disk Space: Unlimited Monthly Price: $4.95/mo |
Yes, via Fantastico | Read Review Order Now! |
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Hostgator
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Bandwidth: Unlimited Disk Space: Unlimited Monthly Price: $7.95/mo |
Yes, via Fantastico | Read Review Order Now! |
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BlueHost |
Bandwidth: Unlimited Disk Space: Unlimited Monthly Price: $6.95/mo |
Yes, via Fantastico & Simple Scripts | Read Review Order Now! |
Do read further on each individual review to learn if the web host is right for you.
WordPress – A Quick Introduction
WordPress is an open-source web application that provides an easy way to create, publish, and manage contents online. The application was mainly used as a blogging platform at first but as the software revolt; it is also widely used to build websites nowadays. This site (WebHostingSecretRevealed.com) for example is built solely using WordPress.
To define what is WordPress, there is no better way than quoting words directly from the WordPress developers:
“WordPress is publishing software with a focus on ease of use, speed and a great user experience. It is a powerful personal publishing platform, and comes with a great set of features designed to make your experience as a publisher on the Internet as easy, pleasant and appealing as possible. We are proud to offer you a freely distributed, standards-compliant, fast, light and free personal publishing platform, with sensible default settings and features, and an extremely customizable core. ”
Getting started with WordPress
You can try out WordPress by installing the software into your local computer (get WordPress installation files here); alternatively, you can start your venture on a paid or free server. As mentioned, be very sure to get a web host that will provide WordPress auto-installation so you don’t have to go thru the hassles of manual installation. For newbies, there are tons of useful tutorials and guides published available online – a simple search on Google should get you started. Some recommended readings to get you started :
- WordPress forum
- WordPress – Where to start
- Guide to your first WordPress blog/website
- WordPress Manual Installation (video tutorial)
Websites built on WordPress
There are endless ways to leverage the power of WordPress and here are some of the great websites built using WordPress.
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Buzz News Room |
Web Desginer Wall |
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The Garfield Messenger |
I Love Typography |
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Wall Street Journal Magazine |
The University of Maine  |
If you are interested to see more WordPress-built websites, check out the showcase section at WordPress.org.
Should you go with WordPress?
I wouldn’t lie to you – I’m a big fan of WordPress. I quit using other CMS software since late 2006 and I built all my websites using WordPress at current time. To me, WordPress rocks! And I simply couldn’t find any other CMS or blogging software better than them. If you are new to website publishing and webmastering, try start with WordPress – it’s very user friendly, very convenient, and it certainly cuts down a lot of learning time.
How to choose the right WordPress hosting?
Basically, there’s no rocket science behind picking up the right WordPress hosting. Besides having all the basic must-have factors (eg. a stable server, efficient customer supports, and affordable price), a good WordPress web host should:
1. Allow users to install WordPress easily
Installing WordPress manually can be quite a tedious job especially if you are not a tech person. Thus, it is important to make sure that the web host you picked supports WordPress auto installation. It doesn’t matter if it comes with Fantastico, Simple Scripts, or in-house developed program – the keypoint is to make sure you can install, maintain, and uninstall your WordPress sites in just a couple of minutes.
2. Keep WordPress updated
Because of its popularity, outdated WordPress sites are exposed to excessive risks of being hacked. Hence, it is important to make sure the installation files provided by your web host is the latest updated version.
3. Provide WordPress related technical support
Yes it’s true that web hosting companies have every right to not provide WordPress related supports. However, technical supports from good hosting company are often able to troubleshoot moderate level of WordPress related problems – which in turn, save you hours of reading (or hair-pulling) session when dealing with WordPress difficulties.
A little words about WordPress hosting at iPage
If you are running on a tight budget, do note that iPage is the cheapest among all (special promo at just $3.50/mo) recommended WordPress hosting. As I believe a big chunk of WordPress users are individual bloggers who are not blogging for money, iPage stands as the perfect choice for most WordPress users.
