There are a number of things that you should be aware of when setting up hosting for a WordPress site. But, if you just want great, secure, and fast WordPress hosting and you don’t want to concern yourself with all the technical details, skip the post and go with one of my WordPress-friendly hosting recommendations.
Your hosting account needs to use the recommended PHP version or higher:
Hopefully, all new hosting accounts will be fine but, if you are installing WordPress on an existing hosting account, check the PHP version before you begin. Review the WordPress requirements for PHP and SQL. If you are running less an old version of PHP there will be plugins now that don’t work and your website may be left wide open to security vulnerabilities.
Make sure that you select Linux NOT Windows for your server:
If you intend to use any of the Microsoft languages such as the .NET environment, MSSQL, ASP then you will require a Windows server environment. WordPress is written in PHP and PHP prefers a Linux environment. The common misconception is “My computer is windows so I need a windows server”. For most websites Linux is the better option and for WordPress, it is definitely preferred.
About One-click Installs on shared hosting
A number of hosts offer one-click WordPress installations.
- If you are installing this way, you will want to check if they install WP in a sub-directory or in the root. Most default to a sub-directory so, be careful, you probably want WordPress installed in the root directory.
- Some Web hosts install extras with WordPress. They will include some suggested themes and plugins. You won’t want a lot of plugins and themes that aren’t in use clogging up the WP dashboard. WordPress notifies you when a plugin/theme needs updating and you will want to remove unwanted items so your notifications are indicating your in-use items.
- WordPress updates on a regular basis so usually the one-click installation version won’t be the very latest. Not a big deal but you may need to upgrade your WordPress installation right away.
WordPress-friendly HOSTS:
I now recommend only WordPress Managed hosting vs Shared hosting. If you choose a WordPress Managed Account with WPEngine or with Flywheel you won’t need to worry about any of these concerns.
If you have additional questions about choosing a good host, I would be happy to speak with you.
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