With how prominent technology has become, it is very important for a website to function at top capacity for a business to flourish. Choosing the best hosting configuration can be quite confusing, however. Here’s what you need to look for.
According to WPBeginner, your website should load in around three seconds. You risk losing customers if it takes longer. A nine second increase in load time caused mobile bounce rate to increase by 123 percent.
So here are the basics to figuring out how to keep your website running smoothly.
There are five types of hosting, each with different benefits and potential drawbacks. Shared hosting is where multiple websites are stored on the same server. Virtual private servers are when each website is stored in its own space on a shared server. Dedicated server hosting is when each site has its own server. Cloud hosting is when the resources are spread across multiple servers. Managed WordPress hosting is a service where all technical aspects of running WordPress is managed by the host. There are also several factors outside of hosting that can affect the speed of a website. This includes bad plugins, WordPress configuration, external scripts, and page size.
Here are some things you should look for in a WordPress host. Managing hosting companies provide: hardware and software setup and configuration, hardware maintenance and replacement, software patching and updates, and technical support and monitoring. These companies should also offer: pre-installed WordPress, automatic nightly backups, automatic WordPress backups, 24/7 security and tech support, expert support, and web servers built specifically for hosting WordPress websites.
Once your website is set up and plugins and themes configured, be sure to test the speed. Here are some tips to maximize speed. Be sure you have installed and configured optimization plugins. For mobile experience, consider using AMP. Try to use a content delivery network for faster image hosting.
