Starting a new blog? Then, you have landed on the right article where you’ll learn how to select the right hosting for new bloggers. In the market you’ll get many web hosting providers that will be offering the best web hosting services for starting a blog. No matter, what you choose, whether you go for hosted or a self-hosted, theme, niche or any deciding factor, you choose to start a blog. As per the study, the majority of new bloggers start with self-hosted WordPress blog option. The are many options available with a price range $5 to 100$ or more per month. Even if you are experienced blogger or new comer, selecting a blog hosting is quite challenging.
What is blog hosting?
Blog hosting is a type of web hosting specifically tailored for bloggers. It provides the necessary services and infrastructure to get a blog online and make it accessible to people around the world.
Think of it this way: a blog is a collection of files (text, images, videos, etc.), and a web hosting service is the physical storage space for those files on a server connected to the internet. Blog hosting, in particular, often includes features that are especially useful for bloggers, making it easier for them to manage their content and grow their audience.
Steps to Select the Right Hosting for New Bloggers
Understand Your Needs: The “What Kind of Blogger Are You?” Question
Before searching for web hosting providers, you can ask a few questions to yourself.
- What is your budget? As a new blogger, you can opt for cost effective web hosting solution rather than a costly service.
- What platform will you use? A1st option that bloggers opt for is WordPress because it’s a powerful, flexible, and free to use. If you’re using WordPress and a web hosting provider holds expertise in WordPress, then it will be a huge advantage.
- How technically savvy are you? If you’re a beginner, you want a host with an easy-to-use control panel and excellent support. You don’t want to be managing server settings. As a newbie, you can look a for SSD NVME hosting provider in USA web host with an easy-to-use control panel and excellent support. You don’t need to manage the server settings.
- What kind of content will you create? First, you have to look for content that you want to upload to your blog. A blog with maximum text and few images has different needs than high-resolution photos and videos.
Choose the Right Type of Hosting
For a new blogger, there are two main types of hosting to consider:
- Shared Hosting: Shared hosting is good to start and it’s one of the most affordable types of web hosting services. In this type of web hosting service, your website is shared on a server with other users as well. It’s like renting an apartment in a large building where you share the resources. It is a perfect example of low traffic blog and minimal resource needs.
- Managed WordPress Hosting: This type is unique type of shared hosting. The provider’s server is especially optimized for WordPress. It manages all technical tasks like automatic updates, security, and performance optimization. It’s a bit expensive than SSD Linux Shared hosting provider in USA, plus its benefits will give you peace of mind that will allow you to focus on blogging and writing.
A suggestion for New Bloggers: Start with shared hosting or a dedicated managed WordPress hosting plan. Both are affordable and easy to use.
Key Features to Look For
Once you’ve decided on the type of hosting, here are the essential features to look for in a hosting plan:
- Reliability and Uptime: Your blog should be available 24*7 to your readers. Look for a provider that offers an uptime of 99.99% which means all time availability of the blog to users.
- Customer Support: As a new blogger, this factor is quite challenging to understand how a web hosting provider offers support services. It is suggested to check whether the web hosting provider is offering 24*7 support services and feedback from existing customers on the website and customer review sites.
- Ease of Use: The control panel (like cPanel or a custom dashboard) should be intuitive. A one-click installer for WordPress is a must-have feature, as it simplifies the setup process from hours to just a few minutes.
- Performance (Speed): Speed matters a lot for loading a website or blog. It is suggested to monitor the speed by getting a feature like SSD (Solid State Drives) storage and integrated caching.
- Security: Security is the foremost parameter that your blog needs as protection from hackers and malware. A well-known web hosting provider will provide a free SSL certificate (essential for a secure, trusted website), automatic backups, and security monitoring.
- Scalability: For growing traffic, you’ll need resources and choosing a web hosting provider that allows scalability of resources will enhance your growth.
- Pricing (and Renewal Costs): Though, you’re getting a low price at start but make sure to check the renewal price before signing up with the provider. As it can be higher with the same providers. Plus, also look for a money-guarantee feature and check all their mentioned rules regarding money back policy.
- Free Domain Name: Many hosting providers offer a free domain name for the first year when you sign up for a plan. This is a nice perk that saves you a little money upfront.
Final Tips for Making Your Choice
- Read Reviews (with a grain of salt): As I said before, reading reviews will give many benefits to your business. Before buying hosting, check reviews from other bloggers to understand the web hosting provider’s reputation. Avoid looking at reviews given by affiliate marketers, and opt for actual reviews given by customers.
- Don’t Be Afraid to Start Small: There is no need to buy high-powered & expensive web hosting plan from day one. A basic shared hosting plan is the best way to move with. Later, you can upgrade your plan as traffic grows.
- Don’t Go with Free Hosting: Avoid buying free web hosting as it is free in nature, but it has many dis-advantages as well. Those dis-advantages are poor performance, security risks, and a lack of support, and a low cost, a paid plan is always a better decision.
