What is Managed WordPress Hosting?

Introduction to Web Hosting & Managed WordPress Hosting for Beginners

Have you ever wondered how websites actually work? What about how Managed WordPress Hosting works? Websites are more than just text, photos, and videos. Under the hood, they run on complicated technical infrastructure to store data, handle traffic, and remain online 24/7.

Luckily, as a beginner, you don’t need to understand all the complex technology that powers websites. Instead, you can use a service called web hosting.

Web hosting provides all the back-end technology and infrastructure required to run a website. The hosting company handles everything technical so you can focus on your site content and users.

Think of web hosting as the foundation of a building. Just like a building needs land to be constructed on, a website needs web hosting for the files and data that make up the site.

Without web hosting, there is no “place” for your website to exist online. Web hosting gives your site space on specialized computers called servers. These always-on servers store and deliver your website to visitors.

The Different Types of Web Hosting

There are a few main types of web hosting to be aware of as a beginner:

Shared Hosting:

• Most affordable and popular hosting option.
• Your site shares a server with hundreds of other sites.
• Limited resources but enough for smaller websites starting out.
• Starting price around $2 – $10 per month.

VPS Hosting:

• Your site gets a portion of space on a server.
• More resources than shared hosting.
• Supports more site traffic and complex sites.
• Starting price around $20 – $50 per month.

Dedicated Hosting:

• Your site gets an entire server just for itself.
• Most powerful with abundant resources.
• Ideal for large businesses and high-traffic sites.
• Starting price around $100+ per month.

For a beginner, shared hosting is a great affordable place to start. Shared hosting has enough capabilities for most new websites. You can always upgrade to VPS or dedicated hosting later if your site grows.

Understanding WordPress and Managed WordPress Hosting

When starting a website as a beginner, using WordPress is highly recommended. WordPress is a very popular and easy-to-use platform for creating websites.

Here’s a quick overview of WordPress:

• Open source CMS (content management system) software.
• Powers over 40% of all websites worldwide.
• Lets you build sites without coding knowledge.
• Offers thousands of themes and plugins.
• Handles optimizations and security for you.
• Excellent for blogs, business sites, online stores, and more.

One great option for hosting WordPress sites is called managed WordPress hosting. This is a special type of web hosting designed specifically to optimize the performance and operation of WordPress websites.

The key thing that makes managed WordPress hosting different is that it’s pre-configured for WordPress. The servers and infrastructure are set up just for running WordPress sites smoothly and securely.

Benefits of Using Managed WordPress Hosting

Compared to regular shared web hosting, managed WordPress hosting provides some great advantages:

Faster WordPress Performance:

• Optimized servers for WordPress’s system needs.
• Built-in caching and content delivery networks (CDNs).
• Fewer slowed-down sites.

Enhanced Security:

• Extra firewalls, malware scanning, and patch management.
• Helps protect against hacks and vulnerabilities.

Automatic WordPress Updates:

• Host manages WordPress core updates.
• No more manual update headaches.

Reliable Backups:

• Regular automated backups of your site.
• Prevents loss of work or data.

WordPress Technical Support:

• Support teams have WordPress expertise.
• Faster answers to WordPress questions.

For beginners, managed WordPress hosting provides a smoother, more secure, and optimized foundation for your website. All the complex backend configurations are handled for you by experts.

Comparing Managed WordPress Hosting vs Shared Hosting

Let’s explore some key differences between managed WordPress hosting and regular shared web hosting:

Speed and Performance

Shared web hosting servers are general-purpose. They host many types of sites from blogs to online stores. The environment isn’t specifically optimized for WordPress.

With managed WordPress hosting, servers are fine-tuned for WordPress. This means better speed for your site visitors. Slow sites lead to unhappy users who click away.

Security Protections

Regular shared hosting plans don’t include as many security protections. Your WordPress site is more vulnerable to being hacked.

Managed WordPress hosting adds extra layers of security like firewalls, malware detection, and authentication. This keeps your site safer from attacks.

Backups and Disaster Recovery

On shared hosting, it’s up to you to manually backup your WordPress site for protection. Forgetting to backup could lead to losing all your hard work if something happens.

Managed WordPress hosting has automated daily or weekly backups built-in. Your key data and files are regularly backed up for you automatically.

WordPress Technical Support

On shared hosting, support teams often don’t have specialized WordPress expertise. It may take longer to get answers to WordPress questions.

The support staff on managed WordPress hosting plans are WordPress pros. They can provide faster troubleshooting for any WordPress issues that come up.

While managed WordPress hosting costs a bit more upfront, it can save you time and headaches down the road. Your WordPress site stays optimized and is less prone to issues.

Self-Managed vs Fully Managed WordPress Hosting

There are two sub-types of managed WordPress hosting to be aware of:

Self-Managed Hosting:

• You setup and configure the hosting environment.
• You maintain security patches and updates.
• Host provides the server resources and some support.

Fully Managed Hosting:

• The hosting company configures the servers for you.
• They handle updates, security, backups, and monitoring.
• Requires less technical work from you.

For beginners, fully managed WordPress hosting takes the most work off your plate. The hosting provider handles configuring the optimized WordPress server environment and maintaining it over time.

With self-managed, you take on more responsibility for server admin and system maintenance. This requires stronger technical skills.

Fully managed WordPress hosting is recommended for beginners who want a hands-off hosting solution. The experts handle the heavy lifting behind the scenes while you focus on your site.

What if my WordPress site outgrows the hosting resources?

Your hosting provider can seamlessly migrate your account to a higher tier plan with more resources like storage, bandwidth, and memory as needed.How Do I Pick the Best Managed WordPress Hosting Provider?

How Do I Pick the Best Managed WordPress Hosting Provider?

All managed WordPress hosting providers are not made equal. When comparing options, here are key factors to look for:

• Cost – Balance price and value when choosing a plan.
• Reliability – Check uptime history and guarantees.
• Speed – Confirm they optimize servers for WordPress performance.
• Support – Know how responsive and knowledgeable their experts are.
• Features – Compare included backups, caching, CDNs, and security.
• Ease of Use – Look for an intuitive control panel and dashboard.
• Flexibility – Can you easily scale your plan up as your site grows?
• Reviews – Feedback from current users can reveal pros and cons.

Avoid hosts with a history of downtime, poor support, or restrictive plans. Read reviews to see real customer experiences firsthand.