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I never wanted to write about web hosting
This is a post I never thought I'd write but when I've got a bee in my bonnet, I just have to let it out!
Also, something happened this week that made me really think about what it means to stand up for what's right, regardless of the consequences. Someone asked me this question:
"Are you the type of person who stands on the sidelines or are you someone who takes action?"
This really struck a chord with me and I realised, I can't stand to see this situation happening over and over again – I'm going to take action! If this helps just one person avoid the mistake I made, it will be worth it.
Recommended tools and resources for bloggers
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This post is regularly updated - last update March 2019 | SiteGround improvements added
So why am I writing about web hosting?
Well here goes - I'm so sick and tired of watching people recommend crappy hosting to new bloggers! Now, I'm not saying they all do it on purpose – maybe when they wrote their blog post, the hosting company they recommend was good but things change and people need to keep those posts up to date – but they don't, which means that people like you and I are relying on information which is incorrect and out of date.
Some hosting companies who started out small and became huge but still offered a really great service, have since been taken over by larger conglomerates who are just out to make money. Sadly the service and performance of those hosting companies suffered as a result. No more money is being invested in them and people are being left short when it comes to service or site protection.
Choosing hosting can be confusing
Choosing hosting can be extremely confusing I made a big mistake when I chose my first hosting company. At that time I felt so overwhelmed by the technical know-how that I just chose a hosting company because it was recommended by other people. The thing is though, what's right for one person may not be right for another, as I found out.
Luckily, I was eventually able to cancel my hosting plan but this also meant that my intended blog launch date was delayed for three months whilst I sorted out the mess I found myself in. I can tell you, I almost gave up there and then. I felt so disappointed and betrayed by members of the blogging community in which I had placed my trust!
Update November 2018
I recently received an email from my previous hosting company which informed me that they had been hacked and the hacker was now in possession of all my bank details! When I cancelled with them, I did not think to ask them to remove my details. I was so angry at first but then I thought, wow, it could have been much worse. All I had to do was change my bank details, if I had stayed with that hosting company, I could have been dealing with a hacked website too - thankful for small mercies!
How do I find the best host for my site?
After that, I took the time to research which hosting company would be the best choice for me and I would advise you to do the same. You may want to spend as little as possible on a hosting plan but you know the saying ‘you get what you pay for'. I already learned the hard way that it's better to pay a little more for something like hosting if you want a reliable service.
"You should bear in mind that your hosting company can make or break your website so it's worth investing a little more, in the places that will make the most impact."
You should bear in mind that your hosting company can make or break your website so it's worth investing a little more in the places that will make the most impact. Some bloggers will plug the life out of a certain hosting company, offering cheap start-up prices just because they want to pocket the affiliate commission, when in fact that company's service is no longer that great.
Now I'm not adverse to affiliate marketing, oh no! In fact, I'm sure you've already seen the affiliate links I've placed on this website. I think it's a great way for bloggers to receive an income and receive a reward for all their hard work. At no extra cost to the customer, the blogger receives a small commission on a sale made through the link, which helps toward the running costs of the blog. When I buy something through an affiliate link, I see it as a way of supporting the blogger so that they can carry on supplying me with my favourite content. It's really a win-win situation.
No, what I'm adverse to is when people plug a product they don't or wouldn't use themselves or keep plugging things that they know are no longer the best value for their readers just to earn the commission on that product. Phew! I think that bee is well and truly out now - let's get back to the job at hand!
Why does it matter which hosting company I use?
The fact is, most of us beginner bloggers don't realise until after we've signed up, what the consequences of choosing the wrong hosting company can be. We've read all about blogging on Pinterest and how to start our blog in ten minutes or less. We've read about how Mandy Moneymaker makes millions with her blog whilst lying on a beach in the Bahamas and we want some of that, oh yes we do!
"malicious traffic is a huge problem affecting websites today"
It's only after we start blogging, we realise that malicious traffic is a huge problem affecting websites today. Hackers, viruses, brute force attacks and malicious scripts are just a some of the things which need to be addressed. Yes, of course, there are also plug-ins which help protect your site, but your web host plays a huge part in making sure your site is safe from malicious attacks.
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to yourself. Thanks so much for your support!
How to try before you buy
Before I made my final choice, I chose three hosting companies and sent them all the same technical questions I needed answers to. I really recommend you do this too if you're unsure which company to choose. It will give you a feel for how the company will handle support should you ever need it. From those three, SiteGround was the quickest to reply by far. Within seconds I was on a live chat with one of their technicians who answered all of my questions in a way that even I could understand! He actually offered to guide me through setting up an account step by step right there and then. From the other two companies, one responded after two days but didn't really answer my questions. In fact, I was more confused after their advice than I was before! From the third company, I had no response whatsoever.
What if my site goes down?
Now the thing is, I'm not a techy person at all and I know my limits. I'll take (and need) all the help I can get when it comes to the technical side of blogging. To be honest, I found the whole process of starting a blog totally overwhelming at the beginning and the chances are, you are feeling the same way right now. Can you imagine, setting up your lovely website, blogging away to your hearts' content, building up a relationship with your readers and then – POOF! Your site goes down and you end up having to wait for days for support from the hosting company to pull you out of your black hole?
This actually happened to a friend of mine. When she contacted her hosting company for help they said they couldn't do anything for her! She ended up having to pay a freelancer to rebuild her site for her. She was in tears when she told me about it. As you can imagine, this experience made me even more determined to choose the right hosting company. I for one, need to know that if something goes wrong with my website, I can rely on the hosting company for the support I need to get me back on track as fast as possible. I don't want to have to wait days for an email that instead of helping me, just confuses and frustrates me even further or even worse – I don't want to be left alone with the problem of trying to re-build my website.
"I don't want to be left alone, with the problem of trying to re-build my website"
Then I found out that SiteGround is officially recommended by WordPress.org and with that in mind I started looking into what SiteGround had to offer me as a beginner blogger and here's what I found out:
SiteGround offers three plans for WordPress hosting. The startUp plan starts at $3.95(excl. VAT) per month when you pay for a year of hosting up front. After that, you'll pay the regular price of $9.95 per month. This is great value for money for the service SiteGround offers. You can stay with this plan until you get more than 10,000 visitors to your site. It's also worth pointing out here that unlike some other hosting companies, the discount applies whether you sign up for 12 or 36 months.
After that, you can upgrade to the ‘GrowBig' or GoGeek' plan as your website grows. For me, the StartUp plan was plenty big enough. [NOTE 2019: I have since upgraded to the 'Grow Big' Plan] I'm not going to run through all the details of the plan, as I'm sure you'll want to read it all for yourself at www.sitground.com. I'm just going to go through the items which I felt were important to me and which convinced me to choose SiteGround as my blog host.
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to yourself. Thanks so much for your support!
So let's take a look at what you get for your money
Free domain name when you sign up or free transfer if you already have a domain.
Servers on three continents – for me it was important to have my site hosted on a European Server but SiteGround also has servers in the USA and the Asia Pacific area.
Free SSL Certificates – Puts the security lock on your website and is now required by Google.
Free CloudFlare CDN – makes your website load faster in any part of the world and protects your site by detecting and blocking malicious traffic to it.
Blazing speed – having the newest version of HTTP, means that the people visiting your site who already have this HTTP version on their browser will enjoy faster loading times. Add to that their SuperCacher (drastically increases WordPress speed) and the fact that they support PHP7 ( the scripting language that guarantees that your website will be faster and more secure than ever), and you can be sure your site will fly!
Amazing uptime – they have a high level of power redundancy and also have their own generators.
Anti-Hack systems & help – SiteGround has a very high security record and also offers advanced solutions against SPAM.
Free daily backup
Up-date March 2018 - SiteGround Hosting has improved Backup Benefits as follows:-
- View and manage backups easily with a simple 1-click Backup Tool
- Create and restore website backups quickly and easily with one click
- Avoid data loss due to website mistakes
- Experiment with website updates that you can quickly undo
Unmatched 24/7 amazingly fast support - via phone, live chat or ticketing system – trust me, they're fast!
Free installation of a shopping cart – great if you plan to sell your products online.
Free WordPress install – The free install with the setup wizard is extremely handy for technophobes like me. It ensures that WordPress is set up correctly within seconds and means that you don't have to go digging around in your PHP files for code like you would if you had to do the installation yourself.
Managed WordPress hosting and expert WordPress support.
Officially recommended by WordPress.org - as one of the best and brightest WordPress hosting providers
Free WordPress auto-update – Not only do SiteGround automatically update WordPress for you each time a new version is launched but if you want them to, they will up-date all your Plug-ins at the same time. It's really important to keep any installations on your website updated as this helps keep your site secure. If your Plug-ins are not updated your site could be vulnerable to attack.
Update March 2018 - SiteGround Hosting has improved the WordPress Autoupdater as follows:-
Now you can set up different update schedules depending on the type of WordPress release launched. Both minor and major releases can be scheduled to take effect immediately, in 24, in 48 or in 72 hours. This allows you to have all crucial security updates as soon as possible while, at the same time, be warned and have more time for preparation for the major updates.
Update September 2018
WordPress Starter Plugin
Get a feature-rich site straight out of the box. The WordPress Starter Plugin takes the confusion out of building a website. Oh how I wish this had been available when I first started my blog. If you take advantage of this, you are basically being guided through your website set-up by the experts themselves.
No more confusion over which plugins you need. SiteGround will show you the best most popular plugins which they recommend for your site and you simply select which ones you'd like to have.
Advanced security – SiteGround monitor WordPress and the most popular Plug-ins regularly and often fix vulnerabilities before the official development fixes are released.
Unlimited amount of email accounts at your domain name. For instance, hello@yourdomainname.com. You can also access your email from any computer with internet connection.
30-day money back guarantee – Just in case you're not happy with their service! This is probably obsolete for SiteGround! Out of all the reviews, I've read so far I've yet to come across someone complaining about the service SiteGround provides. In fact, people are usually raving about how wonderful this company is.
Update 2018
Easy site migration
SiteGround launched a new feature, the WordPress Migrator. Easily migrate your site with a WordPress plugin! By installing SiteGround Migrator plugin on your WordPress site, you can move your installation to them with a few clicks - no technical skill necessary. You can be sure your site migration is safe and secure because SiteGround encrypts everything before they move it.
The SiteGround Migrator also makes it easier to transfer all your sites to one account. If you manage multiple sites, you won't have to manage multiple logins, accounts and billing cycles.
Conclusion
In the end, my decision was a no-brainer. By the end of my research, I knew the service SiteGround provides really was something special and that I wasn't alone in thinking this. I'm sure their live chat helpline is a technical lifesaver for many non-techy people like me. In fact, whenever I've had a problem setting something up, I get in touch with SiteGround and they do it for me – how's that for service?
I know this was an extremely long post to read but I'm not apologising for it. There are things you'll need for your website which you can skimp on but hosting is not one of those things. Think of it as the solid foundation on which your website is built. If that foundation has flaws and cracks everything you build may eventually come tumbling down.
Update November 2018
I tell you, SiteGround just keeps getting better and better. Unlike some other hosting companies who take your money and then you're basically on your own, SiteGround really listens to their customers and continues to make improvements. With SiteGround hosting, starting a blog or migrating your website has never been easier.
I have been using the 'StartUp' hosting package and have been extremely happy with that so far. This month I will be up-grading to the 'GrowBig' package because I'd like to add a shop to my site using the WooCommerce plugin and I will need Dynamic caching. The 'GrowBig' hosting plan includes the SuperCacher with dynamic caching and improved site performance. The Grow Big plan also offers me the opportunity to accommodate more than one site. SiteGround makes installing a shop extremely easy with the WooCommerce set-up Wizard.
Update March 2019
In March 2019, SiteGround announced improvements to all three hosting plans as follows:
StartUp:
Free backup restores have been added - daily backups and one-click restore tool.
GrowBig:
Staging tool added - enables you to create a working copy of your site when you want to make changes so that you can test it all out before you take it 'Live'.
On demand backups added - enables you to make a backup whenever you like (e.g. before making changes to your site if you are not using the staging tool).
GoGeek & Higher
Advanced Priority Support Added
Now, enquiries initiated on chat or ticket are assigned with priority to SiteGround's most experienced support agents available.
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to yourself. Thanks so much for your support!
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