What is the best hosting option for ambitious bloggers?

Whether you are just beginning with your first blog or are an experienced blogger hosting is an important issue. I own many websites and have tried many different hosting companies. It is rare that I come across a hosting company that impresses me.

In the following post, I want to share with you my latest web host discovery, SiteGround. I have tried over a dozen different hosting companies for my own websites and have worked with dozens more through my web design company.

What I have learned over the years is that most web hosts are OK much of the time.

The question is: “Is that good enough”? Should you settle for an OK host?

Here are some of the biggest reasons an OK hosting company will hurt your business, blog, or reputation:

  • Downtime – Many hosts have a lot more downtime that they advertise. Hosting companies don’t use unbiased third party services that give you a real picture about uptime. When your site is down you are losing visitors, money, and it will tarnish your reputation.
  • Performance – It is easy to start a hosting company, but it is very difficult to have a high performance hosting service. A slow website will drive your visitors away. Your website is your reputation. Don’t let a low performance host destroy what you are working for.
  • Malware – Many hosts get hacked – and they will never admit it – and the websites they host end up with malware. The result? Your website will be delisted from Google.
  • Support – Hosting companies are only as good as their support. When you have a website problem you want it resolved now. Not later or tomorrow. Whichever hosting company you use they must have excellent support.

I have had some very bad experiences with some hosting companies where my sites were down for several days. I can’t afford to work with an unreliable hosting company. You shouldn’t settle for a low quality host either.

Most of my websites are running on WordPress. When I look for a hosting company I want to make sure that it works well with WordPress.

When you start out as a blogger you can get overwhelmed by the thousands of hosting options. There are simply too many options and you don’t know which the best for you.

When I evaluate a hosting company I consider several factors:

  • I listen to what other say. I read many blogs and read articles about hosting. When I see a new name several times. I check it out.
  • I contact the hosting company before I sign up with them. I don’t just contact their sales department. I also contact their support. I want to know how knowledgeable their support staff is. Is this time consuming? Yes, but I prefer to do my homework before committing to a new hosting company.
  • I check out what is included in the hosting plan. I want to know things like are they WordPress optimized. How much bandwidth and storage is available to me? Which management software do they use? I like cPanel. Which version of PHP do they use?
  • I also look for value. I don’t look for the cheapest host, but I appreciate a good deal.

Best WordPress Hosting For Ambitious Bloggers

So far, there are several things that I love about SiteGround.

#1 – The speed.

I love a fast loading website. Your visitors love a fast website. Google loves a fast loading website.

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Source: SiteGround

#2 – The support.

There is nothing worse than having a problem with you site and getting no help. So far, every time I have contacted SiteGround support, they were able to help me. And, they helped me fast. I have called for help and they answered the phone fast. They didn’t transfer me all over the place to get me, someone, to help. The person who answered the phone resolved my issue. I have also used their email support, and I have received an answer within a couple of hours. When support is knowledgeable and fast it tells me that the company cares. When there is a problem I want it resolved in minutes, not hours or days. SiteGround has done that for me.

#3 – Autoinstallers.

Do you want one click installations? You got it. You can have WordPress, Joomla, or Magento installed in one click.

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I have started using SiteGround recently and I loved it immediately. If you are looking for a great hosting company give SiteGround a try.