How to Choose a Web Host For Your New Blog

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Choosing a host for your blog is a big decision.

Once you’ve figured out your blog niche and decided on a blog name it’s time to sign up for a web hosting service.

Every website needs a host. Websites are hosted on servers. A web host is a provider that hosts your site (and all your website files) on its servers.

We are going to look at several factors to consider when choosing a host. Are you looking for the most affordable option, what type of storage needs you’ll have, customer service and so much more.

Choose a web host for your new blog

If you’re confused between a host, a platform, and a theme think of the host as the property, the platform as the house that’s built on it, and the theme as the decor and layout of your home.

Tons of blogger, like myself, recommend Blue Host.

When you are first getting started they are a great option because they have an amazing intro rate.

Full transparency: Over the years I’ve heard very mixed reviews on Blue Host. They are the only host I have ever used. While others have not liked them I have never had a major issue.

They have been able to resolve ever issue I’ve ever had. My greatest website issues have been due to plugins crashing my site and have not been related to Blue Host as my web host.

I recommend doing a comparison between the hosts you are looking at and choosing the one that best meets your needs and price point.

Other popular hosts are SiteGround, GoDaddy, and HostGator. Recently I have heard great reviews about Lyrical Host and Green Geeks and suggest taking a look at those.

What to look for in a Web host

With hundreds of web hosting services to choose from it can seem daunting to know which one is right for you. Let’s look at several key factors on how to choose a web host for your new blog.

Budget:

How much are you willing to invest in your blog upfront? If you have a tight budget you’ll want to choose a great intro deal from a host to get you started. You can always upgrade to more extensive hosting as your blog and budget grows.

There are tons of great intro offers to get you started, so be sure to evaluate the costs once your hosting renews.

Use my exclusive Bluehost link to get started for just 2.95 a month! Renews at 9.99 a month after 12 months, which is still a pretty great deal!

Action Step: Compare both introductory and normal hosting costs.

Size and Storage Needs:

Your storage needs will start out low but as you add more content to your blog these needs will grow. Your size and storage needs will be directly related to how much content you put on your site.

Depending on the plan you choose with a host you will have a certain amount of GB disk usage. For example I upgraded to BlueHost’s Choice Plus plan that provides 40 GB of SSD Web Storage.

While that may seem like a lot of gigabytes my site is taking up 21 GB. Since the Choice plan only provides 20 GB that plan no longer fits my needs.

Action Step: Compare storage offered by plan tiers.

Server Reliability:

When a website is live and available on the internet this is called uptime. Uptime is when someone visits your site and it is online and available.

When a website is down for some reasons, meaning in is offline, this is called downtime. When looking at hosts look at their uptime percentage.

You want a percentage as close to 100% as possible. No host can promise 100% uptime. At some point your website will experience downtime due to a variety of possible issues, such as a bad plugin, an overload of traffic, or failure to renew your domain.

For example Bluehost offers 99.99% uptime, Siteground offer 99.98% and HostGator offer 99.97% making them all good choices when comparing server reliability.

In addition to uptime, you’ll also want to look at load times. How quickly will your site load on the internet?

Bluehost has an average of 461 milliseconds, Siteground has an average of 615ms, and HostGator has an average of 479ms. In this case Bluehost and HostGator are better choices than Siteground.

Action Step: Compare hosting uptime and load times.

Security Features:

Lots of hosts offer a free SSL certificate and free domain with sign up (usually for the first year then you’ll start paying an annual fee for your domain).

A SSL certificate is a must so you’ll want to see if it’s included in the hosting or if you’ll have to pay an additional fee. Either way you’ll need the SSL certificate to ensure you keep your user data secure.

One CLick WordPress Install:

I highly recommend using WordPress for your blog. WordPress is a website builder that allows you to build your website. Tons of hosting services offer a one click WordPress Install making getting starting with your blogging platform super easy!

Once you are signed up with your host all you have to do is go through the one click installation and WordPress is automatically set up for you 🙌🏻

If you’re confused between what a host, management platform and theme are, I break down the difference between all three in this section of how to start a new blog in 2023.

Provided Email Addresses:

Having an email with your domain presents you as a professional. When comparing hosts check to see if they provide a free custom email address with your hosting or if you have to pay an additional fee for email.

Tip: Set up a professional email right from the start.

Once you have a host in place you can also set up a professional email with your domain url! With a few easy steps you can link your new email to Gmail for an easy email interface.

Having a professional email will not only help you stand out as a blogger it will legitimize you when sending email to your email list, clients and brands.

Because most hosts offer an intro deal that includes a free or discounted domain I recommend purchasing your domain through your hosting service.

RELATED: 9 Reasons This Blogger Regrets Not Starting an Email List Sooner

My Recommendation: Blue Host and WOrdpress.org

I use Bluehost as my web hosting service and WordPress.org as my platform. So from this point forward, I will primarily be speaking to my experience with Bluehost and WordPress.org.

It’s important to note that WordPress.com is different from WordPress.org. WordPress.com is a free blogging platform, but you do not own that blog.

If you intend to grow your blog and monetize, WordPress.com is not a good option. When I reference WordPress I am referring to WordPress.org.

For many new bloggers, a free hosted platform seems like the way to go. My advice would be to stay away from the free blogging platforms if you are serious about blogging.

Yes, they are free, but you will not own your blog on these free blogging platforms. In my opinion, it’s worth the investment to self-host. Especially if you want to blog full time someday.

There are tons of web hosts out there. Two major web hosts that bloggers tend to use are Bluehost and Siteground. You will find that most bloggers are partial to whichever one they use.

I have been using Bluehost for several years and am very happy with them. They have 24/7 help available and have solved every issue I’ve ever had.

When you use Bluehost you’ll get a  FREE Domain Name for 1st Year, your FREE SSL Certificate, 1-Click WordPress Install and as I mentioned earlier 24/7 Support. Considering your hosting service before purchasing your domain is important since hosts like Bluehost have special domain deals for new sign ups.

Sign up for Bluehost today. You’ll get hosting for just $3.95 a month for the next three years!

You can purchase your domain separately from Bluehost, but if you plan to go with self hosting and use Bluehost you’ll get your domain for free for the first year!

I started with the Basic plan, but have now upgraded to Choice Plus with Bluehost. When you join you can actually get this plan at the introductory rate of $6.95 a month for three years! I’m currently paying $10.99 a month.

Two other hosting options to look into:

• Siteground: Comparatively if you want an all in one solution you can use Siteground, which provides both hosting and serves as your platform. They also have managed WordPress hosting. As I have not personally used the platform I cannot vouch for them, but I know many bloggers who love Siteground.
  
• WP Engine: Another hosting option is through WP Engine. I found out about WP Engine when I switched to a new theme which utilizes their Genesis Framework theme.
  
  They also offer managed WordPress hosting and claim to be the fastest among the top WordPress hosts. You can get 3 months free when you sign up for WP Engine. And you’ll also get Genesis Framework as well as 35+ StudioPress Themes included.

xoxo Naomi