Are you new to the world of digital? Have you been looking for web hosting services? Do the terms WordPress hosting and web hosting confuse you? Are they being used interchangeably? In this blog, we are going to explore the differences between WordPress hosting and web hosting. By the end of this blog, you’ll have a better understanding of these two and what fits your website needs. WordPress hosting vs Web hosting.
Needless to say, web hosting is a crucial part of every online business. While there are several web hosting platforms, you’ll need to take a closer look at their offerings and packages to be able to make the right decision. Before we dive deep into WordPress hosting vs web hosting, let’s get a grip of what each means.
What is WordPress hosting?
Simply put, WordPress hosting is specifically designed to host WordPress websites only. They are a custom hosting solution specific to run WordPress sites. It looks after the performance and security requirements of your website. Apart from that, WordPress hosting providers also offer one-click WordPress installs and automatic updates to entice new customers.
Typically, there are two types of WordPress hosting plans – shared WordPress hosting and managed WordPress hosting.
Shared hosting is often considered to be a cost-effective option between the two. As the terms suggest, your website will “share” a server with other websites in this environment. This plan will also include performance optimizations for your website and other features like a one-click WordPress installer, upgraded plugins, and themes too.
With managed WordPress hosting solution, you get faster loading speeds, server-side caching benefits, better security, and staging sites to test changes. All these benefits and features come with higher costs.
What is web hosting?
Web hosting is a crucial factor for every website to be published online. Whether it is for an individual or for business. For a website to be viewed on the internet, you need certain technologies and services. A web hosting provider offers the website a server to reside and offers features to optimize the performance of your website.
In simple terms, a web hosting company specializes in storing and serving websites. When a user tries to access your website, the server in which these files are hosted will load and serve them with the right information. From shared hosting plans to VPS hosting plans, there are different hosting categories.
WordPress hosting vs Web hosting
Now that you understand what each of these terminologies stands for, let’s take a look at the differences. Web hosting is a broader term that defines the service as a whole. Whereas WordPress hosting refers to a specific niche. And only caters to WordPress website users.
The main difference between these two is the server configuration itself. When it comes to WordPress hosting, they are optimized to offer resources and performance enhancements of WordPress websites only. They also have several handy add-on services like automatic updates, one-click WordPress installation, themes, and several plugins.
With Web hosting plans, you are not just limited to WordPress as the platform, they support different site builders and CMSs too. From built-in developer tools to having higher security precautions, web hosting platforms have several advantages.
When choosing the right web hosting provider and plan for your website, always look for the add-on features they offer and the cost. Besides security and performance, look for plans that offer free domain names, SSL certificates, and a professional email address.
To choose between the two, consider factors like:
- What is your chosen CMS platform, is it WordPress or any others?
- Are you an expert at general website maintenance and do you have technical knowledge?
- Will you need pre-installed security plugins to fight malware or do you have the knowledge to secure the website that can be leveraged.
- What is your budget?
WordPress hosting vs web hosting is not as complicated as you may think. Web hosting is a broader term and WordPress hosting is specific to WordPress sites that come with features specific to that platform. Always look for options that best suit your needs.
What is Web hosting vs domain?
As experts in the industry, another popular question we get asked often is the differentiators between web hosting and domain. The domain name or your website address, when typed into the browser’s URL bar, gets users directed to specific website files. As for web hosting, it is a space (server) that stores and serves website files to your users when they type the domain name in the search. Web hosting vs domain is two different terminologies that are not used interchangeably.
Conclusion
If your chosen CMS platform is WordPress, we highly recommend you look for WordPress hosting platforms that will improve your site’s functionality, security and provide automatic updates. There is no right or wrong when it comes to WordPress hosting vs web hosting. It all trickles down to what type of hosting plan you choose.
