Finding the right web host for WordPress

As we have said ago; page speed is very important for SEO now and to facilitate the speed, we need a better web host.

We, the Worpress users generally seek the web host which at least have these factors:

• Better uptime (all web hosts claims uptime of >99% time, but obviously it is not true!)
• Good cost-benefit ratio; in other word, the web host must not make us feel like ripped off
• Good support from the web host

Basic hardware and software requirements for an ideal WordPress web host

• Apache Server
• MySQL as the database system
• PHP 4 and PHP 5 (PHP 5 will be must for WordPress 3.2)
• mod-rewrite for nice Permalinks

Most Linux web host offer these features, because of the Apache server. There are some web host who does not provide mod_rewrite!

Pricing of web host

A web host can cost a mere $ 3 per month or $ 150 per month. Unfortunately for the shared web host, pricing does not reflect the quality. Unlike other branded products; you are paying more for a web host does not necessarily means it is a good web host.

Shared web host versus Business versus Virtual dedicated server versus dedicated server

Lot of versus in web host, we are making a list:

• Cheap shared web host is nothing but like many user using different partitions of a single computer’s hard disk. Obviously, it will have more server look up time (that is bad) and logically impossible to provide 99.9% uptime.
• Business web host is coined by few web hosting companies. It is a type of controlled shared hosting. That means, they will not sell that partition to as much as domain possible. Not bad, cheap yet good uptime.
• Virtual dedicated web host is when a computer runs few operating systems within it through virtualization. It offers the best cost-benefit ratio. One user will get one instance of the OS, though the hardware is the same. You can restart the apache and can do anything you wish. A typical busy blog needs >600mb of RAM to run smoothly. Unfortunately, most web host does not allow 600 MB of RAM, you have to choose between 512 MB and 1024 MB. Choosing Virtual dedicated server is the most difficult task. Take much time to choose. Web hosting companies uses a typical term “managed”. Understand what they mean by the word, because many web host uses it as a shield to hide many things.
• Nothing is better than a dedicated host. You are renting a full computer with Internet connection : this is the basic thing. The physical RAM requirement is the same as Virtual, logically. But in practice, you will need a bit more.