When you go with the self-hosted WordPress platform you need a trusted hosting partner to fully manage your website maintenance. Learn what to look for with this service.
Most business owners hardly have time to check their email, let alone worry about maintenance of their website. They are busy with the day-to-day operations of their business and want to trust that their hosting company just takes care of their website.
A website is one of those things that just needs to ‘work’, one hundred percent of the time. An online presence is vital for a company, whether they are B2C, B2B, or non-profit. Potential customers are discerning, have many choices, and will judge a book by its cover, or in this case, a business by its website.
Understanding the WordPress Platform
The majority of websites on the internet today use WordPress. It’s a great fit for personal and business sites, as well as basic e-commerce sites, and it’s easy to use. Before we discuss what fully managed WordPress hosting and maintenance looks like, it’s helpful to understand a key distinction: wordpress.org vs. wordpress.com.
WordPress.org is what most people are referring to when they are talking about how great WordPress is for their business site. It’s also referred to as ‘self-hosted WordPress’ because you need a domain name and hosting to use it. It’s open-source software that gives you full control over customizations of your website.
WordPress.com is very basic, and very limited. It’s most used by bloggers who just need a simple platform. Hosting is taken care of through WordPress in this case, as it is with similar software and hosting platforms such as Wix or Squarespace.
A fully built-out business website will need the robust functionality of self-hosted WordPress, obtained from WordPress.org (or sometimes directly through your hosting partner). This approach means you will need a web hosting partner. And this is where one of the most important decisions you will make about your website, and subsequent stress levels, comes into play.
The Worry-free Factor of Fully Managed WordPress Hosting and Maintenance
So, back to the busy business owner. Is that you? We thought so. We know the last thing you want to worry about is your website going down, getting hacked, or the pages breaking after a major change goes wrong. The hosting partner you choose for your WordPress site will make all the difference in whether you experience those things and lose time and money, or whether it’s business as usual.
What exactly is comprehensive WordPress maintenance? It means the company hosting your website has your back. They are always on top of critical WordPress updates and server security patches, have a secure backup system in place, and in general are keeping an eye on things. Not all hosting companies are created equal. If you want a worry-free and secure WordPress hosting partner, their services should cover all of the following areas.
1. WordPress Updates
There are continual updates to the WordPress core, the themes in place on the site, and the plugins used. Updates are important because they often fix a security vulnerability that could give hackers access to the site. Updates need to be manually executed, and after installed, the site should be reviewed to ensure it’s looking its best after updating.
2. An Optimized, Secure Server
The best hosting situation for your website is one in a dedicated, exclusive hosting environment, that is continually optimized to get the best performance and security from your WordPress site. You want fast-loading pages, and the most site uptime possible (around 99.99%).
3. Backup & Recovery
It’s best practice to have nightly backups of your entire site. If something goes wrong when you try something new, you want restoring your site to be as easy as reaching out to your hosting provider.
4. Performance Monitoring
Your site should be monitored and tweaked to ensure it’s loading quickly and consistently for your visitors. Part of fully managed site maintenance is a high-functioning site for the end user.
5. Uptime Monitoring
A good team takes responsibility for your website’s uptime. If it’s ever down for any reason, they are all notified so they can address the situation immediately.
6. DNS Hosting
Your DNS needs to be managed for your domain. What is DNS, you ask? DNS is the address book of the internet. It’s a protocol that connects domain names to servers. Think of DNS like the Yellow Pages that used to get delivered to houses: it connected names to phone numbers. If you have changed the domain name of your website or are moving your site onto a new CMS (Content Management System), DNS will be involved and you want an expert in your corner for moving it.
7. Support
Look for a hosting partner that offers some level of general website support. Especially if they can teach you how to do new things with WordPress, troubleshoot issues, or add content on your behalf. Precision Pages offers this to our hosting clients.
Fully Managed Web Hosting is a Business Expense That’s Easy to Justify
As you can see, hosting your website is more than just uploading the files to a server and calling it good. When you have spent the time and effort to make your website the best it can be for your company, you want to ensure it has the best support once it’s launched. Having fully managed WordPress hosting and maintenance is something you will never regret.
