Web Hosting Recommendations

DISCLOSURE: Some of the links in my posts are affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you like my recommendation and then click through and make a purchase. Details...

If you prefer to DIY your setup, we recommended these hosting companies to assure your WordPress site is running optimally. Please click on the affiliate links which will pay me a very small fee to thank me for my time.

WP Engine

My recommended managed hosting solution for WordPress. I cannot say enough positive praise about WP Engine. Their support have gone above and beyond many, many times.

Typical shared hosting companies care about one thing, and that’s keeping their cost as low as possible. They may staff low-paid entry-level employees who don’t know the first thing about WordPress, and they use less-expensive servers. You may have learned first-hand that typical cheap providers will shut your site down if you get too much traffic.

At WP Engine, they don’t do that. They source the fastest bare-metal hardware, then set you up on a cluster of servers with the fastest caching out there. They hire the experts—and pay them well. If you run a WordPress site and need the highest level of security, stability, and support, WP Engine is your best choice.

I know, I know, most business owners want to save every penny, but this is one thing that I can’t recommend a cheaper solution for. WordPress has gotten incredibly complicated. If you want a cheaper solution for your site, then we can review other types of websites. But with WordPress, you NEED daily backups, frequent updates and a way to restore your site quickly if something goes wrong.

A big bonus if you are developing a new website is TWO additional sites – a STAGE (typically for testing upgrades) and a DEV (typically for testing bigger changes). Don’t think you need this…well, most clients have delays when launching an upgrade to their site. Meanwhile, normal WordPress maintenance has to happen on your current live site. Having multiple sites that can be used by your tech team mean things run smoothly!

• My WordPress hosting & maintenance plans use WP Engine – you don’t need your own account
• Accounts include managed upgrades, daily backups and other optimization tools done by the web host. This only includes “core” updates.
• It excludes premium themes & plugins, which is why my additional maintenance is needed. WP Engine’s setup makes this easy!

Follow this link for WP Engine Hosting

DISCLOSURE: This is an affiliate link, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you like my recommendation and then click through and make a purchase. Details…

A2 Hosting

If you are looking for budget hosting, take a look at A2. NOTE: This is from their website. I have hosted one site with them, and it was a good experience.

When searching for fast WordPress Hosting for your website, make sure to select the host with a high-performance SwiftServer platform. That’s A2 Hosting! For page loads up to 20X faster than competing WordPress hosts, make sure to host on their blazing fast Turbo Servers. Your account even includes PHP 7 and free HTTPS protection to meet the recommended WordPress Hosting environment!

Your WordPress software comes pre-installed and A2 Optimized on your Shared Hosting account. Thanks to testing, testing and more testing by our team of experts, A2 Optimized ends the guesswork of how to get the fastest page loads for your WordPress software. A2 Optimized provides auto-configuration so you get the best performance and most secure settings. That way you can instead turn your focus to building your site, writing content and promotion.

• Up To 20X Faster Servers
  Our exclusive Turbo Server option offers you the fastest hosting experience!
• Guru Crew Support
  Our friendly and knowledgeable support team is available 24/7/365 to help!
• Anytime Money Back Guarantee
  Give our high speed hosting service a try completely risk free!
• 99.9% Uptime Commitment
  A2 Hosting is the host you can depend on with ultra-reliable servers!

Select a WordPress hosting package from A2 Hosting

DISCLOSURE: This is an affiliate link, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you like my recommendation and then click through and make a purchase. Details…

SiteGround

WordPress Hosting Crafted With Care

• Delivered by People Who Love WordPress
• Free WordPress Install & Free Domain
• More Secure with Autoupdates
• Free WordPressTransferFaster WordPress with CDN & Cache

Select a hosting package from SiteGround

DISCLOSURE: This is an affiliate link, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you like my recommendation and then click through and make a purchase. Details…

HostGator

I have migrated my clients off of HostGator to WPEngine. In the past, I recommended this as hosting solution for WordPress, reseller or dedicated hosting. I used to highly recommend them, but their service level has dropped. If you have a small website, this may still be an option for you. This is budget hosting. NOTE: Since I moved all of my clients off HostGator, I have not worked with them for several years, so do your own research and proceed with caution. Select a month-to-month plan if you are not sure.

• Accounts still will need my WordPress maintenance plan

NOTE: Do not purchase SiteLock, Secure SSL or any special offers when purchasing hosting. If your account needs anything extra our team will discuss with you with specific instructions. Carefully unclick any special add-ons to avoid extra billing.

Select a hosting package from HostGator

DISCLOSURE: This is an affiliate link, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you like my recommendation and then click through and make a purchase. Details…

BlueHost

I have migrated my clients off of Bluehost to WPEngine. Bluehost provides budget shared hosting for WordPress. I used to highly recommend them, but their service level has dropped. If you have a small website, this may still be an option for you. For a low price, you can have UNLIMITED DOMAINS on your account. This is budget hosting. NOTE: Since I moved all of my clients off Bluehost, I have not worked with them for several years, so do your own research and proceed with caution. Select a month-to-month plan if you are not sure.

NOTE: Do not purchase SiteLock, Secure SSL or any special offers when purchasing hosting. If your account needs anything extra our team will discuss with you with specific instructions. Carefully unclick any special add-ons to avoid extra billing.

Visit the site directly to sign up

DISCLOSURE: This is an affiliate link, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you like my recommendation and then click through and make a purchase. Details…

Shared, Reseller, and Dedicated Web Hosting

What is hosting?

A web host is a company that has computers that are hooked up to the internet 24/7. These computers are called servers and they are assigned IP numbers in order that they may be found by other computers hooked up to the internet. It is on these servers that all your web files are stored. Consider the domain name the “street address” and the web host the “house”.

What does hosting include?

• Your website to appear online (“www.yourdomain.com” in a web browser)
• Running the WordPress software (setup by our team)
• Backups (our team also will do a secondary daily backup offsite)
• 24/7 Technical support (level of support varies depending on your host – WPEngine is always great!)

I already have a web host. Am I required to change Hosting?

Yes, in order to keep your costs down, Virtuallinda Media has created a standard system using our  recommended host and those savings are passed on to you.

In rare cases, we have made an exception, however, this means that we need to bill hourly for all servicing of your webhost. The costs to do this will quickly surpass the cost of switching to our recommended hosts. We do not recommend this, and reserve the right to turn away a project based if the hosting will we a problem since our team wants to focus our energy on building great business brands, not solving technical problems that can be avoided in the first place.

My current process is to add you to our account, then grant you access to your files. Otherwise, please follow my affiliate links, which provide me a very small payment to thank me for my time writing up this info.

If you currently have web hosting…

We will guide you through the change. Before work begins with us, you should find out:

• If your hosting account is in your name and not your last web designer
• You have the username, password, and contact info for your host.
• Your contact info on file is correct.
• Control panel access (username, password) to access your billing account.
• FTP (File Transfer Protocol) access (hostname, username, password) to copy any files on your current server.
• How to cancel your billing after the switch.
• If you have an electronic copy & printed copy of all of this information in your business records.

NEED HELP?
My Maintenance Plan for Premium Sites includes WordPress hosting.

Hello Service-Based Entrepreneur,

I know it’s easy to get overwhelmed by reading blog posts full of ideas, tactics & tools. Be honest...

• How frustrated will you be trying to implement this on your own?
• How much time will you waste if it's not your next best step?
• Did you just take the time to read this but you won't make any changes?
• Or are you ready to take a small next step to build your brand?

Get clarity & your next step forward!

I'm here to help you with your marketing for the new normal & beyond. Let's talk about your options to work with me on a FREE 30-min call.

To your success,

Virtuallinda (Linda Schenk)

Marketing Strategist & Designer

I work with service-based entrepreneurs to attract more ideal leads, 24/7. I use a practical and flexible approach to adjust to the new normal…and beyond. I offer a blend of 26+ years of expertise in marketing, websites, brand identity, strategy, tech solutions and more. My skills link together like blocks to create a custom fit for you.