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Hosts
My Opinion on Web Hosts
Here’s a great video by Darrel Wilson about hosts.
What theme and plugins you use are important when it comes to speed and performance. More important than that is the host. If you have a bad host, then there’s not much you can do, and it would be very difficult to find your site on Google’s first or even tenth page.
In 2012, I made my first website (Jerry and God) and I tried BlueHost. Well, I tried to try BlueHost, but I was a newbie and needed assistance, which I didn’t get. I then tried HostGator, and the result was the same.
Their support was horrible, and I believe if a hosting company has bad hosting then the speed and functioning of the hosting is also bad, but I could be wrong.
This was 12 years ago, so they may have cleaned it all up, but since they are both owned by EIG I doubt it.
I would say to avoid any web hosts owned by Endurance International Group (EIG) and Newfold Digital, they’re the same company.
Great Web Hosts
- I’ve used SiteGround. They’re great and may have the best support of all, but they’re small and don’t have the power that other hosts have to support numerous websites.
- I’ve used Cloudways. They’re good, but they don’t use cPanel, which I prefer. They have no support.
- I’ve used GreenGeeks. They, like SiteGround, are great and have excellent support.
- I’ve used A2 Hosting. In my opinion, they had been one of the best Shared Hosting companies, but they’ve made some changes and even though they’re still good, I moved.
- I’ve heard good things about Hostinger and the reviews look good. I looked at what they have to offer and it looks good. Their support is said to be good, but I haven’t used them so I don’t know.
- I’ve used FastComet. They have excellent support and are fast, but not the fastest.
- I am now using Namehero’s Cloud Hosting, much faster and definitely safer than Shared Hosting.
- Shared Hosting: The most cost-effective option, where multiple websites share the same server resources. This is the one the majority of website owners use.
- VPS Hosting (Virtual Private Server): Offers a more powerful and flexible solution than Shared Hosting, with each website having its own dedicated resources within a shared environment.
- Dedicated Hosting: Provides the highest level of resources and control, as the entire server is dedicated to a single website.
- Cloud Hosting: Utilizes a network of virtual servers to deliver scalable and flexible hosting solutions.
- Managed WordPress Hosting: Specifically optimized for WordPress websites, offering enhanced performance and security features.
If you want a fast website with great performance, get a good host. Shared Hosting is normal and it’s fine. It is IF you have a good hosting company. The worst thing you can do is use a worthless host. A good host is a good investment.
Free Hosts
Under the “A Few Free Courses” located in the DIY tab, I told you about WordPress.com, which is free except you can’t use WordPress.org and you don’t have complete control.
Here are five free hosts where you can use WordPress.org and you have complete control of your website, but you have to purchase a domain.
I haven’t tried any of these, so I can’t speak for them or against them.
See the full list of EIG Hosting Owned Companiesas of 3rd May 2019, Courtesy of researchasahobby.com
| Good Hosts | Horrible Hosts (in my opinion) |
|---|---|
| A2 Hosting | BlueHost |
| Cloudways | GoDaddy |
| FastComet | HostGator |
| GreenGeeks | Any EIG Host |
| Hostinger - Maybe | |
| InMotion - Maybe | |
| Kista | |
| SiteGround | |
| WP Engine |
Themes
My View On Themes
In my opinion, the most important element of a theme is speed. If it isn’t fast, it’s because its bloated with garbage or it wasn’t built properly. It may look pretty, but not everything that sparkles has value.
Throughout my years of web designing, I’ve tried many different themes. I’ve used free ones and purchased quite a few. I’m sure there are many good themes out there, but I can’t recommend any of them if I haven’t used them, and most of the ones I’ve used I won’t recommend. I had said before never to use a free theme. Yet, there are a few good free themes.
I Recommend the Following
- Astra – Astra is lightweight, fast, and very customizable. Astra is built for Elementor. It’s free. It does have a premium version, but most people don’t need it.
- GeneratePress – GeneratePress is a lot like Astra. I used GeneratePress for years. The only difference between the two is that GeneratePress is good with any Page Builder.
- OceanWP – OceanWP is lightweight and fast, but I didn’t find it to be user-friendly and it’s not quite as fast as Astra or GeneratePress. I don’t know how good the premium version is.
- Hello – Hello is made by Elementor and made primarily for the Elementor Page Builder. It’s fast and some say it’s the fastest. You can use it with any Page Builder, but I wouldn’t use it without any other than Elementor. Hello is bare bones and I’ve tried it and I don’t necessarily like it, I prefer Astra.
- StoreFront – I’ve never used this one, but I’ve viewed it. It was built for WooCommerce. If you’re going to have an E-Commerce store this might be the one for you because it’s set up like a store.
- Divi – Never used Divi and it’s made for their Page Builder. Therefore, if you decide to use Divi this would probably be best.
- SeedProd – I’ve played around with this one years ago when I knew nothing about themes. What I remember is that it was lightweight and pretty quick.
- Silk – Same with SeedProd.
- Blocksy Pro – This might be the best if you use Gutenberg Page Builder.
A Good Theme Has
- Mobile-Responsive Design: The theme designs are responsive and retina-ready, so your WordPress website looks great on all screen sizes and mobile devices.
- SEO Optimization: The theme follows the best SEO practices so your website can rank higher in search results.
- Page Builder Support: The theme is compatible with popular WordPress drag-and-drop Page Builders. This helps you create custom landing pages whenever you need them.
- Speed and Performance: Your theme plays an important role in the speed and performance of your website. You should look for themes that are well-designed to keep your site fast.
- Customer Support: The best themes include documentation and instructions that are easy to follow, updated often, and backed by a great support team to help you out if you get stuck.
