Presentation by Jeff Matson on choosing a WordPress host at WordCamp Philly 2014

1. Choosing a WordPress
Host
Jeff Matson | InMotion Hosting
@TheJeffMatson | @InMotionHosting

2. Know your expectations
● Pricing
● Support
● Uptime
● Features

3. You know WordPress. Your web
host knows servers
A good host will keep their server running fast,
secure, and up as much as humanly possible.
Your job is to keep your site running efficiently.

4. Ensure that your host can handle
you in 5 years
● They should still be around.
● They should be able to accommodate your
growth.

5. Shared hosting
● Best for new/low traffic websites.
● Lowest pricing.
● Lack of features and customization.
● Multiple individuals sharing the same server.

6. VPS hosting
● Allows your own virtualized environment.
● Still shares a physical machine.
● Cheaper than dedicated, more expensive
than shared.
● Allows for more customization.
● Less resource allocation than dedicated,
more resources than shared.

7. Dedicated hosting
● Your own server to do what you want on.
● The most expensive option.
● Unlimited customization options.
● Able to handle high-traffic sites.

8. Managed WordPress hosting
● Handles updates for you.
● More focused on WordPress sites.
● Pricing varies greatly.
● Typically within a shared or VPS
environment.
● Little to no server-side customization.
● Limited to WordPress.

9. Are you a sysadmin?
No? Then you need support:
● Server maintenance
● Security updates
● Server-related questions
● Custom configurations

10. Support needs to know more than you
● Their job is to know their servers, just as
your job is to know WordPress.
● 90% of issues should be resolved at the first
level of support.
● Response times and resolutions should be
prompt.

11. Beware of dirt cheap hosting
● Ridiculously cheap hosting is cheap for a
reason.
● Usually little or no support.
● Low performance.
● Too much downtime.

12. Uptime is critical
In January 2013, Amazon went down for ~50
minutes resulting in ~$5M in profit loss.
If your hosting is down, you’re not making any
money and potentially losing customers.

13. Speed will make or break you
Amazon has reported that they have a sales
increase of 1% for every 100ms speed increase.
Yahoo traffic increased by 9% for every 400ms
of speed improvement.
Mozilla reported a 60M/year download increase
by speeding up pages by 2.2 seconds.

14. Secure it or lose it
● Do they actively watch for hacks?
● Do they employ additional security methods?
● Are they storing passwords in plain-text?
● Do they actively run security audits on all
servers?
● Are you well protected from other users?
● Do they have additional protection from
WordPress brute force attacks?

15. Marketing buzzwords are for
suckers. Know what they mean.
The host should be able to accurately explain
exactly what they are promoting.
If they can’t explain what their “proprietary
technology” is, it doesn’t actually exist.

16. Honest reviews, not paid reviews
Know who is recommending the host.
Do your homework and research!
The best sources for recommendations are all
around you.

17. Questions?
Jeff Matson | @TheJeffMatson
InMotion Hosting | @inmotionhosting
inmotionhosting.com