With so many WordPress hosting options available out there, telling a gem from hard rock is getting harder than ever, especially considering how often hosting firms make unsubstantiated claims.
A lot can go wrong when you’re choosing a WordPress hosting provider without background information and knowledge. Here are several factors to consider when choosing WordPress hosting and a list of the best providers in the niche.
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Security
Cybercrime is projected to inflict damages worth over $10 trillion in value within the next five years. Your hosting providers should implement a web application firewall (WAF), DDoS protection, two-factor authorization, and threat monitoring to help protect you from hackers.
Canada ranks 13th of 75 countries in its cybersecurity score, and ransomware affected only 2% of Canadian organizations in 2021. While most Canadian WordPress hosting providers are safe, look for specific features, such as daily site backups. They can make the difference between losing all your data and recovering from a disaster.
Customer reviews
Checking what previous customers have shared about the company and their experience with it can prove valuable, as long as you’re not reading a fake review. There are ways to tell fake and real reviews apart. Fake positive ones sound overly promotional or have too many buzzwords. Extremely negative reviews that don’t explain why the person was so unhappy with the service might also be fake.
Overall performance
Things to look for in this context are the requests per second (RPS), throughput, page load speed, error frequency, and peak response times (PRT). Ask about these metrics when considering any WordPress hosting provider. If they offer a free trial, you can run website speed tests to check the effect of loading time on your user experience.
Customer support
A lot of WordPress hosting providers offer 24/7 customer service. Make sure you find out what the company’s ticket response time is, as well as if they are available outside regular business hours. If you expect to have visitors from all over the world, 24/7 availability is indispensable.
Price
Don’t automatically go for the cheapest possible option. Some hosting plans cost as little as a few dollars a month, but you get what you’re paying for. Common issues with inexpensive hosting include slow overall performance, security flaws, and lack of customer service.
Reliability
Uptime and stability are too crucial to ignore because businesses have lost thousands from a single instance of downtime. Server reliability is imperative regardless of what level of customer service, security, and performance your provider can offer.
The Hidden Gems in WordPress Hosting
SiteGround is a popular international hosting provider known for its quality WordPress hosting services. They have data centers in various locations, including one in London, which can provide good performance for Canadian websites.
CanSpace is a Canadian-based hosting provider that offers WordPress hosting with servers located in Canada. They focus on providing excellent performance and support to their Canadian customers.
GreenGeeks is another Canada-based hosting provider that offers WordPress hosting. They emphasize environmental sustainability by using renewable energy to power their data centers.
WP Engine is a managed WordPress hosting provider with a strong reputation for speed and reliability. They have a presence in multiple data centers around the world, including some in North America, which can benefit Canadian users.
HostPapa is a Canada-based hosting company that offers WordPress hosting plans. They have data centers in Canada, which can be beneficial for Canadian users in terms of website speed and SEO targeting.
A2 Hosting is known for its speed-focused hosting services. While not Canadian-based, they have servers in several locations, including Canada, which can offer good performance to Canadian users.
WHC is a hosting provider based in Canada. They offer WordPress hosting services with servers located in Canada, which can help with website speed and local SEO.
Bluehost is a well-known provider that offers WordPress hosting. They have data centers in various locations, and Canadian customers can also use their services.