Web Hosting vs WordPress Hosting: Which Should You Choose?

Building and running websites require web hosting services to make sites accessible to people online. It is a basic need that website owners should carefully decide to make the most of their site’s performance. There are many types of hosting service, and choosing the right one can be confusing.

For starters, shared hosting is an ideal plan to pick primarily because it is affordable. However, for medium- and large-scale websites, upgrading to a higher plan is best. Virtual private server (VPS), cloud, and dedicated hosting are great choices, depending on the needs of your website. 

For websites using WordPress, they also have the option to use WordPress hosting. This type of hosting is dedicated to the platform’s system, so website functionalities are maximized. To further understand the difference between web hosting vs WordPress hosting, we will discuss each in detail.

What Is Web Hosting?

Month-to-month web hosting is basically a service that allows websites to go live on the Internet. It lets site owners rent space online, so people can easily access their websites. It is a broader term used for hosting websites, regardless of the type.

Why Is Web Hosting Important for Building and Running a Website?

Choosing the right type of hosting plan can provide a lot of benefits for your website. Without the right hosting service, you may experience slow page loading, security breach, and many other risks. 

To know the benefits you can get from a proper web host, here are some of them:

1. Reliable Uptime

What is uptime in web hosting? Uptime is the amount of time your website is available for access to people online. Websites need regular maintenance to keep their best performance. Because of this, your site might be offline at some point.

Therefore, it is important to work with a good hosting provider as they keep downtimes to a minimum. They understand that downtimes mean a loss of your revenue. When choosing your hosting provider, hire a company that guarantees you with at least 99% uptime.

2. Strong Security

Security breaches in WordPress are a major problem for website owners because hackers and other phishing tools may access sensitive data. When your hosting provider does not provide a sturdy security system, the chances of getting hacked are high. 

Your hosting service is the foundation of your security system because it is where your website’s files are kept. Make sure to check the hosting security tools your web hosting provider offers. 

3. Customized Email Addresses

One great benefit of having a web hosting service is you can customize your professional email address based on your domain name. Having a custom email makes your company look more professional and adds credibility. 

Depending on your hosting plan, you may get to have unlimited email addresses that are domain-specific. 

4. Great Support

Just like your business, good web hosting providers offer excellent tech support in case anything goes wrong. Technical issues that can affect your website’s performance or can make your site go offline can occur any time. So, it is important to get help from your hosting provider immediately.

Check if your hosting provider has 24/7 support and if they have several means of contacting them like chat, email, or phone. This way, you can make sure your hosting provider is always there to help you.

5. Improved Website Performance

Your success significantly depends on your site’s performance. A fast page loading speed, for example, can already make a huge difference. 

When your website loads fast, site visitors will most likely stay on your website longer. This means you have greater chances of turning these site visitors into buying customers. 

Make sure your hosting provider can make your web pages load in less than a second.   

Are There Disadvantages for Web Hosting?

As mentioned earlier, web hosting is a necessity for websites. So, it can generally provide more benefits than disadvantages.

One common downside to this service is if you have chosen the hosting plan and company that may not be a perfect fit for your website needs. For example, you have grown your business and gained a considerable amount of traffic, so it is understandable that you upgrade to a higher hosting plan if you are on shared hosting. But if you do not want to upgrade yet, you could be at a disadvantage.  

Another example is if you started with a higher hosting plan when launching your website. You might be paying for services you will not use yet, which is a waste of money. 

What Is WordPress Hosting?

WordPress hosting is a type of web hosting dedicated to WordPress. It overlaps with dedicated, cloud, VPS, or shared hosting. Simply put, it does not focus on the server type but the additional features of the plan. 

What Are the Advantages of WordPress Hosting?

WordPress hosting has a lot of benefits as well, and the following are the common ones:

1. Increased Uptime

Automatic updates that WordPress offers makes WordPress hosting better. When the platform, plugins, and themes are up to date, the functionalities of your website are maximized, lowering downtimes. The updates do not need to have your site offline because it only takes one click, which is extremely fast.

2. Exclusive Support

If you encountered problems related to WordPress, the platform has a community support team that can help you. Members are experts of the platform, so you can guarantee that they can help you resolve technical issues. They provide hosting problem solutions, troubleshooting, and experienced support.

3. Robust Security

Just like web hosting, WordPress hosting also provides strong security systems. It has security protocols exclusive for WordPress-related problems. 

4. Fast Server

The server dedicated to WordPress hosting has modifications that cater to how the platform functions. This makes page loading quicker as well. 

Are There Downsides to WordPress Hosting?

Yes, there are a few. One common downside to WordPress hosting is it is not for everyone. It is only for websites that use the platform. Because it is for a specific use, it is typically more costly than other hosting plans, especially shared hosting. 

There may be limitations to its functionality as well, primarily because of security. If you need to install plugins that your hosting provider or plan does not allow, you might need to find an alternative plugin. 

Does a WordPress Website Require WordPress Hosting?

No, it does not. Websites using WordPress can run with other types of hosting plans. Having WordPress hosting means you are going to enjoy specific features that can boost your website’s functionalities even more compared with the other normal hosting services. 

How to Choose Between Web Hosting vs WordPress Hosting

If you have not decided which hosting plan to pick, there are questions you need to ask yourself. But first, check what hosting service your chosen WordPress hosting has. 

A shared WordPress hosting, for example, has the same bandwidth and space as the regular shared hosting. It will only differ in the features both plans include. 

Here are the questions you should ask yourself:

• What is my budget?
• Is my site on WordPress?
• How much traffic should I target?
• How secure should my website be?
• Will I manage with regular WordPress updates?
• How much do I know about configuring WordPress?

Answering these questions will help you have an idea of which you should choose. 

Conclusion

Choosing between web hosting vs WordPress hosting primarily depends on how you want your website to function. If you think that the special features WordPress hosting offers are more beneficial for you, then go for it. But if you think that the other hosting plans can give you the functionality you want, then you can use them. So, think about the benefits you can get from both hosting plans and evaluate which is better for your website needs!