How to find the WordPress host for you

So you've spent countless hours trying to find the best system to use for your new site. Maybe you were lucky and a friend turned you on to WordPress. Next up is a possibly even bigger issue. You have to pick a host. I hope this guide helps you to figure out what's important for you in picking your WordPress host.

Server software requirements for WordPress
All you need is a server with at least PHP 4.3 and MySQL 4.0. WordPress recommends, and I agree with, that you have PHP 5.2, MySQL 4.1 or higher and Apache 2.2 or IIS 7. In the next release, MySQL 4.1.2 or higher will be required.

I've always found that support for the Apache web server is better. This is more commonly known as Windows hosting.

PHP4 development has been stopped, so at this point it is considered insecure. While WordPress runs under PHP4 it is very strongly recommended to only use hosts that run PHP5. If you find your server is still running PHP4 you will want to either find a new host or ask your host when they will be upgrading. In upcoming versions of WordPress they will be removing support for PHP4 as well, to introduce better functions to help the software run faster.

Both PHP and Apache agree that both run best when running PHP5 and Apache 2.2.

What hosts meet these requirements?
The majority of hosts will cover the server software requirements. Any host should be using enterprise-grade hardware on it's servers. This includes at least 2 CPUs with 4 cores each (8 cores total), hard drives in RAID10 configuration and 8 GB of RAM. RAID10 hard drives offer not only the fastest speeds but the greatest redundancy in the case of hardware failure.

As important as the hardware is to make sure that the host isn't packing it full of customers to drive up their profits, while driving down the user experience.

How to tell if the server is as good as it could be
If you add this small chunk of code to your site's footer.php file you can find out if your site is as fast as it could be.



This code will show the number of MySQL queries made on each page, as well as how long it took the server to generate your HTML code. To make it more difficult for your visitors to see this data, you will not be able to see it by simply looking at your site. You will need to right click on your site and go to View Page Source, then find the output. If you are unsure how to edit files on your site you can view a flash tutorial on modifying WordPress files.

For most sites this load time should be between 0.3 and 0.5 seconds.

Bonuses you can be on the lookout for
Some hosting companies have a lot of experience with WordPress and can offer extended support for it as a part of your hosting plan. If you are not a highly experienced user you want want to find a host like this.

Using these methods you can teach yourself how to accomplish tasks and not even have to submit support tickets. If you're a visual learner, flash tutorials provide walk-throughs of the exact steps needed to do what you need to do.

The feature that most people forget about, until they need it, is a real backup system. The normal setup is to just enable the default backup system that's included with the control panel the host is using. From there most just leave the backup on the server. Doing backups this way is a ticking timebomb and is asking for trouble. That, and restoring a single file on your site is a huge headache you don't need. You should be looking for a host that not only stores backups in a separate datacenter, but is using what's known as continuous data protection (CDP) backups. CDP creates several backups of your site each day. You can restore your entire site, a single file, or anything in between. You can also choose from several different restore points for each file. When you need your backup you don't want to have to want for the host to move your backup for your site so that you can download it, extract it, find your file and upload it. You don't have that much time.

Who fits all of these recommendations?
The vast majority of hosts will touch at least a few of the points. If you're a WordPress expert, extended support won't be as important to you. Two of the harder items to find will be the no overselling guarantee and the CDP backups, but, in my opinion, those are two of the more important things.

BuyHTTP is one company that does meet all of these requirements. They have been offering WordPress hosting for several years. BuyHTTP also offers the no overselling guarantee with the enterprise-grade servers, the large knowledgebase and many flash tutorials covering WordPress.