Hosting
Web hosting is the rented server space where your website’s files and database actually live, plus the service that delivers them to visitors.
In plain English
Your domain is the address. Hosting is the building. When someone visits, a computer somewhere has to receive the request, run your WordPress code, query your database and send back a finished page, in under a second, for everyone, at once.
That computer is your host.
Why it matters
Hosting is the single decision that most affects how your site feels and how much of your life you spend on maintenance.
Cheap shared hosting is cheap because hundreds of sites share one machine. When one of them gets busy, yours slows down. Good hosting quietly removes an entire category of problems you’d otherwise blame on WordPress.
How it works
-
Match the plan to the siteShared for small brochure sites. Managed WordPress or a VPS the moment real traffic or a shop is involved.
-
Check the fundamentalsCurrent PHP version, free SSL, daily backups, a staging environment, and a real caching layer.
-
Pick a data centre near your audienceThen add a CDN for everyone else.
-
Test support before you need itAsk a hard question on a Sunday evening and see what comes back.
Migrating is easier than people fear
Most good hosts will move your site for you, free, in a day. Don’t stay on a slow server out of dread.