Find Out If You Use WordPress.Com or WordPress.Org

Find Out If You Use WordPress.Com or WordPress.Org

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The most common question that many WordPress users struggle with is how to tell if their website is on either WordPress.com or WordPress.org. On this blog post, we share the most basic ways of telling the two apart.

The key difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org is hosting.

Let us begin by defining web hosting. It is the process of space allocation on a web server for a website to store its files. These files that comprise a website (HTML, CSS, files and images) are made available for viewing online.

WordPress.org often referred to as self-hosted WordPress, is usually set up with your own hosting provider, e.g. GoDaddy, Bluehost, 123 Reg, or a company like WP Support Specialists.

You can customize your website design as needed, and you are also able to run custom analytics and tracking for your website.

On the other hand, you pay WordPress.com to host your website domain for you. This kind of website is easy to use and does not require installation. However, your website will not be completely under your control and the design and themes are limited.

With all said you are still probably wondering whether there is another way you can tell if your website is on wordpress.com or self-hosted? Yes there is J

 A more practical way of checking the difference is by using your browser and following these simple steps:

  1. Go to your browser; type your website’s domain followed by /wp-login.php. This takes you to your WordPress login dashboard.
  2. Your WordPress login dashboard will appear, login to your website’s backend with your username and password.
  3. Once you are at the backend, hover your mouse over the WordPress logo at the top left corner of the page.
  4. On the dropdown list, you will see either WordPress.org or WordPress.com

Wordpress.org screenshot

We hope this blog clearly illustrates how you can tell which WordPress hosting platform you are on.

If you have any further questions about how do i tell if my website is on WordPress.com or WordPress.org, feel free to contact us here with your query.

managed wordpress hosting and support

Managed WordPress Hosting And Support

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Managed WordPress hosting and support in a single, affordable package is hard to come by.  There are many companies offering fully managed WordPress hosting, and many others offering WordPress technical support – but few combine the two.

Really this makes no sense: websites need hosting and websites need maintenance – it’s just a fact of the digital world.  But WordPress website owners have to shop around to find the best managed WP hosting company for their needs.  Then most owners simply try to manage the regular maintenance themselves, without having any training or expertise in WordPress management.

And there are several disadvantages to these approaches:

1.Not All Website Hosting Is Created Equal

WEBSPACE

The size of a website dictates the amount of webspace it requires.  Around 1Gb is fine for small sites with modest website traffic, but the bigger the site, the more webspace it requires – those huge, complicated sites with 1000s of visitors plus per day, are going to need to have hosting with unlimited webspace.

It’s not easy to predict the amount of webspace you will need for your site and consequently makes it hard to find the right hosting package for you.

SERVER

Hosting can be shared or on a private server – again the best choice depends on the anticipated website traffic.  General shared hosting, as offered by companies such as GoDaddy, Bluehost and 123 Reg, means your site will share the server with other company websites. Consequently this type of hosting can be adequate for small sites where uptime and site speed are not critical, but far from ideal for sites with large volumes of traffic. In the latter case, website speed may be slow and if you have too much traffic, the site is likely to crash

Private server hosting means you have resources that are not shared by others. This provides more power and flexibility than being on a shared account, but costs more.

For a WordPress website, it makes sense to choose WordPress specific hosting. It may be slightly more expensive than general hosting but is optimised for WP and ensures the website runs faster and can be more easily maintained.  But many of the “big names” in website hosting don’t offer this option.

In short finding the right hosting package for your WordPress website can be tricky if you don’t  know the right questions to ask.

2. WordPress Maintenance Isn’t All Plain Sailing

In theory, WordPress is a free platform available for all to use. The reality is that it is hard to maintain a WP site securely if you’ve taught yourself everything you know about the platform.

Many business owners don’t even appreciate the need to regularly maintain their website: it needs to be backed up regularly, to be monitored for malware, and plugin and core updates need to be done in a timely manner.

Even those who do realise regular maintenance is essential, don’t have all the skills they need to carry it out effectively. Or alternatively they get so caught up in the demands of their business, that the website maintenance gets overlooked all together.

The result? At some point or other the website is going to have problems. And at that point, WordPress support is needed – again another hassle for the business owner who has to try to find a company to help them as soon as possible.

 

For all of these reasons, we have created a Managed WordPress Hosting and Support package which offers reliable, WP specific hosting and expert support delivered by trained WP specialists.  We work with a modest number of clients, enabling us to provide a truly personal service for each one (quite different to the likes of Godaddy and Bluehost who manage hundreds of thousands of customers).

If you’re fed up with your unhelpful WP hosting company, who tend to blame the WordPress platform itself for any problems you report, and you want quality support from friendly, WP experts then consider our managed WordPress hosting and support package.

 

 

premium wordpress hosting

Premium WordPress Hosting And Support

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Premium WordPress hosting and support is ideal for companies with WordPress websites who want to leave the management of the site to experts so they can focus on their business.  As the name suggests, premium WordPress hosting and support comprises a top-notch service which includes:

  • WordPress specific hosting, specifically designed to deal with the “application nuances” of this CMS and ensures optimal caching and security for WP sites
  • A fast loading website which is essential for your website to please Google (and so show high in search results) and also to please your website visitors
  • The ability to quickly fix any security issues identified by WordPress
  • Regular maintenance of the website including daily back-ups, malware protection plus core and plugin updates
  • 24/7 WordPress support if things go wrong
  • WordPress support services delivered by experts who work solely with the WordPress platform and know everything there is to know

Whilst business owners realise they need to host their website via a third party hosting party, many mistakenly believe that they can support their site without external assistance; but unless they are an expert in all things WordPress, things have a tendency to go horribly wrong.

For example, WordPress plugins and core updates need to be made frequently, but if the whole website isn’t backed up properly first and something goes wrong, a lot of data is going to be lost.

Similarly if the site isn’t fully protected against hackers and malware, and actively checked for malicious behaviour on the site, it can become compromised.

At this point, business owners realise their error – they will have search for WP experts who offer emergency support, and then pay out hundreds or thousands of pounds for the experts to investigate the problems to put everything right.  And during this process of course, the website isn’t working and the business is losing potential customers and sales.

How much more sensible it would have been to follow the “prevention is better than cure” philosophy.

For all of these reasons, we have created a WordPress premium plan which offers both fast, reliable hosting and superb support delivered by specific WP experts.  We support small businesses on a regular basis and pride ourselves on developing a personal relationship with them – not for us the impersonal approach of the “big” hosting companies such as Godaddy and Bluehost where you are just one customer amongst hundreds of thousands.

Are you fed up trying to deal with your hosting company, who are slow to respond and then simply blame the WordPress platform itself for any below par performance? Do you need regular support from friendly, experienced WP experts to keep your website ticking over reliably? If yes, then consider our premium WordPress hosting and support package.

choosing web hosting for wordpress websites

Choosing Web Hosting For WordPress – Knowledge Is Power!

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When you need web hosting for your WordPress website, it can seem a little daunting to know what to choose – and if your website is your first, you may even be a little hazy as to what web hosting is! So let us arm you with some knowledge so you understand what is web hosting and how to choose the best hosting company for your WordPress website.

1. What Is Web Hosting?

To get your website seen on the internet it has to be placed there, otherwise it won’t be available to website users.  Web hosting companies own and maintain powerful web servers which store your web pages, and “serve” them to your visitors.

There are many web hosting companies around – but when you decide which to use to host your WordPress website, you need to consider the following essential points.

1.1 Amount of web space

Around 1Gb is fine if your website is small and your website traffic is likely to be modest.  Big, complicated websites with lots of functionality (online purchasing, online booking, forums, lots of images and video etc) which attract many visitors would do best to choose hosting with unlimited web space.

1.2  Website speed

It’s important that your website has pages that are fast to load – slow websites aren’t enjoyed by visitors and your site could actually get penalised in Google search results if it is very sluggish.

1.3  General Shared or Private Server Hosting

General shared hosting is offered by companies such as GoDaddy, Bluehost and  123 Reg etc. This is great for small personal sites and low budgets, where uptime and site speed aren’t critical.

However shared servers are less suited to websites with large volumes of traffic.  They won’t scale well and with too much traffic, your site is likely to go down.  Also website speed is affected by what your “neighbours” are running on their sites concurrently.

Private server hosting means you have resources that are not shared by others.  This provides more power and flexibility than being on a shared account.

1.4 WordPress specific hosting

WordPress specific hosting may be slightly more expensive than general hosting. However it’s definitely advantageous because WordPress has “application specific” nuances that affect hosting providers.  Managed WordPress hosting providers specialise in these nuances and optimise caching, security, and support for WordPress sites.

In addition, this type of hosting means pages can be served faster and WordPress specific security issues can patched quickly with the release of each new WordPress version.  

1.5 Whether you need CDN (Content Delivery Network) services

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a service that can help the static content on your site (images, CSS, Javascript) load much more quickly.

A CDN is a collection of servers located all around the world. When a browser loads static content, the request is automatically routed to the server geographically closest to the browser. This helps the content load much more quickly. In addition, because your content is loaded from many servers in separate locations, bursts of traffic are less likely to cause issues, because the burst is spread out over hundreds of servers, rather than just one.

1.6 If you require a SSL option

HTTPS, the secure protocol for the web, safeguards your visitors by creating encrypted connections between your visitors and your site, protecting your visitors’ privacy and the data they share with you over the internet.

In addition to providing enhanced security, HTTPS can provide search engine ranking improvements.  Read this article for more information on https for SEO.

1.7 Service Level you expect from the hosting provider

The amount of support you receive depends on the platform you choose and the operator – so check the service level agreement before signing up. Things to consider:

– network availability  – does the host guarantee 100% network availability (excluding scheduled and emergency maintenance)?

– assistance – how can you contact the host? Are they available 24/7? How quickly will your query be dealt with?

 

2. Which Are The Best Web Hosting Companies?

There are thousands of hosting companies so it’s important to select a company you feel comfortable with and who you believe will provide a good service and value for money.

Many are multinational companies like GoDaddy, Bluehost, HostGator etc. who have tens of thousands of clients, who are consequently treated as one of many.  There are also companies like WP Support Specialists who deal with smaller numbers of clients and build up a good working relationship with them in a more personal way.

Here’s a list of 5 of the biggest WordPress website hosting companies with links through to customer reviews:

After reading this article we trust you are armed with the knowledge you need to choose the best web hosting company for your WordPress website!

If you’re interested in our website hosting services (for that personal, yet knowledgeable service!) take a look at our options here, or contact us for a no obligation chat.