Self-Hosted WordPress Website

A flexible platform to grow your business online.

Increase your business credibility with a clean, functional website. A self-hosted WordPress website allows for growth and scalability as your business flourishes. It also allows for full ownership of content and creativity without violating the terms of service that may be present with fully hosted third-party websites.

You need three components to manage a self-hosted WordPress website: a domain name, hosting service, and access to a content management system.

Domain Name

The domain name is your business or brand name.

Your domain name is the branded address people type in to access your website. It’s a unique name followed by one of several domain name extensions – “.com”, “.org”, and “.net”.

Find the right domain name to grab more attention and visitors to your service or business.

GoDaddy: Register for a domain with your GoDaddy hosting service and receive one year of domain registration (do not purchase the website builder option).

Bluehost: Register for a domain name with your Bluehost hosting service and receive one year of domain registration.

DreamHost: Register for a domain name with your DreamHost hosting service and receive one year of domain registration.

Hosting Service

Web hosting is a service that allows organizations and individuals to post a website or web page onto the Internet. A web host, or web hosting service provider, is a business that provides the technologies and services required to publish content on the Internet. A download of the WordPress content management system and the domain will exist on the web hosting server.

Shared Hosting vs. Managed WordPress Hosting

Shared WordPress Hosting means sharing resources with other sites on the same server. When launching a new website, shared hosting is a popular choice because the cost of server maintenance is spread across many customers. The benefits of shared hosting include a one-year free domain, unlimited traffic, unlimited SSD storage, one-click WordPress installation, a free SSL certificate, and 24/7 support. With shared hosting additional plugins to perform website backups, security, and speed optimization.

Conversely, Managed WordPress Hosting isolates resources that offer greater security and performance. Benefits of managed WordPress include automated daily backups and one-click restore. Built-in caching to improve website speed and performance. One-click staging to test new plugins and themes safely before pushing changes to the live site.

What are resources? Web hosting resources are CPU time, memory, storage, and network bandwidth.

Shared WordPress Hosting Options

Bluehost Shared Hosting Choice Plus with added privacy and security features is great for beginners and brand-new websites. The cost for a new plan is $5.45 month/$65.40 year one and $227.88 for annual renewal. Add-on recommendation: SiteLock for $35.88 per year; this add-on is malware detection and notification. Codeguard Professional for $59.95 per year; it monitors your site for changes and performs daily backups of your site that can be restored with the click of a button.

Managed WordPress Hosting Options

GoDaddy WordPress Hosting Deluxe gives new and existing websites room to grow with all the benefits of managed WordPress hosting. The cost for a new plan is $11.99 per month/$ 143.88 for year one and $179.88 for annual renewal. Add-on recommendation: Website Security Standard for $71.88 year one/$ 95.88 annual renewal; this add-on is basic security with ongoing scanning, firewall, and SSL protection.

DreamPress Basic is a perfect starter plan for a new or existing website and you want all the benefits of managed WordPress hosting. The cost for a new plan is $16.95 per month/$ 203.40 annually. Add-on recommendation: DreamShield for $3.00/month per domain ($36/year); this add-on protects your site from malware.

SiteGround GrowBig WordPress Hosting is an excellent choice if you have an existing website that has consistent web traffic and sales. (Add-on recommendation: SG SiteScanner for $1.50/month per domain ($18/year); this add-on is a malware detection and monitoring service.)

Content Management System

A content management system, often abbreviated as CMS, is software that helps users create, manage, and modify content on a website without the need for specialized technical knowledge.

What is WordPress?

WordPress is the most popular, multifaceted content management system on the market today. It’s scalable with endless features that will help you maintain a website to help grow or promote your business. WordPress CMS is free to download, install, and use on your hosting service.

No matter your business model, size, or need, WordPress has a solution.

  • Business (service, nonprofit)
  • E-commerce (physical, print-on-demand, digital download, subscription-based)
  • Blog (personal, niche, brand, affiliate)
  • Membership (community-focused, educational courses, coaching)
  • Portfolio (professional CV, photography, graphic design)
  • Landing pages (splash, sales, product, video)

For reference, here are examples of businesses and organizations that utilize WordPress: https://wordpress.org/showcase/.

How Can I Help?

Plan In Action Web Services is here to help. I can help you navigate from an idea to a launch while bringing your vision to life. Send me a direct message to get started.