WordPress Hosting vs Web Hosting: What’s the Difference?
When deciding whether to shop between regular hosting and WordPress hosting, it’s essential to understand that the two terms are not entirely different. And there is much in common between them. Read this article to check the differences between WordPress and regular hosts.
Here we briefly review WordPress hosting, regular (shared) hosting, and the main difference between them:
Web hosting is a general term that refers to all types of web hosting services, including shared hosting, cloud hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting.
In general, web hosting is a comprehensive term. There are different types of web hosting, and providers offer different features.
WordPress hosting is a subset of web hosting services that offers servers and resources specifically optimized for WordPress websites.
With WordPress hosting, you get various tools and services designed specifically for WordPress sites. However, it may vary depending on the WordPress hosting service you choose. But they often include features like one-click installation, automatic software updates, and an expert WordPress support team to make things easier.
The main difference between WordPress hosting and shared hosting is:
If we want to check this difference very briefly, we say that WordPress hosting is configured and managed so that it has the best performance for a WordPress site. It may also include some extras such as premium themes and plugins. But this is not the case in regular or shared hosting.
[highlight color” yellow”]Note: If your site is WordPress, you do not have to use WordPress hosting. With a regular host, you can also upload a WordPress site. However, it is not as efficient as standard WordPress hosting.[/highlight]
This article details the key differences between web hosting and WordPress hosting. We also introduce you to the most popular hosting plans so you can make an accurate choice.
From here on, we will first discuss normal (shared) hosting in detail, then move on to the WordPress host.
What is regular hosting or shared hosting?
Types of web hosting
Benefits of shared hosting
Disadvantages of shared hosting
What is WordPress hosting?
Advantages of WordPress hosting
Disadvantages of WordPress hosting
Which one is more suitable for us?
What is normal or shared hosting?
Web hosting is a service that allows websites to publish a site online. When site owners purchase a plan from a hosting provider, they essentially rent a portion of the company’s server space to store their site files.
There are different web hosting options that you can choose according to your needs, sometimes regardless of your level of expertise, content management system (CMS), or website size.
As we said above, web hosting is divided into several categories:
- Shared Hosting
- VPS hosting
- Cloud hosting
- Dedicated hosting
Shared hosting: This option suits sites with low volume and low traffic. It is also a good option if you are starting and don’t want your costs to increase.
In shared hosting, a server’s resources are divided into several parts, and each site rents a part of those resources.
It’s also a great choice for beginners or small business website owners who prefer not to deal with the technical side of server maintenance. The hosting provider is responsible for monitoring, updating, and backing up the server.
VPS hosting: A website receives the dedicated resources it needs from the virtual partition of a physical server. It is a great option for medium—to large-sized sites that need more resources and better performance than shared hosting.
If you have extensive technical knowledge and want more options in your server settings, VPS hosting can be a good option for you.
Cloud hosting: A site runs on several virtual or cloud servers instead of a physical server. This is an excellent choice for busy sites with high traffic volume because cloud hosting offers higher uptime.
As with shared hosting, the provider usually takes care of the server. However, cloud hosting offers resource flexibility and site performance similar to VPS hosting.
Dedicated hosting: The entire server and all its resources are provided to a site. Large and advanced sites with professional staff and high expertise usually use dedicated hosts.
Although this option has a higher price than all hosts, it leaves your hand more open in server management.
Benefits of shared hosting
Most web hosting providers offer plans that support a variety of site builders and CMSs, not just WordPress. By offering a wider variety of plans, the user is more open to choosing the desired plan.
The benefits of shared hosting usually depend on the type of web hosting you choose, as the level of resources, tools, and flexibility varies greatly.
If we want to look at the matter from a technical point of view, the hosting company performs physical equipment and hardware repairs in everyday hosting purchases.
Several general benefits cannot be ignored. Many hosting companies offer different plans to fit whatever budget you have.
SSL certificate, a free domain, or other services.
Disadvantages of shared hosting
If your site is WordPress and you have purchased a regular hosting plan to host it, expect the following problems:
Less specialized support. Web hosts offer support and technical assistance when needed, but they don’t always have the experts to handle specific issues related to your chosen CMS.
Everything is up to you. With public web hosting, WordPress site owners are responsible for updating plugins and themes. You may also have to update the WordPress core and perform maintenance tasks like malware testing without technical assistance.
Lack of proper server performance. In this case, your site is hosted on a host whose resources are not configured for a specific CMS. For the WordPress site to perform better, resources must be managed in a special way, which we will discuss further.
What is WordPress hosting?
Dedicated WordPress hosting is a subset of web hosting configured to optimize sites built on this content management system.
WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system, running about 42.5% of all websites. This is why many web hosting companies offer WordPress hosting services.
Depending on the provider, the WordPress host itself can also fall into specific categories, such as shared, VPS, cloud, or dedicated WordPress hosting.
Often, the main difference between regular vs. WordPress hosting is the extra features. For example, a dedicated WordPress hosting plan may include pre-installed WordPress to help improve website performance and increase your business.
There may also be specialized tools for users running multiple WordPress websites. For example, some WordPress hosting plans have a multi-site feature that allows you to manage multiple sites from a single dashboard.
Advantages of WordPress hosting
If you are considering starting a WordPress site, there are many advantages to choosing a WordPress hosting service over regular web hosting.
Optimal performance. Sites hosted on WordPress hosts use a server configured specifically for WordPress sites. At Ded9, your WordPress sites are hosted using the LiteSpeed web server and the built-in LiteSpeed Cache software.
Servers and updated software. In addition to automatic updates, web hosting providers ensure that their dedicated WordPress servers run the latest software, resulting in optimal compatibility and seamless performance.
Hassle-free management. Leave most of the technical aspects of WordPress to your web host and focus on other things like improving your search engine optimization (SEO) strategies.
High security. By purchasing your WordPress from Ded9, you can rest assured about the security of your site. Because SSL is considered free for you, periodic backups are also done.
Specialized support. Most WordPress hosting providers have a specialized team to solve the problems and uncertainties of the site owners.
Disadvantages of WordPress hosting
WordPress hosts are explicitly configured for sites that work with WordPress CMS. If you are considering creating a site with another CMS, it is better to choose regular web hosting.
WordPress hosting is often more expensive than shared hosting due to its specialized features, services, and functions.
WordPress hosting also limits website customization, as the provider may restrict the installation of other software.
Which one is more suitable for us?
Before deciding between regular hosting and WordPress hosting, it’s essential to determine the type of site you want to create. Pay attention to the following questions:
Do you want to create a WordPress site? If your answer is no, WordPress hosting is not right for you. In that case, go ahead and find the best type of web hosting and choose one of the plans that best fit your needs.
In general, regular shared hosting is recommended for small sites with little traffic that are not WordPress.
Do you have enough skills in site management? If not, shared WordPress hosting is a great solution because the web host performs frequent updates, backups, etc.
Are you doing well in securing your website? If your answer is no, choose WordPress hosting B. The server that hosts your website will have protocols to handle WordPress security issues.
If your answer is yes, you can use normal web hosting and secure your site yourself using tutorials and resources available on the web.
The amount of the budget. If you have enough budget to buy WordPress hosting, we suggest you choose this type of hosting to ease your mind about hosting a WordPress site. By doing this, your site will run at its best.
But if your budget is insufficient, standard shared hosting will also get you started.
conclusion
When choosing WordPress hosting, remember that web hosting is an umbrella term, while WordPress hosting is a specific subset of hosting.
You can use any hosting option to start a WordPress site. The main difference is that WordPress hosting plans offer special features, such as optimized web servers.