Why WordPress+WooCommerce for eCommerce?

Beginners to the field of online businesses often ask the question that “Why WordPress?” The answer is simple. Because it’s very simple and scalable according to the needs of the business.

In the beginning WordPress was introduced as Blogging Platform and some people still think that it is being used for blogging only. The WordPress.org team have done many changes in this platform and now you can build any kind of website by using WordPress, from personal portfolio to full-fledged ecommerce. WooCommerce, as the leading eCommerce plugin for WordPress powered website, will be the focus of this article, so let’s explore the best WooCommerce hosting options.

Types of WooCommerce Hosting Services available

Before selecting any hosting service, first thing that needs to be sorted out is what type of website you want to host and what will be the scalability level of that website in the future. Currently four types of hosting services are available:

• Shared Hosting
• Managed WordPress Hosting
• VPS Hosting
• Dedicated Hosting

Shared Hosting Services

Shared hosting is so far considered the most popular WooCommerce hosting for new website owners. In shared hosting, hundreds of websites are hosted on one single server. Beginners prefer shared hosting because of its reliability and affordability. One main problem in shared hosting is that they attract people by claiming UNLIMITED RESOURCES like web space, bandwidth, domains, databases, etc. But in reality, nothing is unlimited. On a shared server, specific resources are allocated to each domain against their package. If you reach your package limits, the hosting provider will ask you to upgrade your package. Also if you go above your resource limits, they might suspend your account and ask you to upgrade your package. Due to the large number of websites hosted in one server, there are great chances of delay in server response time which is not a good thing for online businesses.

Pros of Shared Hosting

• Cost effective WooCommerce hosting
• Best for online business startups without much traffic in their website
• Easy to use Admin control panel to manage files, FTP and email accounts
• Hosting provider takes care of server security, maintenance and uptimes
• Misc. helpful services are offered by hosting providers to keep your business growing

Cons of Shared Hosting

• Limited resources (Disk space, Bandwidth, Database, FTP accounts etc.)
• Hosting provider force to upgrade when you reach you maximum level
• Often delays in server response time

Shared Hosting is Good For

• Recently launched WooCommerce websites with little traffic (0-100 visits a day)
• Mid-Level Bloggers
• Small Businesses and Startups
• Personal Portfolio Websites

When should you go for Shared Hosting?

With so much growth in online businesses, WooCommerce has become the most popular ecommerce platform due to its ease of use for both developers and end users. Security is the major concern of any person doing online business and the one who is buying online. If you have an online ecommerce business which also involves payment transactions, shared hosting is not the right WooCommerce hosting for you. There are not only security issues in shared hosting but it’s also unstable and unreliable. People who start online businesses with short term vision, only they select shared hosting in the start but after becoming familiar with it’s pros and cons, they switch from shared hosting to something better.

Recommended WooCommerce Shared Hosting providers

www.bluehost.com
www.inmotionhosting.com
www.hostgator.com
www.siteground.com
www.GoDaddy.com

Managed WordPress Hosting Services

If you have a WooCommerce website with good traffic or small business but you are not that expert in WordPress, you have two options. Either hiring an expert to manage your websites and hosting or getting services from Managed Hosting Service providers.

Managed Hosting Service providers save a lot of your time by providing many maintenance services. Managed Hosting Service providers keep you focused on your business. You only have to worry about your business strategies while leaving the rest of the things like response time, security, support, backups, updates, etc. to them. Managed Hosting Service providers hire people who are expert in WordPress and know how to improve response time, maintain security of your website and provide maximum protection against any possible malware or hacking attack, 24/7 support services so that there is not a single chance of losing your valuable data. No matter how much traffic you have on your website, Managed Hosting Services provider will make sure that you will not face any downtime.

With that much control and positive things they do have some negative points too but they are excusable if you keep an eye on bigger goals. Price of Managed Hosting Services are higher as compared to other hosting services. On managed wordpress hosting, you can only host WordPress websites. There is no possibility that you can upload some other script like OpenCart, Magento, and Drupal etc. Moreover, on Managed hosting, you don’t have full control on your server as they manage everything for you.

Pros of Managed WordPress Hosting

• Fast: Hosting is managed by WordPress experts and they keep your website optimized for fast response.
• Secure: Highly skilled security experts keep your website secure from malicious attacks.
• Support: In case of any trouble, you get quick response from dedicated support team.
• Updates: Hosting provider keep your WordPress and all plugins updated.
• Backups: Backups are maintained by hosting provider on daily and weekly basis.

Cons of Managed WordPress Hosting

• Cost: Managed hosting is expensive as compared to shared and VPS hosting.
• Limit: You can only host WordPress websites.
• Less Control: You have no control on your server resources.

Managed WordPress Hosting is Good For

• Non-Technical users looking for a fast and hassle-free WooCommerce hosting
• High budget business startups with no technical expertise

When should you go for Managed WordPress Hosting?

If you have a good online business with 400-800 products and 5000+ visitors on daily basis then Managed WordPress Hosting is the best solution for you. Also it doesn’t require any technical knowledge to manage your website server if you are using Managed Hosting Services.

Managed hosting services provide optimized hosting solutions for WordPress and WooCommerce websites.

Managed WordPress Hosting Recommendations

GoDaddy.com ($1 / month hosting offer)
www.wpengine.com
www.pagely.com
www.websynthesis.com
www.siteground.com
www.bluehost.com

VPS Hosting Services

If you think that your website is going to attract huge number of visitors and you have mid-level budget then VPS is best choice for your WooCommerce hosting. Virtual Private Server (VPS) is like a dedicated server but shared among some users according to their requirements. Resources are allocated on actual server according to selected packages. VPS is just like a computer in a library or home which is shared by many users. As per your hosting plan you have complete control over your server. From selection of operating system to little tweaks everything is in your control. To manage VPS you need to be an expert in server handling or you have to hire someone expert in it otherwise things will become difficult. Cost of VPS is very low as compared to dedicated servers as cost is shared among many users.

Pros of VPS Hosting

• Affordability: Cost effective and affordable as compared to dedicated server.
• Turnaround: You can setup you VPS in few minutes.
• Reliability: VPS is more reliable as compared to Shared and Managed hosting services because everything is in your control and you don’t have to worry about your resources.
• Configuration: You can configure you VPS according to your own requirement.
• Security: It’s more secure than shared and managed hosting as you have full control on your server and it’s data.

Cons of VPS Hosting

• Server Administration: Requires sound knowledge of server administration to manage the VPS.
• Cost: Cost of VPS is higher as compared to shared and managed hosting.
• Limited resources: Unlike dedicated hosting, VPS has limited resources as many VPS instances are hosted on one physical server.

VPS Hosting is Good For

• High traffic Blogs
• High traffic business websites

When should you go for VPS Hosting?

Every day, more and more people are doing online shopping. It means more and more people are visiting WooCommerce stores which results in dramatic increase in traffic on WooCommerce based WordPress websites. Suppose you have established an online business with almost 1,000 products and your daily visitors are around 1,000 then the VPS is best solution for you.

VPS hosting services recommendation

https://www.linode.com
www.inmotionhosting.com
https://www.digitalocean.com
https://www.bluehost.com

Dedicated Hosting Services

In dedicated hosting, you lease an actual server from the hosting provider and you have full control over operating system, software and hardware of the server. Dedicated Hosting services are not for beginners. You only need dedicated hosting services if you are doing maximum business through website and you want to control all the matters of your website like bandwidth, security, uptime, reliability and above all scalability. To acquire dedicated hosting services either you have to be an IT expert or you need to hire someone expert in managing a dedicated server. Giant businesses that don’t want to lose their customers always select dedicated hosting servers to keep their matters running smooth.

Pros of Dedicated Hosting

• Unlimited Resources: You are the owner of your server, you can use all available resources. In case you run out of available resources, you can always add extra as per your needs.
• Fast: Dedicated servers are fast and there is no delay in response.
• Secure: As the whole server is in your full control and no one else can access or use your server resources, security is all in your hand.
• Configuration: On dedicated server, you have full root access and you can configure you server in anyway as per your requirements.

Cons of Dedicated Hosting

• Cost: Dedicated servers are expensive as compared to VPS.
• Technical: Dedicated servers required an advance level of technical knowledge and skills to manage the server.

Dedicated Hosting is Good for

• High traffic business websites
• Enterprise Ecommerce Websites
• Enterprise Web Applications
• Social Media, Gaming, Music and Video Streaming Websites

When should you go for Dedicated Hosting Services?

The best things in the market are always the most expensive ones with outstanding benefits as compared to other competitors. Assuming you have 1500-2000 products on your WooCommerce store and they keep increasing on daily basis and your daily visitors are above 10,000 and they keep increasing rapidly too then dedicated server will be the best WooCommerce hosting choice for your business matters to go smooth.

Recommended dedicated hosting services

www.GoDaddy.com
www.inmotionhosting.com
www.liquidweb.com
www.siteground.com
www.arvixe.com