It’s the most popular website creation tool on the planet. As of 2021, WordPress powers 39% of all websites, it is searched for around 2,940,000 times every month and it is by far the most well-rounded Content Management System (CMS) offering on the market.
Once you’ve installed it correctly, WordPress makes website design effortless. Hosting a website on reliable infrastructure will also put you far ahead in your website building aspirations. But what exactly is required for WordPress hosting?
It is important to understand the variety of solutions WordPress offers. There are primarily two options:
- The first is the solution that is hosted and provisioned by WordPress.com. This solution comes with free options, but you might be billed for personalisation and an ad-free experience.
- Secondly, the solution we’ll focus on in this article is the free solution from WordPress.org that allows you to install WordPress on a web hosting server of your choice. The software from WordPress is supplied to you free of charge to download, or simply use the nifty installer in your hosting control panel to get going. It really is that simple.
Here is what you will need to get your WordPress hosting sorted:
1. An affordable web hosting package
Web hosting is vital to ensure your website stays live and visible online, 24/7. With various options to choose from, you can make sure you pick the one that suits your business needs and budget.
WordPress has the following web hosting requirements:
- PHP version 7.4 or greater
- MySQL version 5.6 or greater OR MariaDB version 10.1 or greater
- HTTPS support
2. Register your domain name for your website
Your domain name is your business’s address online. It’s also how consumers find you and identify you during their research. Once you’ve chosen your name, you can search for it and secure it. Depending on your location and target market, you can go register a domain with a co.za, a .com or be super trendy with a .mobi!
3. Setup and design your website
You will now have access to a cPanel dashboard where you can install WordPress in a few clicks. WordPress will send you a username and password for your new website. Then you are ready to start with the design of your website. WordPress offers thousands of themes you can use to tailor the design of your site. You can then move on to adding pages in your menu and build on from there.
Once you are done designing your website, you can add various functionalities according to your needs, with WordPress plugins. Plugins will help you add contact forms, social media feeds and other important elements necessary to the efficient performance of your website.
WordPress is endless in what it has to offer. It offers a platform that is both useful to experienced web designers as well novices starting out online for the very first time while providing all the basics with a website needs. From user experience to site speed, SEO and mobile optimisation, a WordPress website is your one-stop-shop for getting your online presence started.
