In this blog post, I’ll share my top recommendations for reliable WordPress hosting, discuss essential backup solutions, highlight key security plugins, suggest some excellent themes, and offer practical tips for optimising your WordPress site.
Reliable WordPress Hosting
The first step is choosing where your website files will reside—the hosting company. There are a few important factors to consider when selecting a hosting provider. Always do your research to ensure the host meets your needs before investing your money. Here are my recommendations:
SiteGround
SiteGround is an excellent choice for beginners, offering very responsive hand-holding support. They provide 24/7 support and affordable pricing for the first 12 months. Be aware that the price increases from the second year onwards, however, even on the lowest tier, you get extra free features like SSL options and ample resources to get you started.
Ionos
Ionos hosting offers a range of benefits that make it a top choice for individuals and businesses alike. Firstly, Ionos provides robust performance with its powerful servers, ensuring websites load quickly and reliably. Their scalable hosting solutions accommodate websites of all sizes, from personal blogs to large e-commerce platforms, allowing for flexibility as business needs grow.
Ionos also prioritises security, with features like SSL certificates and DDoS protection included in their packages, safeguarding data and maintaining trust with customers.
Additionally, their user-friendly control panel simplifies website management, making it easy to set up domains, install applications, and monitor performance metrics.
With 24/7 customer support available, Ionos ensures that technical assistance is always at hand, further enhancing the hosting experience. Overall, Ionos stands out for its reliability, security, scalability, and customer support, making it an excellent choice for your hosting needs
WordPress Backup Solutions
Having a backup plan is essential. Most hosting companies include some form of backup, but it’s best not to rely solely on them. I recommend using an external backup solution.
Updraft Plus
UpdraftPlus is a user-friendly WordPress backup plugin that simplifies the process of backing up and restoring your website. It offers comprehensive features, including scheduled backups for files, databases, plugins, and themes.
Free and premium versions are available with the premium version providing advanced options like incremental backups and automatic backups before updates. Overall, UpdraftPlus is a reliable choice for safeguarding your WordPress site.
WP Vivid Backup
WP Vivid Backup is a reliable option, with the free version offering automated and manual backups. You can save backups locally or to cloud storage services like Google Drive or Dropbox. This ensures your backups are secure and not solely dependent on your hosting provider.
WordPress Security Plugin
Security is crucial for your website. I recommend installing a security plugin like Wordfence, which I use myself. The free version offers sufficient protection for most users. Another option is iThemes Security. After installation, use the setup wizard to configure the basic settings.
Choose a Quality WordPress Theme
The look of your website is defined by its theme. I recommend the following:
Bluchic
Bluchic themes have gained popularity among over 30,000 female entrepreneurs due to their stunning designs and user-friendly features. These customisable WordPress themes offer a modern, cohesive look, making them ideal for bloggers, business owners, and virtual assistants. Bluchic’s excellent customer support ensures you’re well-guided throughout the website-building process. Additionally, the themes come with free updates for life, providing long-term value to users.
Astra
Astra is one of the most downloaded themes. It works well with tools like Elementor and Gutenberg, offering a wide range of customisation options.
Minimising WordPress Plugins
While WordPress plugins offer extensive functionality, try to keep them to a minimum to avoid complications and slowing down your site. Install only what you need to maintain your site’s performance and security, and remove unnecessary plugins. Always remember to update them too!
Changing WordPress Permalinks
Permalinks are the URLs for your website’s content. The best structure to use is ‘Post name,’ which makes your URLs simple and logical. Change this setting early in your site development to avoid issues later.
Ensuring Your Site is Indexed
Once your site is live, ensure that it is indexed. The setting should already be set to allow search engines to index your content, but it’s worth checking just in case.
Go to Settings > Reading and uncheck ‘Discourage search engines from indexing this site’ to allow search engines to find your content if the checkbox is ticked.
Choose an SEO Plugin
An SEO plugin helps optimise your content for search engines. I recommend AIOSEO, which offers a robust free version. Other options include Rank Math. These tools help you manage titles, descriptions, and social media settings for your content.
WordPress Image Optimisation Plugins
Image optimisation plugins are essential for improving website performance by reducing image file sizes and enhancing loading speed.
Smush
Smush is an image optimisation plugin specifically designed for WordPress websites. Created by the WPMU DEV team, it offers several features to enhance website performance and improve user experience:
- Image Compression: Smush optimises images by compressing them without sacrificing quality. It provides both lossless and lossy compression options, allowing you to choose the level of optimisation that suits your needs.
- Lazy Loading: With built-in lazy loading, Smush defers the loading of offscreen images. This helps improve page speed and overall performance.
- WebP Conversion: The Pro version of Smush allows you to convert images to the next-generation WebP format. WebP images are smaller in size and load faster, contributing to a better user experience.
- Bulk Optimisation: Smush makes it easy to optimise multiple images at once using the bulk smush feature. This is especially useful when you have a large media library.
- Background Optimisation (Pro): Even when the plugin is closed, Smush continues to optimise images in the background. This ensures ongoing performance improvements without any manual intervention.
Many WordPress users, including me, trust Smush, and it has been recognised as a top image optimiser in terms of both speed and quality. If you’re looking to enhance your website’s performance, I recommend giving Smush a try! It’s free to use with the option of upgrading.
Conclusion
In summary, setting up a successful WordPress site involves more than just choosing a theme. Focusing on reliable hosting, solid backups, and robust security will provide a strong foundation for your site. By paying attention to these key elements, you’ll ensure a smoother, more secure, and high-performing online presence.
