The first step to starting a blog is to choose your blogging platform–typically either Blogger or WordPress. (Click to find out which you should choose and why.) Next, you’ll pick a name. The very next step, if you’ve chosen WordPress.org, is to choose your hosting company.
What is a
Your host is the company that actually stores your site data online on their servers. You can choose either a shared server (which means the company hosts your blog and several others on the same server) or a dedicated server (which means that your blog has grown so large you need a server all to yourself).
Does it Matter Which Blog Host I Choose?
Yes! To an extent. When you are just starting off, your blog is still pretty small and you are a little worried about the cost, choosing a cheaper (yet still reputable) host is just fine.
Once your site starts to grow, however, it will be important to make sure you have an awesome host. A good hosting company will help fix your site if something goes wrong and keep your site live if you go viral. Both of these will be very important as your blog continues to grow.
What to Look for in a Blog Host
By now you are probably asking “What should I look for in a blog host?” This handy checklist should help you out:
- Affordable Pricing
- Excellent Customer Support
- Plenty of Bandwidth, Storage Space
- Excellent Reputations/Customer Reviews
- A Strong Uptime Guarantee
- Easy to Use C-panel (control panel)
- Any Additional Features You May Need (email addresses, domain name included)
Which Host Should I Choose?
While no one host will be right for every single website, here are a few of the more common hosts you are likely to see mentioned again and again.
- BlueHost: Inexpensive, easy to use. We use Bluehost for this site, and Dawn and Bren use it on their main sites as well.
- GoDaddy: Inexpensive, easy to use, frequent promotional pricing. Good for beginners.
- HostGator: Inexpensive, easy to use, frequent promotional pricing. Good for beginners.
- DreamHost: Mid-priced. Brittany used to use, but had a horrible experience and switched.
- A Small Orange: A little more expensive, but amazing customer service and consistently great reviews. Brittany uses on her main site.
- Black Chicken: A little more expensive but amazing, personal customer service from real people. Consistently great reviews. Comes highly recommended by bloggers.
While choosing a good blog host is important, don’t get overwhelmed looking at your options. Do your research and then choose the one that seems best for you. You can always switch later if they turn out not to be a good fit.
Do you have a blog host already? Would you recommend them to others? We’d love to hear your feedback!
