Warning Signs Of Outdated Website Hosting to NOT Use for WordPress

Choosing a WordPress hosting company involves evaluating various factors to ensure that the service aligns well with your website’s needs. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the good criteria to consider:

1. Type of Hosting Offered:
   • Shared Hosting: Suitable for small websites or blogs with low traffic. Economical but limited in resources and performance. But only use shared hosting on companies that know WordPress security and mentions how they improve WordPress performance.
   • VPS Hosting: Offers more power and flexibility than shared hosting. Good for medium-sized businesses.
   • Dedicated Hosting: Provides entire servers for high traffic websites. Offers maximum control and performance but is more expensive.
   • Managed WordPress Hosting: Specifically optimized for WordPress with added services like optimized database servers, optimized page caching, automatic updates, backups, and enhanced security.
2. Performance and Uptime:
   • Look for a hosting provider that guarantees high uptime (99.95% or higher).
   • Fast loading times are crucial for user experience and SEO.
3. Security Features:
   • Includes regular backups, malware scanning, and removal.
   • SSL certificate for secure data transfer.
   • Firewall and other security measures to protect against hacking and DDoS attacks.
4. Customer Support:
   • Availability of 24/7 support via multiple channels like chat, phone, and email.
   • Knowledgeable and responsive support team.
   • Access to a comprehensive knowledge base or resources.
5. Scalability:
   • Ability to easily upgrade plans as your website grows.
   • Flexible plans that cater to varying levels of traffic and resource needs.
6. Pricing and Value for Money:
   • Competitive pricing for the features offered.
   • Transparency in pricing structure to avoid hidden costs.
   • Consider long-term costs, not just introductory offers.
7. WordPress Specific Features:
   • One-click WordPress installation.
   • Automatic WordPress updates.
   • WordPress-centric security measures.
   • Compatibility with WordPress plugins and themes.
8. Ease of Use:
   • User-friendly control panel like cPanel.
   • Easy to manage domains, install apps, and access email accounts.
9. Server Locations:
   • Data centers located near your target audience for faster content delivery.
   • Availability of Content Delivery Network (CDN) integration.
10. Reputation and Reviews:
    • Read customer reviews and testimonials.
    • Check for any recurring complaints or issues.
    • Look at the company’s history and stability in the market.
11. Additional Services and Features:
    • Domain registration and management.
    • Email hosting.
    • Staging environments for testing.
    • Access to developer tools like Git repositories.
12. Compliance and Data Policies:
    • Compliance with legal requirements like GDPR.
    • Clear data privacy and handling policies.

Evaluating these criteria will help you choose a WordPress hosting company that best fits your website’s requirements in terms of performance, security, support, and budget. Remember to prioritize the factors that are most critical for your specific needs.

What are “security” items that outdated hosting companies mention?

When evaluating WordPress hosting companies, certain “security” items touted by outdated hosting companies can be red flags, suggesting that their security measures are not up-to-date. Identifying these can help you eliminate a hosting company from consideration. Here are some key points to watch out for:

1. Lack of SSL/TLS Certificates:
   • Modern websites require SSL/TLS certificates for secure data transmission. If a hosting company does not offer or support these as a basic feature, it’s a significant security shortfall. (Many good hosting companies offer free SSL certificates, most commonly by LetsEncrypt.)
2. No Mention of DDoS Protection:
   • In today’s online environment, protection against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks is essential. Lack of such protection indicates inadequate security infrastructure.
3. Absence of Automatic Backups:
   • Regular, automatic backups are crucial for data security. If a hosting service does not provide or offer this feature, it’s a sign of outdated services.
4. Limited or No Firewall and Malware Scanning:
   • Firewalls and regular malware scanning are basic security necessities. If these aren’t mentioned or are offered as expensive add-ons, it suggests a lack of commitment to current security standards.
   • Proper security at the hosting-company level (separate from what you can do) should be a primary role for a team of employees at the hosting company.
5. Manual Updates for Software and Applications:
   • Prompt updates for software, especially for servers, security hardware, programming languages and databases, but also for WordPress and its plugins, are vital for security. Infrequent manual-only updates are a sign of outdated practices.
6. No Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for Account Access:
   • 2FA adds an extra layer of security to your hosting account. Its absence can make your account more vulnerable to unauthorized access.
7. Lack of GDPR Compliance or Data Privacy Assurance:
   • In the era of data privacy, compliance with regulations like GDPR is important. Non-compliance indicates a disregard for modern data protection standards.
8. Outdated PHP Version Support:
   • Support for only outdated PHP versions (like PHP 5.x) can expose your site to security vulnerabilities. Modern hosting should support the latest or recent PHP versions.
   • As of November 2023 the earliest version of PHP you should use is version 8.1, which has “Active Support” until 25 Nov 2023 at midnight, but “Security Support” until 25 Nov 2024.
9. Limited Customer Support for Security Issues:
   • If the hosting company offers limited or no specialized support for security concerns, it suggests an inadequate approach to managing security threats.
10. No Mention of Regular Security Audits:
    • Regular security audits are essential to identify and rectify vulnerabilities. If a host doesn’t conduct these, it might not be proactive in managing security risks.
11. Absence of Secure FTP (SFTP) or SSH Access:
    • Secure file transfer protocols like SFTP or secure shell access (SSH) are important for safely managing web files. If a host doesn’t provide these options, it’s a potential security risk.
    • FTP is standard, but not secure. Always use SFTP instead, available in programs like FileZilla.

Understanding the Many Pitfalls of Bad WordPress Hosting

Bad web hosting can be a nightmare, often characterized by:

• Subpar Technical Support: Overly simplistic responses that don’t address your actual issues.
• Inadequate Security: Poor protection against hackers and malware.
• Outdated or Unclear Instructions: Making simple tasks like setting up email or transferring files a hassle.
• Misleading Offers: Promises of “unlimited” disk space and bandwidth that don’t hold up under scrutiny.
• Inferior Hardware and Overloaded Servers: Great marketing but poor performance due to overcrowded servers.

Recognizing Red Flags

• Poorly Monitored Hosting: Bad customers on the same server can affect your site’s integrity.
• Overly Technical Offerings: Complicated hardware options that are difficult to understand and potentially overpriced.
• Neglecting WordPress Specific Needs: Some resellers overlook the importance of WordPress-specific security and support.

The Silver Lining

Despite the challenges, there are hosting companies that excel in technical support, security, hardware, and pricing. Tapping into your WordPress community and social networks can lead you to these reliable providers.

What to Expect from Any Good Hosting Provider

A competent web host should inherently offer:

• “Unlimited” Resources: For bandwidth and disk space, suitable for personal or small business sites.
• Essential Server Types: Apache or NGINX, but not Microsoft IIS.
• Fundamental Email Services: Including POP/IMAP email, catch-all email, email forwarding, and spam blocking. (However, use a dedicated email hosting company, such as Google Workspace or Zoho, instead.)
• 24/7 Support Systems: A standard ticket system, possibly supplemented by phone and online chat support.
• User-Friendly Control Panels: Like cPanel or Plesk, for effortless management of your website’s backend.
• Softaculous or Similar Tools: For easy installation of applications like WordPress. There is usually a large selection of applications available to use, for free. Explore whether there are services better suited to your needs; and these are all usually quite good.
• Basic Web Tools: Customizable error pages, access to error logs, and adding domain names to your sites.

Going Beyond the Basics

Better hosts often provide:

• Advanced Security Measures: Look for mentions of partnerships with companies like WordFence, Sucuri or CloudFlare.
• FTP over TLS or SFTP: For secure file transfers. (Don’t use insecure FTP, only “FTP over TLS” or “SFTP”.
• Staging Environments: Allowing you to test and perfect your site before going live.
• Technical Support: Knowledgeable in WordPress specifics, including backup and security measures.

By being aware of these outdated or inadequate security offerings, you can make a more informed decision and choose a hosting provider that takes the security of your WordPress site seriously.