Many people and businesses use WordPress — and hopefully by now we shouldn’t have to go through all the reasons you should be using WordPress. It is an incredibly powerful tool that can create anything from a simple blog to more complex and robust websites. WordPress is actually the most popular CMS in the world, accounting for about 20 million websites currently on the internet. However, website owners will agree that creating a stunning website is not all it takes to succeed on the internet. There are a lot of things that can go wrong, from incessant downtime, to poor page loading speed, and security issues. This is why choice of web host is one of the most critical decisions website owners are faced with.
Recently, there has been growing interest in moving WordPress websites to the cloud. The truth is that if you are using a platform that is as efficient as WordPress, it is only right that you use an equally effective hosting platform in order for your business to become a success.
WordPress on the Cloud vis-à-vis Other Hosting Platforms
WordPress on the cloud refers to hosting your WordPress website on a more efficient online infrastructure, such as Microsoft’s Azure stack or Amazon’s AWS.
First, let’s put this option in context with other more well-known hosting methods.
On site hosting
When you are running your website on a local server directly managed by yourself or your IT department, this is known as local or on site hosting. While this system might appeal to a few techs, it is not exactly a popular solution, as it means that you assume complete responsibility over the maintenance and security of your server, both software and hardware; making sure that everything is working optimally. Apart from the financial cost involved in this kind of hosting platform, the technical involvement is not something everyone can handle.
This is a more popular method of hosting WordPress websites, where the files and folders of your website are hosted on a remote server, along with hundreds or even thousands of other websites. Shared hosting is typically cheap and used by a lot of websites, even though it is unsuitable for websites requiring high performance or receiving heavy traffic. The hosting provider is the one to take care of all the technical requirements for server maintenance and in some cases backups; although the fact that different websites are hosted on one server can cause a lot of security issues.
Dedicated hosting
With dedicated hosting, your WordPress website is also hosted on a remote server but, this time around, it is hosted on a single server where the computing resources are for your website alone. For a lot of businesses, this is the ideal package to provide website availability, optimum performance, speed, and security although at an increased cost.
WordPress on the cloud
In order to provide your visitors with the information they need from your website, when they need it, you have to make sure that your website is always reachable regardless of location, device, or platform, and you should be able to do this without breaking the bank. Even the likes of Microsoft and Umbrellar Cloud acknowledge the fact that WordPress provides an alternative to on-site hosting or other popular forms of hosting. WordPress cloud hosting essentially allows you to upload your WordPress files and folders on a group of interconnected servers, and access them on demand. The wide network of servers makes it possible for users to access your website anywhere they are, without experiencing even the smallest of issues.
Hosting your WordPress website on the cloud has several benefits, which include:
Cost-effectiveness
While every hosting solution has its own cost implication, hosting your WordPress website on the cloud may make more sense financially, because it is often more cost efficient. For one thing, you are not tasked with the responsibility of maintaining the servers as you would with an on-site or VPS system. Additionally, the stability of cloud hosting will prevent problems with your WordPress website. Websites that experience downtime, compatibility and security issues lose hundreds of thousands in revenue every year. These are potential losses that can be avoided when you move your website to the cloud. After all, what business is not interested in reducing losses?
Growth ready
One of the goals of every business is to grow, and to grow inexpensively. No one wants to have to rebuild their system because they got bigger or smaller. The scalability feature of WordPress cloud hosting solves this problem. You get immediate added resources as your business grows or traffic increases. Also, if there is a need to scale down, you can do so. This means that your WordPress website will always be able to deliver, regardless of the amount of traffic it is swamped with.
Security
Even though WordPress, as a platform, is typically on point when it comes to security updates and features (when maintained properly), security is still a serious concern. This is because every day, new methods are being discovered and used to compromise businesses’ websites. This can significantly affect your online reputation, and make you lose visitors and customers. When your WordPress site is on the cloud, the complex and distributed nature of the servers makes it difficult for intruders to access and compromise it. Furthermore, cloud hosting comes with a lot of inbuilt security features, guaranteed to frustrate any cyber attack.
Improved performance
Unlike with on-site or other forms of servers that are prone to malfunction, websites hosted on the cloud enjoy improved performance. You cannot expect less from a website that is hosted on a wide range of interconnected servers. This provides everything from 100% uptime, to improved speed, easier access to content, and even SEO benefits. All the connected servers are completely optimized and working together to run WordPress in an efficient and seamless manner. Even if one server happens to go down, there is always another one to take its place.
Final Words
With WordPress cloud hosting, you can deliver a stunning website to the expectations of today’s internet users. Once you achieve this, you will enjoy many benefits, such as improved page rank, better exposure, and the freedom to grow. Also, do not forget to always backup your site!
If your plan is for your website to enjoy a level playing field, and compete with the big boys in your industry, then you may want to consider moving your WordPress website to the cloud!
Need help deciding which hosting platform is best for you? Contact us directly or leave us a note in the comments below!
