I started writing this guide a while back even before I started providing the service here, because I got asked so many questions about it.
A self-hosted WordPress solution will bring you many advantages if you are looking to build, grow and invest your time and money into a blog.
Some of those advantages that you will have are full control of the hosting, plus you will be able to customize your website or blog and you will not rely on a free service to protect your investment. You are going to be able to move to different companies at any time which gives you the freedom of making decisions about your blog, like having your customized design, by yourself.
Knowing that, there are certain points that you should consider about a company that provides a WordPress installation service.
These points will help you understand what types of services you need and what part of features you should focus on, instead of only making your decision based on your budget which is never the best idea.
With all that being said, let’s jump into the points.
What do you need?
Make a list of all the services that you want to offer or may want to have in the future. This will help you compare companies and make a budget plan.
Some of the things you should consider are:
- What plugins do I want?
- Do I want to host it myself or do I want for the company to host it for me?
- Am I looking for monthly help (automatics backup, customization, support, disaster recovery) or am I looking for a simple installation only?
Security, Security, Security
I repeated this three times, because this is very important. Make sure the company you hire for your website is including security features. A company that doesn’t care about including security is probably not professional enough to provide you with a great service.
Ongoing service and support
You may want to maintain the website yourself, but if you don’t want to have the trouble in the future when the website grows, you will probably want to outsource that service. So, make sure that the company offers a monthly service. Some of the monthly services that you should look for are WordPress updates, plugin updates, automatic backups, support, and disaster recovery.
Hosted for you or hosting it by yourself?
To get started, hosting is not the most expensive feature. There are plenty of good hosting companies out there that provide a fine service. Although you can do the hosting yourself, try looking for a company that offers the service for you. Normally this will include support and can help you in the future when your website grows and hosting becomes more difficult.
What’s the level of expertise of the company? Which types of services do they offer?
Which services the company can offer you is important for the future of your website. Many times you will need help with troubleshooting, with customization and with questions you may have. Does the company have enough experience? Are you getting professional work? It is important that you look for a professional and dedicated company that has a tracked background and where the employees know what they do.
Getting somebody to watch your back in case things go wrong is always highly useful. Remember that bad things can happen and the only thing you can do is to be ready from the beginning so you won’t regret it later. This leads me to the next point.
What type of support
Support is a very important aspect. Is this company ready to provide great support? Or do they vanish after the launch and will not help you in case you need some extra help? Will you need to wait a month to edit a simple WordPress theme? Will they help you in a week or less? These are the details when it comes to support that will show you what you want from a company. You can get that answered by simple emailing the company your questions about their services. If they reply quickly, they answer your questions correctly and offer you help, you may have found a good company to work with.
Do you ‘speak’ WordPress?
Do you have a lot of WordPress knowledge? Are you willing to take the time to make things happen? If you know how to maintain a WordPress website and you are willing to do a lot of things by yourself already, then you should be looking for a simple solution that gets you off the ground. The installation price can go from one fee for the installation (normally around $50 to $200)to a more advanced custom solution for up to a few thousand dollars. It all depends on what you want.
To make a successful website it requires a lot of time and effort. For that reason you may want to outsource all the technical aspects from the WordPress installation to the maintenance. This will free up a lot of your time to work on marketing and writing more content.
Writing this kind of post made me think about you. I’d really like to know about your past experiences. Have you used a company to provide these services before? Or do you prefer to do the WordPress Installation yourself?
Also, what benefits and features would you look for in these types of services?
