Cheapest WordPress web host?

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sailedpeep

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#230630 5-Mar-2018 21:41

I'm helping some teens build a website for a school newspaper and I've settled on WordPress for the CMS as I've had positive experiences with their free service before. I'm currently comparing options and am looking for some advice on which web host to choose, whether I need a NZ host etc. The main concern here is cost and we don't need email, etc.

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Prodigi

#1968551 5-Mar-2018 21:51

We're always happy to support (free/near-free) this kind of thing. My company does primarily wordpress hosting (so can help you set it up etc as well).

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michaelmurfy

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#1968557 5-Mar-2018 22:00

Yes ping a message to @danielfaulknor - he is very good.

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hairy1

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#1968631 6-Mar-2018 01:15

You could also take a look at Cloudways. I use them. They have Sydney based servers and the pricing is great.

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timmmay

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#1968638 6-Mar-2018 07:18

AWS has a small server free or near free for the first year, but setup is more complex as it's an enterprise environment, not a simple host.

xpd

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#1968663 6-Mar-2018 08:30

Or make it an extra exercise and get the students to setup their own hosting :D I run one using VirtualBox and use TurnkeyLinux.

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hairy1

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#1968747 6-Mar-2018 09:36

xpd:

Or make it an extra exercise and get the students to setup their own hosting :D I run one using VirtualBox and use TurnkeyLinux.

That's a good idea. xampp for PC would also work well as a local host.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

nampat

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#1968752 6-Mar-2018 09:43

I've used Hostinger for few wordpress websites, it works quite well. Quite cheap (Around $3 a month) and easy setup. Haven't encountered any issues in past year or so.

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xpd

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#1968755 6-Mar-2018 09:45

hairy1:

xpd:

Or make it an extra exercise and get the students to setup their own hosting :D I run one using VirtualBox and use TurnkeyLinux.

That's a good idea. xampp for PC would also work well as a local host.

Long as its not open to the public web, yeah, its an option - I use the Turnkey stuff because its all preconfigured and good to go, just set the VM network to bridged, point port 80 to it and away it goes :)

XAMPP etc can be quite fiddly if things go wrong ;)

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amanzi

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#1968756 6-Mar-2018 09:46

sailedpeep:

I'm helping some teens build a website for a school newspaper and I've settled on WordPress for the CMS as I've had positive experiences with their free service before. I'm currently comparing options and am looking for some advice on which web host to choose, whether I need a NZ host etc. The main concern here is cost and we don't need email, etc.

Some good recommendations in this thread already, I just wanted to mention that managing a Wordpress site is difficult, so it's best to go with a host that provides a managed Wordpress environment - one where they are accountable for securing and hardening the site and ensuring the performance is up to scratch.

sailedpeep

83 posts

Master Geek

#1968767 6-Mar-2018 10:05

amanzi:

sailedpeep:

I'm helping some teens build a website for a school newspaper and I've settled on WordPress for the CMS as I've had positive experiences with their free service before. I'm currently comparing options and am looking for some advice on which web host to choose, whether I need a NZ host etc. The main concern here is cost and we don't need email, etc.

Some good recommendations in this thread already, I just wanted to mention that managing a Wordpress site is difficult, so it's best to go with a host that provides a managed Wordpress environment - one where they are accountable for securing and hardening the site and ensuring the performance is up to scratch.

Does anyone have experience with WordPress.com? At $5 with a custom domain, it looks like the cheapest option and the easiest to operate/manage.

timmmay

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#1968828 6-Mar-2018 12:05

amanzi:

Some good recommendations in this thread already, I just wanted to mention that managing a Wordpress site is difficult, so it's best to go with a host that provides a managed Wordpress environment - one where they are accountable for securing and hardening the site and ensuring the performance is up to scratch.

Wordpress is about the easiest type of website to manage, in my experience, particularly on shared hosting. You have to keep it patched, but that can be automatic with a plugin like "advanced automatic updates".

stinger

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#1968830 6-Mar-2018 12:06

sailedpeep:

I'm helping some teens build a website for a school newspaper and I've settled on WordPress for the CMS as I've had positive experiences with their free service before. I'm currently comparing options and am looking for some advice on which web host to choose, whether I need a NZ host etc. The main concern here is cost and we don't need email, etc.

You're asking the wrong question. Before you look at who is cheapest, look at who offers the best security. Too many 'cheap' web hosts have very lax security practices, and don't provide proper updates of security-related issues (which Wordpress has had a fair few) and/or poorly configured machines.

danfaulknor

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Prodigi

#1968832 6-Mar-2018 12:08

stinger:

sailedpeep:

I'm helping some teens build a website for a school newspaper and I've settled on WordPress for the CMS as I've had positive experiences with their free service before. I'm currently comparing options and am looking for some advice on which web host to choose, whether I need a NZ host etc. The main concern here is cost and we don't need email, etc.

You're asking the wrong question. Before you look at who is cheapest, look at who offers the best security. Too many 'cheap' web hosts have very lax security practices, and don't provide proper updates of security-related issues (which Wordpress has had a fair few) and/or poorly configured machines.

Yep. You really need to either know what you're doing or use Managed Wordpress hosting these days.

Incidentally, we cater to both :)

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timmmay

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#1968854 6-Mar-2018 12:37

Looks like there's plenty of sales and scare tactics going on in here.

I've run Wordpress for going on ten years, first 6 on shared hosting, last 2 on an AWS. I've never had a security issue. I just tell Wordpress to keep itself updated, I update the OS and core software like PHP regularly (yum update), and I update Nginx every now and then.

danfaulknor

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Prodigi

#1968858 6-Mar-2018 12:41

timmmay:

<snip>

I just tell Wordpress to keep itself updated, I update the OS and core software like PHP regularly (yum update), and I update Nginx every now and then.

Don't forget about plugins and themes too. Across the 000's of Wordpress sites I host and/or manage, they're the most common attack vector.

they/them

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