If you’re considering, say, launching a website, there are several basic web hosting aspects that you should be familiar with before starting the project. Although it’s relatively easy to sign up and use a provider’s supplied website-building software to swiftly create an attractive, functional front end, there are a lot of related terms and concepts to wrap your head around. As you’ll soon see, some of it is confusing, if not outright contradictory. Here’s what you need to know about web hosting before opening an account.

1. There’s a Big Difference Between Hosting Types

If you’ve spent any amount of time on a web host’s website, you’ve probably seen terms like shared, VPS, dedicated, cloud, WordPress, and reseller. They represent the different web hosting types, but not every web host offers them all. Plus, the hosting types differ from one another in significant ways.

Nearly every web host offers shared hosting, the cheapest form of web hosting. With shared hosting, your website shares a server and server resources with many other sites. If you want to keep your web hosting budget small, and don’t expect much traffic, shared hosting is the way to go. You should expect to pay less than $10 per month for this web hosting type. This level of hosting is really best suited for small sites that don’t need a huge amount of bandwidth, however. Since you’re sharing resources with other sites, you should be prepared for the occasional slowdown should one of your site-mates start attracting a lot of visitors. Free web hosting is available if you’re on a tight budget, which generally comes with its own caveats (typically ads and extremely low server specs). However, you can find Free hosting within The Core Hosting without limitations on the server specs.

Larger businesses that expect big traffic to their sites should pick VPS or dedicated hosting, each of which offers increasingly powerful server specs. VPS hosting is like a high-powered version of shared hosting, except that far fewer websites share a server’s resources, which are also a bit more segregated. VPS hosting costs more than shared hosting, but you should pay less than $100 per month.

Dedicated hosting places your site on a server all by itself, so it can leverage a server’s full power. This is the most expensive type of hosting; you may end up paying $100 per month or more for this raw power.

Reseller hosting lets you start your own branded web hosting business without worrying about building the infrastructure from scratch. WordPress hosting lets you build a site in an environment that caters to the world’s most popular content management system. And cloud hosting? That’s an entirely different beast that lets you easily scale website power across multiple servers, though not every web host offers it. Yet. The pricing for these hosting tiers are all over the place, so shopping around is vital.

2. Bandwidth Isn’t the Same as Data Transfer

“Bandwidth” and “data transfer” are frequently used interchangeably to define the amount of data that your website serves to visitors, but the terms, technically, do not have the same definitions.

Bandwidth represents the total amount of data that can be transferred at one time, while data transfer is the throughput or the actual amount of information that can be used over a given period of time—typically a month. Think of it like this: a web host may have a maximum 5GB bandwidth, but depending on your hosting plan, your site may only allow 1GB of data transfers per month.

Note: If your website exceeds its allotted monthly data transfers due to a Reddit hit, for instance, a web host may slow your site’s data transfer speeds or charge you a fee as a penalty. It may even prompt you to upgrade to a higher web hosting tier. It’s good to know your site’s data limitations before you run into situations like this.

3. Unlimited Isn’t Quite Unlimited

Web hosts will entice you to sign up for their web hosting plans by tempting you with the promise of unlimited storage or monthly data transfers. It’s generally not a completely honest deal. Now, I won’t say that these web hosts are straight up lying, but the “unlimited” storage or data transfers boasts nearly always have limitations that vary by company. FatCow, for example, offers “oodles” of disk space, and states that there’s no cap on a user’s content—as long as that person remains fully compliant with the company’s terms of service and utilizes storage “for the normal operation of your FatCow website.” It’s just like the bottomless shrimp buffet: Eventually a restaurant will cut you off, if they don’t simply run out of shrimp first.

Unlimited storage and data transfers are typically associated with shared or WordPress plans, and they let you run wild…within limits. If your blog gets a steady stream of reasonable traffic (whatever that may mean!), you’ll be in good standing. However, you shouldn’t expect to upload or stream 50TB of data per day. The average joe isn’t doing that is likely dabbling in some questionable activities.

You should consult a web host’s terms of service, or a customer service representative, to learn exactly what you can and cannot do within the scope of your plan’s unlimited offering. For example, here at The Core Hosting, We offer completely unmetered Data Transfer, Or otherwise known as “Bandwidth” for all of our services.

4. The Hard Disk Drive/Solid-State Drive Tradeoff

If you’re looking to sign up for shared web hosting, you’ll likely receive real estate on traditional hard disk Drive (HDD) server. The advantage of an HDD-based server is that it can offer large storage amounts on the cheap. As you move up the hosting ladder to more powerful offerings, such as VPS and dedicated, web hosts will give you the option to build a site on a solid-state drive (SSD).

SSD-based servers are lightning-fast storage units. SSD technology is still pretty pricey, so your SSD-based servers typically carry much smaller storage totals than HDDs. You’ll rarely see 1TB SSD servers, which is a number that’s commonplace in the HDD arena.

The SSD vs. HDD discussion is a lengthy one that goes well beyond the scope of this article. I recommend reading Tom Brant’s excellent SSD vs HDD: What’s the Difference?

5. A Linux Server Will Do…Most of the Time

Nearly every web host offers Linux as the operating system that powers their servers. In fact, I don’t think I’ve reviewed a web host that lacked the free, open-source OS. Even if you aren’t familiar with Linux, you don’t need to do any special work on the back end to build a website. Website builders make building sites a breeze.

That said, if your site needs the ASP or ASP.NET scripting frameworks, you’ll need to run with the Windows Server operating system. That’s because the script your write and webpages your produce will only function in a Windows-based environment.

There’s an additional benefit: Microsoft apps, such as Office or Outlook, integrate with the server with ease. The downside? Windows servers are incompatible with Linux-based, open-source software unless you do some tinkering. In addition, Windows servers cost approximately $10 to $20 more than their Linux equivalents, but if you need Microsoft’s tools it’s a small premium. Linux vs. Windows: How to Pick the Best Server OS for Your Website breaks down everything you need to know about these operating systems.

WordPress 6.0 closes the conceptual stage of the Gutenberg project Phase 2, bringing with it many enhancements to the full site editing, blocks, and global styles features.

This article will provide an overview of what to expect from WordPress’s next major release.

WordPress 6.0 Release Schedule

WordPress 6.0 is scheduled for release on May 24, 2022. The first beta release is expected on April 12, 2022, and you can Test it to explore the new planned features and report any bugs to the developers.

WordPress will launch several beta versions and release candidates before the final release. Here is the WordPress 6.0 timeline provided by the WordPress team:

Planned Features for WordPress 6.0

The previous major release has provided the foundation for full site editing with the Gutenberg editor and pattern library. We can expect considerable refinement of these features and new additions to create an even better site-building experience.

Now, let’s go through some of the highlighted features planned for WordPress 6.0. Note that this is not a definitive list, as the developers may change it as we approach the release date.

Site Editor

The site editor, launched in the previous major release, was a big step forward in page and post customization.

WordPress 6.0 will improve the editor by introducing new features and removing some limitations. Here are some expected site editor improvements in WordPress 6.0:

• Global style switcher. Users will be able to quickly switch between pre-made global style alternatives. This means you can implement a new global style without modifying the current one via the global style interface.
• Selecting text across multiple blocks. This new writing improvement lets you select text from multiple paragraph and heading blocks. If you try to do this in the current version, it will automatically select the entire block.

• Block style retaining. When you transform a block into a different block, this new feature will keep the block style, including color and typography. For example, the text color in a heading block will stay the same if you switch it to a heading block. This style retaining feature also applies to the button block when you add more buttons to the content.
• More template options. WordPress 6.0 will offer more options for template creation, such as author, category, and taxonomy.
• Decoupling themes from templates. Switching themes will not change any customized templates.

Browse mode and site navigation structurefor the site editor are expected to arrive in WordPress 6.0.

However, according to the WordPress 6.0 product walkthrough, these features are not ready yet.

Other than these major improvements, the new WordPress version will also provide UI improvements for the site editor, such as selectable blocks on the list view, the addition of a code editor and preferences for the main site editor, and better placeholders for various blocks.

Blocks

WordPress blocks will be significantly enhanced in WordPress 6.0, including the introduction of several new blocks. Here are some of the notable improvements to expect in the new release:

• New blocks. WordPress 6.0 will add post author biography and read more blocks. There’s also a plan to add 12 blocks for post comments, including comment form and comment loop blocks.
• Block style preview. Hovering over the block style options in the design tool will show a live preview in the content area.
• Block locking UI. WordPress 5.9 added the lock attribute, but users still need to tweak the code to lock a block. WordPress 6.0 will add a UI in the block toolbar to make locking a block easier.
• Featured image expansion. Featured images will no longer be limited to post featured image blocks. It will be possible to incorporate them into media and text blocks or cover blocks. This enhancement will improve the overall design possibilities.
• More transformation options. WordPress 6.0 will add six new block transformation options, including paragraph to code, group to row, and tag cloud to categories.
• Nested quote block. It will be possible to nest blocks and add paragraphs, lists, or code snippets inside the quote.

Patterns

Block patterns will be at the center of the site creation process in WordPress 6.0. WordPress has already kickstarted this by launching the pattern directory and pattern creator on the official website.

The main change planned is the replacement of the quick block inserter. If you click the plus icon in the content area of the site editor, the inserter will show pattern options instead of block options.

Another proposal is to use patterns for layout transformation. As of now, patterns are only used for creating new content. This proposal suggests that patterns should be able to transform the content layout without losing the existing content.

Design Tools

WordPress 6.0 aims to improve user experience, introduce more customization options, and expand API support in the design tools. There are also many smaller improvements, like a better color palette interface and border control.

Here are some of the significant improvements for the design tools in WordPress 6.0:

• Layout transformation for multiple blocks. WordPress 6.0 will add new options in the block toolbar and the design tool panel to transform multiple blocks. Users can select several blocks and use this feature to transform them into container blocks like group, row, and stack blocks.
• Custom post date format. The design tool for post date block will provide the option to use a custom date format.
• Gallery block gap spacing. The gallery block will have a block gap spacing configuration in the block design tool. This will allow users to better customize the layout of image galleries.
• Web Fonts API. The Webfonts API integration was excluded from the WordPress 5.9 release and will be re-introduced in WordPress 6.0. Users and theme developers will be able to add web fonts options to the global styles interface.
• Typography support for container blocks. Group, row, and stack blocks will have typography options.

Conclusion

WordPress 6.0 will bring significant improvements to the full site editing experience. We can expect more flexibility in the site editor and more customization possibilities thanks to the enhancement of the blocks and design tools.

WordPress developers will release the first beta version of WordPress 6.0 on April 12, 2022. You can Test it in a staging or testing environment to experience the features this major release will provide.

What does this mean for you?

If you’ve been keeping your PHP applications up to date (you should be!) then moving to a new version of PHP should be little to no problem. PHP applications that are being developed on a continual basis, will almost always be supporting the latest in server software. This is especially true for PHP applications.

However, we all have lives away from the screen and we tend to forget about the software we have installed to run our online website/applications. which means they tend to get overlooked when it comes to updates. If you’ve not been keeping your PHP apps up-to-date, then the first thing to do is check with the developer and see if there are updates to the applications you are using. If there are newer versions of your application, then updating your application should be relatively straight forward. Many of today’s PHP applications, such as WordPress, have the ability for automated updates to make moving to a new version fairly straight forward.

No matter what, however, The one thing you should make a top priority is moving away from PHP 5.6. Not moving away from 5.6 could lead to your site and serve being compromised, as security vulnerabilities will, and more than likely already have been found.

Why moving to PHP version 7.1 or higher is the right thing to do.

Speed!

PHP 7 saw a rewrite of the Zend Engine, introducing what is called ZendEngine NextGen, adding one of the largest speed enhancements to PHP applications ever. PHP 7.1 and higher versions add immense performance increases to PHP applications that were running on PHP 5. Most tests conducted show speed improvements of almost double to triple for WordPress and most common CMS applications.

Code compatibility

With a new Major version of PHP (That being 7.x), most application developers will be dropping support for 5.6. In most cases, without upgrading your PHP version, you will be unable to upgrade your application or will have issues if you do. In other words, the transition stage of migrating PHP applications seamlessly from PHP 5 to PHP 7 is closing fast.

Security

As of now, PHP 7.0 has already reached its EOL period and is no longer maintained. But PHP 7.2 does not end its EOL until January 1st, 2021, and PHP 7.3 until January 1st, 2022. This means you will always have security updates and fixes until those times.

How do I move to PHP 7.1 or higher?

That’s the easy part! If you are one of our DIY or Managed WordPress Hosting clients, no need to worry about upgrading because you’re already using the most current version! If you’re hosting with another provider, the best thing to do is to check with their support team to see if they have them available. Alternatively, on Cpanel based systems, you can easily swap version using the build-in MultiPHP version change system.

Motivated to move away from PHP 5.6?

Hopefully, we have helped you to see the benefits of moving away from PHP 5.6. If you want to move away, and either is not able to or do not know how to, then contact us! With our new Managed WordPress Service, we will help maintain, update, secure and optimize your WordPress site, and help the transition process much easier. Or make the migration to us today, We will match or do better than your current pricing! We offer both DIY(Do it Yourself) hosting for those who want to control all aspects of their site, as well as Managed WordPress Hosting where we take care of all the backend work for you! Contact our sales team today!

What is Managed WordPress Hosting? There’s no denying that WordPress is a standout among the most amazing site frameworks available today. It offers broad Search engine optimization abilities, strong security, and all the customization a developer may require. WordPress additionally has an overall network of engineers, bloggers, and specialists devoted to developing and enhancing the open-source system. In any case, organizations hoping to embrace WordPress should initially recognize the contrast between Managed WordPress Hosting and unmanaged, or shared hosting, WordPress Hosting. Understanding the nuanced advantages of Managed WordPress Hosting can enable you to settle on the best decision for your business site.

WHAT IS MANAGED WORDPRESS HOSTING?

Managed WordPress hosting is a professional service that controls and maintains the technical elements of a WordPress website. Managed WordPress hosts are a more sophisticated option for businesses and institutions in all industries, offering invaluable advantages, such as cutting-edge security, superior customer support, optimal site speed, improved performance, and a variety of other benefits.

UNMANAGED VS. MANAGED HOSTING

While unmanaged hosting is traditionally less expensive than managed WordPress hosting, unmanaged sites often offer minimal features and require much more work to create and maintain. The minimal nature of unmanaged WordPress hosts can be a great option for individuals, bloggers, or independent contractors looking to create a personal website or establish an online presence. It can also help engineers and other individuals who want to learn more about WordPress development and customization.

For businesses trying to grow their brand and expand their audience reach, however, managed WordPress is a much more effective and reliable option. Why? Because managed WordPress hosts like The Hosting Guy oversee the more challenging and technical aspects of a WordPress business site. For example, managed hosts conduct routine backups, monitor site downtime, and ensure speed and reliability. Managed WordPress sites almost always guarantee faster site speeds, despite the amount of traffic your website receives. And with automatic updates, you’ll always have the most up-to-date version of WordPress — without having to spend time checking for updates and waiting for downloads.

With the specific knowledge and skills required to manage such technical elements, managed WordPress hosts provide business owners with a hassle-free experience and piece of mind. As a result, investing in managed WordPress frees up resources that website owners can dedicate to other key areas of business development.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MANAGED WORDPRESS HOSTING?

The number of sites relying on managed WordPress has grown rapidly in the last seven years, and it has become a dominant content management system for companies of all sizes and industries. And if you’re considering a managed WordPress host for your company, it’s important to understand the main differences between managed hosting and unmanaged hosting.

Here’s a more detailed look into four key benefits of managed WordPress hosting.

SITE SECURITY

One of the most beneficial aspects of managed WordPress hosting is that it offers unparalleled security. With an unmanaged WordPress site, for example, you’re responsible for finding the right tools, scans, and updates you need to keep your site secure. This might work if you’re a one person team who has experience in malware and file scanning and DDoS mitigation. If not, no problem. Managed sites implement the highest level of security on your site, plus they’ll conduct daily backups, malware scans and frequent updates that prevent hackers from disturbing your website.

UPTIME MONITORING

The speed and performance of your WordPress site has a direct impact on your search engine rankings and your user experience. So when your website experiences slow speed, downtime, or other performance issues, it’s important to identify and remedy these issues promptly. Most managed WordPress hosts offer 24/7 website monitoring, so business owners don’t have to worry about checking their site’s performance at every waking moment. For busy business owners who want to maintain a strong reputation and customer experience, performance monitoring is a huge plus of Managed WordPress.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

When you invest in managed WordPress hosting, you’re paying for highly-skilled support agents that can assist with all your needs 24/7. Managed WordPress hosts train support technicians who can understand the technical nuances of WordPress, helping to solve both common and complex problems. For example, The Hosting Guy equips every member of its support team with a comprehensive skill set and contextual client knowledge. Every person who calls The Hosting Guy support receives consistent, high-quality support tailored to their website’s specific needs. This is just one example of how technical support differs between managed and unmanaged WordPress.

CUSTOMIZABLE HOSTING SOLUTIONS

Most managed WordPress hosts have the customization capacity to support all industries, from higher education, to eCommerce companies, and everything in between. If you’re in the healthcare industry, for example,
The Hosting Guy supports regulatory compliance statues like HIPAA. If you’re an online retailer, you can protect cardholder security through PCI DSS support. Additionally, managed WordPress sites can be a great solution for agencies. By managing critical site elements like server management, speed tuning and caching, agencies can launch creative work confidently and securely.

CHOOSING A MANAGED WORDPRESS HOST

Once you’ve decided that managed WordPress hosting is right for you, it’s time to choose the right provider. And while many managed WordPress hosts are designed to support a variety of industries, every website’s needs are unique and some hosts may meet your needs better than others. This article features reviews of managed WordPress hosts, and it’ll provide you with some industry-specific details. If you’re new to managed WordPress hosting, this is a great place to start learning about the marketplace.