WordPress hosting & Management: An overview
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This document discusses various options for hosting WordPress sites, including: - Shared hosting, where multiple sites share server resources, which offers low costs but limited customization options. - Dedicated and virtual private servers, which provide more control over server configuration but require managing server software. - Managed WordPress hosting, where WordPress is optimized but customization options are limited. - Cloud hosting, where infrastructure is managed programmatically through APIs, allowing horizontal scaling but requiring code skills. The document provides advice on choosing a hosting option based on factors like site traffic, security needs, customization requirements, and whether managing multiple sites.
WordPress hosting & Management: An overview
- 1. WordPress hosting and management Michael Houghton Depth of Focus Limited
- 2. “Where can I host my WordPress site?”
- 3. Almost anywhere. • WP is so popular that it heavily influences available hosting choices • Huge variety of hosting and support options • General PHP/MySQL or specialist WP hosting • Managed or unmanaged • WordPress can also operate in a multisite mode, hosting thousands of blogs
- 4. “Should I run WP on my own hosting… or just use it?”
- 5. wordpress.com • “Multisite” WP as a service, runs 50% of the world’s WordPress sites • Small set of general themes, and you can’t install your own plugins • You only need to maintain the content • Provides functionality and services you can use with the Jetpack plugin on “self-hosted” blogs
- 6. multisite as a service • Off-the-shelf WordPress providers targeting specific niche markets • Themes and functionality curated for that niche • Market-focussed support • None of the hassle of running your own server • Less scope to step outside the box
- 7. • Visual Society https://visualsociety.com/ • Conference Websites http://conference-websites.co.uk/ • Restaurant Engine https://restaurantengine.com/ • PressBooks https://pressbooks.com/ multisite as a service
- 8. “What kinds of hosting are out there?”
- 9. Early web hosting • Dedicated hosting: a server to yourself that you can configure as you require • Like leasing an entire building • Shared hosting: multiple websites on one web server • A bit like renting a desk in an office!
- 10. Dedicated servers • “bare metal”: a server or network to yourself • Perhaps even your own hardware through colocation • Full root (administrator) access; total freedom but also total responsibility • Sometimes offered with control panel software installed to ease configuration • Most ISPs offer fully managed service offerings
- 11. Shared hosting • Multiple sites all sharing the same resources • Simple disk and database quotas, files uploaded by FTP • Limited protection from unruly neighbours! • Getting an SSL certificate can be complicated • Options for configuring servers are limited
- 12. Virtual private servers • Servers divided into virtual machines • Each VM has all of the potential of a dedicated box • Adds hardware independence, easier upgrades, and security between customers • Also snapshot backups, rollbacks and cloning • But some offerings are oversold / poorly performing • Birthed cloud services like Amazon EC2
- 13. Containers • Evolution of virtualisation and the cloud; blurs the boundaries of hosting architecture • A container is a tiny slice of a machine, with just the resources needed for a single logical function • e.g. DB, webserver, memory cache, load balancer, front end cache • Docker containers can be “wired” to each other, reconfigured, scaled, moved transparently
- 14. “What about WordPress in the cloud?”
- 15. Cloud managed VPS • Server setup and configuration managed by ISP; your own server but safely and easily • Web control panel access to start and stop services, configure SSL • Often one-click installers for web apps or WP • API access for creating and configuring servers • Providers include Gandi and Cloudways
- 16. Cloud services and APIs • The cloud is internet-based storage and compute services under API control • APIs are remote web-based interfaces for code • Programmatically manage servers, storage or WP itself • Connect to external service providers, e.g. payments/invoicing, email providers • Build automations with Zapier, Microsoft Flow
- 17. WP is perfect for the cloud! • WordPress itself has common requirements: PHP and MySQL • Plugins add functionality to WordPress • To integrate a cloud service you might add a container or sign up for a third-party service • Install the matching plugin and connect it to your new service
- 18. Advanced Cloud VPS Write code that calls APIs to build infrastructure • create, boot, shut down VPS instances on demand • take and restore whole-box snapshot backups • write your own server installation scripts • update DNS, configure load balancers and firewalls • Providers include Google, Amazon, Digital Ocean, Bytemark
- 20. WP hosting as a service • Cloud hosting with WordPress-specific services from WP Engine, Kinsta, Pagely • Database backups, migrations, staging servers with publication tools • WP security: brute force login protection, API protection, vulnerability scanning • WP-aware caching and load-balancing • The hosting implementation is hidden from you
- 21. “So how do we decide what kind of hosting we really need?”
- 22. Scale • A site with many active users or high traffic may suit cloud hosting • Horizontal scaling: adding servers on demand • Load balancers • Dedicated database instances • Front end caching
- 23. Backups and source control • Backup services can be implemented as plugins • But bespoke or high-availability sites may need different backup strategies • Cloning a VPS makes it easier to develop and test new functionality • Managed WP hosting may interfere with source control software
- 24. Security Shared or managed WP hosting may be wrong for: • Directly handling credit cards (PCI DSS) • Access to secure databases • Large amounts of customer-identifying data • Choosing a legal jurisdiction for a server
- 25. SSL certificates You should use SSL, but it can complicate hosting significantly • Shared hosting often makes it difficult or expensive • Can you use your own SSL certificate bought elsewhere? • Managed hosting services often provide simple access to Let’s Encrypt free basic certificates!
- 26. Email • Many shared hosting and managed VPS providers limit access to SMTP (external mail) because of problems with spamming customers • You may need to use a transactional mail service, e.g. SendGrid, SendInBlue, MailJet or MailGun • Connect to it via SMTP or an API • Just install the matching plugin and configure it!
- 27. Bespoke functionality • Managed WP hosting may block non-WordPress software like DB management panels • They may also block your bespoke PHP scripts • You may want a specific service, e.g. a memory cache or key store like Redis • Some configuration tweaking will need an unmanaged VPS or dedicated hosting • You might run on an Windows VPS to use .NET
- 28. The command line You might want Secure Shell (SSH) access to the command line to run: • bespoke backup scripts • log file processors, configuration tools • WP-CLI Shared or managed WordPress hosting may not offer SSH access
- 29. “How can we easily manage lots of sites?”
- 30. Stay on the rails! If you build your sites the most “WordPress way” possible, you have more hosting choices • Avoid non-WordPress scripts, and keep plugin and theme functionality separate • Choose WP-based caching schemes • Choose plugins and themes that don’t subvert WP standards • Do scheduled maintenance with WP-Cron
- 31. Tips for multiple sites • Try to use a standard set of plugins • Don’t go overboard: choose plugins carefully • Make use of child themes support • Make good use of scheduled maintenance tasks • Try to avoid copy-paste-change solutions • Use source control such as Git for bespoke code
- 32. Remote management • Tools are available to remotely upgrade WP/ plugins/themes across dozens of sites at once • Some are hosted services (e.g. ManageWP) • Some (e.g. InfiniteWP, MainWP) are control panels you host yourself • Install a plugin on each site, add the site to the manager control panel
- 33. Jetpack • Integrate your own site with services provided by wordpress.com • Offers a remote management tool for sites on your own hosting • Offers traffic and stats tools, backups, security tools • Comment management across multiple sites
- 34. WP-CLI • An official command-line interface for WordPress • Integrates with WP and many plugins • Write commands and scripts to install and manage WP: wp core download wp plugin update --all wp plugin install wordpress-seo • Add to existing provisioning/configuration management