Minimum Requirements
Once you have registered your domain name, you are ready to purchase hosting for WordPress. It is important to make sure that whatever host that you choose has the minimum requirements for running a WordPress installation. If the minimum requirements are not met, your website will not function properly. If all of this sounds like too much trouble, just scroll down a bit further and you’ll see a couple of hosting providers that do meet these requirements.
- PHP version 5.2 or greater
- MySQL version 5.0.15 or greater
- Required for multi-site: Apache mod_rewrite module for clean URIs known as Permalinks
WordPress server requirements for Version 2.9, 3.0, 3.1:
- PHP version 4.3 or greater
- MySQL version 4.1.2 or greater
- Required for multi-site: Apache mod_rewrite module for clean URIs known as Permalinks
HostGator for Hosting WordPress Blogs
I’ve used a few different web hosting companies over the years. I highly recommend HostGator. Why?
- They have all the requirements for a WordPress website
- Their prices are great
- Their uptime is outstanding (how often their servers are operating, not down with problems or maintenance)
- If you ever have a question, even at 3 in the morning, you can get help in just a few minutes with their live chat service.
- They have a tool called Fantastico that will quickly install WordPress for you.
- PLUS, they have a ton of instructional videos, including one showing you how to install WordPress using Fantastico!
Another WordPress Hosting Option
I can’t personally vouch for them because I’ve never used them, but WordPress.com advertises Bluehost as a good hosting company to use. They do have a program that will install WordPress for you so that you don’t need to install it manually. The instructions on this website for installing WordPress will not work for Bluehost, but I’m sure that is just as easy. They also offer a free domain name for one year which isn’t technically free. They credit your account for the cost when you sign up, and you pay the full price each year after the first year. I still highly recommend that you register one on your own through GoDaddy so that you have full control over it (as mentioned in the previous step).
