How to Find a Web Hosting Provider for How to Thursday
(ok, so we missed it on Tuesday):
In addition to being a partner here at MomDot, I have my own Mom and baby product review blog over at The Not-So-Blog. Honestly, I began my blogging journey as a way to enter contests and win free stuff (Trisha totally sucked me in)! Little did I know that blogging would be addictive. My little blog began to evolve and before I realized it, I was actually learning something!
Recently, I decided to take several steps to make my blog more “me.” I bought my domain name, switched formats to WordPress and began self-hosting. The girls here at MomDot have been extraordinarily helpful and guided me every step of the way. But I have to tell you, it is still overwhelming! There are so many options in web hosting that my head began to spin. What host was the right choice for me and my blog?
I wanted to tell you all about a cool site to do all of your research in web hosting called Web Hosting Geeks. This site summarizes and organizes many of your web hosting choices and breaks down what they have to offer. Actual users have the ability to review and rank the service they receive. Want to see how people feel about BlueHost or Hostgator? Check it out BEFORE you commit! You can view categories such as Best Blog Hosting, Best Forum Hosting and Top 5 Dedicated Servers.
There really is a server for just about any need! Did you know there was such a thing as Green Hosting? Green web hosts use alternative energy, plant trees, and recycle. You can feel good about supporting a company that does their part to save the Earth!
So, if you are thinking about switching your web hosting provider, start by visiting Web Hosting Geeks and sort through your choices! Then come back to MomDot and use all of the fabulous resources here to grow your blog!
~Bridgette
Thank you for the useful information. It really helps me, at least, since I now try to start a new blog and I want it different from all the others.
Hi! (and feel free to remove this if it feels like spam to you) but I wanted to let you know about another smaller green web host that’s partially women-owned that isn’t on the web hosting geeks site. It’s called Taproot Hosting. ( http://www.taproothosting.com ) Taproot is 100% wind-powered, so it’s a step beyond a simple ‘carbon neutral’ host — in that we purchase clean wind energy directly from PGE’s wind farms in Southern Oregon. No need to buy carbon offset certificates because our power is carbon-free.
We’re genuinely green, we’re not a corporate mega-host, and our customer service is kinda awesome. As a women-focused blog, I just thought you might want to know about this. 
Thank you for the advices, first of all. Choosing a blog host is really important, if you ask me, maybe as important as choosing the keywords for your site, or the content itself.
I have been thinking about buying my own domain name and self hosting my site. However, I am worried about losing followers, page and SEO rankings. Currently, if you Google “Last Shreds Of Sanity”, I am the first 7 or so listings (so cool), but what happens when you leave blogger for a self hosted domain name?
It is all just so confusing and scary to me.
As usual. This is great information. I’m with BlueHost and am very satisfied. Mind you, I don’t need much so I haven’t really put them to the test. I never heard about Green Hosting before.
I think it’s an awesome idea.