What You Need to Know about Web Hosting and Servers

By Mike Simpson – Designer / Educator and founder of Tdot Shots and Tdot Create Connect

If you’re setting up a website, one of the first (and most confusing) steps is picking a web host. There are a lot of myths and misunderstandings about web hosting. After working with websites and hosts since 1998, I’ve seen what works—and what doesn’t. Here’s what you should know before spending your hard-earned money and deciding on a platform for your site.

To make things a little easier I formatted this using AI with bold keyword highlights. This text is based on a ten minute voice recording I drafted from my experiences over twenty years using a half dozen different web hosts.

If you have any comments or want to share your experience please get in touch. I’d love to hear from you.

This text contains some affiliate links. I may make a small commission if you click through and purchase some of these services. Thank you.

1. You Need a Web Server to Host a Website

Every website needs a web server. There are many hosting companies, some famous (like GoDaddy and Bluehost), and others less known but hosting millions of websites (like Namecheap and Cloudways).

My current recommendations:

• Namecheap: Affordable and reliable for small websites.
• Cloudways: Premium cloud hosting for important projects.

2. How WordPress Works on a Server

If you’re using WordPress, here’s a simple breakdown:

• WordPress uses PHP to dynamically generate web pages from a database.
• The content (text, images, layouts) lives in the database, not as static files.
• Common web server software: Apache and Nginx, running on Linux (e.g., Debian).

Note: Some hosts (like Cloudways) combine Apache and Nginx for performance.

For the database, WordPress primarily uses MySQL or MariaDB, with MariaDB often being the preferred choice due to its performance and security benefits, but PostgreSQL can also be used with a plugin.

There is a further type of server called Litespeed is used at a few hosts like Namecheap and WHC. It is regarded as fast and reliable.

3. Why PHP and Database Version is Critical

Always check the PHP version your host uses!

• Outdated PHP (like 5.6) = slow and insecure.
• As of 2025, PHP 8.0 or higher should be your minimum.

Some hosts may still default to PHP 7—avoid them. WordPress, the most common web builder platform or CMS, recommends: “your host supports: PHP version 7.4 or greater. MySQL version 8.0 or greater OR MariaDB version 10.5 or greater.” Review current requirements at their site: https://en-ca.wordpress.org/about/requirements/

4. Start Small — Upgrade as You Grow

Don’t fall for the “biggest package” upsell if you’re just starting.

• Entry-level hosting can often handle dozens of visitors concurrently
• Pick a plan that allows multiple sites—you may want more than one in the future.
• Upgrade later if your needs grow.

5. Monitor Your Site’s Uptime

Choose a host that offers at least 99.9% uptime. Use free tools to monitor:

• Uptime Robot
• Better Stack

Both of these have free services that take just a few minutes to set up. Basic monitoring should be fine at start. I have a friend using a web host that claims 99.99% uptime but is more often delivering 98% uptime. This is unacceptable.

Consider that companies like Cloudways claim a more realistic 99.90 uptime which is very very good. Cloudways for example, has given two of my clients 100% uptime for 2 years—much better than some shared hosts like Bluehost where their sites were often offline for a few hours a month.

6. Avoid Unnecessary Upsells

During checkout, hosts will try to sell extras you don’t need:

• Just buy a domain and web hosting to start.
• You can buy them from different companies—it’s easy to connect them.

Example:

• Domain from Namecheap or Cloudflare (great low prices).
• Hosting from Cloudways.

Tip: You don’t need a technical background to login to the domain manager or web host panels and figure out things like your ip address or DNS settings. Copy and paste where needed and your site can go live easily.

7. Email Hosting: Keep it Separate if Needed

Some hosts include email, but storing email on your hosting account uses up space and file limits.

• I use Microsoft 365 (Outlook) for professional email—keeps things separate and efficient.
• Google Workspace is a well known competitor to Outlook- used by businesses and schools
• Some recommend Zoho which is affordable and professional

8. Shared Hosting vs. Cloud Hosting

• Shared hosting (e.g., Namecheap) = good for beginners or small sites
• Cloud hosting (e.g., Cloudways) = faster, more reliable for growing or important websites.

Be aware that some hosts like Bluehost or GoDaddy may crowd your server with other sites. These crowded servers may offer low performance. to avoid this you may need a business package. However I find Namecheap shared hosting defies this trend and is usually reliable.

Bonus: Cloudways lets you choose server locations close to your audience. Since most of my visitors are in Toronto and Canada, I picked the smallest DigitalOcean server in Toronto—super fast for local traffic! It starts at about $11 US per month.

9. Be Cautious with Long-Term Contracts

Don’t lock yourself into a 3-year deal to “save 30%”—test the service first!

• Start with monthly or annual plans for maximum one year at a time
• Monitor uptime, test speed, and upgrade/renew later if you’re satisfied.

10. Wix, Squarespace = expensive, limited

You may ask why I only discussed conventional web hosts and platforms like WordPress. While alternate CMS options like Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify can fulfill the needs of most artists and small businesses, they often have expensive upgrades and are limited in their portability. WP is often the best solution, even for non techies.

Namecheap and Cloudways along with Canadian-based services like Web Hosting Canada are decent options for most people for their web hosting and domain needs.

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Final Thoughts

To recap:

• Start small, upgrade when needed.
• Use PHP 8.0 or higher for security and speed.
• Avoid unnecessary upsells and long-term contracts.
• Monitor uptime to ensure reliability.
• Consider cloud hosting (like Cloudways) if you want premium service.
• Choose a server location close to home or your customers.

Setting up a website shouldn’t be complicated or expensive if you plan smartly. Hope these tips help you avoid mistakes I’ve seen (and made!) over the years.

If you’re considering Cloudways or Namecheap, feel free to reach out—I have affiliate links and can help guide you through setup.

Thanks for reading!  

By the way, if you are interested in experimenting with a WordPress site you may be interested in a premium membership on our site Tdot Connect aka Tdot.co. Get a WP site and take our course to master the basics before deciding long-term if this platform will work for you.

Visit Tdot.co for more information.

LINKS

Note: your host may provide you with free or cheap SSL services for at least your first year. Beyond that period you can connect with Cloudflare for their excellent free service.