Lost-Getting Started With Business Site

  • Unknown's avatar
    thinkingerrorfree · Member ·

    I am tired of my current website host for our company’s website. They have no direct email support (which I’m seeing already here with WordPress and it worries me a little since I don’t want to spend time on the phone getting transferred around and I have NEVER had a single “chat” person be qualified to answer my questions and am tired of wasting my time that way) – and my current provider is constantly getting blacklisted (because they also host a lot of spammers with shared hosting) so my emails are getting blocked when trying to communicate with some of our staff who use hotmail, and the SQL and storage options suck (especially for email). So – I am looking for a solution. However… questions:

    1. What the heck – does WordPress host its own websites? Why are there websites out there offering “managed” hosting with WordPress integration? WHY would I pay for WordPress (which is not actually cheap compared to other services) and then pay for someone else as a host in addition to it (seems like a headache to manage both)?
    2. It seems to me that wordpress is generally focused on being a fancy website building platform for folks who can’t do all the advanced programming (which would include me)… and then to have the business services (like email, SQL, storage), I’d need a host in addition to that?
    3. Following up – if I host a website and domain with WordPress, do I have email accounts? The “compare plans” says there’s email support – but no idea if I have emails?
    4. I could use WordPress to build our website (we have little to no traffic and it’s technically a formality for us), and pay the $25 per month (because the leap from the $8 to $25 plan looks to be leaps and bounds better although this already sounds like a shady business practice to me), and then get Google Workspace for quality email hosting for an additional $12 per user – but damn – that’s getting expensive. What happened to quality 1-stop shop stuff? Is that not an option here at WordPress? How is this site so popular if that’s the case?

    I am ready to switch website platforms asap, but I would appreciate it if someone at WordPress could answer this – or some users with some similar experiences could elaborate, please. Thank you.

  • staff-totoro · Staff ·

    Hi there,

    These are some great questions, I’ll take them one at a time if that is OK:

    What the heck – does WordPress host its own websites? Why are there websites out there offering “managed” hosting with WordPress integration? WHY would I pay for WordPress (which is not actually cheap compared to other services) and then pay for someone else as a host in addition to it (seems like a headache to manage both)?

    It will help if I clarify that WordPress was created as a free open-source piece of software (web application) that anyone could use to create and manage a website. To do that you had to manually install the software on your web host, which can be pretty complicated for anyone that is not a web professional.

    This is why you can have a WordPress site (to this day) on GoDaddy, Bluehost, Host Gator, etc. Even with those providers there are a lot of technical and manual tasks that you as the site owner would need to manage. WordPress.com was created as an alternative to that, where everything is set up and managed for you, so you can just focus on the site itself.

    With this in mind, you can have a WordPress site on WordPress.com (a managed service) or with a standard host. But you do not need us both, so it’s typically an either/or proposition.

    It seems to me that wordpress is generally focused on being a fancy website building platform for folks who can’t do all the advanced programming (which would include me)… and then to have the business services (like email, SQL, storage), I’d need a host in addition to that?

    No not exactly. At least here on WordPress.com we include storage which goes up according to the plan your site is on. But we configure that for you so there is no extra work on your part. We also help you with email configuration if you want to add a custom domain and email. SQL is something you can have access to if you wish (under our Business Plan) but you are correct that it’s pretty advanced and not something the typical website owner would need access to. But if you had a site on WordPress.com you would not need an additional host for that.

    if I host a website and domain with WordPress, do I have email accounts? The “compare plans” says there’s email support – but no idea if I have emails?

    Because we’re a managed provider, we do offer in-house support (most standard web hosts offer “hosting support” but not “WordPress support”) and that comes in a few different forms. If you set up a free site we offer support here in these public community forums. But as you upgrade your access to support improves. Some plans offer private support via email so you do not have to post in public, or even live-chat for real-time help with your site questions.

    The email you have on your site is a different matter. It’s not included free here, but can be added as we explain here: https://wordpress.com/support/add-email/

    I could use WordPress to build our website (we have little to no traffic and it’s technically a formality for us), and pay the $25 per month (because the leap from the $8 to $25 plan looks to be leaps and bounds better although this already sounds like a shady business practice to me), and then get Google Workspace for quality email hosting for an additional $12 per user

    It sounds like you are favoring the Business Plan over the Premium Plan, but I’m not sure that is always the best choice. If you can tell us about the specific functionality that you expect to need on your site, we’re happy to advise you on which plan may be the better fit.

    As well, while Google is a fine option for email, it’s not the only option. We don’t control the pricing for Google Workspace but you could consider our Professional Email option (powered by Titan Email) which is much more affordable and every bit the professional product that Google Workspace is.

    – but damn – that’s getting expensive.

    Also bear in mind that we are a managed provider, and you can usually find better deals on website costs by setting up a “self-hosted” WordPress site with a standard hosting provider. But if you are new to the platform one option you can consider is to start here, become familiar with WordPress and use our in-house support to help you get on your feet. Down the road as you feel more confident in managing your own site and hosting, you can migrate to another provider and realize a cost savings that way: https://wordpress.com/support/export/

    Hope that helps. Please let us know if you have any more questions.

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