With 2024 just having started you might be tempted to make some New Year’s resolutions. Should your resolutions include finally making your own blog or website, you might profit from my experiences.
The Setup
I am using a managed hosting solution. What does this mean? You pay a provider for the “full package” you need to get your site up and running.
The minimum you need is:
- Domain and SSL certificate
- Hardware Resources (storage, memory, cpu) on which your WordPress will run on
Often also included:
- some backup strategy
- DDoS protection
- maleware scans
After choosing your provider and product of choice, you will end up with a WordPress login for your WordPress admin backend.
What you have to Manage
Your hosting provider provides the hardware and takes care of its functionality. During the setup, WordPress will also be installed and “linked” to your domain. If you do not specifically pay for it, you have to manage your WordPress, plugins and theme updates on your own. This also means keeping track of security issues and taking measures against vulnerabilities is your responsibility.
Costs
My personal setup includes my business e-mail and my domain as well as the simplest WordPress hosting plan. The prices vary but I think you should end up somewhere between 10€ and 20€ monthly depending on your needs.
I ran with the free Cenote theme for the first three months but decided to upgrade to a lifetime pro license because I enjoy the theme. If you are happy with a free theme I recommend waiting for a sale, since the lifetime licenses can cost around several hundred euros.
Noteworthy
Apart from the updates and security you are also responsible for ensuring that your website meets legal requirements. I keep it simple and use only self produced images. Another low hanging fruit is to check that all sources you see in the network tab are loaded directly from your domain (otherwise you might need a cookie consent banner).
