Article by Vanessa Davis from “WHS”

WordPress is among the most popular blogging software and millions of sites and blogs run on it. There are also many web hosting companies, which have specialized in WordPress hosting, so if you have already decided that you will be running your blog on WordPress, the next step is to choose the right host for your WordPress blog.

Why You Need WordPress Hosting and Not Just a Random Web Hosting Provider

When you are choosing the right host for your WordPress blog, you might be wondering what is so special about WordPress hosting that you can’t do without it. As a matter of fact, you can go with a web hosting provider who doesn’t explicitly label themselves as WordPress hosting and this doesn’t mean that the service you will be getting won’t be top-notch  but it is much better if you select a web hosting provider with experience in WordPress hosting.

When you choose a web hosting provider with experience in WordPress hosting, this is much better because the hosting provider will know how to administer servers, where WordPress blogs are hosted. Well, most likely you will still have to install your WordPress blog on your own (or use Fantastico) rather than hope that your web hosting provider will do this for you (though there are such offers on the market) but an indisputable benefit of choosing a WordPress hosting provider is that they will have more experience in configuring the host operating system and the other software (i.e. Apache and PHP) the way a WordPress blog requires it.

There are many settings in the operating system, the Apache server, or the PHP environment, which are specific for a system where WordPress blogs are deployed. In many cases it is possible to run WordPress even if these settings are not modified, but this leads to all sorts of problems, including security and performance issues.

Criteria to Choose the Right Host For Your WordPress Blog

There isn’t a universal list about the criteria a web hosting provider should meet in order to be considered the right WordPress host but generally in addition to the typical requirements a would-be client has to his or her hosting provider, such as a reliable service, no frequent downtime, friendly and competent support staff, etc., some criteria in relationship to experience with WordPress are also important. Here are some questions you could ask your potential WordPress hosting provider:

If I become a customer of yours, will I be able to install WordPress?This might sound an obvious question but you need to start with it. The majority of web hosts on the market support WordPress but this won’t help much, if the one you are about to choose doesn’t
Which operating system you use?WordPress can be deployed on both Windows and Linux (the two most common web hosting operating systems) but if you prefer one of them, you need to know in advance if you will be able to host your WordPress blog on the operating system of your choice.
Which version of PHP you use?The version of PHP your would-be hosting provider uses is more important than the operating system because if they don’t use the PHP version your version of WordPress requires, this is of no use to you. Generally information about the operating system and the version of PHP is available on the site of the web hosting provider, so you can check this before you contact them in person.
What is your experience with WordPress?This is a very important question because if your would-be hosting provider is just learning what WordPress is, this usually means they won’t be able to provide an adequate service. The good news is that if a web hosting provider states that they are a WordPress hosting company, this usually means they have the required experience and competencies to host WordPress blogs.

Choosing a WordPress hosting is not very difficult but you need to do your homework because if you pick a web hosting provider with a poor service, this can hurt you a lot.

here some review to help you to choose the right host for your wordpress blog