Our Commitment to WordPress: We’re All In

“We grew up with WordPress,” said Bryan Muthig, CEO/Founder of A2 Hosting. “Everything we’re doing as a company is focused on WordPress, leveraging our 21 years of experience and expertise. From product development and support to hiring, training, and marketing, every aspect of our business is designed to enhance the WordPress experience.”

Those efforts are focused on our key customers, or customer partners: WordPress agencies and web professionals who build, launch, and maintain WordPress projects for their clients.

Introducing Our New Community Growth Team

We’re excited to announce the formation of our new Community Growth Team, a testament to our commitment to supporting our key customer partners. This team is led by veteran WordPress community leaders Cory Miller, as Chief Evangelist, and Katie Richards, as our Community Growth Project Manager.

“The closer we stay to our customers, the better it’s going to be for everyone. If our customers win, we win. It always starts with our customers — it always has and it always will,” said Bryan Muthig. “This team led by exceptional WordPress veterans, Cory and Katie, is another step in showing our deep commitment to WordPress and our customers.” 

Cory Miller

Cory brings a wealth of experience and a passion for WordPress and WP businesses, since 2006. As a veteran entrepreneur, his leadership, vision, and values will drive our efforts to connect with and support our customer partners as well as tell their stories and ours. 

“I’ve known Cory for a long time and seen what he’s accomplished in WordPress, first building some of the first commercial products for WordPress at iThemes, then growing community at Post Status, it’s always his passion for people, especially entrepreneurs and business owners, that resonates most with me,” said A2’s COO Paul Carter. “And as we were looking to expand our commitment in the WordPress community and specifically to WordPress agencies and web professionals, there was no one better to lead our efforts.”

Katie Richards

Katie Richards, our Community Growth Project Manager, has successfully overseen WordPress community initiatives and shown strong project management abilities across numerous projects and companies in the WordPress space. Her expertise in community engagement, organization, and leadership will be crucial in building strong, lasting relationships with our agency partners and web professionals.

“From her work at Post Status to her community efforts helping organize WordCamp Grand Rapids to WordPress US, I’ve seen Katie be an absolute force in the WordPress community. And I’m ecstatic to have her join us here at A2,” said Aaron Campbell, A2’s Director of Product and veteran WordPress contributor. “What resonates most to me is how she does her work. It’s human-focused and thus purposeful and impactful.”

The Work of Our A2 Community Growth Team: It’s About Our Agency Partners

Our Community Growth Team’s mission is simple yet impactful: Show up as your agency’s essential partner in your business and work. 

Your success is our success. 

This team will do that by focusing on three key areas:

• Connection — As your partner, champion and advocate, we will be building deeper, more supportive relationships with WordPress agencies and web professionals.
• Community — Building mutually beneficial experiences for our customer-partners, both online and in-person, through WordCamps and our own events.
• Content — Creating impactful WordPress agency content and resources to support our partners in their work as well as sharing our news and initiatives for them.

Moving Forward Together

Our new Community Growth Team is a significant step forward in our commitment to WordPress and our customer partners. We believe that by fostering connection, community, and content, we can create a supportive ecosystem that benefits everyone involved.

Thank you for being a part of the A2 Hosting family. Together, we can build a brighter future for WordPress and achieve great things.

Stay tuned for more updates and initiatives from our new A2 Community Growth Team. We look forward to working closely with you and supporting your success every step of the way.

The post Announcing A2 Hosting’s New Community Growth Team: Another Step Forward in Our WordPress Commitment appeared first on The A2 Posting.

As a beginner, you’ll want a blog hosting platform that’s simple and user-friendly yet powerful enough to grow with you. But with so many options out there, how do you choose the perfect one?

In this article, we’ll cover the top features you need to look for in a blogging platform, compare popular options like WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix, and discuss the benefits of hosting with a dedicated provider. 

Choosing the Right Blogging Platform: What to Consider 

From cost and customization to control and scalability, each of these elements plays an important role in the success and growth of your blog:

Price

Balancing cost with features is crucial when selecting a blogging platform. While there are plenty of free and cheap options available, not all of them offer comprehensive tools or flexibility. 

If you’re a beginner, you’ll want to prioritize your budget, but also keep in mind that you may need to upgrade as your blog grows. Look for platforms that offer scalable pricing options, so you can adjust your plan as needed without breaking the bank.

Themes and Templates

By choosing a responsive and professional-looking theme, you can make a great first impression on your readers. 

Setting up your website is much easier if you have access to pre-built themes and templates. Instead of starting from scratch, you just need to choose a theme that fits your niche and customize it to match your branding. Platforms that offer a wide range of customization options, including the ability to change colors, fonts, and layouts, will be your best bet. 

When your blog grows, you may need to add new pages or sections. Being able to reuse templates simplifies this process, allowing you to maintain a consistent look and feel across your site. 

Content Editor

The content editor is where you’ll spend most of your time creating and formatting your blog posts, so choose a platform with a reliable editing system. 

WordPress is a popular choice for its user-friendly editor that’s perfect for beginners and experienced bloggers. With a wide range of formatting options and customization features, WordPress makes it easy to create engaging and visually appealing content. 

Storage

When you start blogging, you’ll need plenty of storage for all your multimedia content. That’s why it’s important to choose a platform that offers scalable storage options so you can upgrade your blog’s storage capacity without having to switch to a different platform. 

To ensure scalability, opt for a platform that offers Solid-State Drive (SSD) and Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) storage options. These types of storage offer faster performance, which can help your blog load faster and improve the user experience. 

Security Features

To protect your content and your readers’ information from threats like data breaches and malware, you’ll need to adopt some essential security measures. 

For starters, a free Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate is a must-have for every blogger. This certificate encrypts the data between your blog and your readers’ devices, ensuring that any sensitive information is protected.

Another essential security feature is protection against DDoS attacks, which can overwhelm your blog with bot traffic, causing it to crash or become unavailable. By having security measures in place to prevent DDoS attacks, your blog remains accessible, even during high-traffic periods. 

Security features also play a crucial role in building trust with your readers. If your blog isn’t secure, it can damage your reputation and discourage readers from visiting your site. 

SEO Features

Once your blog is live, you might find yourself wondering how to attract the right visitors. That’s where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in. 

SEO is all about optimizing your blog to rank higher in search engine results, which can bring you more traffic. But SEO can be a bit tricky to navigate, especially for beginners. 

That’s why you should choose a blogging platform that offers SEO features, such as customizable meta tags, SEO-friendly URLs, and sitemap generation. These features can help you optimize your blog for search engines and improve your visibility online. 

Scalability

When you start a blog, there’s no way to tell how much it’ll grow or how much traffic it might receive. Therefore, it’s crucial to choose blog hosting platforms that prioritize scalability and can easily accommodate more traffic as you grow. 

Opting for scalable hosting solutions means you’ll never have to worry about website downtime or losing visitors due to other technical issues. 

Extensions and Integrations

Extensions and integrations can really take your blog to the next level, as they allow you to add new features and functionality. 

One of the great things about platforms like WordPress is their vast ecosystem of plugins. These plugins cover every functionality you can imagine, from SEO and analytics to eCommerce and social media. Some useful plugins for bloggers include:

• • Rank Math: Optimize your blog for search engines, making it easier for readers to find your content. 
  • Akismet: Protect your blog from spam comments, ensuring a clean and user-friendly experience for your readers.

• • Jetpack: Optimize site speed, bolster security, and enhance your blog’s functionality with features like improved search capabilities, social media sharing, and customizable content delivery. 

Analytics

Analytics offer valuable insights into your audience’s behavior, giving you the power to make data-driven decisions about your content strategy. 

By using analytics to track your blog’s performance, you can identify trends and patterns using real-time data, such as which types of content are most popular and which times of day your audience is most active. 

Many blogging platforms, including WordPress, provide robust analytics support and integrations, allowing you to track your blog’s performance easily. 

Monetization Tools 

Monetizing your blog can be a great way to earn income from your content. For instance, you can display ads on your blog to earn money based on clicks or impressions, or collaborate with brands to create paid posts. 

One of the most straightforward ways of monetizing your website is to set up an eCommerce store. For example, if you’re using WordPress, you’d achieve this by installing the WooCommerce plugin, which integrates with various payment gateways and other extensions.  This way, you can easily sell products and services directly from your website and set up different pricing structures, such as one-time payments and subscriptions.

Exploring the Top Blogging Platforms

To help you find the perfect platform for your blogging needs, we’ve put together a list of the best blogging platforms and highlighted their unique features. 

WordPress

WordPress Homepage

WordPress is a popular platform for bloggers of all skill levels. Its extensive range of themes, plugins, and customization options cater to various blogging needs, making it a versatile choice for building a WordPress site. Additionally, the platform’s large community provides constant support and updates. 

Top features: 

• Extensive Plugin Library: Enhance your blog’s functionality, security, and design with a wide range of plugins. 

• SEO Tools: Boost your blog’s visibility in search engine results. 

• Blogging-Specific Themes: Choose from a variety of professional-looking themes designed specifically for blogging.

• Community Support: Seek help and guidance from a large community of users whenever you need it.

• Easy Content Management: Manage your blog’s content with ease, thanks to WordPress’ user-friendly interface.

Drupal

Drupal Homepage

Drupal is the top choice for bloggers who need advanced customization. Although it may have a steeper learning curve than other platforms, developers favor Drupal for its scalability and adaptability, making it ideal for large projects and growing blogs. 

Top features: 

• Advanced Content Management Capabilities: Use Drupal’s powerful tools to manage your blog’s content with ease. 

• Customizable User Permissions: Collaborate with multiple authors by adjusting user permissions to suit your needs. 

• Scalability for Growing Blogs: As your blog grows, Drupal manages high traffic volumes without affecting performance. 

• Robust Security Features: Protect your blog with advanced security features and enjoy peace of mind. 

Joomla

Joomla Homepage

Joomla strikes a balance between WordPress’s ease of use and Drupal’s complexity. It’s perfect for bloggers wanting more flexibility than what WordPress provides but without diving into Drupal’s intricacies. With its user-friendly interface and strong community support, Joomla is a reliable choice. 

Top features: 

• Flexible Content Management System (CMS): Easily manage your blog’s content, thanks to Joomla’s versatility. 
• Built-In Blogging Features: Enjoy convenient blogging features right out of the box.
• Customizable Templates: Joomla offers thousands of high-quality templates so you can create attractive designs without touching a single line of code. 
• Multilingual Support: Reach a wider audience with built-in multilingual capabilities.
• Powerful User Management Options: Manage multiple users with ease and control.

Wix

Wix Homepage

Wix is famous for its drag-and-drop simplicity, making it perfect for beginners or those who aren’t as familiar with technical aspects. It offers a variety of stunning templates and integrated features, simplifying the process of setting up a blog. However, keep in mind that its customization options are more limited compared to other platforms. 

Top features: 

• Intuitive Drag-and-Drop Editor: Wix’s user-friendly interface makes it a breeze to edit your blog’s layout, fonts, colors, and imagery.
• Integrated Blogging Tools: Use Wix’s built-in tools to share your content on social media and automatically notify your email subscribers when you post.
• SEO Features: Boost your blog’s visibility and reach the right people with advanced SEO tools built directly into your site. 
• Mobile Responsiveness: Ensure your blog looks great on all devices.
• Reliable Hosting Services: Wix offers advanced security monitoring, automatic setup, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee. 

Squarespace 

Squarespace Homepage

Known for its beautiful designs and user-friendly interface, Squarespace is a great choice for bloggers who value aesthetics and want a polished, professional-looking website without having to worry about the technical details. However, you may find its customization options are more limited than other platforms. 

Top features: 

• Stunning Templates: Take your pick from a variety of customizable templates designed specifically for blogging.
• Integrated Analytics: Get insights into who’s visiting your blog and how it’s performing with built-in analytics.
• Social Sharing Features: Share your content on social media with ease.
• eCommerce Functionality: Monetize your blog by offering custom merchandise, creating subscriber-exclusive content, and selling digital services. 
• 24/7 Customer Support: Get help whenever you need it with Squarespace’s reliable customer support.

Weebly

Weebly Homepage

Similar to Wix, Weebly is an easy-to-use platform that offers a drag-and-drop functionality. It’s perfect for beginners and small-scale bloggers who prioritize simplicity and ease of use over advanced features. However, it’s not as flexible or customizable as other platforms. 

Top features: 

• Drag-and-Drop Website Builder: Customize your blog easily by dragging elements like text, images, and videos onto your page and dropping them exactly where you want them.
• Blogging Features: Schedule posts and engage with your audience through commenting options.
• Integrated SEO Tools: Improve your blog’s visibility and reach the right people.
• Mobile-Responsive Designs: Ensure your blog looks great on all devices.
• Reliable Hosting Services: Weebly’s free, dedicated hosting infrastructure ensures that your site loads fast and gives visitors a great experience.

Ghost

Ghost Homepage

Ghost is a minimalist platform designed specifically for bloggers and publishers. Its clean interface and focus on content make it perfect for writers who want to prioritize their writing without getting distracted by complex features. 

Top features: 

• Markdown Support: Write without distractions using Markdown.
• Email Newsletter Features: Grow your email list with built-in newsletter tools.
• Membership and Subscription Options: Monetize your blog with membership and subscription options.
• Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) support: Improve your blog’s loading times. 
• Automatic Content Backups: Keep your content safe with automatic backups.

Substack

Substack Homepage

Compared to other blogging platforms, Substack is a unique choice because it’s mainly designed for newsletter publishing. With its straightforward setup and integrated payment options, Substack is perfect for bloggers who want to monetize their content through email subscriptions. However, it doesn’t let you customize your website like other blog hosting sites. 

Top features: 

• Integrated Payment Processing: Easily monetize your content through subscription-based payments.
• Customizable Email Newsletter Templates: Engage your readers with professional-looking newsletters.
• Audience Engagement Analytics: Track your newsletter’s performance and audience engagement.
• Content Gating: Offer premium content to paying subscribers.
• Social Media Integration: Share your content easily on social media platforms.

Why WordPress is the Recommended Choice for Most Bloggers

While you can’t go wrong with any of the platforms we’ve covered above, WordPress is the ideal choice for most people, especially beginner bloggers. It offers the best balance of features, affordability, and user-friendliness compared to WordPress alternatives like Drupal and Joomla. 

Here are a few reasons why WordPress is the best platform for beginners and experienced bloggers alike: 

• Blog-Specific Themes: A blog’s design is the first thing that captures a reader’s attention, so you’ll want to ensure it looks good. WordPress offers a wide variety of customizable, high-quality themes specifically designed for blogging. You can even design your own theme by selecting patterns to create your homepage layout and pairing it with premium colors and fonts. 
• Vast Plugin Ecosystem: WordPress offers thousands of free plugins to enhance your blog’s functionality and improve the user experience. From anti-spam protection to SEO optimization, there’s a plugin for almost every need. Plus, you have the option to purchase premium plugins for even more advanced features. 
• Native Gutenberg Editor: WordPress’ intuitive Gutenberg block editor makes it easy to create and format your content, even if you don’t have any technical experience. You can personalize every aspect of your blog to suit your preferences. 

WordPress Gutenberg Editor

The Role Your Hosting Provider Plays in Your Blogging Set-Up

While blogging platforms like Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace automatically host your website, others like WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla require a separate hosting solution. This means you’ll need to buy a plan from a hosting provider, which will offer allocated server space to install your preferred blog hosting platform and set up your website. 

Though this might seem like an extra step, it’s actually an advantage, and it’s one of the reasons why we recommend choosing platforms like WordPress. 

Hosting providers specialize in optimizing server performance, ensuring fast page loading times, reliable uptime, and robust security measures. By hosting your blogging site with a reputable provider, you can get effortless integration, automatic updates, and dedicated support, freeing you from technical hassles and allowing you to focus on creating content. 

When you choose a hosting provider, you also get additional features and services tailored to bloggers, such as one-click software installation, domain registration, SSL certificates, automated backups, and advanced analytics tools. These features streamline the blogging process, enhance site functionality, and improve user experience, which contribute to the success and growth of your blog.

Another major consideration is scalability. As your blog grows, you’ll begin to receive more traffic, and your website should be able to handle it. Using a hosting provider with tiered plans ensures that bloggers can scale their resources up or down as required, ensuring that the blog can handle increased traffic without experiencing downtime or slow loading speeds.

“Hosting is a vital aspect of blogging that should not be overlooked. A reliable hosting provider can make a world of difference in terms of site speed, security, and user satisfaction.” 

– Corey Hammond, A2 Hosting

Host Your Blog with A2: Premium Hosting at Beginner-Friendly Prices

A2 Hosting Blog Hosting Page

With A2 Hosting, you can bring your blog to life without worrying about the technical details. 

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced blogger, our shared web hosting plans are more than powerful enough to meet your needs, and they start at extremely low prices. If you’re set on using WordPress as your CMS, consider our managed WordPress hosting, which includes pre-installed WordPress and various WordPress-specific features such as the A2 Optimized plugin, which offers features such as CAPTCHA, image compression, and caching. 

Take a look at some of our standout features: 

• Blazing-Fast Speed: Our Turbo Server options offer faster loading times, which are crucial for your blog’s success and SEO ranking. While new bloggers may not need a Turbo plan right away, it’s a great upgrade for sites experiencing high traffic.

• Always Reliable: We offer a 99.9% uptime guarantee, so you can count on us to ensure your blog is always accessible to your readers. 

• User-Friendly Dashboards: We make managing your blog a breeze. With cPanel offered on all managed plans, you can easily manage your emails, domains, and software installations. You also get a proprietary dashboard called TurboHub, which allows you to check your site health, get personalized recommendations to optimize your site, and manage plugins.
• Regular Security Updates: We offer free SSL certificates to help you build trust with your readers, and we regularly update our servers with the latest security patches to protect your blog against potential threats and vulnerabilities. 

And, if anything goes wrong, our 24/7/365 in-house Guru Crew will be on hand to support you. 

One of our satisfied customers, Jairo A., said, “The customer service at A2 Hosting is amazing. Whenever I have a question, I can find the answer within minutes. The experience has always been pleasant, and I can’t recall a time when my server was down or had a problem. My website has always been up and running even in the middle of an outage, something none of my other competitors can do.”

Ready to start your blogging journey? Check out A2 Hosting’s blog hosting solutions today! 

Blog Hosting Platforms FAQs

Can you make money as a blogger? 

Absolutely! Many bloggers earn a living through their blogs by monetizing with ads, sponsored posts, affiliate marketing, or selling their own products or services. It takes time and effort to build a successful blog, but with dedication and a clear strategy, it’s possible to make a profit. 

What’s the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com?

At their core, both are blogging Content Management Systems (CMS), but there are distinct differences between WordPress.org and WordPress.com. WordPress.org is a self-hosted platform that offers more customization and flexibility, while WordPress.com is a fully-hosted platform that’s easier to get started with but has limited features. With WordPress.org, you have more control over your blog’s design, functionality, and monetization options. 

Which platform is best for blogging?

The best blogging platform will depend on your specific needs and goals. WordPress is a popular choice due to its flexibility, customization options, and a large community of users and developers. Other options include Wix, Squarespace, and Ghost. 

What is the best website to host a blog?

WordPress powers more than 40% of websites, so it’s a highly recommended choice. To host a WordPress blog, you’ll need to choose a hosting provider that offers reliable and secure hosting services.

With A2 Hosting, you can pick between shared web hosting and managed WordPress hosting. Managed WordPress hosting is a great choice if your site receives a lot of traffic and you prefer a hands-off approach to backend management.

Are there free blog hosting sites?

Yes, there are free blog hosting sites like Blogger, Medium, and WordPress.com. However, these platforms have limitations in terms of customization, monetization, and control over your blog’s design and functionality. A2 Hosting offers affordable hosting plans that provide more control and flexibility, as well as the ability to monetize your blog and grow your audience.

What blog platform has the most traffic?

WordPress is the most popular blogging platform and has a large community of users and developers. This means that there are more resources and plugins available to help you optimize your blog for search engines and drive traffic to your site. 

A2 Hosting offers managed WordPress hosting plans that make it easy to set up and manage your self-hosted WordPress blog. Our hosting plans are also optimized for WordPress to ensure fast loading times and reliable performance.

The post Essential Features to Look for in Blogging Platforms appeared first on The A2 Posting.

As hosting experts, we’ve created this guide just for you. Join us as we explore email hosting options and discuss key factors for your business’s success. Let’s make the right choice together!

How email hosting facilitates operations for small businesses

Email hosting is a specialized hosting service that operates email servers, offering a premium alternative to the basic email services provided by free email providers like Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or Outlook.com. 

Unlike free or cheap email hosting for small businesses that are supported by advertising and offer limited customization, paid email hosting services are often used by businesses that require more control, customization, and professionalism in their email services.

For example, if you wanted to have a custom domain name like name@yourcompany.com rather than a generic one – for example, yourname@gmail.com, you need email hosting. 

The adoption of custom domain names through email hosting gives you a sense of professionalism and credibility in small business communications. This simple yet effective feature can improve your professional image, instilling trust in clients and partners. Other ways email hosting can improve small business operations include:

• Improved collaboration and communication: Improving teamwork and communication in small businesses is easier with email hosting, which consolidates all communication on one platform, promoting collaboration and preventing important messages from being missed. Email services might also include features that facilitate collaboration, such as A2’s shareable calendars or universal contact lists.
• Efficiency: An often-overlooked aspect is the efficiency gained through features like ample storage capacity. As your business grows, you’ll expect a larger influx of emails coming in from clients or partners, and you need a hosting solution that can deal with this influx effortlessly!
• Security: High-quality hosting services usually come with encryption, spam protection, and privacy policies, which help small businesses withstand potential security breaches. This added layer of security is essential for keeping sensitive business information safe and maintaining client trust.
• Reliability: Email hosting ensures high uptime, providing consistent access to communication tools. This reliability is important for maintaining client communication and protecting your business’ reputation.
• Automation and integration: Email hosts, equipped with automated features and integration capabilities, elevate productivity by streamlining workflows. For instance, small businesses can automate routine tasks such as automatic contact importing from other email services. Integration capabilities allow connection with other tools and platforms, such as project management software or customer relationship management (CRM) systems, enabling efficient data sharing and collaboration across various applications.

The difference between free and affordable email hosting

As a small business or new entrepreneur, any expense can be intimidating, and understandably, you may lean toward using free email hosting. However, free email services may not be the best decision for several reasons.

Free email services, commonly provided by giants like Google and Yahoo, initially lure businesses with an appealing price tag – or lack thereof! However, the apparent cost-saving advantages of free email services come with inherent limitations. 

While there’s no upfront cost, businesses compromise on data security and face potential risks associated with using generic domains. These limitations include very limited storage capacity, which can quickly become problematic, and the perception by many users that a business using a generic domain is suspicious.

On the other hand, choosing affordable, paid business email hosting presents many advantages tailored to small businesses. 

• The use of custom domains imparts a professional look, creating trust signals among clients and partners. 
• With substantially greater storage space, businesses can manage larger volumes of emails efficiently, which is a must with large email marketing campaigns. 
• Advanced security features, including encryption and robust spam filters, fortify the business against cyber threats. 

Small businesses also benefit from business-specific features like calendar sharing and resource scheduling, which boost overall productivity. Plus, having dedicated customer support ensures quick problem-solving, giving small businesses a reliable lifeline!

Free email hosting may seem appealing, but small businesses should opt for affordable, paid options. Investing in these options brings benefits such as a more professional image, improved security, and a range of features that make business operations more efficient.

Understanding types of email hosting

Shared email hosting

A2 Hosting is an example of a web hosting provider that offers shared email hosting. This service allows businesses to share server resources with other users, reducing expenses. 

The main benefit of this is its simplicity, as the service provider takes care of setup, maintenance, and server management. By choosing shared email hosting, your business can benefit from secure and cost-effective email hosting with high uptime without worrying about technical maintenance as you would with self-hosting!

Third-party email hosting

Third-party email hosting involves outsourcing services to specialized providers like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. These services extend beyond basic email features, offering organizational tools and managing server-related aspects. While providing a suite of services, third-party hosting can become cost-prohibitive for smaller businesses. 

It is also worth mentioning that these providers may implement price hikes, as seen in Google Workspace’s 20% increase in February 2024, including for existing customers. The advantages include advanced features and tools, but businesses must carefully weigh the costs associated with these expansive services.

Self-hosted email hosting

Self-hosted email hosting is when a business manages its own email servers. This model offers a high degree of control and customization, along with potential long-term cost savings. 

However, it’s an option that requires expert technical knowledge, dedicated maintenance resources, and a strong commitment to security and uptime. While self-hosting provides complete control, businesses need to assess whether they are actually capable of taking on this.

Email hosting features to supercharge your business

You’ve likely been using email for your business for a while now. Perhaps you’ve found yourself using your personal account for work or dealing with reliability issues from your current provider. But don’t worry – there’s a better way forward with A2 Hosting. With us, you can have features like:

Custom domains for brand authenticity

Using personal email addresses for business purposes or relying on free email services with generic domains can compromise the professional image of your brand. The implementation of a custom domain not only imparts a sense of professionalism but also boosts brand integrity, fostering trust and recognition among customers!

Along with aesthetic enhancements, custom domains play an important role in improving email deliverability, diminishing the likelihood of messages being diverted to spam folders – particularly amidst high email volumes. A2 Hosting amplifies this advantage by offering the capacity to dispatch up to 1000 emails daily, ensuring reliable delivery!

Added security

Protecting your business from cyber threats is essential. With the rise of phishing attempts, malware attachments, and unauthorized access, the risks are huge. Protecting your business against potential breaches is a necessity.

Imagine the consequences of a data breach: sensitive customer information compromised, financial loss, and damage to your reputation. As a small business owner, the implications can be particularly dire. That’s why investing in efficient email security measures is essential to fortify your defenses and keep your business safe!

A reliable email host should offer high-quality security features such as data encryption, malware scanners, and effective spam filters.

Increased inbox storage

Free email services often come with limitations on storage, risking important emails not getting through. A2 Hosting offers up to 30GB per account, ensuring ample space for your communication needs.

Along with this, A2 Hosting protects your emails by keeping copies across multiple availability zones, providing peace of mind for compliance with record-keeping requirements.

High number of email accounts

Whether you’re a solo entrepreneur or leading a growing team, having dedicated email addresses for different functions is essential. A2 Hosting allows you to set up unlimited email addresses, ensuring scalability as your business expands.

Uptime reliability

Businesses cannot afford interruptions in email communication. A2 Hosting guarantees email uptime by implementing n+3 redundancy on each component and service across multiple data centers, providing a strong infrastructure for uninterrupted operations.

Support

Email is the lifeblood of business communication, making reliable support crucial. A2 Hosting’s Guru Crew support operates 24/7, 365 days a year, ensuring assistance whenever you need it!

SSL, POP3, and IMAP support

Benefit from a secure and versatile email experience with A2 Hosting’s advanced features. Our implementation of SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) ensures that your data transfers remain encrypted, providing a secure environment for your communications. The support for both POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3) and IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) enhances the flexibility of accessing your emails from various devices.

Here’s how it works: POP3 allows you to download your emails to a single device, providing offline access, while IMAP synchronizes your emails across multiple devices, keeping them updated in real time. 

This means that whether you’re at your desk, on the go with your smartphone, or using a tablet, your email experience remains seamless and consistent. A2 Hosting’s email hosting is designed to adapt to your dynamic needs, ensuring that you can access your emails effortlessly from any device at any time.

Calendar functionality

To improve productivity, A2 Hosting’s email calendar is a great feature for scheduling and planning. It serves as a personal organizer and a collaborative tool that can be shared with team members. Oh, and it is compatible with popular email platforms! 

Configurable mobile and desktop apps

The ability to check emails on the go is essential, which is why A2 Hosting provides configurable mobile and desktop apps that allow remote workers and traveling professionals to manage emails efficiently.

Comparing the top email hosting providers for small businesses

Choosing the right email hosting provider is an important decision for small businesses, influencing communication efficiency, security, and overall operational success. But which should you choose? Let’s take a look.

A2 Hosting

A2 Hosting is an excellent option for small businesses looking for affordable and feature-packed email hosting. Powered by leading email service Titan, A2 Hosting’s email service offers strong features and excellent server power and support. These features include:

• Custom domain name: Show your professionalism with a personalized domain that reflects your brand identity.
• 99.9% uptime guarantee: Count on A2 Hosting’s reliable servers to keep your emails accessible around the clock, ensuring uninterrupted communication with your clients and team members.
• Multi-account access: Say goodbye to the hassle of juggling multiple email accounts. With A2 Hosting, managing all your email accounts is easy! This will modernize your workflow and boost productivity.
• Configurable webmail and mobile app: Whether you’re at your desk or on the move, you can access your emails from anywhere. With configurable webmail and a user-friendly mobile app, staying connected has never been easier.
• Email migration with IMAP support: Transition to A2 Hosting without losing your precious emails. Our IMAP support ensures that your emails, contacts, and folders are migrated so you can hit the ground running with minimal disruption.
• Shareable contacts: Adopt collaboration and update communication with shareable contact lists. With A2 Hosting, your team can easily access and update contact information, ensuring everyone stays on the same page.
• Undo and fix emails: Have you ever hit send and immediately regretted it? With A2 Hosting, you have the power to undo and fix sent emails, giving you greater control over your communication.
• 24/7 Guru Crew support: Need a hand? Our dedicated Guru Crew is here for you 24/7, ready to assist with any email-related issues or queries you may have, ensuring peace of mind and uninterrupted productivity.
• High inbox storage: Never worry about running out of space again. With generous inbox storage capacity, you can store all your essential emails without constraints, keeping your inbox organized and clutter-free.
• Calendar integration: Stay on top of your schedule with integrated calendar features. With A2 Hosting, you can manage appointments, meetings, and deadlines, ensuring you never miss a thing!
• Support for SSL, POP3, and IMAP: A2 Hosting supports SSL encryption, POP3, and IMAP protocols, ensuring flexible and secure email access and protecting sensitive information.
• Filtering: With A2 Hosting, you can easily manage and prioritize incoming emails, ensuring that you stay focused on what matters most.

Google Workspace

Google Workspace homepage

Google Workspace, formerly known as G Suite, provides email hosting and offers a variety of collaborative tools like Google Docs, Sheets, and Meet. It’s a go-to choice for many businesses, big and small. But here’s the catch: while Google Workspace offers fantastic features, it comes at a cost.

So, let’s break it down. Google Workspace isn’t a free service; it’s a paid subscription that grants access to various tools and services. With your subscription, you get professional email hosting through Gmail, along with an array of productivity tools to update your workflow.

Google Workspace could be tempting to small businesses, but as we’ve mentioned, it has a history of implementing price hikes. This could result in small businesses needing to raise their email budget regularly, which is not ideal.

Rackspace

Rackspace homepage

Rackspace is known for its scalable hosting, tailored to meet the needs of all businesses. It also provides reliable email hosting.

Rackspace’s email hosting service typically includes features such as customizable email addresses, spam and virus protection, and ample storage space. It also often provides advanced security measures and round-the-clock support to ensure uninterrupted email communication for its clients.

For smaller businesses or those with more modest email hosting needs, Rackspace’s cost factor and comprehensive feature set may be less appealing than other options tailored specifically to their requirements. Therefore, it’s important to carefully evaluate your business’s needs and budget before choosing Rackspace or any other email hosting provider.

Neo

Neo homepage

Neo prioritizes simple email services, making it an ideal choice for small businesses looking for hassle-free email hosting solutions. Its user-friendly interface ensures ease of use, allowing businesses to manage their email accounts efficiently.

However, while Neo is great at simplicity, it may lack some of the more advanced features offered by its competitors. For instance, compared to other providers, Neo may not offer as robust integration options with third-party applications or advanced security features like encryption for sensitive emails. Businesses requiring complex email automation or extensive customization capabilities might find Neo’s feature set somewhat limited.

Zoho Mail

Zoho Mail homepage

Zoho Mail integrates email hosting with a suite of powerful collaboration tools, making it a compelling choice for businesses looking for comprehensive solutions. Beyond just email, Zoho Mail offers a range of collaborative features designed to enhance productivity and streamline communication.

Among these tools are Zoho Docs, which provides document creation, editing, and sharing capabilities similar to Google Docs. Zoho Mail also includes Zoho Calendar for scheduling and organizing events, as well as Zoho Meeting for conducting virtual meetings and webinars. What makes Zoho Mail truly comprehensive is its ability to centralize essential business functions within a single platform. With integrated email, document management, scheduling, and meeting capabilities, Zoho Mail lets businesses collaborate more efficiently and effectively.

However, like Google Workspace, the pricing structure of Zoho Mail may present challenges for smaller budgets – despite them having a free trial. While it offers a lot of features, businesses with limited financial resources may find it difficult to justify the cost compared to more budget-friendly alternatives. 

Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 homepage

Microsoft 365, a household name, provides much more than just email hosting. With a suite of applications, it’s a go-to choice for businesses deeply integrated into Microsoft’s ecosystem.

At the core of Microsoft 365 is its email hosting service, powered by Outlook. Beyond email, businesses benefit from a wide range of productivity tools such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams, facilitating collaboration and productivity across teams and departments.

What sets Microsoft 365 apart is its integration with other Microsoft services and applications, creating a unified and cohesive work environment. From document editing and sharing to video conferencing and project management, Microsoft 365 offers a complete solution for businesses looking to streamline their operations.

However, while Microsoft 365 is undeniably powerful, its pricing may pose challenges for smaller enterprises with tighter budgets. Microsoft also works very closely with its own systems, so if you aren’t familiar with them, this may be a learning curve for you.

Upgrade your business email hosting with A2 Hosting

Upgrade your business communication by using professional email hosting for small businesses. Trust us, it’s a game-changer you won’t regret spending some of your budget on.

With A2 Hosting, you’ll have access to a wide array of features, fail-safe reliability, and 24/7 support, all at an affordable rate that won’t break the bank –if you ask us, it’s a no-brainer.

See, it’s not just about emails anymore; it’s about unlocking your business’s full potential through communication. And with A2 Hosting, you’re getting a partner to help you along the way. Upgrade to A2 Hosting’s email hosting service now to make the right decision for your business!

The post Unlocking the Power of Effective Business Email Hosting for 2024 appeared first on The A2 Posting.

Our Legacy of Speed and Performance

At A2 Hosting, we have built a strong reputation in the web hosting industry as leaders in speed and performance. Our commitment to providing the fastest, most reliable hosting solutions has always been our top priority. And that is why we developed TurboHub. It not only helps speed up site performance, but it also streamlines managing your WordPress sites.

What is TurboHub?

TurboHub is our state-of-the-art WordPress control panel that makes WordPress sites faster than ever! It’s an essential tool that allows individual site owners to improve performance, site health, and security. And the multi-site dashboard simplifies the workflow for agencies and developers. From a single control panel, you can monitor and maintain all of your sites, creating a seamless and more efficient WordPress experience.

Features of TurboHub

Site Performance Optimizations

TurboHub’s comprehensive metrics help you gain in-depth insights into your site’s performance. It highlights top recommendations and allows for one-click changes to boost performance.

Single-Click Multi-Site Management

Managing multiple WordPress sites has never been easier. With TurboHub, you can see all your sites from a single location, making updates and performance checks a breeze. This is particularly valuable for agencies and developers handling numerous client sites.

Site Health Monitoring

Keep your websites in peak condition with our site health monitoring tool! This is perfect for agencies and site owners with multiple websites and gives you an at-a-glance view of a site’s status to help you maintain smooth and secure operations effortlessly. Monitoring and maintaining multiple sites has never been easier!

Security Vulnerability

Through our partnership with Patchstack, we also alert you to high-priority plugin vulnerabilities so your site is never at risk. With the ability to see site risk at a glance, it helps you keep everything running smoothly and securely.

Other features to enhance your WordPress experience:

• Quick access to all of your WordPress sites.
• Grant access to users managing your account or request access to sites you manage for others.
• Automate plugin updates for each site.
• Site notes to enable easy communication between team members or companies.
• Quick access to databases, files, and email.
• Status information that lets you know your sites are online and running, including SSL, domain, and nameserver status.
• Ability to hide sites from search engines while under construction.
• Ability to place sites in maintenance mode during edits.

How Do I Get TurboHub?

TurboHub is now available free for all WordPress sites on our Managed WordPress, Managed VPS, and Shared plans. By choosing one of our plans, you instantly gain access to TurboHub and can start experiencing the benefits of a faster, more efficient WordPress site. TurboHub can be conveniently accessed through your MyA2 panel.

Don’t have an A2 plan, take advantage of our low prices and get started with TurboHub today!

Stay Tuned for More

TurboHub is constantly growing and evolving. We have an exciting roadmap ahead of us with many new features and improvements planned! At A2 we are dedicated to providing our users with the best tools available, and we encourage you to stay tuned for future updates on how TurboHub can help speed up and secure your website.

What’s Next for TurboHub?

A few items on our TurboHub roadmap that will help us achieve our goal of providing WordPress professionals with fast setup, fast websites, and fast support:

• A2 Intelligent Performance – Leverages advanced AI technology to automatically optimize your site’s performance. Easily monitor load times, uptime, and other critical performance indicators to ensure your site is always performing at its best. This will help you make informed decisions to continuously improve your site’s speed and reliability.
• A2 AI assistant inside WordPress – Helps you write content, generate images, and answer common WordPress questions.
• Enhanced Staging – Records changes to staging or live sites and lets them be pushed live or pulled back to staging.

Get started with an A2 Hosting plan today and get access to this new amazing tool and enhance your WordPress experience!

The post Introducing TurboHub – Transform Your WordPress Experience appeared first on The A2 Posting.

But let’s face it – managing SSL certificates can be overwhelming. From keeping tabs on expiration dates to securing various subdomains, there’s a lot to consider. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to simplify the complexities of SSL certificate management. 

Whether you’re getting your first certificate or want to ensure timely renewals for your current one, we’ll walk you through every step of the SSL certificate lifecycle. We’ll also discuss how choosing the right hosting provider, such as A2 Hosting, can make SSL certificate management a breeze. Let’s get into it! 

What is SSL Certificate Management?

SSL certificate management is the process of acquiring, deploying, and maintaining SSL/Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificates, which are crucial for securing data transfer between a user’s browser and a website server. 

These digital certificates act as digital guardians, ensuring that information exchanged between users and websites remains encrypted and protected. Additionally, this process provides a digital identity card for websites, validating their legitimacy. 

SSL certificate example

Why is SSL Certificate Management Important?

SSL certificate management plays a crucial role on many fronts. For website owners, it’s about giving your domain the necessary credentials to encrypt and validate your website’s identity. This builds user trust and provides your visitors with immediate peace of mind when they see the reassuring padlock symbol next to the URL in their browser. This symbol is like a digital handshake that assures them that their sensitive information is safe and sound. 

A2 Hosting SSL certificates

Since July 2018, Google Chrome has marked sites without SSL as “not secure”, which can potentially scare off visitors who are wary of sharing personal data on such sites. The good news is that almost every website has SSL certificates these days and for a valid reason.

They boost your site’s reputation and Search Engine Optimization (SEO), while also ensuring compliance with essential data protection regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS). It’s crucial to keep your SSL certificate up-to-date, as letting it expire can lead to loss of customer trust, expose you to data breaches, and even lead to penalties for regulatory non-compliance.

However, managing SSL certificates can be daunting, especially if you’re handling multiple websites. To stay on top of things, you have to navigate through a variety of challenges, such as: 

• Expiration and Renewal Tracking: Periodically monitor the validity to ensure your website isn’t caught with an expired certificate. 

• Certification Installation and Configuration: Ensure certificates are installed properly across platforms. 

• Security Compliance: Follow global standards to avoid legal and financial penalties. 

• Key Management: Safeguard the pair of public and private keys used in SSL/TLS certificates. 

• Continuous Monitoring: Keep an eye out for any vulnerabilities in certificate behavior. 

Manual vs. Automated SSL Certificate Management

While it’s possible to manage your SSL certificates manually, this can be a time-consuming option that leaves room for oversights and errors, potentially compromising the security of your website. 

In contrast, automated SSL certificate management takes minimal effort. The system handles all the nitty-gritty details to safeguard your website against vulnerabilities, whether that means managing timely updates or sticking to top-tier security protocols. 

Here are some of the pros and cons of manual versus automated SSL certificate management: 

Understanding the Core Steps of the SSL Certificate Lifecycle

Each stage of the SSL certificate lifecycle plays a crucial role in ensuring secure online transactions. Let’s take a look at the core steps:  

Certificate Signing Request (CSR) Generation

The first step is to generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR), which includes basic information about your website and its security needs. This step requires prior arrangements, such as securing a valid domain and ensuring access to the server.

Certificate Enrollment

Next, the CSR is sent to a Certificate Authority (CA) for enrollment. The CA may require verification of the entity’s identity before issuing the certificate. 

Identity Verification

The CA will then verify your identity to make sure you’re the real deal. This may involve verifying your entity’s domain ownership, legal identity, or other relevant information. This step is crucial for building trust in your online presence.

Certificate Issuance

Once your identity is verified, the CA issues the SSL certificate, which is digitally signed to establish trustworthiness.  

Certificate Installation

Now, it’s time to put your SSL certificate to good use by installing it on your website’s server. This involves configuring the server to use the certificate for securing communications. 

Certificate Usage

Once active, the SSL certificate encrypts data transmitted between the server and users’ devices via HTTPS, which further strengthens your security measures. 

Certificate Renewal

SSL certificates have a limited validity period, typically capped at 13 months. However, Google recently announced its intention to reduce the validity of TLS certifications to 90 days. Although the decision isn’t confirmed yet, it highlights the need for website owners to stay on top of evolving industry standards. 

Certificate Revocation

In rare cases, such as if you have a compromised private key, you may need to revoke your SSL certificate before it expires. CAs use lists like a Certificate Revocation List (CRL) or an Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) service to inform clients that a certificate is no longer valid.

Key Pair Updates

From time to time, you may need to update your cryptographic key pairs for security reasons. This process involves generating a new key pair, creating a new CSR, and going through the enrollment process again. 

End of Lifecycle (Expiry)

When an SSL certificate expires, it loses its validity. Clients may no longer trust the expired certificate, and you will need to replace it with a new, valid certificate as soon as possible to continue maintaining a secure online presence. 

What Types of TLS/SSL Certificates Exist?

A2 Hosting SSL certificates page

Depending on what your site does and the kind of information it handles, there are several different types of SSL certificates you can choose from. These include:  

Basic SSL (DV)

As the name suggests, Basic Domain Validation (DV) SSL certificates are your go-to for basic security needs. If you’re running a personal blog or a small site that doesn’t deal with much sensitive data, a DV certificate might be all you need. 

They’re affordable and can often be issued within minutes or hours. There’s only one catch: they don’t tell your visitors anything about who is behind the site. These certificates only verify the ownership of the domain, providing basic encryption and validation. 

Premium SSL (OV)

Organization Validation (OV) SSL certificates confirm that you own your domain and also verify the existence of your organization. This involves confirming the organization’s legal status and physical address. 

Justin Mazzi, A2’s Chief Technology Officer, says “While getting an OV SSL certificate might take a bit more time and effort than obtaining a DV certificate, it’s worth it for the added trust. When visitors click on the secure site indicator, they can see your company’s verified name. This level of validation works well for small-to-medium-sized businesses and eCommerce websites that want to boost their credibility and trustworthiness.”

Advanced SSL (EV)

Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificates provide the highest level of validation and trust. These certificates go through a rigorous verification process, which includes checks on your organization’s legal, physical, and operational existence. EV certificates are particularly important for large corporations and businesses handling highly sensitive information.

Enterprise SSL (EV)

Large organizations with substantial online transactions and data traffic require something even more robust. Enterprise SSL certificates are the ideal option here. They offer higher levels of validation and come with additional features and services, such as extended warranties and enhanced customer support, suitable for enterprise-level operations.

Wildcard SSL

Imagine having one key that unlocks every door in a building. That’s what wildcard SSL certificates offer organizations managing multiple subdomains under a single domain name. Just one wildcard SSL certificate can secure an unlimited number of subdomains.

Although these certificates are more expensive than a basic SSL certificate, it’s still a cost-effective option for websites with various subdomains. 

Another major advantage is that it’s easy to manage wildcard SSL certificates compared to keeping track of ten expiration dates for ten different SSL certificates. However, despite the many benefits, it’s important to remember that if the main certificate is compromised, all connected subdomains could also be at risk. 

The Role Your Web Host Plays in SSL Certificate Management

Managing SSL certificates is no easy feat, but the web host you choose can make a world of difference. An ideal web host offers several benefits, such as: 

Convenience and Ease of Use

An effective web host can take convenience to a whole new level by offering automated SSL management features. 

Picture this: you log into your hosting dashboard, and with just a few clicks, you can issue, renew, and monitor your SSL certificates. A user-friendly interface with automated features means that even if you don’t have the best technical abilities, keeping your site secure can be easy and efficient. 

Cost-Effectiveness

The web hosting marketplace is highly competitive, so we get it if sticking to your budget is your main priority.

These days, SSL certificates are often included as part of a broader hosting package. This bundled option can save you money and allows you to manage your site’s security through one platform. 

Plus, given that SSL/TLS standards are always changing, it can be useful to have the flexibility to adjust or upgrade your bundled services without making a significant dent in your wallet. 

Customer support availability

Let’s say your SSL certificate stops working because of a configuration issue. This is a high-pressure situation that requires immediate attention. That’s why it’s essential to have round-the-clock access to customer support. 

Having someone to help, whether through live chat, phone, or email, can resolve technical issues quickly, protect your online reputation, and keep your day-to-day operations running smoothly. 

A2 Hosting: A Top Choice for SSL Certificate Management

A2 Hosting homepage

If you’re looking for a stress-free SSL certificate management experience, A2 has got your back. We offer a wide range of SSL certificate options that are affordable, quick to set up, and make HTTPS implementation easy. We’re serious about protecting your site’s security, which is why we offer several standout benefits, like: 

A Free SSL Certificate Included in Every Plan 

From the get-go, we make sure your site is as secure as it can be. With every one of our hosting plans, even our most cost-effective ones, we offer a free SSL certificate that’s automatically set up and renewed for your domain. 

This guarantees a secure, trustworthy connection from the moment your website goes live. But that’s not all. Beyond just setting up and taking care of your SSL certificate renewals, we ensure it’s effectively integrated into your overall site security strategy to protect your site and visitors from any security threats. 

Upgrade With Premium SSL Options

As your website grows, your security needs may change. Luckily, we’ve got a suite of premium SSL options to meet more demanding security requirements. 

Our premium SSL option offers enhanced security with OV certificates and dynamic site seals, whereas our advanced SSL option features enterprise-grade EV certificates with the highest warranties. With both of these options, you get reliable security at affordable prices. 

Additionally, when it’s time to renew your certificate, you can count on us to remind you well in advance. 

Various SSL Provider Options

Finding a reliable web host is the most important first step. That’s why we offer SSL certificates from trusted names like RapidSSL, GeoTrust, and DigiCert. 

Every provider brings something unique to the table, giving you the utmost control and flexibility to find the perfect match for your website’s needs. 

Benefit From Multi-Year Pricing

All of our SSL products come with multi-year SSL coverage plans lasting up to three years. This means extended protection, fewer worries about needing to purchase a new certificate every year, and more time to dedicate to your core business operations. Not to mention, opting for our multi-year SSL certificate pricing saves you money in the long run. 

Access to SSL Certificate Management Tools

We’ve simplified SSL certificate management down to a fine art with our cPanel interface. Here’s how you can gain control over your entire SSL lifecycle without having to juggle multiple tools or external services: 

• Viewing Certificates: Access your SSL dashboard to check active and pending certificates. 

• Installing Certificates: Easily add new certificates to your domain. All you need to do is log into your cPanel account, click the “Autoinstall SSL” icon, and follow the guided steps. 

• Renewing Certificates: Keep an eye out for an expiration notice in your email, which will remind you to purchase and install a new SSL certificate before the old one expires.
• Removing Certificates: To remove expired or unused certificates, log into your cPanel account, open the SSL/TLS tool, and under CERTIFICATES (CRT), click “delete SSL certificate.” 

Streamline Your SSL Certificate Management With A2 Hosting

Securing your website with an SSL certificate is essential for protecting your visitors and maintaining their trust. That’s where choosing the right web hosting partner, like A2 Hosting, becomes crucial. We simplify the SSL certificate management process, ensuring your website is secure, and your mind is at ease. 

Whether you’re running a small business or heading a large multinational company, we’ve got a wide variety of managed SSL service options for you. Besides, we know that security should be uncomplicated and accessible, which is why we include a free basic SSL certificate in all of our hosting plans. 

Thanks to our comprehensive cPanel licenses, managing your SSL certificates is straightforward. You have the autonomy to install, renew, and manage your certificates with just a few clicks. Plus, you can always count on us to send you timely reminders when your SSL certificate is about to expire, so you’re never caught unawares. 

At A2 Hosting, we’re all about taking the hassle out of SSL certificate management, so you can focus on what’s important: running your website and business. With our easy-to-use cPanel, automatic renewal reminders, managed SSL service, and a range of SSL certificates, we promise that securing your site will be effortless.

Choose from our SSL certificate plans today to experience the A2 difference! 

The post Bolster Your Site’s Security with Effective SSL Certificate Control appeared first on The A2 Posting.

But if you’re new to web hosting, it can be confusing to know where to start. Understanding the basic principles of web hosting, the different types of hosting available, and what to look for in a solid web hosting provider can make it easier for you to decide what setup is best for your personal or business needs. 

This article takes you through all these concepts and serves as your introductory guide to web hosting. Let’s get started!  

What is Web Hosting? 

Web hosting is a service that lets individuals and organizations publish their websites or web pages on the Internet. A web host, or web hosting service provider, is a business that provides the tools and support needed to make your website accessible online. Here’s a breakdown of the web hosting process: 

Web Hosting Process

Hosting Basics

• Your website is hosted on special computers called servers. 

• When you choose a web host, they provide space on their servers for your website.

Services Provided by Web Hosts

• Web hosts offer data center space to keep servers running smoothly. 

• They provide connectivity to the Internet for other servers located in their data centers.

Website Access

• When someone wants to visit your website, they’ll need to type your website address into their browser.
• Their computer will connect to your server. 
• Your web pages will be delivered to them through their browser.

But web hosting is more than just providing space on a server. It helps ensure that your website is secure, reliable, and can be accessed quickly by visitors. Good web hosts offer varying levels of support and additional services to help you manage your website.

For example, A2 Hosting offers various hosting solutions to meet every need, from small personal blogs to large business sites. With our commitment to fast and reliable hosting, a 99.9% uptime guarantee, round-the-clock technical support, and free website migrations, you can rest assured knowing your online presence is in good hands.

What’s the Difference Between Self-Hosting and a Hosting Provider? 

Self-hosting means using your own hardware and infrastructure to host a website, whereas if you use a hosting provider, you’ll rent server space and resources from a specialized service. 

Self-hosting requires a higher level of technical expertise, including server management, security protocols, and hardware maintenance. This can be challenging for people without the necessary skills or resources.

On the other hand, hosting providers, like A2 Hosting, offer user-friendly tools and support, making website management easy. For instance, if you own a small business, we can help you enhance your online visibility and SEO rankings by ensuring your website is secure, loads quickly, and has ample storage capacity.

If cost is a concern, keep in mind that self-hosting can be more expensive due to the initial investment in equipment, electricity, and Internet bandwidth. Hosting providers charge predictable monthly or annual fees, making it easier to budget for your website’s hosting costs. 

Deciphering Web Hosting Features

To help you choose the right web hosting solutions for your website, let’s break down the key features of web hosting: 

Understanding Server Resources: RAM, Hard Drive Space, and Bandwidth

Random Access Memory (RAM), hard drive space, and bandwidth keep your website running smoothly. 

RAM affects the speed and load time of your website. The more RAM available, the faster your website can process requests. 

Meanwhile, you need hard drive space for storing your website’s content, including images, videos, and documents. There are different types of storage available, including: 

• Solid State Drive (SSD): SSDs are faster and more reliable than traditional hard drives. With A2 Hosting’s Dedicated Server Hosting plans, you get up to 2×1 TB SSD storage, which means you get two 1 TB SSDs instead of one 2 TB SSD. This setup can result in faster speeds due to the use of two controllers for reading and writing data.
• Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe): NVMe is an even faster type of SSD storage that offers quicker load times, better performance, and improved user experiences. A2 Hosting offers up to 2×1 TB NVMe M.2 SSD Storage on our Dedicated Server Turbo Hosting plans, ensuring lightning-fast data access. 

Bandwidth refers to the amount of data your website can transfer at a time. It impacts your website’s traffic capacity. The more bandwidth you have, the more visitors can access your website simultaneously without slowing down the performance.

A2 Hosting is a great example of how resources can scale across plans. For instance, our lowest Shared Web Hosting plan offers 100 GB of SSD storage, while the next tier provides unlimited SSD storage. This scalability allows you to choose a plan that fits your needs and budget.

How Control Panels Make it Easier to Manage Your Website

Control panels offer a user-friendly interface that simplifies the process of managing servers and hosted services. With a control panel, you can easily manage files, set up email accounts, install applications, and monitor server resource usage.

Control panels come in various forms, each having unique features and modules. Popular control panels include cPanel, Plesk, and My20i. Each one offers a slightly different user experience, so be sure to choose one that fits your needs.

cPanel Homepage

For instance, A2 Hosting offers cPanel on all managed hosting plans. On unmanaged plans, users can include any control panel they wish. This variety ensures you can pick the control panel that works best for you, whether you prefer a specific interface or need certain features for your website.

Web Hosting and Domains: Understanding the Relationship

Web hosting and domain names are two essential components of a fully operational website. A domain name serves as your website’s unique address, while web hosting is the space where your website’s files are stored and made accessible to visitors.

When you register a domain name, you’re claiming a spot on the Internet for your website. To bring your website to life, you need to link it to a web host, which will store and manage your website’s files.

Good web hosts simplify this process by offering domain registration services directly through their platform or allowing you to migrate your existing domain to their hosting service. This approach ensures a smooth website management experience, as you can manage your domain and web hosting from a single location.

Maximizing Site Performance: Why Server Location Matters

The physical location of your website’s server can significantly impact load times and overall user experience.

When a user visits your website, their computer sends a request to your server to access your website’s files. The further away the server is, the longer it takes for the request to travel, resulting in slower load times.

By choosing a server location that’s close to your website’s predominant visitor base, you can ensure your website’s files are delivered quickly and efficiently, resulting in faster load times and a better user experience.

Security Considerations and the Importance of SSL Certificates

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates are important for keeping your website safe and secure. By encrypting the data that travels between your website and its visitors, these certificates protect sensitive information like passwords and credit card numbers from cyber criminals.

When you have an SSL certificate installed on your website, visitors will see a padlock icon in their browser’s address bar, indicating that the connection is secure. 

A2 Hosting SSL Certificate

This helps build trust with your visitors, making them more likely to stay on your site. Websites with SSL certificates can also receive better rankings on search engine results pages.

“Security is a top priority for any website, and SSL certificates are just one piece of the puzzle. Active defenses such as Network Firewalls, Web Application Firewalls (WAF), Vulnerability Scanners, and Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) mitigation services are also essential for protecting your website from the myriad array of modern threats. By taking a comprehensive approach to website security, you can ensure that your site remains safe and secure for your visitors.”

– Sam Florida, Senior Security Engineer at A2 Hosting

At A2 Hosting, we offer free and easy SSL certificate installations as part of our hosting packages, with the option to upgrade your certificate as necessary. Whether you’re running a small blog or a high-traffic eCommerce site, we have the security features you need to keep your website safe and secure.

Round-the-Clock Support

A good hosting provider should be there for you whenever you need help, whether in the middle of the night or on a Sunday afternoon. 

At A2 Hosting, we offer 24/7/365 support to ensure you get the help you need right when you need it. Our knowledgeable support staff is always available to answer your questions, troubleshoot any issues, and help you get the most out of your hosting experience.

We offer various support options, including live chat, phone, and email support, to make it easy to get in touch with us. 

Types of Web Hosting

With so many different types of web hosting solutions available, it can be intimidating to know which one is right for you. Here are the most popular types of web hosting and their definitions: 

Shared Hosting

Shared web hosting is a cost-effective solution for website owners, where multiple websites share the same server resources, such as storage space, processing power, and memory. This setup allows hosting providers to offer affordable plans, making it ideal for small websites and beginners.

Personal blogs, startups with low traffic, and small businesses looking to create an initial web presence are just a few examples of those who can benefit from shared hosting. 

A2 Hosting’s Shared Hosting options are cost-effective, fast, and reliable. The plans come with a range of perks, including cPanel integration, free SSL certificates, free account migration, a 99.9% uptime commitment, and 24/7/365 in-house Guru Crew support. Our shared web hosting packages also include resources like disk space, data transfer, and email accounts that are perfect for personal and small business websites.

A2 Hosting Shared Web Hosting Page

While shared hosting offers numerous benefits, beware of potential limitations. Sometimes, users might find they have less control over server settings, and website performance could take a hit due to shared resources. But don’t worry – A2 Hosting has a solution to address these concerns. 

Our Turbo plans, which are built on powerful LiteSpeed servers, provide lightning-fast web hosting experiences, even with multiple websites sharing the same server. That means better SEO rankings, lower bounce rates, and higher conversion rates.

VPS Hosting

Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting provides enhanced security and ample resources compared to shared hosting. Within a VPS environment, users benefit from a virtual dedicated server setup, resulting in superior performance and extensive customization options.

This hosting solution is particularly useful for businesses with higher traffic levels or those who need to run special software that isn’t supported on shared servers. 

A2 Hosting VPS Hosting Page

A2 Hosting’s VPS Hosting plans are the perfect solution if you need more power and flexibility than a shared hosting account but still want an affordable hosting solution. We offer scalable plans that grow with your site, so you can upgrade as needed. 

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated server hosting is a web hosting service where a single user or organization gets an entire server and all its resources. This setup gives you full control over the server, including the ability to choose the operating system, hardware, and other configurations.

Dedicated hosting is perfect for large eCommerce sites, busy news portals, and big business applications that need powerful server resources and top-notch performance. Security, control, and the ability to customize your server are the main benefits of dedicated hosting. But to get the most bang for your buck, you need to choose a high-performance hosting company. 

At A2 Hosting, we choose the best hardware, software, and network to ensure your site is performing at its peak. 

A2 Hosting Dedicated Server Hosting Page

Our Dedicated Server offerings are the best choice for businesses with significant online operations. With top-tier hardware specs, including up to 10 TB transfer capacity, 2×1 TB NVMe M.2 SSD Storage, and 64 GB DDR4 EEC RAM, you’ll have the power you need for your demanding applications. 

We also offer optional root access for advanced users who want more control over their server environment. And, with 24/7 monitoring, you can rest easy knowing your server is in good hands. 

Platform-Specific Hosting

Platform-specific hosting is a tailored solution designed to optimize performance for specific content management systems or applications.

Take WordPress hosting, for example, which offers advantages like one-click installs, automatic updates, and specialized support. This type of hosting is ideal for bloggers, small businesses, and content creators who prefer ease of use and streamlined performance for their chosen platform.

A2 Hosting Managed WordPress Hosting Page

A2 Hosting caters to this need through its Managed WordPress Hosting plans. These plans come with WordPress pre-installed and offer a suite of WordPress-specific features, including a dedicated TurboHub dashboard for building and managing your site and the A2 optimized plugin for caching and site performance enhancement. 

Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting is a flexible hosting solution that utilizes multiple servers to host a single website, ensuring greater scalability and reliability. This hosting option is ideal for websites with fluctuating traffic, app developers requiring scalable resources, and businesses seeking disaster recovery solutions.

Some of the key benefits of cloud hosting are its scalability options and the ease of resource management. The ability to adjust resources based on demand is a significant advantage for websites experiencing fluctuating traffic patterns. This flexibility ensures that high-traffic sites can handle sudden spikes in visitors without compromising on performance or experiencing downtime. 

For tech-savvy entrepreneurs, the ease of resource management in cloud hosting allows for efficient allocation and optimization of resources. This means they can fine-tune their hosting environment to meet specific needs, whether scaling up during peak periods or optimizing costs during quieter times.

Cloud hosting lends itself to high performance, but one major downside is that storing data in the cloud raises concerns about security and privacy. There’s always a risk of data breaches, hacking, or unauthorized access to sensitive information. With that in mind, if you want the performance of cloud hosting with better security, A2’s Turbo hosting plans are the best fit. 

Managed vs. Unmanaged Hosting

When considering VPS or dedicated hosting, it’s important to understand the differences between managed and unmanaged hosting options. Each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages, and the choice ultimately depends on your technical expertise, business needs, and resources.

Managed hosting is a solution where the provider takes care of server maintenance, updates, security, and support. This option is well-suited for businesses that lack in-house technical expertise or prioritize convenience.

Advantages:

• Expert technical support to help resolve issues quickly.
• Regular security updates and monitoring to protect your website.
• Time and resource savings that allow you to focus on your core business.

Disadvantages:

• Higher costs compared to unmanaged hosting.
• Less control over server configuration and customization.

Unmanaged hosting gives users complete control over server configuration and management. This option is preferred by developers, tech-savvy users, and those who require custom server setups.

Advantages:

• Lower costs compared to managed hosting.
• Full control over server configuration and customization.
• Flexibility to install and manage applications as needed.

Disadvantages:

• Increased responsibility for server setup, configuration, security, and updates.
• Higher risk of security breaches due to a lack of professional oversight.
• Limited support, requiring users to resolve technical issues independently.

Why Managed Hosting is Often the Better Choice 

While unmanaged hosting may seem appealing due to its lower costs and greater control, the drawbacks often outweigh the benefits for most users. The increased responsibility, higher security risks, and limited support can lead to significant challenges and costly downtime.

Managed hosting, on the other hand, provides expert support, enhanced security, and time savings, allowing you to focus on growing your business. With a managed hosting provider like A2 Hosting, you can trust that your website is in good hands, with optimized performance and reliable uptime.

At A2 Hosting, we specialize in providing top-notch managed hosting solutions for both VPS and dedicated servers. Our expert team is dedicated to ensuring your website runs smoothly, securely, and efficiently, giving you peace of mind and the freedom to concentrate on what matters most – your business.

Ready to Launch? Find Your Perfect A2 Hosting Plan Today

A2 Hosting Web Hosting Page 

Now that you’ve gained a thorough understanding of why web hosting matters, you’re just a step away from finding the perfect A2 Hosting plan for your needs! At A2 Hosting, we understand that every business is unique, and that’s why we offer a variety of plans to fit your specific requirements.

Our plans are designed to cater to all types of users, from small startups to big enterprises. If you’re looking for even more power, you’ll benefit from our Turbo plans, which use LiteSpeed web servers for a blazing-fast speed boost. The best part? Our Turbo plans are available for every type of hosting we offer. 

As your business grows, our plans can adapt to meet your changing needs. You can easily upgrade resources, such as CPU, RAM, and storage, to handle increased traffic and heavier workloads. 

Plus, with our 24/7/365 support, you’ll always have help when you need it. Whether you’re experiencing technical difficulties or simply need advice on optimizing your website, our friendly and knowledgeable support team will be on hand to provide assistance over live chat, phone, or email. 

Ready to take the first step towards launching your website? Get started with A2 Hosting today! 

What is Web Hosting? FAQs

What is website hosting? 

Website hosting is the service that makes your site accessible on the Internet. It’s like renting a space on a server to store your website’s files and data, allowing users worldwide to visit your site through their web browsers.

Does free web hosting exist? Is it recommended?

Yes, free web hosting is available, but it’s not always the best choice. Free hosting often comes with limitations, such as reduced storage, bandwidth, and features. It may also display ads on your site or limit your customization options. For businesses and serious websites, paid hosting is generally recommended for better performance and control.

What is a web hosting service?

A web hosting service is a company that provides the technology and infrastructure needed to store and serve your website’s files on the Internet. They offer various hosting plans, including shared, VPS, dedicated, and cloud hosting, each with various features and resources to suit different needs.

How much does it cost to host a website?

Website hosting costs can vary widely depending on the type of hosting, resources, and features you need. If you’re looking for an affordable start, A2 Hosting’s Shared Web Hosting plan kicks off at just $2.99 per month, offering a pocket-friendly option to get your site up and running.

For those needing more power, A2 Hosting’s VPS plans start at $35.99 per month, while Dedicated Server Hosting plans begin at $79.99 per month. Although these options are pricier than shared hosting, A2’s offerings are still a great value for the resources and capabilities you get. 

The post Understanding Web Hosting: A Complete Guide appeared first on The A2 Posting.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of building a WordPress site in three easy steps, so you can share your ideas with the world.

Step 1: Choose a Hosting Plan and Domain Name

The foundation of any successful website is a reliable hosting plan and a memorable domain name. Here’s how to get started:

Selecting a Hosting Plan:

Research Hosting Providers: There are numerous hosting providers available, each offering different plans with various features. All hosting providers are not the same so make sure to do your research to find the best fit for you. Hosting companies should be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Speed and performance
• Ability and track record to keep your site secure.
• Scalability to grow with you as needed
• Cost effective

WordPress is the most extensible and widely used platform on the web, so it’s important to choose a hosting partner for your WordPress site that knows what they’re doing. Both A2 Hosting and WordPress were established 20 years ago and from our inception, our focus has remained the same: providing our customers with the ultimate hosting experience. Renowned for our speed and reliability, we offer plans to fit various budgets and the flexibility to scale as your website grows. By choosing A2 Hosting, you ensure you have reliable and fast hosting to set your website up for success. Don’t just take our word for it– check out what other customers have said on TrustPilot and see why our customers choose us!

Choose a Plan: Hosting plans typically come in different tiers, catering to various levels of website traffic and requirements. If you’re just starting, a shared hosting plan is usually sufficient. As your website grows, you can upgrade to more robust options.

At A2 Hosting, we have plans for all different levels and budgets: from shared, to VPS, to Dedicated Servers. For super easy setup, choose Managed WordPress hosting. These plans are geared towards WordPress users and offer fast and easy setup for WordPress sites.

Register a Domain Name:

• Brainstorm Domain Names: Your domain name is your online identity – make sure to choose one that reflects your website. The best domain names are memorable and would be relevant to your website content.
• Check Domain Availability: Use a domain search tool to ensure that your desired domain name is available. If your first choice is taken, get creative with variations or consider using different domain extensions (.com, .net, .org, etc.).
• Complete the Registration: Once you’ve found an available domain name, complete the registration process.

By the end of this step, you’ll have secured a hosting plan and a unique domain name which will lay the groundwork for building your WordPress site.

Step 2: Building Your WordPress Website

Install WordPress and Create Site:

Before you start building your site you will first need to install WordPress. If you have selected a plan like our Managed WordPress hosting plan, the installation is done for you. Otherwise follow the instructions here to get started.

In addition to installing WordPress, If you want to take the hassle out of setting up a new site, all our managed plans come with a quick site launcher preinstalled. It will guide you through building and launching your site and allow you to get started in minutes! Choose the type of site you want to build, its goals, your design preferences and the pages you want to build. You can even choose from thousands of responsive WordPress templates right in the launcher.

Choosing a Theme: 

Login to your WordPress dashboard and go to the ‘Appearance’ tab and select ‘Themes’ Here, you can browse through a variety of free and premium themes. Make sure to choose a theme that aligns with the purpose, style, and functionality of your website. Once you’ve found the perfect theme, click the “Install” button, followed by the “Activate” button. Your website will now have a new look based on the selected theme.

Select and Install WordPress Plugins:

WordPress plugins are like apps for your website and can add extra features and functionality to your site. To explore the plugin library, navigate to “Plugins” in the dashboard and click “Add New”.  You can also use the search bar to find specific plugins you want to install and activate.

Whether you want to enhance SEO, add a contact form, or integrate social media, there’s likely a plugin for it. Here are some of our favorites:

• Forms – Ninja Forms, Gravity Forms
• SEO – RankMath, All in One
• Page Builder – BeaverBuilder, Guten, Elementor

Once you find the plugins you want to use, you will want to make sure you look over the customization settings as most plugins come with options that allow you to tailor your site and optimize performance.

Step 3: Set Your Website Up for Success!

Elevate your WordPress site with these proactive measures for a seamlessly optimized and secure website. Here are some things to look at and adjust to ensure your WordPress site is operating at its best:

• Performance: Make sure to utilize things like page caching and image optimization, as well as Minify CSS,HTML & Javascript. Optimizing your site is important and will greatly improve your site performance, create the best user experience, and will help improve your search engine rankings.
• Regular Updates: It is important to keep your WordPress core, themes, and plugins up to date. This helps secure your website if you have the latest security patches. This also ensures that you have all new features available.
• Regular Backups: Set up automatic backups of your site for peace of mind.
• Utilize TurboHub: We have created a WordPress Dashboard for our WordPress users. This makes it easier for people to make many of the optimizations above as easy as a click! It’s now offered on all shared and managed WordPress plans.

Congratulations! You now have a WordPress site!

In conclusion, opting for our managed WordPress hosting provides a seamless and efficient solution for website owners. By auto-installing WordPress, the initial setup becomes a breeze and by utilizing TurboHub, it simplifies the process of implementing crucial optimizations for your WordPress site.

Get started today with managed WordPress hosting!

By following these easy steps, you’ve successfully built a WordPress site from the ground up! As you navigate your WordPress site, experiment with different themes, plugins, and customization options to make your site truly unique. Happy WordPressing! 

The post Build a WordPress Site in 3 Easy Steps appeared first on The A2 Posting.

The A2Hosting.com team looked at available historical data through the years to create a visualization of the most visited websites in the world since 1995. See how the top websites in the world have changed through the years.

Copy and paste the text below to add the image to your website.

In 1995, the top websites by total global visits were AOL, Yahoo!, GeoCities, Netscape, and WebCrawler. 

In June of 1995, AOL was at the top of the World Wide Web game. AOL was created in 1983, but truly became an internet phenomenon in the 1990s. It originally provided dial-up internet service to people around the world, and became known for its themed chat rooms and being one of the leading instant messaging services. While AOL.com still does exist today, it is not the powerhouse that it was at its peak as one of the most famous 90s websites.

Yahoo! was the second most popular website in 1995. Yahoo! was created in 1994 by two Stanford University students. The Yahoo.com domain was purchased in 1995. It originally started out as a web directory and later pivoted towards becoming a search engine. It is still a popular search engine aroundthe world, ranking eighth in website popularity in 2023.

GeoCities was a revolutionary website founded in 1994 that allowed regular internet users to create their own web pages based on their hobbies or interests. It included a web directory of “neighborhoods” where users could design their own pages. These neighborhoods were themed to particular topics – for instance, the “Hollywood” neighborhood was geared towards film/TV interests and “SiliconValley” was devoted to computer topics. At its peak, there were at least 38,000,000 pages on GeoCities. GeoCities was acquired by Yahoo! in 1999 and officially went offline in 2009.

Netscape, which ranked fourth in 1995, originally started out as a web browser called Netscape Navigator in 1994. It was one of the companies that was engaged in the “browser wars” of the 1990s, with Netscape Navigator being pitted against Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Netscape used their browser to drive traffic to their website. AOL acquired Netscape in 1999 and the original Netscape website now redirects to AOL.

The fifth most visited website of 1995 was WebCrawler, one of the oldest search engines still in existence and was the first engine to provide a full text search. It launched in 1994 and was acquired by AOL in 1995.

When Did Google Become Popular? 

Google was officially created in 1998 by Sergey Brin and Larry Page at Stanford University. They began creating a search engine that utilized links to determine how popular a web page was. The name of the company is based on the number googol, which is a 1 followed by 100 zeroes. The Google.com domain was purchased in 1997. Brin and Page originally started working on the company at their dorm rooms at Stanford, but after a generous investment, they were able to move operations to a garage in Menlo Park, CA. The search engine because successful very quickly, and the company went public in 2004. Now, Google has offices and data centers in more than 200 cities around the world.

In addition to being the most popular search engine in the world, Google also offers an email service (Gmail) as well as a suite of word processing and collaboration tools including Google Docs, Google Meet, Google Calendar, and Google Chat.

What Are the Top Visited Websites of 2023?

As of November 2023, the top visited websites around the world are the following:

1. Google.com: 83,800,000,000 visitors
2. YouTube.com: 31,400,000,000 visitors
3. Facebook.com: 16,100,000,000 visitors
4. Instagram.com: 6,600,000,000 visitors
5. Twitter.com: 5,900,000,000 visitors
6. Baidu.com: 4,800,000,000 visitors
7. Wikipedia.org: 4,300,000,000 visitors
8. Yahoo.com: 3,400,000,000 visitors
9. Yandex.com: 3,200,000,000 visitors
10. WhatsApp.com: 3,000,000,000 visitors

Google has maintained its top position since 2011. Social media websites make up much of the top 10 most visited sites. Facebook was at the number two spot for many years before being overtaken by YouTube. In fourth is Instagram, followed by Twitter (now known as X) in fifth. It will be interesting to see what types of websites dominate the top 10 as the internet evolves in the future.

Thinking of starting your own website? See what kind of business site hosting or personal site hosting is right for you.

The Most Visited Websites Between 1995-2023

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The post The Most Visited Websites Every Year Since 1995 appeared first on The A2 Posting.

Themes provide the look-and-feel of the cPanel interface. The latest cPanel theme release is named Jupiter, and it replaces the Paper Lantern theme (which in turn replaced the x3 theme before it). If you have been using Paper Lantern for awhile, you may be considering a switch to Jupiter. Here’s what you need to know about cPanel’s latest theme.

Differences between cPanel Paper Lantern and Jupiter themes

Jupiter provides a completely new look-and-feel to the cPanel interface. But it also offers two new pages: Tools and Solutions.

If you have used cPanel before, the Tools page will be largely familiar to you. It is the default page, and groups features into familiar categories, such as Email, Domains, and Databases.  You’ll also see relevant information about your account at a glance in the right sidebar, including:

• General information: Here you’ll find information such as your account’s IP address, home directory, username, and more.
• Server information: Here you’ll find information specific to the server, such as software version numbers and path information.
• Statistics: Here you’ll find various statistics relating to your account’s resource usage, such as disk, database, and domain usage.

The Solutions page, on the other hand, is totally new. It is intended for novice users of cPanel. It features tutorials on common tasks, such as how to set up an email account and build a website. There are also FAQs and links to documentation resources to help you easily find answers to your questions.

Switching from Paper Lantern to Jupiter theme in cPanel

You don’t have to wait to see what the new Jupiter theme looks like. You can easily switch your account to the Jupiter theme now to get a feel for the new interface. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your cPanel account.
2. In the right sidebar, under GENERAL INFORMATION, locate the Theme list box.
3. Select Jupiter. cPanel switches to the Jupiter theme automatically.
4. If you want to switch back to the Paper Lantern theme, just select paper_lantern in the Theme list box.

Conclusion

cPanel has made it easy to switch to the Jupiter theme. With dedicated development and the promise of more features, the benefits of making the switch to Jupiter outweigh the costs of staying with the older Paper Lantern theme.

At A2 Hosting, we strive to provide our customers with the latest industry standards and updates. Our hosting accounts include the new Jupiter theme so you can enjoy the best that cPanel has to offer. Our dedicated Support team is standing by 24/7/365 to answer any questions you may have.

The post Switching to cPanel’s Jupiter Theme appeared first on The A2 Posting.

While both concepts have the same goals and core elements, the execution or dynamics of the two are entirely different. As a reseller, you sell a product or service under your own brand name. As an affiliate, you send leads or business opportunities to another brand for a chance of earning a commission.

Why don’t we explore these concepts a bit further?

What is a Reseller?

A reseller, as the name implies, is someone who purchases products (usually in bulk) or offers services that are not originally theirs, with the intent of selling them to their own pool of customers.

In its most basic sense, you purchase the products or services at a lower price from the original business and sell them with markup to gain profit. While anyone can be a reseller of any products or services, building your network to gain significant profit through this method may take time and a lot of sales talk. Finding a great source of what you resell is also a huge advantage, especially if you’ve already developed a good working relationship.

Say you want to start a web hosting company, for example. You lay out all the plans and the things that you need to get a decent business off the ground. But then you realize that you’ll need a large amount of capital and a lot of other things to do so.

This is where reseller hosting makes sense.

In a reseller hosting plan, you get a chance to buy hosting in bulk. This not only gives you a  lot of hosting space that you can divide into your future clients’ needs. At the same time, you also gain access to a lot of different tools that would otherwise cost you much more to acquire on your own. As a startup, that is not ideal, and most especially for a side hustle.

Also, one huge advantage of being a reseller is that you can brand everything under your own business. That’s why a reseller program does not actually force you to do something entirely different, because the way of doing business is just about the same as with a traditional one.

Pros and Cons of Reselling

With a reselling business, your startup costs are relatively low, since you don’t have to invest in most of the things that you would otherwise need to get it off the ground. As a reseller, you don’t worry about things like manufacturing. All you need to think about is how to get a steady flow of customers and orders.

Reselling should also facilitate growth in your business. You can keep a consistent flow of products and services, as long as your source does not encounter any issues themselves.

A couple of disadvantages though when it comes to reselling is that you do not have total control over the products or services that you’re going to render, since you don’t do the leg work for a lot of aspects in the business flow. When it comes to quality, you are dependent on your source.

Also, there is a possibility of being unable to resell at a competitive price. So, expect to not have a staggering amount of profit upfront. Reselling might sound easy, but depending on the profit that you want to gain, you will need to put in a lot of work.

What is an Affiliate Program?

If reselling sounds like too much work for you, then you might want to try being an affiliate. While being a reseller allows you to run your own business, as an affiliate you are essentially working as a sales rep for the business you are affiliated with.

How do you become an affiliate? Join an affiliate network of the niche you’d like to be in. You will be given a unique link just for you with a tracking code to embed on your website, content, etc.

When someone clicks on your affiliate link and makes a purchase, you make a commission. Affiliate programs work because it generally puts all actors involved in a win-win situation.

This is a great way for businesses to get a steady flow of leads and sales and at the same time, allow smaller businesses to earn off of those sales. The most widely utilized affiliate program is that of Amazon.

Pros and Cons of an Affiliate Program

With an affiliate program, how you earn is quite clear and simple. Through this side hustle, you can earn passive income and it’s quite easy to get started. You will also not have a lot of responsibilities, so it’s less work than being a reseller.

But of course, being just an affiliate, you only earn on commission which, to be honest, can’t be a lot depending on the products or services you’re linking to. Sales here are also not guaranteed.

Which One is Best for You?

So where are you at in the reseller vs affiliate debate? I think by now it’s clear what suits you best:

If you want to start a traditional business, be in control of your profit, and are willing to put in the work, then become a reseller.

If you just need a side hustle or additional passive income, then become an affiliate.

A2 Hosting’s Reseller Hosting and Affiliate Programs

With A2 Hosting’s white-labeled reseller hosting solutions, your clients are guaranteed to have faster websites on our Turbo servers, enjoy better SEO rankings, very low bounce rates, and high conversion rates. You will also be backed by a 24/7 crew of technical support and servers that guarantee 99% uptime.

And yes, we also offer an affiliate program where you are guaranteed to earn a commission every time you send a customer our way. Now that’s what we call a win-win situation.

So do you want to earn some side income? Contact us today!

The post What’s the Difference Between Reseller and Affiliate Programs? appeared first on The A2 Posting.