Question
Question
How to decide on the most appropriate hosting solution for my freelancing needs
I have spent the better part of a week tumbling down the rabbit hole that is modern Wordpress hosting solutions. I am in the process of setting up a freelance web business, starting off with basic Wordpress website development and management and have made it to the point of having to decide on using a managed Wordpress host (SiteGround) or go the VPS route for hosting client websites.
Going the VPS route and using DO seems like the all-round best solution, but I have read enough opinion pieces on server and Wordpress maintenance to scare me right on back to a managed hosting solution.
I am by no means an experienced sysadmin (but am willing to learn). What I am unsure of in point form is:
- What exactly is involved with ongoing server/cms maintenance. Security, Firewall, Backups, Software updates (Server and CMS)
- What tools, if any, can help with ongoing maintenance? e.g. ServerPilot? CloudFlare? Cloudways?
- The best solution for client emails (G Suite?)
- If using DO, which setup is most appropriate i.e. Droplet per website or several sites per (larger) Droplet?
- Not specifically related to my initial questions, but how do other freelancers handle client billing from a hosting perspective?
So finally, for someone trying to do what I am doing, with my level of experience, what is the most appropriate hosting solution?
Thank you in advance for any insight on this :)
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I know it’s a pretty old question but there wasn’t much activity so I thought I’d comment.
First off, since you’re not an experienced admin, you did the right thing not going straight to unmanaged servers.
There’s a lot involved in server management, but basically, it’s:
You can still test and learn stuff and experiment on your own with some droplets.
Some tools do most of this and will help you a lot, but using a tool without any input from you is not enough. Tools such as ServerPilot and RunCloud are great if you need such a tool. You can also use a CLI tool like Centmin Mod or EasyEngine to automate the installation of WordPress, but they don’t do much for server management.
G Suite is one of the best solutions for emails. You can use something like MX Route if you need a cheaper alternative.
DO setup depends on your websites and how big they are. There are plenty of tutorials here on DO on how to do most setups. A starting guideline is to use one droplet per one active website. But of course, you can host multiple websites on the same droplet or configure high availability for one website on multiple droplets.
Freelancers mostly handle billing via PayPal and Stripe. If you’re using WHMCS or something similar, it’s easily integrated with most billing systems. If you have PayPal you can just create an invoice.