Heck, no!

We have also had some very good experiences with Hostgator and we are happy to refer WordPress users to them. What are the advantages of Hostgator over Bluehost?

• Hostgator is cheaper
• Hostgator has good technical support, at least as good as Bluehost
• Hostgator features cute little alligators in its ads (OK, that may not be a very good selling point to you, but )

The reason why Hostgator is our #2 web hosting recommendation is because, at the time of writing, they do not offer Simple Scripts to automatically install WordPress. But they do provide Fantastico, which is nearly as good and gets the job done just as well, albeit with a few extra mouse clicks.

Hostgator also offer a range of different packages, depending on how much hosting you actually require. You can get a ‘hatchling’ account, which lets you host just one domain or you can go all the way up to dedicated hosting which costs a bit more.

And we can offer a coupon code to get a discount on Hostgator WordPress web hosting. Quote code HOTCODEHOST when you order a hosting package from Hostgator and you’ll get a discount of $9.94!

WordPress now requires hosting to provide:

• PHP 5.2.4 or greater
• MySQL 5.0 or greater

PHP is the computer language that WordPress is written in and, due to some of the more advanced features present in WordPress 3.2, the higher level of PHP is necessary to execute the code.

MySQL is the relational database management system (RDBS) that provides multi-user access to all the website’s content.

Users of WordPress don’t have to know anything about either of these features because it’s all taken care of by the WordPress programmers. All that’s required for the system to work seamlessly is that the hosting company that provides the server keeps up to date and has these two important features in place.

Some WordPress hosting companies can be slow to provide the technical infrastructure that WordPress upgrades demand and this can create problems for WordPress webmasters.

My favorite WordPress Webhost, Bluehost, takes care of all this. I never have to worry about upgrading to a new WordPress release because I know that Bluehost will always be ahead of the game and will have all the technical toolkit in place before I even need it.

If you’re starting a new WordPress website, make sure that you choose a WordPress webhost that you can rely on to keep up with technical advances and shield you from the problems you’d rather not know about. Trust me, Bluehost will do just that!

So, just what do you need to look for in a WordPress webhost?

OK – I may be inviting some controversy here, but I think there are only three things you really need to check out when you are looking for a WordPress host:

• Easy WordPress installation
• Reliability
• First-class technical support

If you can be sure of these three factors in your hosting deal, you don’t have to worry about anything else. And that means that you can concentrate on creating the website of your dreams without the distraction of grappling with forbidding technical barriers, or downtime or non-existent tech help when you need it..

But what about price? Isn’t it better to get a cheap WordPress hosting package?

Well, with WordPress hosts, as with anything else in life, you get what you pay for. Sure, webhosting costs are important, but WordPress hosting is very competitive and you’ll find that there is not a huge difference in price between the serious hosting companies.  When you cost it out, all the major players are offering their services for a few bucks a month and, in my book, it’s what you get for those bucks that matters.

So, who do I recommend for WordPress hosting?

My answer is definitely Bluehost. This site is hosted on Bluehost and I have no hesitation in urging you to follow my lead. Why?

• Bluehost, unlike most of its competitors, offers Simple Scripts, which is a neat way of installing WordPress on your domain automatically with a few clicks.
• Bluehost is reliable with a near 100% uptime. In fact, Bluehost is recommended by wordpress.org in its advice to WordPress users.
• Technical support is second to none. You can get sympathetic and knowledgeable help by phone, chat or email. That really counts if you run into unexpected problems.
• Bluehost is actually very good value because your first domain comes free and you can add an unlimited amount of addon domains without paying another cent in hosting fees. This means that you don’t pay any extra for WordPress hosting for your second site or your third site – it’s all in the price.

Bluehost is my choice for WordPress webhosting because I have tried and tested the competition and I know a good deal when I see one. Trust me, if you choose Bluehost you will not regret it.