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Introduction Choosing the right hosting plan is one of the most important decisions when launching a website. Two of the most common hosting types are shared hosting and VPS hosting. While both solutions allow websites to operate online, they differ in performance, control, and scalability. Understanding these differences can help you choose the best solution for your website. What Is Shared Hosting? Shared hosting is a type of hosting where multiple websites share resources on the same server. These resources include: Because the cost of the server is shared among many users, this option is typically the most affordable. Shared hosting works well for: What Is VPS Hosting? VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. A VPS divides a physical server into multiple isolated environments. Each environment has dedicated resources and behaves like an independent server. This means websites receive: VPS hosting is often used by: Performance Differences The main difference between shared and VPS hosting is performance consistency. Shared hosting may experience fluctuations because multiple websites share the same resources. VPS hosting provides more predictable performance because resources are dedicated. Scalability Another advantage of VPS hosting is scalability. As traffic increases, websites can easily upgrade resources such as: This flexibility makes VPS hosting ideal for websites expecting growth. Internal Links Learn more:

Introduction Search engine optimisation (SEO) is often associated with keywords, backlinks, and content. However, one of the most overlooked factors affecting search rankings is web hosting. The infrastructure supporting your website directly impacts how search engines evaluate performance. Google prioritises websites that load quickly, remain accessible, and provide secure browsing experiences. This means your hosting provider plays an important role in your SEO success. Website Speed and SEO Page speed is one of the most significant ranking factors. Google measures how quickly a page loads and how responsive it is for users. Slow websites often suffer from: Fast hosting environments significantly improve these metrics. Modern servers use technologies such as: These improvements help reduce loading times. Server Response Time Server response time refers to how quickly a server begins delivering content when a user requests a page. If the server is overloaded or poorly configured, this delay can increase. Fast hosting environments ensure minimal response time, improving both user experience and search engine performance. Website Uptime and Reliability Search engines regularly crawl websites to evaluate their content. If your website frequently goes offline, search engines may struggle to access it. This can negatively impact rankings because: Reliable hosting infrastructure prevents these issues. Security and HTTPS Security is another ranking factor. Websites using HTTPS encryption receive ranking advantages because they provide secure browsing. Hosting providers often include SSL certificates that enable encrypted connections. Secure hosting environments also protect websites from malware and hacking attempts. Internal Links Explore Hex Hosting services:

Introduction For small businesses in the UK, a reliable website is no longer optional—it’s essential. Whether you run an online shop, consultancy, local service company, or startup, your website is often the first place potential customers interact with your brand. But launching a website requires one crucial foundation: web hosting. The quality of your hosting provider directly affects your site’s speed, security, reliability, and search engine rankings. Choosing the right hosting platform can mean the difference between a professional online presence and a frustrating experience for visitors. In this guide, we’ll explore what small businesses should look for in a hosting provider and why choosing the right infrastructure is critical. Why Hosting Matters for Small Businesses A website is often the digital storefront of a business. When visitors arrive, they expect fast load times and reliable performance. If your hosting is slow or unstable, several problems can occur: Reliable hosting ensures your website is always available, loads quickly, and protects your customer data. Key Features Small Businesses Should Look For Not all hosting providers offer the same level of service. Small businesses should prioritise several important features. Fast Server Performance Website speed is a major ranking factor in Google. Faster hosting improves both user experience and SEO. Modern hosting environments use: These technologies help websites load significantly faster. Reliable Uptime Uptime refers to how often your website is accessible. Good hosting providers offer 99.9% uptime or higher, ensuring visitors can access your site whenever they need to. Downtime can result in: Strong Security Small businesses are often targets for cyber attacks because their websites may lack strong security protection. Reliable hosting should include: These features help keep your website and customer data secure. Shared Hosting vs VPS Hosting Many small businesses begin with shared hosting, which is a cost-effective solution where multiple websites share server resources. Shared hosting is ideal for: As traffic grows, businesses may upgrade to VPS hosting, which provides more dedicated resources and better performance. You can explore Hex Hosting services here: How Hosting Affects SEO Search engines evaluate multiple technical factors when ranking websites. Hosting influences: A fast and stable hosting environment improves these factors and can contribute to better rankings in search results. Why Choose Hex Hosting Hex Hosting focuses on providing fast, secure, and reliable hosting designed for modern websites. Our infrastructure prioritises: This ensures businesses can focus on growth while their websites run smoothly.

Because WordPress is so popular it, therefore, attracts the attention of hackers around the world, whose aim is to break and exploit those sites.  They might do that to leave political messages, they may just do it for fun to appear on hacking league tables, or more seriously they may use your website to target your customer data or to use your site for illegal activities, such as embedding malicious content that spammers direct people to – eg phishing websites. It’s therefore important (and within our service terms and conditions) that customers keep their websites up to date with any security updates – for the main WordPress core software as well as the installed themes and plugins. We would also recommend that unused themes or plugins are removed/uninstalled if no longer required. We’ve created this page to act as a reference point to guide you through the process of checking and updating your WordPress sites to make sure they are up-to-date and remain so. First of all log into your WordPress dashboard If there is a WordPress software update due, you should see that on your main dashboard, the link will direct you through the update process: When you click on Plugins on the left, it will show which plugins require an update and you can set it to have auto-updates enabled. By clicking on Appearance on the left, you’ll see which themes can be updated. When you hover over a theme, you can access the theme details: This then allows you to enable auto-updates for the theme. You may prefer to leave auto-updates off, and process updates manually, to be able to check that the installs process without error. If that’s the case, then it’s important that you log in to your WordPress site regularly to check for site issues or vulnerabilities.

To create a website that matches your brand and looks professional, you need to install and activate a WordPress theme. You can install a WordPress theme using the WordPress directory, download it manually, or use an FTP client. 1. Install Using the WordPress Theme Directory Follow these steps if you are going to use a free theme: 2. Install Through Downloading WordPress Themes If you purchased a theme from a developer, you need to upload before installing. Follow the steps below to upload and install a theme. 3. Installing a WordPress Theme via FTP A File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a protocol that allows file exchange between computers and servers on a network. A WordPress theme gives a consistent design to a WordPress site while maintaining its core features. Consider your site type, compatibility, and budget before installing a theme.

Plugins are the cornerstone of the WordPress ecosystem. They allow you to add new features to WordPress such as a contact form, layout, shopping cart, etc. They make the CMS (Content Management System) unique among its peers because of the sheer extensibility they bring to the platform. Many users are attracted to WordPress because of the plugins, but they don’t know how to install them. If this is you, don’t worry. We’ll walk you through how to install a WordPress plugin in 3 different ways, so you’ll never run out of the cool stuff your site needs. You can install a WordPress plugin using a search, uploading the plugin and manually installing a WordPress plugin via FTP. Installing a Plugin using WordPress Plugin Search The easiest way to install a WordPress plugin is to use the plugin search. The only downside to this option is that a plugin must be in the WordPress plugin directory which is limited to free plugins only. The first thing you need to do is: And with that, you have installed a WordPress plugin in the easiest and fastest way possible. Installing a Plugin using the WordPress Admin Plugin Upload Paid WordPress plugins cannot be installed using the first method because they are not listed in the WordPress plugin directory, as such the upload method was introduced to install such plugins. To install WordPress plugins using the upload option in the admin area, follow the steps below:You need to first of all download the plugin from the source which will be a zip file. Do not unzip any plugins that you download this way. WordPress reads the compressed archive, so you will always be uploading the .zip itself, not the files within). Manually installing a WordPress plugin via FTP Installing a plugin via SFTP is not much different from installing via download. You will need to download the plugin source file first(it will be a zip file). Then you need to extract the zip file to your computer. Extracting the plugin zip file will create a new folder with the same name. This is the folder you need to manually upload to your website using an FTP client. You would need access to connect to your host via the FTP manager. If you don’t have your FTP username and password, contact your hosting provider and ask them. Conclusion Without plugins, WordPress is still a fantastic platform that can do a lot. With plugins, however, it can do just about anything. By following the steps above, you can safely install plugins you download from anywhere. However, we would like to warn you that downloading plugins from untrustworthy sources and installing them can lead to compromised sites, malware and various other negative consequences, so don’t install them. The WP.org repository and developer websites are secured places to download a plugin from.

Many modern WordPress applications and plugins require more memory than the default allocation. Without enough memory, your site may experience slow performance or errors, particularly when using backup, caching, or optimisation plugins. By following these methods, you can increase the memory limit and ensure your site runs smoothly. Always back up your files before making any changes. Updating the php.ini file in cPanel The web hosting server configuration prevents the direct editing of the php.ini file. To edit the INI we use the MultiPHP ini editor which helps prevent issues arising from incorrectly configured .ini files. 2. From here navigate to and click on the MultiPHP INI editor. 3. Find the memory_limit option and increase it to 256M (or a higher value if needed). When you’ve made that change click on Save. 4. In some environments, a PHP service restart may be required for the new settings to take effect. 5. To confirm the change, go to Tools > Site Health > Info > Server in your WordPress dashboard. Look for the memory limit setting. If the memory limit has not increased as expected, your hosting provider may have restrictions in place. In this case, contact them for further assistance. Editing wp-config.php If changing the PHP settings doesn’t work, you can try modifying the wp-config.php file. Adding the following line before the line that reads “That’s all, stop editing!” will help. define(‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ‘256M’);

HTTPS, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, secures the connection between the client and the server, enabling safe data transfer when accessing a website. This applies to all websites, including those using WordPress. By encrypting communications, HTTPS reduces the risk of MITM attacks and protects sensitive information such as login details and card numbers, especially with a valid free SSL certificate. Since HTTPS and SSL usage have become standard, failing to secure your site with a certificate can harm trust in your site and brand. Many browsers amplify the absence of an SSL certificate by displaying security warnings, which can further discourage potential customers. Additionally, using HTTPS across your site significantly affects SEO and search engine rankings. Sites marked unsecured are less likely to be indexed or rank highly in SERPs impacting organic traffic to your domain. Why https is important on WordPress WordPress is arguably the most popular CMS platform, which makes securing your WordPress site more important than ever. Its popularity continues to grow due to the vast ecosystem that supports WordPress and simplifies its use. This guide primarily focuses on a plugin called Better Search Replace. Without plugins like this, resolving such issues would be much more difficult. Primarily this is because one of the easiest ways to secure your managed WordPress site is with installation of a free SSL certificate and then forcing HTTPS connections. This has a number of benefits including securing connections to the site and boosting SEO rankings but for WordPress it can also cause some mixed content issues surrounding existing non HTTPS content including images and other media. Troubleshooting WordPress Mixed Content 2. After logging in to your WordPress admin area head to the plugins menu found in the left sidebar. 3. Now using the search feature search for “Better Search Replace” the plugin we mentioned earlier, once you have found that as shown in the picture below click install and then activate. 4. Now that Better Search Replace is installed & activated you can start using the tool by heading to the “Tools” section found in the left sidebar. 5. Now that Better Search Replace is installed & activated you can start using the tool by heading to the “Tools” section found in the left sidebar. 6. Afterwards from inside the tool enter your domain in the “Search For” field with http:// & enter your domain with https:// in the “Replace with” field. The example below shows the exact entries using yourdomain.tld. 7. Moving on using CTRL+CLICK select all the tables in the “Select Tables” section, this will ensure that the plugin finds any instance of the HTTP address stored in the database. From here use the Dry Run feature (checked by default) and click “Run Search and Replace” to run it as a dry run or uncheck to run the command on your databases.

If your WordPress contact form isn’t sending emails, you’re not alone. Many users experience issues where WPForms, Contact Form 7, Elementor Forms, and other plugins fail to send notifications. This is usually due to misconfigured email settings, server restrictions, or missing SMTP authentication. In this guide, we’ll show you how to troubleshoot and fix WordPress contact form email issues, ensuring your messages are delivered reliably. Install & Activate the plugin 1. Firstly, log in to your WordPress admin area. 2. After logging in, navigate to the add plugins section. 3. Now, using the search feature, enter “WordPress SMTP” into the search box. Click Install Now to install the plugin. 3. Afterwards, activate the plugin. To do this, click Plugins under WP Mail SMTP then, click Activate as shown below. Install & Activate the plugin 2. Now, on the Choose Your SMTP Mailer page, select Other SMTP. Then click Save and Continue. 3. Afterwards, enter your SMTP hostname. You can use your own domain address, for instance, yourdomain.tld, you need to install an SSL/TLS certificate on the mail service to send securely. cPanel will install this with AutoSSL. 4. To use the secured version, first ensure your mail service for your domain name is secured by an SSL/TLS certificate. Change the port to 587 this is the secure port for SMTP connections and click TLS under Encryption. 5. Our shared platform requires authenticated SMTP connections. Click Enable authentication 6. Afterwards, set a from name. What you choose is personal preference. Now, in the from email text box, enter the email address for the contact form and click force from email. Click save and continue to finish set up. 7. The wizard will prompt you to install additional plugins & features. These are optional, uncheck the highlighted circles and check that the footer text has gone. Then click save and continue. 8. We recommend you click Skip this step for both the following steps. But the choice is yours! 9. Finally, the wizard will attempt to send a test email. If it encounters any difficulties, double-check that the details are correct. WP Mail SMTP manual set up 2. Afterwards, enter your from email, enable the force from email checkbox and if you want, click “Set the return-path to match the From Email” to enable return path. 3. To use the secured version, first ensure your mail service for your domain name is secured by an SSL/TLS certificate. Learn how to do this with Plesk 4. Now that it’s secure change the port to 587 and, select TLS under encryption. 5. Click Save Settings to complete the set-up.

In this guide learn how to access and use the WordPress Toolkit in cPanel to deactivate inactive plugins. Being able to disable plugins is a key part of managing WordPress, plugins are great but poor performing or vulnerable plugins must to be disabled. Leaving vulnerable plugins active on a site is an invitation for malware. Managed WordPress has access to WP Toolkit which lets you deactivate multiple plugins at once from cPanel. Access and use WP Toolkit in cPanel 2. Afterwards click on WordPress management to head to the main WP Toolkit overview page. From here you can see the different options for the selected WordPress install. Advance by clicking on Plugins in the navigation bar at the top of the toolkit. 3. Then from the plugins page you can see all of the active plugins for the selected WordPress install. Using the individual checkboxes or select all as shown in the screenshot below select the plugins you want to disable. Then click on deactivate to disable those WordPress plugins. 4. Now you have started the deactivation task for those plugins you will be able monitor its progress with the status notice in shown in the bottom right. 5. Finally, confirm those plugins have the inactive status.