A decade ago, basic HTML sites were all the rage and everyone was learning how to code them or how to modify free templates, in order to create some simple sites. Thankfully, the age of those horrible looking little sites is finally over and people have easy access to great looking custom management systems which allow them to deploy sites quickly and without knowledge of coding or design.

Some of these CMS’s are WordPress, Drupal or Joomla and all you need to install one is a domain name and a hosting PHP MySQL account, which is quite cheap. There are hundreds of companies that offer cheap hosting these days and all of them offer this combination of PHP and MySQL that is so popular for content sites based on a CMS.

php_apache_mysqlWith the help of PHP sites can offer dynamic content, based on what you want to show the visitor, content which is taken from the MySQL database. Usernames and passwords weren’t possible with simple HTML sites, but with a CMS you can have accounts on sites, which give you access to different features that are also possible thanks to the hosting PHP MySQL combination.

When looking for a hosting PHP MySQL package you should keep in mind that the company offering it should be reputable. Don’t pick the cheapest option available to you, as your site’s availability is influenced by its hosting. If the company doesn’t have professional support, your site data might be lost, data can be stolen by hackers and there are a number of other possible issues.

To find out whether a company is a good choice for your hosting PHP MySQL needs, check webmaster forums for reviews of their services and see what other webmasters recommend. You need to know that they have a good uptime and that their online support staff is very helpful and quick to help when you need them. Keep in mind that this is an important decision and in the event of a hardware failure you could lose your site’s data if the company doesn’t do proper backups. Another reason why hosting PHP MySQL needs to be considered properly is that it can be time consuming to move your sites from one host to another. Ideally you should pick a good hosting company from your first try.

There is one other choice at your disposal, the one between paid and free hosting. The temptation is to pick the free hosting option, but the disadvantages are too great to ignore. In many cases, these companies make money by placing ads on your pages, which means that they make money off your work. They also have little money to spend on professional staff or on proper hardware, so you get a slow site and your data is at risk. Since hosting with PHP and MySQL costs just a couple of dollars per month, it’s worth getting a paid account, even a cheap one, rather than going with the free version.

The conclusion is that if you’re looking to get your own site and you want to use a popular CMS, like WordPress, you need a hosting account with PHP and MySQL installed.

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