Which CMS & Hosting service to choose?

Question

Here's my problem : I want to launch my activity, but i am currently thinking about which CMS (open-source) and which Hosting service (free is great, cheap cost is okay) mix to build really quickly basic websites for restaurants & hotels & shops, etc... I got a programming diploma but my goal is to create website as quickly as possible with open-source tools that i can find on the web.

Now the problem : i've spend many hours reading advices about CMS and hosting services, and... As always, too many advices and you're lost. One person say that Wordpress is dope and an other one say that's Drupal, Billy complains about 000webhost and Kevin says it's the better hosting service ever.

Then. I read, i read, all i got was a headache and no idea about what to choose. I ask for the community to help me about it by suggest me your beloved CMS and your beloved Hosting service, with a really little explaination about why that one and not an other. The goal is to get your programmer's advices, not a lambda dude advice.

The only things i have to tell is that the CMS must be open-source and Hosting service cheap cost or free (yes, i know i can't have ultra-premium service for nothing, don't blame me :D)

Thanks to the community for your help !

Answer 1

Why can't you just use something like Wix or Squarespace? They bundle hosting, and are much easier to use. Wordpress is great when you need more features beyond those kind of platforms.

Answer 2

WordPress is very popular (~30% of the web is WordPress powered), and importantly it is actively maintained. Putting aside why that might be the case; the popularity means there's a rich ecosystem of plugins, templates, developers, and answers to obscure questions.

You need to choose a platform and go. Whatever you choose most platforms will have what you need. I know the WordPress is a great choice and small learning curve. There are plenty of tutorials and guides out there to try.

I have quite a bit of experience with server management, so my choice is always Vultr, with Ubuntu Server starting at USD$2.5 per month. That choice only includes IPv6, for which I use CloudFlare [Free] as CDN and IPv4 adaptor. The $3.5 option comes with IPv4 making that easier. You'll still need to install Nginx and PHP and configure them both. With this arrangement, you can have many WordPress sites hosted only costing you $2.5 per month. But it will take a lot more learning than WordPress itself to do it that way. So you should avoid purchasing your own "server" for now.

You should take small bites. You should pay a little bit more and use a reputable hosting service like Wordpress.com. That way you can focus getting used to the WordPress platform, and leave penny-pinching sysops for another day.

You could try installing WordPress on your own computer. That's free, but probably a little more complex than simply using a hosting service like WordPress.com. Depending on the OS on your computer, you can look for a guide. There should be a complete "installer" that you can use which does it all for you.

If you want to use a cheaper WordPress hosting service but worried about the speed: you can optimise the speed later. Later, you can use CloudFlare [free] which caches static content; and, you can also use a WordPress static plugin to cache your dynamic content.