The main difference between Self Hosting and Managed WordPress hosting is control and responsibility. With Self Hosting, you take full control and responsibility for your site's server and infrastructure. Managed WordPress hosting provides a hands-off approach, with the host handling things like security, updates, and performance.

If you're starting a new WordPress site, a big decision is whether to opt-for self hosting or use managed hosting. This impacts your monthly cost, control, and more. Here's an overview of both options:

Self-Hosted WordPress

With self-hosting, you rent a VPS or dedicated server, install WordPress, and manage everything yourself. This involves:

• Hardware provisioning - Renting a VPS or dedicated server from providers like DigitalOcean, Linode, etc.
• Software setup - Installing Linux, the LAMP/LEMP stack, caching, security, etc.
• Ongoing management - Applying updates, optimizing performance, troubleshooting issues.

Pros: Total control, flexibility, potential cost savings, customization. Best for developers/engineers with server expertise.

Cons: Time investment, complex, maintenance overhead, security liability, no support, high learning curve.

Managed WordPress Hosting

Managed hosts like WPEngine handle all infrastructure and server management for you including:

• Server provisioning and configuration
• Software setup and maintenance
• WordPress installation, updates and backups
• Caching and performance optimization
• 24/7 WordPress technical support

Pros: No technical expertise needed, fast performance, enhanced security, 99.9% uptime, automatic updates, time savings, expert support. Best for bloggers and sites needing reliability.

Cons: Less control, limited customization, higher cost, vendor lock-in, overkill for simple sites.

Key Differences

Self-hosted offers total control while managed trades control for convenience. Managed is ideal for bloggers while self-hosted suits developers needing flexibility.

Recommendations

• For bloggers, use managed WordPress hosting to avoid server hassles.
• For developers, self-hosted provides full control to customize configurations.
• For ecommerce, managed hosting provides optimization, security and support.

Don't stress too much. Start with managed hosting for a simpler experience. You can always migrate later if you need more control. The key is getting your site live!