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How to Choose the Best WordPress Hosting

How to Choose the Best WordPress Hosting in 2024 

Written By: author image Stacey Corrin
author image Stacey Corrin
Stacey has been writing about WordPress and digital marketing for over 10 years and on other topics for much longer. Alongside this, she's fascinated with web design, user experience, and SEO.
     Reviewed By: John Turner
reviewer image John Turner
John Turner is the co-founder of SeedProd. He has over 20+ years of business and development experience and his plugins have been downloaded over 25 million times.

Are you wondering how to choose the best WordPress hosting?

Web hosting is a crucial component of a successful business site. Not only is it your website’s home online, but the best website hosting solutions can improve your SEO rankings and boost sales.

There are many types of WordPress hosting providers available, including free, shared, dedicated, VPS, and managed WordPress hosting. However, knowing which to choose is often challenging.

That’s why in this article, we’ll show you how to choose the best WordPress hosting, along with some of the top solutions available.

Table of Contents

Why Do You Need WordPress Hosting?

If you’re scratching your head over why you need WordPress hosting, it boils down to three main factors: speed, security, and scalability.

Speed: The speed of your website is incredibly significant. Sluggish load times can impact user experience, causing visitors to abandon your site and likely not return. Good news – a quality WordPress hosting provider optimizes its servers just for WordPress to offer super fast loading times.

Security:  With cyber threats lurking online, your WordPress site could be vulnerable to attacks. WordPress hosting can shield your site from harmful elements. It’s typically equipped with robust security measures, including regular malware scans, firewall protection, and daily backups. 

Scalability: As your website grows, so does the demand for resources. With WordPress hosting, you have the flexibility to upgrade your plans to handle this growth seamlessly. In contrast, general hosting services may not offer this level of scalability. 

How to Choose the Best WordPress Hosting Type

Now that we’ve established why it’s essential let’s break down the different types of WordPress hosting to help make your decision easier.

You’ll find that each hosting type has its pros and cons that cater to different kinds of users. They can be divided into four categories: Shared WordPress Hosting, VPS WordPress Hosting, Dedicated WordPress Hosting, and Managed WordPress Hosting. 

Shared Hosting

Shared WordPress Hosting is like living in a large apartment complex. You have many neighbors, and you’re all sharing the same resources.

This is the most economical choice as costs are spread among many users, but it does come with limitations. Your site may slow down if you get a large spike in traffic or if another site on the same server experiences heavy traffic. However, it’s a popular choice for those just starting out, given its affordability. 

VPS Hosting (Virtual Private Server)

VPS hosting is like living in a townhouse. There are fewer residents, each with their own resources.

While VPS hosting is a little pricier than shared, you get more power and flexibility, making it an excellent choice for growing websites with higher traffic volumes.

Dedicated Hosting

As the name suggests, Dedicated hosting is like owning an exclusive home with dedicated resources. With this level of hosting, you have complete control over all settings and performance aspects.

It’s costlier but is ideal for large sites with high traffic. It may be too much for smaller websites or beginners. 

Managed WordPress Hosting

Managed WordPress Hosting is another form of dedicated hosting, but the hosting provider takes care of all the technical aspects for you – like site backups, security, updates, and scalability. This convenience comes at a higher price, but it ensures that your site is in expert hands, leaving you free to focus on your content.

It’s a great choice for website owners who don’t want to deal with the technical aspects of hosting and prefer to have it all managed by professionals. 

We hope this breakdown helps you understand the different types of WordPress hosting. The choice eventually depends on your specific needs and budget.

What to Look For in WordPress Hosting

When it comes to choosing the best WordPress hosting for your needs, you want to look at several factors to ensure your website runs seamlessly. Here’s what you should be considering: 

  • Uptime Guarantee: Uptime refers to the percentage of time your website is expected to be accessible online. The higher the uptime, the less likely visitors will encounter a “website not found” error when attempting to visit your site. Look for providers offering an uptime of at least 99.9%. 
  • Customer Support: When issues arise, you’ll need a reliable customer support team that is knowledgeable about WordPress. Look for providers that offer round-the-clock, live support to resolve potential issues quickly.
  • Scalability: The bandwidth and storage space that sufficed early on won’t be enough when your site grows. A good WordPress host will offer plans that allow for seamless upgrades as your site grows. 
  • Security: You want to ensure that your chosen WordPress host offers robust security features and has a proactive approach to protecting your website from malware and other potential security threats.
  • Load Time: Page speed is vital as it directly impacts your visitors’ experience and your website’s search engine ranking. Ensure that your hosting provider offers an infrastructure that promotes fast load times. 

By focusing on these factors, you can ensure that you choose a WordPress hosting provider that not only meets your current needs but also is equipped to handle your site’s future growth.

Comparing The Top WordPress Hosting Providers

Now that you know the types of WordPress hosting options available to you, it’s time to decide on a solution. Below we’ve compared the very best web hosting providers for WordPress on the market.

Each company offers excellent customer service, and we’ve given each of them a perfect 5 out of 5-star rating. Check out our hand-picked list of the best WordPress hosting providers below.

1. Bluehost WordPress Hosting

bluehost best hosting for WordPress

Bluehost is the best WordPress hosting provider and an excellent option for getting started. They’re an official WordPress-recommended hosting provider and the #1 choice for small businesses.

Bluehost has several different web hosting options, including shared WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting services. You can start with the shared hosting plan if you’re a beginner.

By opting for this WordPress hosting plan, you share your server with several other websites. Plus, it’s a good option if you’re looking for something budget-friendly.

Bluehost offers free domain names for the first year, SSL functionality, automatic WordPress installation, daily backups, and round-the-clock support. You can also access the Bluehost marketplace for premium WordPress themes and plugins at exclusive prices.

Additionally, you won’t have to worry about uptime and bandwidth because Bluehost offers 100% uptime, fast page loading speeds, and unmetered, unlimited bandwidth and web space. Moreover, this solution provides 24/7 support, including email, live chat, and phone support, so help is always available when you need it.

Bluehost Pros and Cons

Now let’s look at the pros and cons we faced when using Bluehost:

  • Pros: Officially recommended by WordPress.
  • Pros: Free website staging.
  • Pros: Free CDN with unlimited storage and unmetered bandwidth.
  • Pros: Free WordPress themes and plugins included, like WPForms and OptinMonster.
  • Cons: Support can be slow at times.
  • Cons: It does not automatically come with All in One SEO installed.

Bluehost Pricing

PlanMonthly PriceRegular PriceWebsitesStorageFree SSL
Basic$2.95/mo*$11.99/mo110 GBYes (1st year)
Plus$5.45/mo*$16.99/mo220 GBYes
Choice Plus$5.45/mo*$21.99/mo340 GBYes
Pro$13.95/mo*$28.99/mo5100 GBYes

Get started with Bluehost today.

For more details, you can check out this Bluehost hosting review.

2. SiteGround WordPress Hosting

Siteground best hosting for WordPress

SiteGround is a brilliant hosting provider for WordPress sites. It’s known for its excellent support and fast, reliable, hassle-free hosting plans.

Like Bluehost, SiteGround offers dedicated WordPress-optimized hosting plans. You can also opt for the one-click WordPress install option that helps you get started right away.

Some of the services include automatic updates, instant setup of Cloudflare’s free CDN, and SSL certificates from Let’s Encrypt. It also offers a 1-click WordPress staging test site, the latest PHP versions, daily WordPress backups, built-in caching, 99.9% uptime, and excellent response and load times.

SiteGround has a managed WooCommerce hosting solution if you have an eCommerce business, and their customer support team is second to none.

Their server infrastructure is powered by Google Cloud with built-in high-performance features like Ultrafast PHP, SG Optimizer, and more to give even an entry-level website a cloud hosting experience.

SiteGround Pros and Cons

Now let’s look at the pros and cons we faced when using SiteGround:

  • Pros: Excellent WordPress support, with fast speed and free SSL.
  • Pros: Advanced security features running on the Google Cloud platform.
  • Pros: Several data centers running across the world.
  • Pros: Free website migration.
  • Pros: Includes powerful tools and plugins like AIOSEO, OptinMonster, WPForms, and more.
  • Cons: No free domain and higher pricing for premium hosting.

SideGround Pricing

PlanMonthly PriceRegular PriceWebsitesStorageFree SSL
StartUp$2.99$11.99110 GBYes
GrowBig$4.99$19.99Unlimited20 GBYes
GoGeek$8.99$29.99Unlimited40 GBYes

For the best performance, we suggest the GrowBig or GoGeek plans which come with Ultrafast PHP and good scalable options.

Get started with SiteGround today.

3. DreamHost WordPress Hosting

Dreamhost best hosting for WordPress

DreamHost is another popular WordPress web hosting provider, hosting millions of websites. It also has over 400,000 happy customers from over 100 different countries. Plus, it’s an officially recognized WordPress.org hosting platform with PCI-compliant hosting.

DreamHost has all the features you need to start a WordPress site and includes 1-click WordPress installation to make getting started much easier.

All plans include a free domain name with free domain privacy, a free website firewall, and a free SSL certificate. It’s an excellent choice if you need a WordPress host that offers easy website creation and high-speed SSD storage.

DreamHost Pros and Cons

Now let’s look at the pros and cons we face when using DreamHost:

  • Pros: Great speed, free SSL and domain with privacy protections, and 1-click WordPress installation.
  • Pros: Officially recommended by WordPress.
  • Pros: Free web application firewall.
  • Pros: Free automated WordPress migration.
  • Pros: Access powerful WordPress plugins and tools, including AIOSEO, WPForms, and more.
  • Pros: Shared unlimited plan includes unlimited emails.
  • Cons: The hosting control panel (Cpanel) is somewhat outdated.

DreamHost Pricing

PlanMonthly PriceRegular PriceWebsitesStorageFree SSL
WordPress Basic$2.59$3.951UnlimitedYes
DreamPress (Starter)$16.95$29.95130 GBYes
DreamPress (Professional)$24.95$49.95UnlimitedUnlimitedYes
VPS WordPress (Starter)$10.00$16.95130 GBYes
VPS WordPress (Managed)$25.00$39.95160 GBYes
WooCommerce Hosting (Starter)$16.95$29.95130 GBYes
WooCommerce Hosting (Professional)$24.95$49.95UnlimitedUnlimitedYes

Get started with DreamHost today.

4. Hostinger WordPress Hosting

Hostinger best hosting for WordPress

Hostinger is a well-known web hosting service and a popular solution in the WordPress community because it offers the cheapest WordPress hosting. The platform is robust and reliable, and they offer 24/7 support through live chat.

Hostinger Pros and Cons

Now let’s look at the pros and cons we faced when using Hostinger:

  • Pros: Great speed, free SSL, domain, and email accounts.
  • Pros: Cheapest plan starts from $1.99 per month with 30GB of disk space.
  • Pros: 30-day money-back guarantee.
  • Pros: Managed auto updates and WordPress acceleration built-in.
  • Pros: Choose from multiple data centers.
  • Pros: Includes powerful WordPress plugins and tools like MonsterInsights, WPForms, AIOSEO, and OptinMonster.
  • Cons: High renewal fees.

Hostinger Pricing

PlanMonthly PriceRegular PriceWebsitesStorageFree SSL
Premium$2.49$7.95110 GBYes
Business$3.69$8.9510020 GBYes
Cloud Startup$8.99$29.95Unlimited30 GBYes

Get started with Hostinger today.

5. HostGator WordPress Hosting

Hostgator best hosting for WordPress

HostGator is another popular web host for many website owners. By signing up for the HostGator plan, you can have a domain name for free for a whole year.

It comes with 5 different hosting packages with prices that fit various budgets. Like the other hosting companies in this article, this one also offers dedicated hosting for WordPress users with 1-click WordPress installations.

HostGator has several add-on tools to build your website and offers 99.9% uptime.

You can use their free site migration services if you’re a new HostGator account holder. If you’ve previously hosted your site with another hosting company, you can easily migrate it to HostGator at zero cost.

HostGator Pros and Cons

Now let’s look at the pros and cons we faced when using HostGator:

  • Pros: Fast with 24/7 support
  • Pros: Cheap prices for the first year and free migration
  • Pros: Free domain and free SSL
  • Cons: Renewal fees are high

HostGator Pricing

PlanMonthly Price (Promo)Regular PriceWebsitesStorageFree SSL
Hatchling$2.75$5.95110GB SSDYes
Baby$3.95$9.95UnlimitedUnlimited SSDYes
Business$9.95$19.953Unlimited SSDYes

Get started with HostGator today.

What’s the Best WordPress Hosting for You?

If you’re ready to choose the best WordPress hosting for your site, we have a few suggestions.

  • Bluehost is the best all-around WordPress hosting thanks to its user-friendly interface, competitive pricing, and easy WordPress installation.
  • We recommend SiteGround for eCommerce websites due to its WooCommerce hosting and industry-leading support.
  • Hostinger is the best WordPress hosting for small businesses.

That said, all of the top WordPress hosting companies mentioned above offer excellent uptime, fast servers, quality support, and incredibly low prices, so you can’t go wrong.

How to Choose the Best WordPress Hosting FAQs

Are there any free WordPress hosting providers?

There are several free WordPress hosting providers; however, we suggest you stay away from them. In many cases, free hosting providers put ads on your website and may even send malware to your users. In the worst case, they could shut down your site anytime without notification.

Can I switch my WordPress hosting provider later?

Yes, you can switch your provider if you’re unhappy with your current hosting. Most hosting companies offer free migration services, which make moving to a new host easy.

Are there other WordPress hosting providers, not on this list?

There are many other WordPress hosting companies. Some providers not on this list include GoDaddy, which offers unlimited storage, A2 hosting with its extensive knowledge base, WP Engine, Kinsta, Liquid Web, Flywheel, GoGeek, InMotion Hosting, and more.

My WordPress hosting offers WP-cli; what is it?

WP-cli is a WordPress command-line interface to update plugins, set up multisite installations, and more without a web browser. Most beginners don’t need this developer tool, yet it’s useful if you hire developers because it improves their workflow.

Most WordPress hosts offer wp-cli with SSH access, staging, and Git tools to make website development faster.

Do WordPress hosting companies offer a professional email address?

Yes, most WordPress hosting companies will let you create a free business email address. Yet, we suggest using Google Apps (also known as GSuite) because it’s more reliable.

That’s it!

We hope this article helped you learn how to choose the best WordPress hosting for your small business website.

If you’d like a handy checklist for launching WordPress, you’ll love this tutorial.

Thanks for reading! We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please feel free to leave a comment with any questions and feedback.

You can also follow us on YouTubeX (formerly Twitter), and Facebook for more helpful content to grow your business.

author avatar
Stacey Corrin Writer
Stacey has been writing about WordPress and digital marketing for over 10 years and on other topics for much longer. Alongside this, she's fascinated with web design, user experience, and SEO.

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