Where to host my WordPress site
If you are reading this article, there is no need for me to tell you about the benefits of WordPress and why it is so successful. You probably already know that 25% of websites use WordPress and that six new posts are generated every second.
But WordPress is just a set of (very good) tools that by themselves won't do anything special. If you want to differentiate your website from the rest, you will have to put a lot of love and effort into it.
For example, having a good template, a good domain name and excellent content are basic elements.
Likewise, choosing the best WordPress hosting for your project is as important as any of the previous aspects. Among other things, a good WordPress hosting:
- will protect your website from computer attacks,
- allow one-click WordPress installations,
- make development and maintenance easier,
- make sure your website is always online and optimize your WordPress to make it
- optimize your WordPress to make it faster
It must be said that there are many WordPress hosting providers and their prices can vary a lot, but keep in mind that their features also change a lot. Like everything in life, these differences in price are usually justified as you end up noticing the difference. Let's see a summary of the best WordPress hosting.
Best WordPress hosting
In the following paragraphs, we will take a look at the most important aspects that you need to look out for so that you don't mess up when choosing the best WordPress hosting. In addition, we will take a detailed look at the best alternatives for hosting a WordPress site.
WordPress Hosting: Providers in detail
Let's take a look at the above WordPress hosting providers.
Bluehost
One of the oldest web hosts started in 1996, Bluehost has become the largest brand name when it comes to WordPress hosting. They are an official 'WordPress' recommended hosting provider. With Bluehost, you never have to worry about your website being slow even when there is a lot of traffic. Their 24/7 expert support is always there to help when you need it by phone, email, or live chat. They are rated #1 in web hosting for small businesses.
SiteGround
SiteGround is one of the most popular and highest-rated hosting providers in the WordPress community. They provide unique in-house WordPress speed and security solutions to make your site as fast and secure as possible. They are known for the best 24/7 support in the industry which is why they're an official 'WordPress' recommended hosting provider. SiteGround features include automatic upgrades, daily backups built-in WP caching, free CDN, free SSL, one-click staging and GIT version control. They are also one of the few companies offering location-specific hosting with 6 data centers in the USA, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
HostGator
HostGator hosts over 10 million domains and is one of the most popular web hosts in the industry. With 1-click WordPress installation, a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and 24/7 support, it's a smart choice for every website owner. We consider them the best web hosting for businesses. They're offering our readers an exclusive 62% off discount, a free domain name, and a free SSL certificate.
DreamHost
DreamHost has been around for 18 years and is known for making web hosting easy. You get a custom dashboard, 1-click WordPress install, automatic WordPress updates, unlimited space, unlimited bandwidth and free SSDs which makes your site 200% faster. DreamHost powers over 1.5 million WordPress blogs and websites. They're also an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider.
Hostinger
Hostinger is becoming a well-known name in the WordPress hosting industry. They offer affordable hosting, 24/7 live chat support, and a robust platform to host your website. Hostinger comes with automatic 1-click WordPress install, managed automatic updates, enhanced security, free CDN, WordPress speed acceleration, and free site migration. They also offer geolocation-specific hosting with a choice of 7 data centers in the USA, Europe, Asia, and South America. Hostinger serves over 29 million users in 178 countries.
Detailed WordPress Hosting Performance Comparison
A review based on actual data and experience
Bluehost WordPress Hosting
Bluehost is one of the largest hosting companies on the planet, and they are an official WordPress recommended hosting provider. Their hosting packages come pre-installed with WordPress by default.
The Bluehost server performed exceptionally well in the United States loading under a fraction of a second. In other locations, the response was a bit higher but still under less than a second.
If your target audience is in the United States, then this would hugely benefit your website.
In our detailed Bluehost review, we also evaluated their customer support team, features, and pricing. After our analysis, we rate Bluehost as the #1 WordPress hosting provider for small businesses to make a website.
PROS
- 63% off hosting + Free Domain + Free SSL (https://) included
- Officially recommended by WordPress
- Free Staging Site
- Free CDN included
- Free WordPress themes and WordPress plugins included
CONS
- Sometimes support can be slow
SiteGround WordPress Hosting
SiteGround is one of the most popular and highest rated hosting provider in the WordPress community. They offer premium hosting plans that are specifically optimized for WordPress with unique in-house speed and security solutions. That’s why they’re an official WordPress recommended hosting provider.
A test site loaded in less than a second (491 ms to be precise) for a server in Dallas, Texas. That means our site is faster than 95% of tested sites.
Our SiteGround test site server performed really well in the United States and it responded in less than a second for all other locations.
SiteGround allows you to change your server location, and you can choose a data center closer to your target audience for even better response times in that particular region.
In our detailed SiteGround review, we also evaluated their customer support, features, and pricing. After our analysis, we find SiteGround to be a great option for beginners because their support is incredibly helpful.
Their server infrastructure is powered by Google Cloud, and they have built high-performance optimization features like Ultrafast PHP, SG Optimizer, and more to give even an entry-level website a cloud hosting experience. Moreover, SiteGround prices are 50% less.
PROS
- Best WordPress support, good uptime, fast speed, and free SSL.
- Multiple data centers across the world (USA, Europe, Asia, and Australia).
- Free Site Migration
- Staging Environment, Free CDN, and free WordPress themes.
CONS
- No free domain and the pricing is a bit higher since it’s premium hosting.
HostGator WordPress Hosting
HostGator is a popular web hosting company that hosts over 8 million domains. Similar to Bluehost, they offer specialized WordPress hosting services.
A test site loaded in 1.03 seconds. That’s faster than 94% of all tested sites.
In our detailed HostGator review, we also evaluated their customer support, features, and pricing. After our analysis, we find HostGator to be a great option for growing businesses because they offer plans that grow with your business.
PROS
- Fast and Reliable Hosting with good 24/7 support
- Cheap Intro Prices and Free Site Migration
- Free Domain and Free SSL Included
CONS
- Renewal fees are higher
DreamHost WordPress Hosting
DreamHost has been around for 18 years and is known for reliable web hosting. They offer one-click install for WordPress, and they are also an official WordPress.org recommended hosting provider.
A test site loaded in just under a second for a server in New York City. That’s faster than 93% of all tested sites.
Overall, DreamHost is a great host for websites in any geographical location.
In our detailed DreamHost review, we also evaluated their customer support, features, and pricing. After our analysis, we find DreamHost to be a great option for businesses that value privacy. They offer free domain privacy with each of their domains. They also recently fought the U.S. Department of Justice to protect the privacy of one of their customer’s websites.
PROS
- Good speed, free SSL, free domain with privacy protection, and 1-click WordPress install.
- Officially recommended by WordPress
- Free Web Application Firewall Included
CONS
- Hosting control panel is a bit outdated.
Hostinger WordPress Hosting
Hostinger is becoming a well-known name in the WordPress hosting industry because they offer the cheapest WordPress hosting with a robust platform and 24/7 support via live chat.
A test site loaded in a fraction of a second, which is great. However, this test alone does not show the full picture because the test site has no traffic at all.
If the majority of your target audience is located in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America, then Hostinger is extremely fast and reliable.
In our detailed Hostinger Hosting review, we also evaluated their customer service, features, and pricing. After our analysis, we find Hostinger Hosting to be a great option for small businesses that value fast and cheap WordPress hosting. Their plans grow as your business grows, but they make it really affordable to get started.
PROS
- Fast speed, free domain, free SSL, and free email.
- The Cheapest WordPress plans start at $0.99 / month.
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- WordPress acceleration and managed auto-updates built-in
CONS
- Renewal fees are higher.
Best WordPress Hosting
Now that you have seen the performance comparison of the top WordPress hosting companies, it’s time to decide which is the best for your business.
In our in-depth WordPress hosting review, we came to a conclusion that if you are looking to start a blog, then you cannot go wrong with Bluehost. The fact that they offer you a free domain and free SSL for the price of $2.75 per month, it’s very hard to beat.
But truly, you can’t go wrong with any of the top WordPress hosting companies that we have mentioned above. They all offer great uptime, fast servers, quality support, and extremely low prices.
Are there other WordPress hosting providers that are not listed here?
Yes, there are literally thousands of WordPress hosting solutions out there, and we simply can’t list them all here because that would create more confusion and cause choice paralysis for non-techy readers.
We have tried every major WordPress hosting company in the market including many that are not in our list above such as WP Engine, Flywheel, Kinsta, Cloudways, GoDaddy, LiquidWeb, InMotion Hosting A2 hosting, iPage, Site5, Arvixe, Pantheon, GreenGeeks, JustHost, HostPapa, NameCheap, WordPress.com, and more.
The top WordPress hosting companies that we have chosen to include in our list provide the best features for the best price.
Which are the best WordPress hosting companies?
The top 3 choices for the best WordPress hosting companies depend on the category:
For great value
Bluehost is the best overall WordPress hosting.
For premium hosting
SiteGround is the best WordPress support in the industry.
For small businesses
HostGator is the best WordPress hosting.
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