One of the most flexible, widely-used, and largest content management systems is WordPress. It allows users to build, create, and grow a website with ease. Therefore, if you wish to develop your own website, WordPress might be the best choice. WordPress is a free-to-use and open-source CMS entirely written in PHP. It is coupled with MariaDB and MySQL, both of which are relational databases .
Why does a WordPress Website Require Hosting?
Once you have decided to use WordPress for building a website, next, you need to decide on the web host and the domain name. With these two parameters, your website will have an online presence.
People can access your website with the domain name and the web host. WordPress has two versions - WordPress.com and WordPress.org. With the WordPress.com version, you can create a website for free using a subdomain. Therefore, you get a free domain or hosting with WordPress.com.
On the other hand, the WordPress.org version allows you to self-host your WordPress website. So, if you are using WordPress.org, you need (the best) web hosting for WordPress. Let us acknowledge the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org with a straightforward example. WordPress.org is like owning a home, whereas WordPress.com is like living in a rented home or apartment. You can do limited things with a rented home or apartment, as the property does not belong to you, but if you have your own home, you can have complete authority over it.
Benefits of Self-Hosting your WordPress Site
Using WordPress’s self-hosted version provides great benefits. Below are some notable benefits of self-hosting your WordPress website:
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Improved Website Performance
When you decide to use the self-hosted version of WordPress, you have the authority to choose the best WordPress host as per the site’s requirements. In other words, you can select the host that can assist you with the site. A study has proved that a self-hosted website always performs better than a website created on a sub-domain. Moreover, you can have complete control over the plugins you install to optimize the site’s overall performance and loading speed.
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Themes and Plugins
As mentioned earlier, the WordPress.com version of WordPress offers limited features. With this version, you have access to limited themes and plugins to build a customized website. On the contrary, the WordPress.org version allows you to access a complete feature-set of WordPress’s plugins and themes. Furthermore, it enables users to utilize all premium as well as free plugins and themes. Therefore, using the self-hosted version, you can customize your website hassle-free.
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Convert Into a Business Website
By self-hosting your website, you can convert it into a business site or eCommerce website. The self-hosted version of WordPress enables users to use their choices of advertising networks. You can pick the desired plugin and install it to make your website a business website. The WordPress.com version has certain restrictions and limitations on monetization and advertising. For example, in this case, users can only use WordPress’s integrated advertising networks.
Requirements for WordPress Hosting
To self-host your WordPress website, there are some specific requirements. However, there are not many hosting requirements, as WordPress is compatible with almost all hosting service providers. Below are the two primary conditions for self-hosting any WordPress website:
- PHP version 7 or higher.
- MySQL version 5.6.
Types of WordPress Hosting
Generally, there are 3 kinds of hosting for WordPress websites - shared hosting, managed hosting, and dedicated hosting. Let us know each of these hosting types in detail below:
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Shared Hosting
In shared hosting, your website gets a server used by other websites and hence, the name. When people begin their journey with WordPress, shared hosting is probably the best place to begin. The primary reason why beginners use shared hosting is its affordability. In addition, it comes with single-click installation, allowing users to install WordPress fast. As a result, shared hosting is the fittest choice for small websites having a low volume of traffic. When your website, however, grows, you will certainly not feel like staying on shared hosting.
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Managed WordPress Hosting
The next level of hosting is managed WordPress hosting. Only WordPress websites are permitted on the server in managed WordPress hosting. Here, the word ‘managed’ refers to WordPress experts who control and manage the server environment for your website. As managed WordPress hosting involves WordPress experts to perform all technical tasks of your website - like updating WP and plugins and resolving compatibility issues - it is more expensive than shared hosting.
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Dedicated Hosting
As its name suggests, dedicated hosting provides a dedicated server to your website, i.e., you get a complete physical server. Additionally, you can customize the server as per your choice and the site’s requirements. Therefore, it offers an advantage for choosing the desired operating system, hardware, and software for your website.
When your WordPress site gains a lot of traffic, using dedicated hosting is beneficial. However, using this type of hosting requires a system administrator to maintain, upgrade, and troubleshoot the dedicated server. Therefore, dedicated hosting is relatively more expensive and advanced than shared and managed forms of hosting.
Factors to Consider While Selecting the Best WordPress Hosting
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Control Panel Access
The control panel of the WordPress hosting site you choose should be easy to use. Having such a control panel allows users to install WordPress and manage the server conveniently. In addition, the control panel helps users in adding domains to their accounts, create domain-specific email addresses, etc.
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High Performance
Performance is a vital factor to consider while selecting the best web hosting for WordPress. If the performance of the chosen WP host is not up to the mark, your website may suffer from low search engine rankings and poor user experience. For better performance, it is advisable to host your WordPress site on either a dedicated server or a managed WordPress server. For people who have just begun with their WordPress site, it is better to use a shared server.
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Technical Compatibility
As mentioned above, hosting any WordPress website requires two things; PHP version 7 or higher and MySQL 5.6. Therefore, the chosen hosting site should also support these two parameters.
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Price Range
The price of a WordPress host is also important to factor in. Make sure your host offers all the services at a justified price. For instance, consider you have a small website with low traffic and some pages. Assume the traffic you gain to your website is enough and worthy. In such situations, you may not need dedicated or managed WordPress servers. Here, it is better to maintain your website with a shared server.
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Support Team
It is essential that the WordPress hosting site you pick should have an excellent support team. In case of any issues regarding the website, the support team will be a mediator between the server and the website. Moreover, the support staff should be experienced and knowledgeable to solve your queries and/or issues. Having a support team that is not able to help you with your site issues is unavailing.
10 Best WordPress Hosting Sites for 2022
Now you know what factors to keep in mind while aiming for the best hosting for WordPress. Here, we have listed some of the top WordPress hosts with their features and pricing to help you make a suitable pick:
1. Bluehost
One of the best and most widely used WP hosting providers is Bluehost. It offers robust tools and resources that help users to make the best use of their WordPress websites. When you create your WordPress hosting plan with Bluehost, it automatically installs the latest version of WordPress. Bluehost supports Microsoft 365, allowing users to access their emails anywhere. In addition, you can enjoy the selected domain for free for one year after creating the WordPress hosting account. An automatic WordPress update is available.
Additionally, Bluehost enables you to change the default WordPress credentials to the desired ones securely. The WordPress Staging Environment allows users to test or verify any modifications made to the website before going live. Other than WordPress hosting, Bluehost offers various hosting services, namely dedicated hosting, managed hosting, reseller hosting, shared hosting, WooCommerce hosting, and VPS hosting.
Pricing
Basic, Plus, and Choice Plus are 3 different pricing plans offered by Bluehost. The Basic plan is ideal for a blog or small website. It charges $175.00 per month. The Plus package is suitable for small business websites. It is available for $279.00 per month. Finally, the Choice Plus plan is perfect for growing sites, and the billing amount depends on the user requirements.
2. Kinsta
If you wish to have managed WordPress hosting, Kinsta is one of the excellent providers. Kinsta uses cutting-edge technologies, such as MariaDB, Nginx , LXD containers, optimized virtual machines, and PHP 8.0, helping your website load in seconds. In addition, it ensures a high-security network, as it includes Cloudflare’s secure firewall. This firewall helps stop and prevent malicious attacks.
Moreover, the high-security network of Kinsta supports hardware firewalls, DDoS detection, SSL, and uptime monitoring. Another significant characteristic of Kinsta is it supports site migrations for free. Therefore, migrating your website to Kinsta would not result in any downtime. In addition, Kinsta has a comprehensive dashboard, easy to use for beginners and professionals alike.
Pricing
Kinsta offers 4 hosting plans - Starter, Pro, Business, and Enterprise. All four programs provide a free hack-fix guarantee and free migrations. The Starter pack is available at $30 per month and Pro at $60 per month. Business and Enterprise packs are further divided into 4 sub-plans. The Business1 plan bills $100 per month, Business2 charges $200 per month, Business3 $300 per month, and Business4 needs $400 per month. Finally, Enterprise1 charges $600 per month, Enterprise2 requires $900 per month, Enterprise3 is available at $1,200 per month, and Enterprise4 at $1,500 per month.
3. A2 Host
A2 Host is a high-performance WP hosting service. It is one of the finest and industry-best hosting solutions, which are reliable, fast, and available at an affordable price. Moreover, it has a proactive support staff that helps users with their website issues.
When you pick A2 Host, it automatically sets up WordPress for you. A2 Host has Turbo servers, helping you to host your site 20 times faster. In addition to WordPress hosting, it offers shared hosting, reseller hosting, VPS hosting, email hosting, managed VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting.
Pricing
A2 Host offers shared and managed types of WordPress hosting. The Shared WordPress hosting of A2 Host has 4 different plans - Startup, Drive, Turbo Boost, and Turbo Max. The Startup plan is available at $8.99 per month, Drive at $9.99 per month, Turbo Boost at $15.99 per month, and Turbo Max at $22.09 per month. To get these plans at lower prices, you can opt for yearly or 3-year plans. The Managed WordPress hosting has 3 packages - 1-Site, 3-Sites, and Unlimited. The 1-Site plan charges $14.99 per month, 3-Sites bills $27.99 per month, and Unlimited is available at $42.99 per month. The managed WP hosting also has yearly and 3-year plans.
4. InMotion Hosting
InMotion Hosting is one of the finest and affordable WordPress hosts. It offers reliable, secure, and fast hosting services. There are more than 170k customers of InMotion Hosting across the globe. The hosting provider has more than 20 years of experience in web hosting and has more than 350 expert team members that help customers resolve their website issues. InMotion Hosting supports shared hosting, VPS hosting, WordPress hosting, and dedicated hosting.
In addition, it ensures 99.99% uptime and security monitoring. The customer support offered by InMotion Hosting is commendable and is available 24/7/365. In addition, it ensures safety and security by providing free SSL, hack protection, and premium malware protection. One of the admiring features of InMotion Hosting is that it guarantees money back if you don’t like its services.
Pricing
Shared hosting of InMotion Hosting has 3 plans - Launch, Power, and Pro. Launch and Power plans are available at $6.99 and Pro at $15.99 per month if billed for a year. In addition, dedicated hosting by InMotion Hosting is available starting from $139.99 per month. WordPress Hosting comes in 4 different pricing plans - WP-1000S, WP-2000S, WP-3000S, and WP-4000S. WP-100S and WP-200S are available at $7.99 per month, WP-300S at $13.99 per month, and WP-400S at $22.99 per month when paid yearly.
5. Hostinger
Hostinger is another robust WordPress host that offers reliable and easily adaptable web and WordPress hosting services. In addition, it helps users to get the perfect domain name for their websites. You have to type the desired domain name you want and choose an extension, such as .com, .live, .in, and .digital. It has servers deployed in 7 different countries, namely Indonesia, the Netherlands, the U.S., Singapore, Brazil, Lithuania, and the U.K. Hostinger offers email hosting, cloud hosting, and web hosting in addition to WordPress hosting.
Hostinger’s WordPress hosting is very convenient to use for beginners and professionals. Moreover, Hostinger ensures that your WordPress website is secure with an SSL certificate, LiteSpeed’s cache engine, and Cloudflare’s protection. Technical experts at Hostinger help customers to resolve all technical issues regarding their websites. Moreover, it guarantees money back in 30 days if you are not happy with its services.
Pricing
Hostinger offers 4 different pricing plans for WordPress hosting - Single WordPress, WordPress Starter, Business WordPress, and WordPress Premium. These are available for $99, $199, $299, and $399 per month, respectively.
6. DreamHost
DreamHost is one of the top choices for WordPress hosting services. It has been in the hosting industry for more than 2 decades and has achieved success in developing sites ideal for bloggers, web designers, web developers, and businesses. The web host offers WordPress hosting, website hosting, WP website builder, dedicated hosting, VPS hosting, and cloud hosting.
In addition, DreamHost has a personalized control panel, saving user efforts in managing web hosting. DreamHost provides lightning-fast and reliable hosting services for WordPress sites. These WordPress hosting services help users build and manage websites used for blogs, businesses, and e-commerce purposes.
Moreover, users can access a wide range of themes and plugins to give their websites the desired look. Its instant WordPress setup feature enables you to install WordPress with a single click within seconds. Moreover, all WordPress updates are managed automatically by DreamHost. In addition, users get a domain name, privacy protection, and an SSL certificate, all for free.
Pricing
DreamHost’s WordPress hosting has 3 plans - WordPress Basic, DreamPress, and VPS WordPress. These are available at $4.95, $12.00, and $30.00 per month, respectively. There are pre-paid plans as well, which are available at relatively lower prices than fixed monthly plans.
7. SiteGround
It is one of the highly recommended WordPress hosts for managed hosting. The hosting service provided by SiteGround is technically superior, as it operates on the Google Cloud Platform. SiteGround has hosted more than 2,000,000 domains in the last 5 years. SiteGround offers WordPress hosting, reseller hosting, cloud hosting, web hosting, WooCommerce hosting, and many others. In addition, it also incorporates reliable and faster website-building solutions.
SiteGround’s managed WordPress hosting features include automatic updates, one-click WP installation, expert WordPress support, advanced caching, and automated migrations. Moreover, it offers advanced collaboration tools, allowing designers and agencies to manage their clients and collaborate with them in a hassle-free manner. Additionally, the support team for WordPress hosting is available all the time. The support team includes WordPress experts who are always ready to help SiteGround customers with quick pickup and resolution.
Pricing
You can opt for any of the 3 plans for SiteGround’s WordPress Hosting - StartUp, GrowBig, and GoGeek. These are available at $4.99, $7.99, and $14.99 per month, respectively.
8. HostGator
HostGator is an all-in-one platform that serves all hosting requirements. It supports cloud hosting, WordPress hosting, shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting. All these hosting services offered by HostGator ensure 99.9% uptime. Along with hosting services, HostGator also helps users to find a unique domain name for their websites. Users have to type the desired domain name and search it for its availability.
Moreover, you get two email IDs for free when you register a domain name. In addition, HostGator has got an award-winning support team that is available 24/7 to resolve customer issues. If you do not like HostGator’s hosting services, you can get back your payment within 45 days of purchase.
Pricing
The packages of HostGator’s WordPress hosting are divided into 4 categories - Starter, Performance, Business, and Professional. You need to spare $399, $479, $639, and $799 monthly, in the respective order, when subscribed for a year. To get discounts on these prices, you can select 2-year or 3-year plans. Moreover, HostGator allows you to pay monthly, quarterly, and half-yearly.
9. WP Engine
One of the finest and reliable WordPress hosts is WP Engine. It is a comprehensive hosting platform that combines award-winning hosting services, robust technologies, and open-source partners. WP Engine uses more than 30 technologies and seamlessly integrates with best-in-class partners, like AWS, Google Cloud, and Cloudflare. WP Engine offers 4 different kinds of WordPress hosting services - Managed hosting, Managed hosting plus, Secure hosting, and ECommerce hosting.
With WP Engine’s WordPress-managed hosting, you can ensure your website’s stability, reliability, and speed. Managed hosting plus helps you to upgrade all plugins automatically. Additionally, ECommerce hosting supports building and migrating WooCommerce websites. Furthermore, the Instant Store Search and Easy Store Creation features help business owners boost their sales. Finally, Secure hosting ensures additional protection for eCommerce websites.
Pricing
All 4 kinds of WordPress Hosting have 4 different packages - StartUp, Professional, Growth, and Scale. The managed hosting’s StartUp pack is available at $25 per month, Professional at $49 per month, Growth at $95 per month, and Scale at $241 per month. Next, the StartUp pack of managed hosting plus is available at $28 per month, Professional at $52 per month, Growth at $104 per month, and Scale at $258 per month. The secure hosting’s StartUp pack is available at $44 per month, Professional at $75 per month, Growth at $125 per month, and Scaleat $291 per month. Finally, the StartUp pack of eCommerce hosting is available at $30 per month, Professional at $62 per month, Growth at $116 per month, and Scale at $291 per month.
10. Nexcess
Nexcess offers fully managed hosting services that ensure your website’s scalability, security, speed, and support. It supports Managed WordPress hosting, Managed WooCommerce hosting, Enterprise hosting, Cloud hosting, and Managed Magento hosting. In addition, site migration with Nexcess is absolutely free of cost.
Website migration experts ensure that your website migrates without any complications. The domain registration feature of Nexcess enables users to search for a new domain name with various extensions, like .com, .name, .net, .in, .live, and .run. You can also purchase an SSL certificate for your website.
Nexcess’s Managed WordPress hosting service is commendable. It incorporates multiple high-grade tools, like TinyPNG , Visual Compare, WP Merge, iThemes Sync, Qubeley Pro, and iThemes Security Pro. Furthermore, there is a built-in CDN covering 22 locations across the globe. Support is available 24/7/365.
Pricing
Managed WordPress hosting offered by Nexcess has 7 pricing plans, namely Spark, Maker, Designer, Builder, Producer, Executive, and Enterprise. These are available at $9.50, $39.50, $54.50, $74.50, $149.50, $274.50, and $499.50 per month, respectively.
Conclusion
Self-hosting a WordPress website has various benefits, like enhanced performance and access to a plethora of WordPress plugins and themes. Thousands of WordPress hosts are available. Therefore, non-techy readers may get confused in selecting the best one.
This article will help them in WordPress hosting comparison and picking the one that best fits their website hosting requirements. Finally, make sure that you select the WordPress host by considering all the abovementioned factors. Ensure that the selected WP host offers all features that your website needs.
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