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Choosing the best WordPress hosting for your website is a tough and often all too confusing process. It’s tough to make a simple comparison because there is no such thing as an absolute “best WordPress hosting”. There is only the hosting that is right for you considering all the tradeoffs.
Summary – Best WordPress hosting if you want…
Based on my experience working with many hosting companies, there are a few that are a good fit for most people. Here’s a summary of the companies included in the quiz.
- High Performance
- Independent-owned
- Focus on Support
- Business Appeal
InMotion
- Good Pricing
- Trusted Brand
- Focus on Usability
- Broad Appeal
Bluehost
- Advanced Features
- Global Data Centers
- Focus on Growth
- Developer Appeal
SiteGround
Focused on specific options?
WP Engine has boutique managed WordPress hosting with guaranteed uptime, speed & specialist support (view plans).
GreenGeeks has net zero carbon / green-powered WordPress hosting with high performance & clean management tools (view plans).
And WordPress.com offers a hosted but limited version of WordPress with zero technical worries (view plans).
Best WordPress Hosting Quiz
Here’s a quiz that helps you balance all the usual tradeoffs to figure out what is the best WordPress hosting for your website based on your preferences.
Other WordPress Hosting Choices
WordPress hosts are a dime a dozen on the Internet. Here are other best WordPress hosting companies that I’ve used that might be a good fit for your project.
HostGator
HostGator is one of the most established & popular brands in “WordPress World”. They have very accessible plans for beginners & starting bloggers with month to month pricing and unmetered plans.
HostPapa
HostPapa is a rapidly growing independent host based in Canada. They have excellent pricing & business-focused support.
DreamHost
Like Bluehost, DreamHost is an established & popular brand in “WordPress World”. They are independently-owned with solid support.
Kinsta
Kinsta is a cloud-based Managed WordPress Hosting company. They are small but rapidly growing with a dedicated web developer following.
GoDaddy
GoDaddy is the largest web services brand – and the certainly have WordPress focused services. They are convenient w/ competitive pricing.
Read my GoDaddy WordPress Hosting review.
Check out GoDaddy’s hosting plans.
Liquid Web
Liquid Web is one of the largest hosting companies in the world, though recently they only focused on enterprise & cloud market. They recently launched a very interesting Managed WordPress Hosting product aimed at ecommerce, growing sites, and agencies.
Read my Liquid Web Managed WordPress review.
Check out Liquid Web’s hosting plans.
What to Look for in a WordPress Hosting Provider
First, remember that WordPress does not need “WordPress Hosting.” Often, those plans are simple upsells with no significant. WordPress only needs a Linux server with PHP and adequate memory. I wrote a whole guide to WordPress vs. Web Hosting here.
You can run WordPress on really any hosting company offers Linux shared hosting. Now, if you need to max out performance for a fast-growing site with a pre-configured server, or want a support person that can login to your WordPress install and make changes – those features can be significant and might be worth paying for.
This WordPress hosting quiz takes all the most common considerations and maps out the answers to the best WordPress hosting choices based on my experience both running websites and consulting with a range of clients (you can read about my specific experiences on my reviews page). So take the quiz and see who fits your needs the best!
Here’s the considerations included on the quiz –
Budget
Everyone wants a good deal. But defining your budget helps narrow down your choices. Think about when you go to buy a car – setting a price of $20,000 will rule out the Ferrari.
The other thing to consider with hosting pricing is how long you are locked in for. Some hosts require that you prepay for a year (they’ll usually offer a discount though) and some allow you to pay monthly.
Customer Service
Everyone wants great customer service. But providing high-quality customer service across a range of support channels costs money. If you are comfortable Googling and figuring problems out for yourself, it might not be as important as pricing or performance.
Plugin Freedoms
WordPress allows “plugins” which are pieces of software that provide additional features and functionality that isn’t built into WordPress. However, some plugins conflict with how hosting companies’ servers are configured – so they are banned. Some plugins are simply bad pieces of software, so they are banned as well. But some hosting companies allow you to install and experiment as much as you want.
Type of Company
Some people like the branding and resources of a large, established company. Some people like the personal touch of a small company. And some want something in between. And still others want a company that provides a highly specialized experience for something like WordPress.
Account User-friendliness
Some people want a clean, smooth, user-friendly backend. Some don’t care about the design – they just want everything to be there and to function. And still others really don’t care about the backend – they want all technical options open for professionals (either a hired developer or customer support) to use as needed.
Highest Priority
Even though everyone wants the best overall deal, when it comes down to it, there are usually tradeoffs. What’s the one thing that will really make your website experience awesome?
Handling Traffic
No server can handle infinite traffic – even Amazon and Google have gone down before. However, different hosting companies offer better server options that will help keep your site up when you go viral. If you are a small site with consistent traffic, this might not be important to you. If you are a rapidly growing site, this might very important to you.
Number of Websites
How many websites do you want to run on your account? For some, it might just be the one. Others might want a test site, a hobby site and maybe a personal site. Your choice can rule out some hosting choices.
Speed & Security
Some hosting companies take an active approach to speed and security of your WordPress website. Others leave it up to you as long as you aren’t affecting other account holders. Like customer service, more involvement usually costs money. If you are the type to keep your WordPress install updated with security software – then this might not be important to you compared to price or customer service.
You might also place an extremely high priority on speed & security where you want professionals to actively manage those aspects of your WordPress website.
WordPress Specific Services
Most any hosting company that offers shared Linux hosting with PHP can run WordPress. You do not need “WordPress Hosting” to run WordPress. On the other hand, some companies do provide useful WordPress related services such as emergency patching and specially configured servers. Those may or may not be important to you.
Complementary Resources
WordPress.com or WordPress.org?
Web Hosting vs. WordPress Hosting Explained
Complete List of Hosting Reviews
Web Hosting, Explained – a short guide explaining the ins and outs of hosting.
