2017 Best WordPress Hosting (10 Providers to Consider)
If you want to blog or run a website on a WordPress platform then web hosting is one technical, yet helpful, aspect you will have to face. In facing it, you will have to look out for a great host service and host plan and part with a few dollars (or have it for free from free web hosting providers) before you can start to enjoy your new website. Sounds complicated? It’s not. At the end of this article, there will be a video to usher you into the convenience and value you can find in wordpress hosting.
You will run into free WordPress hosting providers out there, but be careful if you are serious about your online presence.
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What is WordPress Hosting?
WordPress hosting services provide you or your business a host service in which the technical aspects one faces while using WordPress is managed by the hosting provider. Features included with this host service are security, speed, updates, backup, uptime, and scalability.
WordPress hosting is ideal for beginners who are starting to introduce themselves to virtual host services. The services provided cost more than other more affordable shared hosting plans but you will receive a managed WordPress hosting service with servers that are specifically configured to be used with a WordPress site.
Self-hosted WordPress can be found on wordpress.org and it is the home of the original and customizable content management system, otherwise known as CMS. If you go to wordpress.org you can download the WordPress files you want to use on your site yourself.
The only real costs that are associated with a self-hosted WordPress are the costs of web hosting and a domain for the website, because the software itself is free. These costs come in at less than five dollars a month though certain WordPress hosting sites and the additional costs you incur are from premium WordPress themes. You can eliminate this additional cost by choosing not to use the premium WordPress themes, however.
The Pros and Cons of WordPress Hosting
There are several advantages when you choose a managed WordPress host provider for your WordPress site including increased speed, security features that include regular scans for malware, daily backups for disaster recovery, automatic updates, no downtime, and Dev tools for the staging area and version control.
A few disadvantages to WordPress Hosting include a higher price tag than shared hosting plans, limits on WordPress plugins, and less control over the technical aspects of your website.
Below are some of the best WordPress hosting sites already dominating the web in 2017. Most of them made it into our list due to their solid reputation, WordPress installation, customer support, and performance. For our purposes, we will be passing each host company through the above categories to see how they fare.
You can check our WordPress hosting comparison table for a quick overview of what lies ahead.
HOSTING COMPANY | MANAGED WORDPRESS HOSTING | RATING |
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
No | ||
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Yes |
HOSTGATOR
HostGator offers you three different WordPress hosting packages in their shared plan; the Hatchling Package, the Baby Package, and the Business Package. Year after year, HostGator has remained popular and well respected in the internet host services industry and for good reason. One of these reasons being that they are one of the best website host services when it comes to managing WordPress. Important features to expect from them include:
- Unlimited disk storage
- Unlimited domain hosting
- Unlimited database
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Unlimited email
- Domain hosting
- MySQL databases
WordPress Installation
With HostGator you can expect easy WordPress installation using the inbuilt cPanel WordPress installer. The WordPress installer is a huge perk in HostGator because it attracts more individuals to start accounts with them.
Performance
HostGator has shown decent load times, even for websites that were far removed from the servers. As expected, those closer to the servers had impressive load times.
Customer Support
HostGator is also ranked highly in customer and technical support. HostGator’s customer and technical support can be contacted via the chat room, free online chat, web, or phone and are always friendly and knowledgeable. The support team always has a reliable answer to the hurdle you are facing with your site.
Reputation
Over 70% of HostGator users are satisfied with the WordPress hosting services they receive and are excited to renew their subscription month after month and year after year. The constant HostGator WordPress hosting subscriptions speak volumes about the reputation of HostGator. HostGator is actually the most recommended hosting provider for WordPress by satisfied users and web designers throughout the industry.
WP ENGINE
As a web hosting site, you can expect absolute reliability from WP Engine. They are arguably ranked among the top sites when it comes to WordPress hosting. With over 90% of their customers renewing their subscriptions, WP Engine checks all the boxes concerning what is needed to reliably run an online business. Here is what you can generally expect from a WP Engine WordPress hosting plan:
- 99% server uptime (If not 100%)
- Unlimited web space
- Free website builder
- MySQL databases and PHP compatible
- Domain hosting
- Free domain name registration or transfer
- Free marketing and SEO tools
- Free back up options
WordPress Installation
The process of WordPress installation for your WordPress website is taken off your hands by the WP Engine team and done professionally from their end. You can expect an email with all the details you need to access your WordPress account.
Performance
Overall the load times for WP Engine are phenomenal. WP Engine has registered great high and consistent speeds and load times all around the globe with even further connections showing decent statistics concerning web hosting.
Customer Support
The test of a company is its customer interactions. WP Engine has nailed the art of customer support. Its reps are quick at resolving issues and have a friendly demeanor. Their professionalism cuts across free online live chat, web, and phone.
Reputation
WP Engine is among the highest ranked web hosting providers because of incredible customer satisfaction. Those already on their plans are happy with the services and are intent on staying there.
BLUEHOST
BlueHost is an outstanding offering from Endurance International Group (EIG) has become the largest brand name since its establishment in 1996. In fact, they are so well established that WordPress has them listed as an official WordPress recommended host company. Why have they been given this prestigious honor?
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Free domain
- Free domain name for a year
- 3 different web based e-mail solutions
- Unlimited disk storage
- Unlimited domain hosting
- MySQL databases and PHP compatibility
- IMAP/Secure IMAP email support
- 30 days pay back guarantee
WordPress Installation
BlueHost uses the cPanel so you are automatically assured all of your standard and necessary web features. BlueHost also utilizes one click Word Press installations that are done by Mojo Marketplace. They have done a more than decent job despite a few challenges with the interface like double installations. However, those challenges are rectified rather quickly with the aid of their customer support team.
Performance
BlueHost loading times are good considering they are also considered a shared hosting plan. They still continue to provide immense customer support and maximize speed and load performance.
Customer support
Customer support is an area that BlueHost excels in. You can expect great service via free online live chat, web, and phone support. The customer support team members are fast, knowledgeable, and friendly.
Reputation
BlueHost is actually among the first hosting providers to be recommended by WordPress specifically. Clearly, this shows they have built a strong reputation in the market and they deliver on their guarantees. In this industry where many web hosts may not remain true to their word, their reputation is impeccable and you can be ensured that as a BlueHost customer you will receive the best they have to offer.
INMOTION HOSTING
InMotion is one of the few hosting companies that is a powerhouse, yet is not associated with EIG – Endurance International Group. Despite being heavily awarded in the industry, they actually are the most affordable of all the WordPress hosting sites. One would think such accolades would make them more expensive. We are happy to report that they are not. Furthermore, offering high end performance SSD disk space at a low cost has made them a favorite to many. A few other features you can find with InMotion Hosting include:
- Unlimited data back up and emails
- Feature filled scripts and Add ons
- Guaranteed 99.99% server uptime
- Free Solid state drives
- Flexible coding options
- MySQL database
- Free domain name
- Free e-commerce, add-ons and website builders
- Smtp, pop3, imap and webmail services
WordPress Installation
Just when you think InMotion can’t get any better, they do! Unlike most of the other WordPress web hosting sites, your package comes with WordPress already installed. All you have to do is ensure you allow the process by indicating this during the checkout.
Customer Support
InMotion Hosting has a wonderful customer support team. They have a knowledgeable, friendly, and reliable support team and can attend to you and resolve any issues you may be experiencing with incredible efficiency. They have invested heavily in their customer support staff by training them in both technical and nontechnical aspects of the business.
Performance
The loading time for the websites hosted with InMotion Hosting are fast and reliable; the distance from the server notwithstanding. They are an overall good hosting provider by all standards.
Reputation
In this industry, InMotion Hosting has been awarded an A+ rating for outstanding service by Better Business Solutions and have also been rated as the top CNET hosting company for the last 13 years. They are so favored by their customers that they have earned the moniker “nerd’s choice”. Suffice it to say, they are a reputable company.
DREAM HOST
DreamHost is another popular WordPress hosting site that ranks highly in the web hosting world in regard to website host services. Even though it may be more costly than the other WordPress hosting providers we have here, that is compensated for by their top performance. Below are important features to expect from DreamHost hosting services:
- Free Solid state drives
- Smtp, pop3, imap and webmail services
- Free marketing credits
- Free domain name
- Unlimited domains
- MySQL database
WordPress Installation
WordPress is a generally straight forward concept for DreamHost as it has the one click install option which gets the installation done quickly and easily. The interface is also quite easy to understand and work with.
Performance
The load times were excellent across the board, no matter the proximity to the server. The expected hold up in loading for locations that are far off is very minimal with DreamHost.
Customer Support
As expected with a WordPress web hosting site of this caliber, customer support has been heavily invested in; this is clear from the customer support team’s handling of questions, and their willingness to help until all of your issues are resolved. Excellent customer service with guaranteed satisfaction.
Reputation
DreamHost is highly ranked when it comes to reputation and quite rightly so. They have a great customer support team and the site is fast and reliable wherever you are on the globe. DreamHost is among the best hosting sites with consumers most likely to renew their subscription.
GODADDY
Widely considered one of the very few companies offering the best web hosting for WordPress, GoDaddy has earned that reputation by hard work and reinventing themselves in the areas they previously had shortcomings in. To start with, the process of signing in is pretty easy to accomplish. This is what you can expect if you choose a GoDaddy WordPress hosting plan:
- Free domain name
- Unlimited domains
- Free webmail services
- Website builder
- MySQL databases
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Free marketing tools
- 30-day money back guarantee
WordPress Installation
GoDaddy is arguably one of the easiest WordPress installations on the planet. All the user needs to do is click once on the quick install button and there you have it.
Performance
You can expect to experience excellent load times on GoDaddy hosted websites globally. They offer the cPanel for ease of use when on your website. They are fast and rarely,if ever, experience downtime. GoDaddy has reported a server uptime of 99.99%.
Customer Support
Although the phone support for the customers is excellent, the other two, web and online live chat are not as well manned. However, the phone experience more than makes up for the inconvenience of the other two options with professional staff answering your questions.
Reputation
Of all the hosting providers we have sampled, GoDaddy is the biggest yet; this means their users trust them to be reliable and professional. With over 75% of their users happy to renew their subscriptions, we can deduce that they have good reputation.
SITEGROUND
Considered one of the best and most popular hosting companies by users and competitors alike, SiteGround has earned even the respect and favor of WordPress. As a matter of fact, they, just like BlueHost, are an officially recommended WordPress hosting partner. Here is what they offer:
- Unmetered data transfers
- Free domain name
- Drag and drop website builder
- Free email accounts
- Unlimited MySQL databases
- Unlimited sub domains and parked domains
- Softaculous auto installer
- Daily back up
- 30 days money back guarantee
WordPress Installation
WordPress installation is an easy affair with SiteGround due to the partnering between the site and WordPress. SiteGround has actually built an incredible following because of their offer of optimized WordPress hosting.
Customer Support
Arguably the best customer support among web hosting companies is found on SiteGround. They have put up personal profiles of all their employees so that you can see and read the profile of whoever is attending to you. They are known in the industry for prioritizing their customers by overstaffing shifts so that the phones are always manned. SiteGround also fast tracks issues and requests so that customers are attended to efficiently.
Performance
SiteGround boasts of unique in-house WordPress speed and options to secure your website and make your site faster. To further enhance their performance, they have GIT version control, WP caching, and automatic upgrades. SiteGround has data centers in Singapore, USA, and Europe to ensure excellent load times no matter where in the world you are located.
Reputation
The reliability, stability, and efficiency of SiteGround speak volumes of their performance and reputation. They have heavily invested in their staff to prevent any unnecessary issues and it has worked for them and their customers. SiteGround subscriptions are continually growing.
A SMALL ORANGE
Nifty as the name may sound, A Small Orange from Endurance International Group (EIG) is a force to reckon with concerning the world of web hosting. Launched in 2003, their target audience were customers who needed a low-cost web hosting plan. As they have grown, they have become a preferred choice for both novices and veterans for web hosting. With A Small Orange WordPress hosting plan, you can expect the following high-quality features:
- Free domain name
- Drag and drop website builder
- Free email accounts
- Unlimited MySQL databases
- Unlimited sub domains and parked domains
- Softaculous auto installer
- Daily back up
- 30 days money back guarantee
WordPress Installation
One of the best features about A Small Orange are their useful and helpful tutorials on creating WordPress sites. These tutorials give the user a level of independence with regard to installing the site themselves. However, if you are not keen on DIY, the installation process is easy with the auto installer.
Customer support
With great tutorials, beginners and advanced users alike have the opportunity to learn the basics about trouble shooting; this is over and above the free online live chat and email options that have been found to be the best ways to contact A Small Orange customer support team. The phone support is also quite decent.
Performance
With up to 99.99% uptime you can expect a smooth running WordPress hosting service with A Small Orange; this is above and beyond their incredible load time that has registered as one of the best in the industry. Increased speed and loading times are a huge advantage over the competition for A Small Orange.
Reputation
As part of EIG’s offering, A Small Orange has truly held its own in terms of reputation. They have played a huge role in placing Endurance International Group on the web hosting pedestal it currently enjoys. Users find them trustworthy, reliable, and professional.
IPAGE
Over a million websites in the bag and more pouring in, Ipage is synonymous with professionally handled WordPress web hosting. Also part of the EIG family, they boast of the lowest cost out of every hosting company we sampled. Below are some key features you can expect from an iPage hosting plan:
- 99% server uptime
- Free domain
- Free web transfer
- MySQL databases
- Unlimited storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
WordPress Installation
Ipage has an easy installation process that just requires one simple click to install WordPress. Happy customers can go ahead and do it themselves without needing support or assistance from the customer support team.
Customer Support
As with other EIG offerings, customer support is emphasized in Ipage. They have a decent enough customer support option, however, compared with other sites in the same category, it is just average.
Performance
iPage Hosting boasts of outstanding load times for their servers and wonderful features that make website administration easy for the users.
Reputation
For the 18 years they have been in operation, they have come of age. iPage is well respected with users and these users are happy to renew their subscriptions and refer more clients. The servers offer stability and are reliable.
WEB HOSTING HUB
Hosting over 1000 companies comes from an understanding of your clientele and meeting their needs. Operating since 2010, this site is among the very few web hosts offering the best host plan for WordPress on the market today. With their special personal on boarding calling they have managed to rake in clients even from competitors. Here is what they offer.
- 20x faster SSD hosting
- Free domain and unlimited sub domains and parked domains
- Free premium website builder
- Website backups
- Unlimited storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- MySQL database
- Free web transfer
- Unlimited email
WordPress Installation
It is easy to install e-commerce platforms using the install tool on web hosting. Alternatively, you can even create e-commerce platforms using the 310+ free install tools it provides.
Performance
With one of the best up times registered at 99.99 to 100%, Web Hosting Hub can easily be said to be the guru of server uptime. Additional good features that help with the performance of this host provider include unlimited MySQL databases as well as unlimited FTP accounts. They also offer the cPanel, which is a favorite because of ease of use and reliability with the host plan.
Customer Support
The reviews when it comes to Web Hosting Hub customer care all point to excellent customer support. Help is quick, professional, and friendly. Not only that, the support team has been given the tools to ensure that they deliver proper support when called upon.
Reputation
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Web Hosting Hub is a great company with reliable services. Even better is the relationship they have with their clients. There is a show of trust and professional conduct in the services of this site.
Conclusion
Seeing as hosting is a multi-billion dollar industry and growing, we strongly recommend that the WordPress hosting provider of your choice be tried and tested to be true. So how do you choose the best WordPress Hosting service providers? Well, we have done the bulk of the work here.
One or two things you can do further include; research, research, and more research. Check out as many WordPress hosting reviews as you can from current users of the service. We cannot say it enough, a poorly set up WordPress Hosting provider is one of the reasons why people will leave your website in just 10 seconds. It will turn away traffic from your business website.
More importantly, do not fall for the ‘expensive is the best’ gimmick. HostGator, for instance, is one of the top WordPress hosting providers that is not just reputable, but reasonably priced and performance-based. Enjoy your search for the best WordPress host with the help of our able guide.