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12+ Best WordPress Hosting Companies In 2022

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WordPress is the most popular content management system in the world.

As a result, many hosting companies offer WordPress hosting.

But what is WordPress hosting and why should you choose it?

In this article, we will discuss what WordPress hosting is.

We will also explain why it’s different from traditional web hosting.

Then, we will review the best WordPress hosting companies so that you can decide which one works best for you.

An Overview of WordPress Hosting

Before selecting the best WordPress hosting solution for your needs, it’s critical to understand the basics of the topic.

vector graphic showing an illustration of a man working on a server that has a WordPress logo on it to illustrate managed WordPress hosting

What Is WordPress-specific Hosting?

WordPress hosting is a type of web hosting designed specifically for WordPress websites.

You might use shared servers.

However, unlike traditional hosting where you would share with all types of websites, WordPress shared hosting only shares resources with other WordPress websites.

A WordPress hosting service provides WordPress-specific resources.

The resources might include the following.

A WordPress host may also give you access to other services that relate to simplifying running and managing a WordPress website.

Why Is WordPress Hosting Helpful to Bloggers?

WordPress hosting can be helpful for bloggers in a few ways.

First, you should know that WordPress is a resource-intensive platform.

It requires more resources than other types of websites.

The platform gets updated constantly with new features, security patches, plugins, and so on.

As a result, you need a host that can provide you with the resources you need to keep your WordPress site running smoothly.

Second, WordPress hosting can give you access to features that make managing a WordPress site easier.

For example, some hosts offer managed WordPress hosting.

They will take care of all the technical details of running a WordPress site for you.

It’s helpful if you’re not a technical person.

Third, WordPress hosting sometimes provides access to resources to help you improve your selling and marketing results.

As an example, some hosts offer eCommerce WordPress hosting.

These companies provide resources to assist with setting up an online store on your WordPress site.

What Separates WordPress Hosting From Traditional Hosting?

Server configuration is the main difference between WordPress hosting and traditional website hosting.

A regular website hosting service focuses on preventing security issues and keeping your site’s server in working order.

A WordPress host does the same thing, of course, with those two issues.

However, the focus with WordPress hosting is optimizing specifically for WordPress installations.

Do You Need WordPress-specific Hosting for WordPress Sites?

No, you don’t need WordPress-specific hosting for your WordPress site.

The main advantage of using WordPress hosting is that it can make your life easier when operating a WordPress site.

If you’re not interested in those advantages, then there’s no need to use WordPress hosting.

Sometimes, you can save some money by using traditional web hosting.

At the same time, using WordPress hosting often makes the most sense.

It’s like taking your Lamborghini to get serviced at the local Honda dealer.

You probably wouldn’t do that because you know the Honda technicians don’t understand how to best repair a Lamborghini.

Types of WordPress Hosting

There are different types of WordPress hosting services available.

The best one for you will depend on your budget and needs.

vector graphic showing an illustration of wordpress hosting and a handful of the best wordpress hosting companies logos on the side

1. Managed WordPress Hosting

A managed WordPress host will take care of all the technical aspects of running a WordPress site.

The host keeps your server configured properly and secure.

In essence, you can leave the technical website “stuff” to experts while you keep your attention on running your business.

Using a Managed WordPress hosting service helps you get additional services.

These benefits might include the following.

  • Automatic backups
  • High-end security
  • Excellent support services
  • Staging environments with one-click services
  • Developer-friendly

You’ll also discover that these hosting accounts place their data centers in strategic areas optimized for the highest performance.

2. Shared WordPress Hosting

Shared WordPress hosting is the most popular type of WordPress hosting.

In this scenario, your site shares a server with other WordPress sites.

The benefit is that it’s the most inexpensive way to get started with a WordPress site.

The downside of shared hosting is that you’re also sharing resources with other users on the server.

As a result, your site might not get the resources it needs if other users hog them.

Additionally, a sudden influx of traffic to another user’s website on the server could cause your site to slow down or even crash.

Shared hosting is best for small WordPress sites with lower traffic levels.

3. VPS WordPress Hosting

A VPS (Virtual Private Server) is best described as a “virtual machine.”

It’s a copy of a server that you can use without having to physically purchase the server.

In WordPress hosting, a VPS provides you with more resources than shared hosting.

The result is that your site can handle more traffic and still perform well.

A VPS also gives you more control over server settings and security.

The downside is that it’s more expensive than shared hosting.

Using a VPS hosting plan, your host typically provides you with additional CPU, RAM, and storage capacity.

These features help to adapt your hosting to your website’s specific traffic spikes and overall needs.

4. Dedicated WordPress Hosting

A dedicated WordPress host provides you with an entire server for your WordPress site.

This type of hosting is best for high-traffic WordPress sites that need maximum control over server resources.

With dedicated WordPress hosting, you get more control over the server’s configuration.

It includes the ability to install custom software and applications that other types of WordPress hosting might not support.

A dedicated WordPress hosting service gives you enhanced security features not available with other types of hosting.

The downside is that it’s the most expensive type of WordPress hosting.

5. eCommerce WordPress Hosting

An eCommerce WordPress host is a type of WordPress host that’s specifically designed for online stores.

These hosting services include features such as pre-installed shopping carts, one-click installation of WooCommerce, and more.

Other features of eCommerce WordPress hosting include the following.

  • Scalability
  • High performance
  • Security features such as firewalls

The best eCommerce WordPress hosts will also offer additional security features such as PCI compliance and SSL certificates.

If you’re planning to run an online store, then you should consider using an eCommerce WordPress host.

WordPress Hosting Requirements

When choosing your WordPress hosting service, consider the requirements that help a WordPress run efficiently.

For example, you should consider the PHP programming language version.

As of this writing, WordPress recommends using PHP versions 7.4, 8.0, or 8.1.

Additionally, you need to ensure that your web host has the minimum amount of RAM and CPU required for your WordPress site.

Generally speaking, it’s simply a good idea to become familiar with features such as PHP, CPU, and RAM.

Most modern website hosts offering WordPress hosting will make sure that they provide you with the hosting requirements.

Each company also does a good job of keeping these requirements updated as WordPress changes.

Best WordPress Hosting For 2022

On an overall basis, here are the top four WordPress hosting options available.

vector graphic showing a handful of the best managed wordpress hosting company logos

1. WP Engine

Runner Up

The “WP” in WP Engine does, indeed, stand for “WordPress.”

So, what you get with WP Engine is a WordPress-dedicated service that does wonders for your hosting.

WP Engine is one of the best WordPress hosting providers.

It’s a managed WordPress host that offers features such as daily backups, staging environments, and security features.

Additionally, WP Engine provides you with a wide variety of plans to choose from.

Its plan flexibility gives you the ability to select the option that best fits your budget and needs.

Our Rating

Five

Best For

The best option to power your creativity

Notable Features

  • Daily backups: Keep your data safe with daily backups of your WordPress site.
    WP Engine stores these backups off-site so you can rest assured knowing your data is always secure.
  • Staging environment: Test out new plugins and themes in a staging environment before making them live on your site.
    Using this feature, you can avoid breaking your live site.
  • Security features: Protect your site with WP Engine’s advanced security features.
    WP Engine also includes a firewall and malware scanning.

Pros

  • Flexible plans: Choose from a variety of plans to find the best option for your budget.
    You won’t get locked into a plan that limits your ability to expand your business.
    You can cancel your service at any time.
  • Quality support: You can reach customer support by phone, chat, or email on all days of the week.
  • Free SSL: Secure your WordPress website automatically with an SSL certificate.
    Today’s online environment requires all sites to have an SSL certificate.
    It’s vital when working to maintain trust with your website visitors.
  • Fast CDN: Deliver your content quickly with WP Engine’s fast CDN.
    A CDN will help ensure that your website loads quickly for visitors no matter where they are in the world.
  • Pre-installed caching: Speed up your WordPress site with pre-installed caching.
    Caching helps your pages load faster by storing frequently accessed data.

Cons

  • Expensive: WP Engine is one of the more expensive WordPress hosting providers.
    However, you do get what you pay for in terms of quality and features.
  • Plugins: You may find that some WP Engine plugins sit on the blacklist.
    A blacklist occurs when a plugin developer doesn’t fix security issues.
  • No email hosting: You’ll need to use a third-party service for your email hosting needs.

Is WP Engine Hard To Use?

No, WP Engine is not hard to use.

It’s quite easy to use.

The interface is clean and user-friendly.

You can easily find the features and tools you need to manage your WordPress site.

Installing WordPress on WP Engine

WP Engine offers a one-click WordPress install.

It makes it easy to get started with WordPress.

You don’t need any prior experience or knowledge to be able to use WP Engine.

Once installed, you can immediately begin your website development.

WP Engine Customer Support

Customer support is available 24/7.

Phone support is available at 877–973-6446.

You can also reach customer support via chat or email.

WP Engine agents will help with technical, account, and billing issues.

Pricing & Plans

WP Engine offers two main pricing plans.

You can choose between Managed or eCommerce WordPress hosting.

  • Managed WordPress: Starts at $20 per month.
    As you add features, it can go over $200 per month
  • eCommerce Solutions: Starts at $24 per month and can go as high as $250+ per month

Our Take

WP Engine is one of the best WordPress hosting providers.

It’s a managed WordPress host that offers features such as security, performance, and scalability.

However, it’s not the cheapest WordPress host out there.

If you’re on a budget, then you may need to look at a different option.

2. Flywheel

Our Pick

The cheapest Flywheel plan is $15 per month, while the most expensive one will set you back $290 per month.

It boasts an optimized dashboard, nightly backups, quality security options, automatic installations, one-click staging sites, and various other options.

Flywheel is one of the best hosting companies you can find online and they are specifically geared towards WordPress users.

The company gives you a variety of features that makes it stand out from other hosting companies.

Additionally, their customer service is top-notch and they give you a user-friendly interface.

They offer four different WordPress hosting plans, providing flexibility no matter how much revenue your business currently brings in.

Our Rating

Five

Best For

Marketers and businesses looking for an all-in-one solution.

Notable Features

  • Staging area: You can test site changes in a development environment before taking your site live. This allows you to create a copy of your live site so you can play around with themes, plugins, and site designs without affecting your live site.
  • Free migration: Flywheel will help you move your site to their servers for free.
    Some hosts will charge you hundreds of dollars to do this.
  • Security: Flywheel takes website security seriously with features like two-factor authentication, IP blocking, and malware scanning.

Pros

  • User-friendly interface: Designed with simplicity in mind, you’ll discover an easy site-building experience with the Flywheel dashboard.
  • 60-day guarantee: Flywheel offers a 60-day money-back guarantee, so you can try their services with no risk.
    You get plenty of time to test out their features and see if they’re a good fit for your needs.
  • Client management reports: If you use Flywheel to build sites for customers, this feature will come in handy.
    It allows you to generate reports that show your progress and billable hours.
  • Website management: You can manage one or over 100 websites, depending on your needs.
    The flexibility offered by Flywheel’s plans lets you scale up or down as needed.
  • Managed plugin updates: You can automate the process of updating any plugins used on your website.
    Use this feature to ensure that your site always employs the latest versions of plugins.
    It helps with keeping your website more secure.

Cons

  • No email hosting: Flywheel does not offer email hosting, so you’ll need to use a third-party provider. The company decided to focus all of its efforts on delivering WordPress hosting.
    You’ll need to pay for services like Google Workspace.
  • Pricing: Flywheel is one of the more expensive WordPress hosts, though they do offer a discount for yearly plans.
  • No phpMyAdmin option: You cannot access phpMyAdmin through Flywheel, which may be an issue if you’re used to managing your databases this way.
    However, this won’t affect many people who don’t need this specialized option.

Is Flywheel Hard To Use?

No, Flywheel is not hard to use.

The company’s goal is to make WordPress hosting as simple as possible for its users.

They have a user-friendly interface.

Everything inside the Flywheel dashboard offers a design and features that make your life easier.

Installing WordPress on Flywheel

Installing WordPress on Flywheel is a simple process.

You can either use their one-click installer or follow their manual installation instructions.

As well, Flywheel offers its “Local” WordPress install method.

It keeps your website development on your machine, eliminating the need to download WordPress or edit files like wp-config.php.

Flywheel Customer Support

You’ll get 24/7 access to customer support when you use Flywheel.

The company’s WordPress experts are available to help you with any issues you may have.

Additionally, they offer a knowledge base with articles and tutorials.

You can also take advantage of their live chat feature if you need help in a hurry.

Pricing & Plans

Select from one of four Flywheel pricing plans.

  • Tiny: $15 per month
  • Starter: $30 per month
  • Freelance: $115 per month
  • Agency: $290 per month

You can call Flywheel for a custom plan.

However, that isn’t necessary unless you’re a very large business.

Our Take

We think Flywheel is a great WordPress host.

They offer everything you need to create a successful website.

Additionally, their customer support is excellent.

The only downside is their pricing, which is on the higher end.

However, you do get what you pay for with this company.

It’s highly unlikely that you’ll regret a decision to power your website with Flywheel.

3. Kinsta

Kinsta is a favorite of ours because it allows so much traffic. Perhaps you have a huge growth curve coming up or you’re struggling to cope with traffic spikes at the moment.

Kinsta is a WordPress hosting company that provides managed WordPress hosting services.

Using Kinsta, you can get your WordPress site up and running in minutes with its easy-to-use interface.

The company offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

You can feel comfortable giving a Kinsta hosting package a fair try before making a final decision.

Our Rating

Five

Best For

Best value for serious-minded business owners.

Notable Features

  • Automatic backups: Kinsta backs up your WordPress site automatically every day.
    It’s crucial to keep regular backups of your website in case something goes wrong.
  • Free site migration: Kinsta will migrate your WordPress site for free.
    All you need to do is provide them with your current hosting login details and they’ll take care of the rest.
  • Staging environment: Kinsta provides a staging environment so you can test changes to your WordPress site before making them live.
    It is an efficient way to avoid breaking your live site.

Pros

  • Fast CPUs: Kinsta uses Google Cloud Platform’s fast CPUs to give your WordPress site the speed it needs.
  • Global CDN: Kinsta uses over 200 server locations around the world.
    Using this method, you can bank on building a fast website that can handle lots of traffic.
  • Security features: Kinsta has several security features in place to protect your WordPress site from attacks.
    These include a firewall, malware scanning, and DDoS protection.
  • Free Wildcard SSL support: Kinsta offers free Wildcard SSL support with all of its plans.
    It means you can secure not only your WordPress site but also any subdomains you have.
  • User roles: Kinsta offers unlimited user roles.
    Give different people access to your WordPress site without worrying about exceeding your plan’s limits.

Cons

  • Higher prices: Kinsta’s managed WordPress hosting plans are on the higher end of the price spectrum.
    However, you get what you pay for in terms of features and performance.
  • No email hosting: Like so many other managed WordPress hosts, Kinsta does not offer email hosting.
    If you need this service, you’ll need to purchase it from another provider.
  • Limits: Although the CDN and storage services work excellently, you’ll pay more to get more.
    Kinsta tacks on extra charges when you go over your plan’s limits.

Is Kinsta Hard To Use?

No, the MyKinsta dashboard is one of the easiest to use out of all the WordPress hosting companies we’ve tried.

The dashboard’s design makes it simple when you need to manage multiple WordPress sites.

You can easily see which sites are active, what plan they’re on, and how much traffic they’re getting.

You can also quickly add new WordPress sites or migrate existing ones over to Kinsta.

The process is user-friendly.

Installing WordPress on Kinsta

To install WordPress on your new Kinsta account, log in to the MyKinsta dashboard and click on the “Add Site” button.

Enter your site’s name and select the primary domain.

Then, choose the project you want to add the WordPress site to.

Next, select the WordPress installation type.

We recommend choosing “Install automatically.”

Kinsta Customer Support

Kinsta’s customer support is excellent.

The company offers 24/7 live chat and email support.

We contacted customer support via live chat to see how quickly they would respond.

The system connected us with a customer support representative in less than two minutes.

The representative was friendly and answered our questions promptly.

We also received an email follow-up after our live chat conversation.

Pricing & Plans

You can select between four Kinsta pricing plans.

  • Pro: $70 per month
  • Business 1: $115 per month
  • Business 2: $225 per month
  • Business 3: $340 per month

Our Take

Kinsta is an excellent choice for managed WordPress hosting.

It offers fast, reliable, and secure hosting.

The customer support team gives you access to help when you need it and you get to play with the user-friendly MyKinsta dashboard.

If you’re looking for a high-quality managed WordPress host and can afford to pay more, Kinsta is a nice option.

4. SiteGround

Runner Up

You may be deterred by the $7-mark, but this monthly price is still pretty cheap (cheaper than your Spotify subscription).

SiteGround offers managed plans, but more on that later.

Managed prices rarely come at rates that are this low.

SiteGround is one of the most popular WordPress hosting companies.

They offer a wide range of services, including shared hosting, cloud hosting, and dedicated servers.

They also have a managed WordPress service that includes security and performance enhancements.

SiteGround uses data centers around the world, including Europe, Asia, and the United States.

They offer a 99.99% uptime guarantee and 24/7 support.

Our Rating

Four

Best For

Best value for both eCommerce and blogging businesses.

Notable Features

  • Free SSL and CDN: SiteGround offers a free SSL certificate and Cloudflare CDN with every WordPress plan.
    Use these features to speed up your website and improve security.
  • Automatic Updates: SiteGround will automatically update your WordPress site to the latest version, so you don’t have to worry about doing it yourself.
  • Staging Environment: SiteGround’s staging environment lets you test changes to your WordPress site before making them live.
    It’s important to use this feature when making major changes to your site.

Pros

  • Smooth site transfers: If you’re coming from another host, SiteGround will transfer your website for free.
    It’s a simple one-click site migration process.
  • Affordable prices: SiteGround’s WordPress plans are reasonably priced when compared to other WordPress hosting companies.
    You can get started with SiteGround no matter your overall budget.
  • Email service: SiteGround offers a free email service with every hosting plan.
    You can save money here because there’s no need to pay more money for services like Google Workspace.
  • Collaboration tools: SiteGround’s collaboration tools make it easy to work with others on your WordPress site.
    You can give users different levels of access and permissions.
    Using this feature also helps when you’re working with third-party developers.
  • Dev toolkit: If you’re an advanced WordPress developer, use the toolkit with tools like PHP version control, SSH access, and WP-CLI.
    These tools will help improve the speed and efficiency of your developer workflows.

Cons

  • Limited resources: Similar to Kinsta, you’ll need to pay out more money when you reach your selected plan’s limits.
    It applies to features such as available SSD space, for instance.
  • Higher renewals: You’ll pay a lesser amount to get started than other options.
    However, you need to budget for higher hosting fees after the first year.
    SiteGround will charge you more in year two and beyond than it does for the first year.
  • Site speed: While you’ll achieve a fast-loading website when using SiteGround, you can find hosts that offer faster out-of-the-box websites.

Is SiteGround Hard To Use?

No, SiteGround is not hard to use. It’s one of the simplest WordPress hosting companies to use.

The company offers a simple-to-use dashboard.

No matter your website building experience, you shouldn’t find SiteGround difficult to navigate.

Installing WordPress on SiteGround

SiteGround offers a one-click WordPress installer.

You can use this feature to install WordPress automatically without having to go through the manual installation process.

Once you’ve logged into your account, select the “My Accounts” tab, and then click on the “Go to cPanel” button.

In the cPanel dashboard, scroll down to the WordPress Installer.

Select the “Install Now” button.

SiteGround Customer Support

You’ll get 24/7 customer support when using SiteGround.

The best way to get in touch with SiteGround is through the live chat feature.

The company’s customer support agents are responsive and knowledgeable.

You can also get help by telephone or email if you need assistance outside of live chat hours.

Pricing & Plans

Choose between SiteGround’s three WordPress hosting plans.

  • Startup: $2.99 per month ($14.99 per month after renewal)
  • GrowBig: $4.99 per month ($24.99 per month after renewal)
  • GoGeek: $7.99 per month ($39.99 per month after renewal)

Our Take

With SiteGround, you can make use of feature-rich plans, a simple-to-use dashboard, and excellent customer support.

You can also take advantage of the company’s free website transfer service.

However, it’s important to note that you’ll need to pay more after the first year of service.

Best WordPress Cloud Hosting

If you’re looking for WordPress cloud hosting, choose from one of the following two options.

1. Pressable

This is an all-rounder as you get everything from daily backups to excellent security.

What we love about Pressable is that the brand uses some of the best servers available called Rackspace Hybrid cloud. Because they pair this with SFTP access security.

Pressable is a cloud WordPress hosting company that offers managed WordPress hosting plans.

Over the years, the company gained a positive reputation for its high-speed hosting and excellent customer support.

As well, Pressable makes it easy to scale your hosting plan as your website grows.

Our Rating

Five

Best For

The best cloud-based option for WordPress professionals.

Notable Features

  • Uptime guarantee: Pressable offers a 100% uptime guarantee.
    Uptime is one of the most critical factors when it comes to choosing a WordPress hosting company.
  • Free migration: Pressable offers free migrations from your current host.
    This is a valuable feature, especially if you’re not familiar with migrating a WordPress site.
  • Staging sites: Pressable offers staging sites, so you can test out changes to your website before making them live.

Pros

  • Security: The company includes security features such as malware removal and automatic updates in all of its plans.
    Use this option to keep your WordPress site from getting hacked.
  • Speed: The company designed its servers specifically for WordPress websites, so they’re extremely fast.
    Its cloud-based global network helps with not only speed control, but also your overall SEO experience.
  • Automatic backups and updates: Pressable automatically backs up your WordPress site and updates it to the latest version of WordPress, so you don’t have to worry about doing it yourself.
  • NVMe server infrastructure: Pressable built its server infrastructure on NVMe drives, which are the fastest type of SSDs available.
    The infrastructure helps improve response times and also helps with better search engine rankings.
  • 30-day money-back guarantee: Pressable offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try out the service with no risk.

Cons

  • No free plan: The company doesn’t offer a free plan, so you’ll have to pay for its services.
    However, the guarantee makes this more palpable.
  • Staging sites: Although this is an excellent feature, it’s relatively newer to the Pressable platform. Some users report that the migration features need a little bit of work.
    Pressable should get these issues solved soon.
  • No phone support: You can only get email or chat support.
    It’s best if you have some hosting experience so you don’t get stuck without having the ability to talk to an agent or tech support person.

Is Pressable Hard To Use?

The dashboard is quite intuitive.

You shouldn’t run into any trouble navigating it as you build your website.

The company also offers a wide range of tutorials and how-tos in its support center.

Installing WordPress on Pressable

Installing WordPress on Pressable is a breeze.

The company offers a one-click installation process that takes care of everything for you.

Get your account started, log into it, and click on the WordPress install button.

Pressable Customer Support

Pressable offers customer support through email and live chat.

Don’t let the lack of phone support deter you.

The company’s agents are knowledgeable and helpful.

Response times are fast.

You’ll typically get a chat agent online within seconds of opening your new ticket.

Pricing & Plans

Pressable offers 10 different plan options.

  • Entry: $19 per month
  • Personal: $25 per month
  • Starter: $45 per month
  • Pro: $90 per month
  • Premium: $155 per month
  • Business: $350 per month
  • Business 80: $545 per month
  • Business 100: $675 per month
  • Business 120: $805 per month
  • Business 150: $1000 per month

Our Take

Pressable’s servers help specifically with WordPress websites.

The company also offers a wide range of features, including free migration, automatic backups and updates, staging sites, and more.

While the bigger plans become expensive, we recommend Pressable for your WordPress hosting needs.

2. Google Cloud

With Google Cloud, you can host your WordPress site on the same infrastructure that Google uses for its products.

For example, you’ll use hosting services Google uses to power Gmail and Google Drive.

Our Rating

Three

Best For

Budget option for more experienced webmasters.

Notable Features

  • Guaranteed 99.99% uptime: Your site will remain up and running at all times.
    Otherwise, the guarantee gives you credits toward your hosting fees.
  • Customize your plan: Unlike most hosts that make you fit your needs into their specific pricing plans, Google Cloud lets you create a more customized plan.
    For example, you can choose your machine type, server location, and virtual machine series.
  • Global network: Google Cloud has data centers all over the world, so you can choose which one is closest to your target audience.

Pros

  • Security: Google takes security seriously, so you can rest assured that your site will be well-protected. Google Cloud offers ongoing verification, advanced encryption, and vulnerability management.
  • Performance: Google Cloud provides quality when it comes to speed and uptime.
    Your site will load quickly and stay up, even if there’s a lot of traffic.
  • Error notifications: Google will notify you if there’s an error on your site so you can fix it right away.
  • CDN with every plan: A content delivery network (CDN) speeds up the delivery of your site’s content to visitors.
    Google Cloud includes a CDN with every plan, so you don’t have to pay extra for this service.
  • Daily backups: Your site’s data gets backed up every day.
    You’ll never need to worry about losing any information.

Cons

  • Dashboard: You won’t see a typical WordPress dashboard with Google Cloud.
    It isn’t an intuitive view and will take getting used to.
  • Limited tech support: While Google Cloud does offer 24/7 customer support, it’s not always easy to get in touch with a human.
    You will need to pay for this level of service.
  • More advanced options: If you’re not comfortable with server administration, then Google Cloud is probably not the best option for you.
    This platform is best suited for those who are familiar with hosting and managing a website.

Is Google Cloud Hard To Use?

Compared to most other website hosting accounts you’re used to, Google Cloud offers a different view.

Although it’s not hard to use, it looks more like a Google Analytics dashboard than a WordPress website dashboard.

Give yourself some time to get used to using it.

Installing WordPress on Google Cloud

Similar to other options on our list, you can install WordPress with Google Cloud’s simple click-to-deploy installation process.

Google Cloud Customer Support

Google Cloud offers a customer support hub.

In the hub, you can choose between submitting a support ticket, reading the community forum, or reading through the knowledge base.

Unfortunately, you will need to pay $29 per month for premium support.

The paid version gives you lesser response times and 1:1 support.

Pricing & Plans

You’ll get charged for resources consumed with Google Cloud.

  • Infrastructure fee: $12.23 per month (you’ll start here and then pay more as you add services to your plan)

Our Take

While Google Cloud works well for WordPress hosting, we rated it a “three” because it’s not the best option for non-techie people.

If you’re not comfortable with a confusing dashboard and the unknown around the pricing options, then we recommend choosing another host on our list.

Middle-Ground WordPress Hosting

Take a look at the following four WordPress hosting options if you need something a little less advanced than the companies we’ve reviewed so far.

1. Hostinger

Hostinger got its start as a free web host but has since morphed into a shared and cloud-based host with quite a few features.

Almost anyone can use Hostinger.

It’s great for people who are looking for quality service at an affordable price.

Hostinger is one of the most affordable WordPress hosting providers on the market.

While the company offers the normal features you’d expect with any other WordPress hosting plan, it’s hard to beat its prices.

Our Rating

Three

Best For

Quality budget option for all-in-one web hosting.

Notable Features

  • Unmetered bandwidth: You won’t have to worry about hitting any limits with Hostinger.
    Finding unlimited options here makes it a great value for your money.
  • Free SSL certificate: Hostinger serves your site over a secure connection, ensuring your visitors’ information stays safe.
  • Domain privacy: Your contact information remains private, protecting you from spam and unwanted solicitations.

Pros

  • Free domain name for one year: You can save even more by getting a free domain name when you sign up for Hostinger.
  • Caching plugin: The company offers a caching plugin to help your site load faster.
    Website speed is a big part of search engine optimization, so this can be a big help if you’re trying to improve your ranking.
  • Automated backups: Hostinger takes care of backing up your site for you, so you don’t have to worry about it yourself.
  • WordPress Pro tools: Hostinger offers WordPress developers a nice WordPress toolbox.
    The tools include SSH access, PHP version control, Git integration, WP-CLI, and MySQL database management.
  • 99.99% uptime guarantee: Hostinger guarantees that your site will be up and running almost all of the time.

Cons

  • Some items aren’t refundable: You can’t get your money back for privacy protection, domain name renewals, or redemption fees.
  • Non-traditional cPanel: You may or may not like the cPanel Hostinger customized for its customers.
  • Limited cheap plan: If you go for Hostinger’s cheapest plan, you don’t get the free domain.
    You also only receive 30 GB of storage.

Is Hostinger Hard To Use?

No, Hostinger is not hard to use.

The company’s custom cPanel is easy to navigate, and all of the features are clearly labeled.

Just be aware that its cPanel isn’t what you’re used to seeing with other hosts.

Installing WordPress on Hostinger

Hostinger uses a one-click installer for WordPress, so getting started with your site is quick and easy.

It’s a matter of logging in, clicking one button, and starting to work on your website without requiring any technical knowledge about WordPress installs.

Hostinger Customer Support

Hostinger offers 24/7 customer support through live chat and email.

The company also has a pretty thorough knowledge base, so you can find answers to most of your questions without having to contact customer support.

We’ve found that Hostinger’s customer support is speedy.

The company also responds to questions asked on its social media accounts.

Pricing & Plans

Hostinger offers four different WordPress hosting plans.

  • Single WordPress: $1.99 per month
  • WordPress Starter: $3.99 per month
  • Business WordPress: $6.99 per month
  • WordPress Pro: $11.59 per month

Our Take

Hostinger is a quality option if you’re looking for WordPress hosting at an affordable price.

The company offers all of the features you need to get started with your WordPress site.

It provides good customer support.

2. GreenGeeks

GreenGeeks provides solid web hosting while also being eco-friendly.

GreenGeeks is great for small businesses that are concerned with helping the environment.

Using GreenGeeks WordPress hosting, you can rest assured that your website will receive hosting on eco-friendly servers.

The company also offers excellent customer service and a wide range of features to choose from.

Our Rating

Five

Best For

Most resistant option to the way the Internet pollutes the environment.

Notable Features

  • Fast websites: GreenGeeks use solid-state drives (SSDs), which are up to 20 times faster than regular hard drives.
    With short attention spans from website visitors and Google’s focus on using speed as a ranking factor, you’ll find GreenGeeks delivers in this area.
  • Developer-friendly: Developers built the GreenGeeks company.
    If you need high-level development features, you’ll find phpMyAdmin, Git, and SSH access inside your account.
  • Staging area: A staging area is a developer tool that allows you to make changes to your WordPress site before making those same changes live.
    It’s an excellent way to test new plugins or themes without risking taking your live site offline.

Pros

  • Generous storage and bandwidth limits: GreenGeeks WordPress hosting provides unmetered storage and bandwidth.
  • Exceptional security: The company offers robust security features, including malware scanning, a firewall, and DDoS protection.
    If you’re switching from a host that didn’t take security as seriously as it should, you’ll enjoy GreenGeeks.
  • Affordable entry-level plan: The company’s “Lite” plan is one of the most affordable WordPress hosting plans we’ve seen.
  • Free SSL certificate: You’ll get a free SSL certificate with every GreenGeeks WordPress hosting plan.
  • One Tree Planted: GreenGeeks partners with the One Tree Planted program.
    The company will plant a tree for every hosting account you open up with it.

Cons

  • Not truly “unlimited”: If you choose one of the plans offering unlimited space or bandwidth, you should know that the company does sometimes restrict resources.
    It does this when a website uses 100% of all allocated resources on its plan.
  • No 24/7 phone support: Although you can get phone support, you can’t access it 24 hours per day. It runs from 9 AM to midnight EST.
    It could turn into a problem if you need overnight support.
  • Non Refundable items: You can’t get a refund on items such as domain fees or setup costs.

Is GreenGeeks Hard To Use?

No, it’s not.

The company offers a user-friendly cPanel that makes it easy to manage your hosting account and website.

You’ll find everything you need in one place.

Installing WordPress on GreenGeeks

To install WordPress on GreenGeeks, you can use the company’s one-click installer.

It makes it easy to set up your website in minutes.

Log in to your GreenGeeks account and go to the “My Accounts” tab.

Then, click on the “hosting” link.

Find the domain you want to install WordPress on and click the “Install Now” button.

GreenGeeks Customer Support

You’ll get 24/7 live chat customer support and phone support during the hours we mentioned above.

Each customer support staff member can answer any question you have, no matter how technical it is.

We contacted customer support via live chat to test it.

We received a response within seconds.

Pricing & Plans

You can choose from three GreenGeeks pricing plans.

  • Lite: $2.95 per month
  • Pro: $5.95 per month
  • Premium: $10.95 per month

Our Take

GreenGeeks is one of the best WordPress hosting companies because it’s eco-friendly, developer-friendly, and offers an affordable entry-level plan.

The company also offers exceptional security features and a free SSL certificate.

The only downsides are that it’s not truly “unlimited” and there’s no 24/7 phone support.

Overall, we think it’s a fantastic option for WordPress hosting.

3. A2 Hosting

A2 Hosting offers web hosting, WordPress hosting, a site builder, domain registration, and more, along with a claim to be 20 times faster than the competition.

A2 Hosting is best for businesses and individuals who put speed as their top priority.

A2 Hosting is a WordPress hosting company that offers a variety of hosting plans specifically designed for WordPress websites.

Their plans come with pre-installed WordPress, a free domain name, and a free SSL certificate.

A key feature of their plans is that they offer unlimited storage space and bandwidth.

Our Rating

Four

Best For

Best value when looking for an excellent uptime.

Notable Features

  • Stability: The company claims a 99.9% uptime rate.
    You can feel comfortable knowing that your website will remain “live” most of the time.
  • Security: They offer security features such as malware scanning and removal, a firewall, and DDoS protection.
    Use these tools to avoid common WordPress security risks.
  • Speed: A fast website is a must in today’s age.
    Your customers will not wait around for a slow website to load.
    A2 Hosting focuses on keeping your website’s loading time to a minimum.

Pros

  • Simplicity: A2 Hosting keeps the management of your WordPress site simple.
    You’ll find plenty of built-in tools that easily manage your plugins and themes.
  • A2 optimized plugin: The company provides a built-in speed plugin.
    It’s one of several factors that play into the speed mentioned above.
  • Global server locations: With A2 Hosting, you can place your website’s server closer to your target audience with data centers around the world.
  • Free SSL certificate: Use this option to add an extra layer of security to your website.
    It also helps visitors feel faith in our brand.
  • Page-builder options: You can choose from several builders.
    The options include BoldGrid, Beaver Builder, SiteOrigin, Divi Builder, and Elementor.

Cons

  • Feature restrictions: If you select the cheapest plan, you’ll most likely need to upgrade soon.
    You don’t get much storage space and it only comes with one website.
  • Paid domain: Surprisingly, A2 Hosting’s plans don’t include a free domain.
    You’ll need to purchase one separately or use a domain you already own.
  • Renewal rates: While you do get a big break on your hosting fees the first year, you’ll need to pay higher rates in the second year and beyond.
    The rates go up by about three times when you hit year two.
    As well, you can’t get a refund on the renewal if you don’t submit a cancellation request 15 days before renewal.

Is A2 Hosting Hard To Use?

No, it’s not hard to use an A2 Hosting account.

As we mentioned above, you can decide on several website builders.

You’re sure to find one that makes you comfortable.

Installing WordPress on A2 Hosting

Using the one-click WordPress option makes the installation a breeze.

If you go with one of their managed WordPress plans, it’s even easier.

The company takes care of updates and security for you.

All you need to do is focus on creating content.

A2 Hosting Customer Support

The customer support staff is available 24/7 to help with whatever you need.

You can contact them via phone, live chat, or email.

Pricing & Plans

A2 Hosting offers three pricing plans.

  • Run: $11.99 per month
  • Jump: $18.99 per month
  • Fly: $28.99 per month

Our Take

A WordPress hosting company should offer a variety of features.

These include security, speed, page-builder options, and customer support.

A2 Hosting offers these and more.

Renewal time is the only thing to watch out for.

Make sure you can afford the renewal in year two.

4. IONOS

Using WordPress hosting with IONOS gives you plenty of advantages.

As your site grows, so does the need for more powerful hosting.

WordPress hosting with IONOS is scalable so you can increase storage space and bandwidth as needed.

You can also add more domains and subdomains, as well as email accounts, giving you the flexibility to grow your website as you see fit.

Our Rating

Three

Best For

Best mid-tier hosting for a “no-fuss” approach to building a website.

Notable Features

  • Automatic WordPress updates and backups: IONOS takes care of all the technical aspects of running WordPress so you can focus on creating great content.
    Run your business while IONOS keeps everything updated
  • Staging environment: Use this feature to test out new themes or plugins before making them live on your website.
    It’s a quality option because it helps avoid any potential downtime or broken functionality on your live site.
  • Security: IONOS WordPress hosting comes with a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate to help keep your site safe and secure.
    The hosting company also uses DDoS protection and malware scans.

Pros

  • User-friendly: IONOS is a great option for those who are not as familiar with WordPress or hosting in general.
    The company takes care of all the technical aspects of running WordPress so you can focus on creating content.
  • Flexible scalability: As your website grows, you can easily scale up your IONOS WordPress hosting plan to accommodate the increase in traffic.
  • Additional control: Your IONOS hosting account comes equipped with unlimited SFTP.
    As well, you’ll see SSH and WP-CLI show up inside your account.
    Use these features to more effectively develop the site.
  • Focus on website speed: Using a CDN, a caching plugin, and 100% SSD storage, IONOS WordPress hosting can help your website load faster.
  • Local data centers: IONOS offers its WordPress hosting services from data centers around the world, including in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
    Overall, you can choose from 10 different data centers.

Cons

  • Customer support: Some users report that their customer service experience left them wanting more. These issues stemmed more from extremely technical issues.
    Overall, you should find the IONOS support staff quite knowledgeable.
  • No free trial: Unlike some of the other best WordPress hosting companies, IONOS does not offer a free trial.
    However, they do offer a big price break on one of their hosting plans.
  • Paid site migration: Unlike other hosts on our list, you’ll need to pay for migrating your website from another host.
    You can pay as much as $70 per hour for this service.

Is IONOS Hard To Use?

The interface is quite intuitive.

You shouldn’t have any trouble understanding how to use the IONOS WordPress hosting dashboard.

Installing WordPress on IONOS

Inside your IONOS account, select your website from the domains area.

Click on the “Create Website” button.

IONOS will install WordPress immediately via its one-click WordPress option.

IONOS Customer Support

The company offers live chat, phone, and email customer service options.

While we reported the issue above regarding technical issues causing some support problems, you will find that the IONOS support staff responds quickly to all customer service options.

Pricing & Plans

You can select from three WordPress hosting plans when going with IONOS.

  • Essential: $3 per month
  • Business: $0.50 per month
  • Unlimited: $8 per month

The above prices are for the first year.

After that, you’ll pay $4 per month for the Essential plan, $8 per month for the Business plan, and $16 per month for the Unlimited plan.

Our Take

IONOS works well if you’re looking for an all-inclusive WordPress hosting solution.

The customer support and site migration disadvantages knocked our score down to three.

However, if you’re more focused on website speed and security, then you won’t go wrong selecting IONOS as your WordPress hosting company.

Low-Cost WordPress Hosting

For the last section of our best WordPress hosting options, let’s look at hosting companies that won’t break your budget.

1. Bluehost

Our Pick

With Bluehost, the basic plan is at less than $3 per month.

You only get one website, but you get 50GB of SSD storage, which is quite something.

Bluehost offers unmetered bandwidth, which means that you can transfer unlimited amounts of data.

When you choose Bluehost as our WordPress hosting company, you’ll receive a free domain name, fast and secure hosting, and easy WordPress installation.

Bluehost plans start at reasonable rates that fit almost any budget.

Bluehost also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try their services without worry.

Our Rating

Five

Best For

Best budget option for both small and larger businesses.

Notable Features

  • Free domain name: Each Bluehost hosting account comes with a free domain.
    After the first year, you’ll pay a renewal.
    The free domain in the first year lets you start building on a lesser budget.
  • Custom themes: All Bluehost WordPress plans offer custom themes.
    Use this feature to give your WordPress site a professional look.
  • Unlimited email accounts: You can create as many email accounts as you need with Bluehost, which is great for businesses that need to communicate with multiple people.

Pros

  • Automatic WordPress updates: Bluehost will automatically update your WordPress installation, keeping it secure.
  • Free SSL certificate: With every Bluehost account, you’ll get a free SSL certificate to add an extra layer of security to your website.
  • Other security measures: Security is a key part of building a website in today’s online environment. Bluehost takes security seriously and offers DDoS protection, malware scanning, and a firewall.
  • Google My Business: If you’re a local business, Bluehost will help you with the Google My Business verification process.
    It can sometimes seem confusing to become verified with GMB. Let Bluehost handle it for you.
  • Secure WordPress login: By default, WordPress doesn’t offer much username protection.
    It sets your login username as a generic term that most hackers can figure out.
    Bluehost helps you adjust the login credentials for even greater security.

Cons

  • Renewal increase: Like most hosts, you’ll need to pay a higher fee to renew after the first year.
  • No free trial: You can’t take Bluehost for a free spin.
    You’ll need to provide your credit card information and pay to get the account started.
  • Continuous upsell messaging: Bluehost is aggressive with trying to get you to pay more for additional services.
    Some people can easily reject these messages.
    Or, you might find it annoying.

Is Bluehost Hard To Use?

Bluehost offers one of the easiest dashboards.

It’s easy to navigate and find what you’re looking for, whether it’s your account information or adjusting WordPress settings.

Installing WordPress on Bluehost

The WordPress installation process is also a breeze with Bluehost.

You can do it yourself in less than five minutes with their one-click installer.

You click the button to install WordPress and instantly go into the dashboard to begin building your website.

Bluehost Customer Support

Bluehost provides 24/7 support in the form of chat and phone agents.

At any time of day, you can get help with your WordPress site.

They also have a vast library of articles and tutorials to help you troubleshoot different aspects of your WordPress website.

Pricing & Plans

Get started with one of the four pricing plans offered by Bluehost.

  • Basic: $2.95 per month
  • Plus: $5.45  per month
  • Choice Plus: $5.45  per month
  • Pro: $13.95  per month

Our Take

We recommend Bluehost for businesses of all sizes.

They offer great features, especially for security and ease of use.

And, their prices are reasonable.

You can’t go wrong with Bluehost.

2. DreamHost

Also Great

The cool thing about DreamHost is that it’s a very pragmatic hosting service.

Whether you like it or not,

DreamHost allows you to choose between two options that have obvious differences.

If you choose to use DreamHost as your WordPress hosting solution, you’ll get a lot for your money.

DreamHost boasts an impressive set of features, including unlimited storage space and bandwidth, a free domain name, and a free SSL certificate.

One of the best things about DreamHost is their 97-day money-back guarantee, which gives you plenty of time to

Our Rating

Five

Best For

Best low-budget WordPress host with extra features.

Notable Features

  • Automatic WordPress updates: You can rest assured that your WordPress site will always remain up to date.
    Automatically, DreamHost makes sure you’re working with the latest version.
  • Free SSL certificate: You don’t have to worry about setting up an SSL certificate.
    DreamHost includes a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate with every WordPress site.
  • Unlimited everything: For the most part, WordPress hosts offer some version of limitation on storage space, bandwidth, or both.
    DreamHost gives you unlimited everything.

Pros

  • Free privacy protection: Most hosts make you pay for privacy protection.
    They dangle it in front of you at checkout time. DreamHost, on the other hand, gives you this feature for free.
  • Automated backups: DreamHost takes snapshots of your site every day and stores them for 30 days. So, if you ever need to restore your site, it’s as easy as a few clicks.
    You can also set up daily backups if needed.
  • Free email hosting: You won’t pay any additional money for email. Instead, you can create unlimited email addresses using DreamHost’s servers.
    By the way, if you don’t have a domain yet, don’t worry.
    DreamHost will also give you a free one when you sign up.
  • WordPress-optimized servers: DreamHost designs its servers specifically for WordPress, so you can expect fast loading times and optimal performance.
  • 100% uptime guarantee: DreamHost guarantees that your site will never go down.
    If it does, you’ll get a credit on your account.

Cons

  • Control panel: It takes a while to become familiar with the control panel offered by DreamHost.
    It doesn’t look like the same cPanel presented by most hosts.
  • Limited support: Located in the United States, DreamHost offers customer support times that match living in America.
    The live chat only runs from 5:30 AM to 9:30 PM Pacific Time.
    You might look at that as a negative if you live outside the United States.
  • Data centers: DreamHost situated its data centers in the United States.
    You may potentially see slight website slowdowns when targeting visitors in other countries.

Is DreamHost Hard To Use?

No, DreamHost isn’t hard to use.

It just takes a little getting used to the different control panel that we mentioned above.

The best way to familiarize yourself is by taking some time to poke around and explore.

Also, feel free to contact customer support if you have any questions.

Installing WordPress on DreamHost

Installing WordPress on DreamHost is simple.

It’s one of the best hosting solutions for WordPress.

The entire process takes less than five minutes, and you don’t need any technical skills.

DreamHost does all the work for you as soon as you open your hosting account.

Some WordPress installs take only a few seconds to complete.

DreamHost Customer Support

DreamHost offers only chat support during the hours mentioned previously.

If you want to get a technician to call you back, it’s the one feature that DreamHost does make you pay for.

The call-back feature costs $9.95 per occurrence.

On the other hand, chat support typically solves most website hosting challenges.

Pricing & Plans

You can select from one of three DreamHost pricing plans.

  • WordPress Basic: $1.99 per month
  • DreamPress: $12 per month
  • VPS for WordPress: $30 per month

Our Take

We highly recommend DreamHost.

It’s one of the best hosting providers that we’ve come across.

Not only does it give you everything you need to run a WordPress website, but it also throws in some features for free.

For example, privacy protection typically costs an extra fee with other hosts.

Additionally, the company offers a 100% uptime guarantee.

So, if your site ever does go down, you’ll receive account credits.

3. GoDaddy

GoDaddy offers a lot of hosting stability and is fairly fast, at a 554ms average.

You get 100GB of storage and unmetered bandwidth with their base plan.

What you also get are more than 125 services that you can install simply.

Selecting GoDaddy as your WordPress hosting provider is a good choice if you’re looking for an all-in-one solution.

GoDaddy offers several tiers of WordPress hosting, including managed WordPress hosting.

The managed WordPress hosting plan includes features like daily backups, security scanning, malware removal, and more.

In addition, GoDaddy offers a free domain name and SSL certificate with their WordPress hosting plans.

Let’s discuss GoDaddy’s features in more detail.

Our Rating

Four

Best For

A quality option for all-in-one features.

Notable Features

  • CDN Boost: The CDN feature speeds up your website by caching your pages and files on GoDaddy’s global network of servers.
    As a result, your visitors will experience faster loading times.
  • Staging Environment: The staging environment allows you to create a copy of your live site.
    This is useful for testing purposes.
    You can make changes and make everything look good before you go “live” with the new version of the website.
  • Pre-built websites: If you’re a beginner, this represents a nice feature.
    GoDaddy gives you a drag-and-drop editor.
    You can even load in pre-built templates for a great design out of the box.

Pros

  • Free Domain: You get a free domain name when you sign up for an annual plan.
  • Free SSL Certificate: You also get a free SSL certificate with your hosting plan.
    It is important for security and SEO purposes.
  • Automatic WordPress updates: The GoDaddy updates include core security and software updates. With this advantage, you can focus on your content and leave the technical stuff to them.
  • Plenty of plugins and themes: The GoDaddy theme and plugin areas provide over 1,000 options. You’re bound to find what you need for your website.
  • Business email: You’ll get a free email account for one year. It saves you from needing to pay for a business email account with services like Google Workspace. Of course, you’ll need to pay after the first year.

Cons

  • Transfers can be slow: While site transfers are free, they can take a while.
    In some cases, you might wait a few days to get everything transferred over to GoDaddy.
    Other WordPress hosts, such as SiteGround, typically get things transferred in a matter of hours.
  • Upsells: GoDaddy will send you many messages about buying additional services and add-ons. While some can turn out useful, such as their security features, you might not need everything they try to sell you.
  • Restoration fees: If your website ever backs up incorrectly, GoDaddy will charge you to restore it. Most hosting companies do this for free.
    You might need to pay GoDaddy as much as $300 in this situation.

Is GoDaddy Hard To Use?

Yes and no.

If you’re a beginner, then their cPanel interface might seem confusing.

However, if you’re familiar with hosting, then you shouldn’t run into any issues using GoDaddy.

Installing WordPress on GoDaddy

Although not quite the “one-step” install process you get from other website hosts on our list, installing WordPress on GoDaddy isn’t difficult.

Select the domain you want to use inside your account.

Choose your data center.

Then, select “Let’s do it” under the “Create a WordPress website” tab.

GoDaddy Customer Support

One downside of using GoDaddy is their customer service.

Although they offer 24/7 support, they are not the most responsive.

The “live” chat option isn’t quick and easy like with other hosts.

You’ll need to wait longer to get help with GoDaddy.

Pricing & Plans

GoDaddy offers four WordPress plans.

  • Basic: $8.99 per month
  • Deluxe: $11.99 per month
  • Ultimate: $18.99 per month
  • eCommerce: $20.99 per month

Our Take

GoDaddy is a decent option for those who want an all-in-one website host.

You get a free domain and email account with your hosting plan.

They also offer a staging environment and plenty of themes and plugins.

However, customer service could work better and site transfers can become frustrating.

4. HostGator

HostGator has been around for quite some time now, but make no mistake, it’s still very much in the game.

It boasts a 99.98% uptime (time the servers are live and working, as opposed to being down) within the past two years. This is quite a feat that not many servers boast.

Selecting HostGator as your WordPress hosting provider gives you a variety of benefits.

For starters, you can take advantage of the user-friendly platform.

You also have the option to select from a variety of hosting plans, which is perfect if you’re just starting your website-building journey.

Our Rating

Three

Best For

A good fit for beginners to WordPress.

Notable Features

  • Simplified control panel: You don’t need to be a tech expert to use HostGator’s hosting services.
    The company offers a simplified control panel that makes it easy to get started with your website.
  • Free website transfer: If you’re switching from another hosting provider, HostGator makes it easy to transfer your existing website to their platform.
  • 99.99% uptime guarantee: Your website will always stay up and running with HostGator.
    The company offers a 99.99% uptime guarantee, so you can rest assured that visitors won’t become frustrated.

Pros

  • Affordable plans: HostGator offers a variety of affordable hosting plans, which makes it a nice fit for small businesses and budget-conscious individuals.
  • Flexible terms: You can choose plans that lock in long-term price savings.
    HostGator offers plans for one, three, six, 12, 24, or even 36-month terms.
  • Storage: Every plan offered by HostGator provides unlimited storage.
    You won’t need to worry about running out of space as your website grows.
  • Unmetered bandwidth. Each plan also gives you all the bandwidth you need.
    Unlimited bandwidth means you won’t experience overage fees.
  • Security: HostGator uses what it calls SiteLock Fix to protect your website from viruses, malware, and other online threats.
    You can use daily scans to keep your website running smoothly.

Cons

  • Sales chat can be pushy: Some customers complain that HostGator’s sales team focuses more on upselling than on answering questions.
    You’ll also get plenty of emails about buying new services.
    As well, you’ll see messages about upsells inside your account.
  • Backup restores: You’ll need to pay an additional fee to restore your website to a previously-saved backup.
    You also don’t get any staging areas with HostGator, so be careful with making changes and your backup processes.
  • Speed: While you shouldn’t worry about extremely slow website speeds, you can get superior results in this area with other website hosting companies.

Is HostGator Hard To Use?

No, HostGator is not hard to use.

The company offers a simplified control panel that makes it easy to get started with your website.

The drag-and-drop editor also makes it a simple process.

Beginners can navigate HostGator well.

Installing WordPress on HostGator

If you want to install WordPress on HostGator, you can do so easily.

The company offers a one-click installation process that makes it quick and easy to get started.

HostGator Customer Support

HostGator’s customer service team doesn’t have the best reputation.

You will probably experience slower response times when compared to other WordPress hosts.

However, the company does offer support in the form of phone, chat, Tweets, and its knowledge base.

Pricing & Plans

HostGator provides three pricing plans to choose from.

  • Starter: $5.95 per month
  • $7.95 per month
  • $9.95 per month

Our Take

While HostGator does have some drawbacks, the company’s affordable plans and unlimited storage make it a good choice for those just starting with WordPress.

Don’t be afraid to start cheaply with HostGator.

You can always upgrade to a different host after your traffic builds.

5. HostPapa

HostPapa is a small but full-service web hosting provider based out of Canada.

HostPapa markets itself to small businesses and most of its plans are designed with small businesses in mind.

With HostPapa, you’re choosing a WordPress host that’s committed to keeping your website online and accessible to your visitors.

That’s why they offer 24/7 support, a 99.99% uptime guarantee, and free domain transfers.

HostPapa offers six different WordPress plans. You can choose one of the Optimized WordPress hosting plans or one of the fully-managed WordPress hosting options.

If you select one of the managed WordPress plans, you can leave all the technical details to the HostPapa team.

Our Rating

Five

Best For

Quality value for Optimized WP hosting or Managed WP plans.

Notable Features

  • 100 GB to unlimited storage: Depending on the plan you choose, HostPapa will give you plenty of storage space.
    You won’t have any issues in this area when using any of the WordPress plans offered by the hosting company.
  • Speed: HostPapa uses WordPress caching and a free Cloudflare Content Delivery Network to provide fast WP hosting.
    Google wants to rank fast sites, and your visitors will appreciate that they can load your pages quickly.
  • Free SSL certificate: Security is a must-have for any WordPress site.
    It encrypts the information that travels between your website and visitors’ browsers, so you can rest assured that their data remains safe.

Pros

  • Free domain name: Your first year’s domain name is free when you sign up for one of the WordPress hosting plans.
  • Free website transfer: If you’re coming from another host, HostPapa will move your site for free.
    The company makes the process simple, too.
    It’s a matter of clicking one button and letting HostPapa handle the technical aspects for you.
  • Auto-detect malware: HostPapa’s systems will scan your site for malware and remove it if they find any.
    You don’t have to worry about the security of your site with this host.
  • 30-day money-back guarantee: If you’re not satisfied with your HostPapa plan, you can cancel within the first 30 days and get a refund.
  • 99.9% uptime guarantee: HostPapa wants to keep your site up and running, so they offer a 99.99% uptime guarantee.
    If your site ever goes down, you’ll receive a credit on your account.

Cons

  • Higher-than-average prices: The managed WordPress hosting plans are a bit more expensive than some of the other options on our list.
    However, you’re paying for the convenience of having someone else handle the technical details for you.
  • Checkout issues: Be careful when you go to the checkout page.
    Rather than ask if you want to add additional features to your order, HostPapa checks them off automatically for you.
    You’ll need to uncheck the boxes next to optional services you don’t want to pay for.
  • Paid automatic backups: If you choose the Starter or Business plans, you’ll need to pay for the automatic backup feature.
    Other competitors give this service away for free on all plans.

Is HostPapa Hard To Use?

HostPapa is one of the easier WordPress hosts to use.

The company offers a simple dashboard that gives you access to all the features you need to manage your WordPress site.

If you choose one of the managed WordPress plans, HostPapa will take care of the technical aspects.

You won’t have to worry about anything except creating content for your site.

Installing WordPress on HostPapa

Installing WordPress on HostPapa is a simple process.

The company uses the popular Softaculous installer, so you can have your site up and running in just a few clicks.

Once you’ve logged into your HostPapa account, click on the WordPress icon under the Softaculous Apps Installer section.

From there, you’ll need to select the version of WordPress you want to install, choose your domain name, and set a few other options.

After that, all you need to do is click the Install button, and you’ll have WordPress installed on your site.

HostPapa Customer Support

HostPapa offers 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone, and email.

The company also has a robust knowledge base with articles and tutorials on various topics.

The HostPapa customer support team is more than happy to assist you if you need help with your WordPress site.

Pricing & Plans

You can select one of the three WordPress hosting plans.

  • WP Starter: $3.95 per month
  • WP Business: $5.95 per month
  • WP Business Pro: $12.95 per month

If you want a managed WordPress hosting account, choose one of these plans.

  • Launch: $19.95 per month
  • Launch Plus: $39.95 per month
  • Launch Pro: $69.95 per month

Our Take

HostPapa is a great WordPress host.

The company offers a free domain name and free website transfer, making it easy to switch to HostPapa.

You also get a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try the service risk-free.

The managed WordPress plans cost more, of course.

However, you’re paying for the convenience of someone else helping with managing your website from a technical standpoint.

Free WordPress Hosting

Free WordPress hosting is generally used for those learning about WordPress and for various website tests.

Naturally, you don’t pay anything for it, but, in turn, you can’t expect impeccable service.

Below, we’ve outlined a few free WordPress hosting options.

vector graphic showing three of the best free blog sites in an image arranged one next to the other

WordPress.com

WordPress.org is the official WordPress website.

This is not to be confused with WordPress.com, which is a for-profit website dedicated to the implementation of the software found at the WordPress official website.

Our Pick

WordPress.org is the official WordPress website.

This is not to be confused with WordPress.com, which is a for-profit website dedicated to the implementation of the software found at the WordPress official website.

WordPress.com offers you a simple way to create a WordPress site and launch it.

WordPress.com offers you a simple way to create a WordPress site and launch it.

All you need to do is make a WordPress.com account.

Yes, WordPress.com is free.

But you don’t get to experience its actual values and benefits until you pay for full access.

Still, this service is very user-friendly.

It features an easy-to-use custom dashboard for WordPress.

You get 3GB of storage space, unlimited bandwidth, and access to hundreds of WordPress themes that are open to the public.

On top of that, you get a free SSL certificate.

Pros

  • Straightforward setup
  • Quick website load times
  • Custom WordPress dashboard

Cons

  • Can’t install personal themes and plugins with a free plan
  • Have to pay if you want to use your custom domain
  • No option to manage your database or connect using FTP

AccuWeb Hosting

AccuWeb is a WordPress hosting option that has free as well as premium hosting plans.

It’s been around for quite some time (more than 15 years), so they know what they’re doing.

AccuWeb has one of the best free plans when it comes to bandwidth, storage, and email limits.

Runner Up

AccuWeb is a WordPress hosting option that has free as well as premium hosting plans.

It’s been around for quite some time (more than 15 years), so they know what they’re doing.

AccuWeb has one of the best free plans when it comes to bandwidth, storage, and email limits.

There’s also the cPanel, new PHP versions, and there are no ads involved.

You get up to 2GB of SSD storage and a bandwidth of 30GB.

The platform offers a full database and server access on its free plan, and you get a one-click installer for WordPress.

AccuWeb also supports custom domain names on its free plan and offers basic backup support.

Overall, they do bundle up a lot for their free plan.

Pros

  • Solid bandwidth limit on free plan – as many as 5,000 monthly visitors
  • 25 free email accounts
  • Database and cPanel access
  • Custom domain names on the free plan

Cons

  • Can host more than one website per account
  • The only server is located in Montreal
  • You can’t get a free subdomain

AwardSpace

This WordPress web hosting service comes from Germany and is suitable for as many as 5,000 monthly visits.

But what’s truly special about AwardSpace, is that it offers a unique upgrade path.

Also Great

This WordPress web hosting service comes from Germany and is suitable for as many as 5,000 monthly visits.

But what’s truly special about AwardSpace, is that it offers a unique upgrade path.

As your site grows, you can make gradual upgrades as the needs arise.

As your site grows, you can make gradual upgrades as the needs arise.

These won’t set you to back too much.

On a free account, you get to host a maximum of four websites.

You don’t need to bother with WordPress installation – there’s a one-click installer integrated into the platform.

AwardSpace is also widely renowned for its full MySQL database support on its free plan.

Apart from that, you get 1GB of free storage and a 5GB bandwidth.

Oh, and you don’t have to worry about ads.

Pros

  • Four websites on the free plan
  • Allows you to use your personalized email account
  • Complete server file and database access

Cons

  • Bandwidth isn’t exactly great
  • Only one of the four websites on the free plan is the top-level domain

Features To Look For in WordPress Website Hosting

Before making your final decision about buying one of the hosting packages from the hosts we’ve reviewed above, let’s make sure you understand the most important features to pay attention to.

Ease of Use

Consider your experience level when it comes to using hosting control panels and managing server settings.

You should also pay attention to the user interface of the host’s Dashboard.

It should be easy to find the features you need and navigate the various menus.

Some website hosts complicate matters by putting all the tools under one tab called “Website” or “Site.”

This makes it difficult to find what you’re looking for, especially if you’re new to hosting.

A more effective way to organize things is to have separate tabs for each type of tool.

That way, you can easily find what you need without getting lost in a sea of menus.

The confusing dashboard is one reason we down-rated Google Cloud a bit.

We love hosts like Bluehost, SiteGround, and Kinsta because they provide simple dashboards to customers.

Uptime

The best WordPress hosting providers will guarantee at least 99.95% uptime.

It means your site will be accessible to visitors at all times.

A few minutes of downtime can cost you dearly in terms of lost traffic and revenue.

Make sure the host you’re considering can provide the uptime you need.

Otherwise, your site will become inaccessible when people try to visit it.

In the end, you’ll frustrate website visitors and lose potential customers.

Seeing your website go down can also affect your Google SEO rankings.

After all, one of the main ranking factors is site availability.

If Google can’t access your website for long periods, it will eventually lower your rankings as it looks for more reliable websites to rank instead.

Website loading times are a close second to uptime.

If your site takes too long to load, you’ll lose visitors.

Google also considers page loading times when ranking websites in its search engine results pages.

Make sure your chosen host provides adequate page-loading time.

Automation & Efficiency Features

WordPress hosting providers will offer a variety of features to make your life easier.

These can include staging environments, automatic security features, and more.

Some hosts will even offer features specifically for WordPress, such as the ability to install WordPress with a single click.

It is a handy feature if you’re new to hosting and don’t want to go through the hassle of manually installing WordPress.

Most of the hosts on our list give you a simple one-click WordPress install.

However, some hosts don’t offer free automatic backups.

HostPapa makes you pay for the backup process while Kinsta backs up your site every day for free.

Pay the most attention to the automation of backups, updates, and security.

These are essential features that will save you a lot of time and effort in the long run.

You need a quality backup feature so that you can quickly restore your website in case something goes wrong.

Updates are also crucial as they patch security vulnerabilities and fix bugs.

A good update feature will automatically install the latest WordPress updates as they become available.

Security is another key concern when it comes to hosting your WordPress website.

The best WordPress hosting providers will offer features such as malware scanning and removal, firewalls, and more.

These features will help keep your website safe from hackers and other online threats.

Pricing and Fees

The price you pay for WordPress hosting will vary depending on the hosting provider you choose.

In general, shared WordPress hosting is the most affordable option, while managed WordPress hosting is more expensive.

Overall Cost

When you’re comparing hosting providers, it’s important to look at the overall cost of ownership.

The best WordPress hosting providers will offer a variety of features at a price that’s affordable for your specific needs.

If you have a limited budget, you will need to prioritize the features that you deem most important to you.

For example, if you need a faster website, you may be willing to pay more for a managed WordPress host that can offer you a faster page-loading time.

On the other hand, if you’re on a tight budget, you may need to choose a less expensive shared WordPress host that doesn’t offer as many features.

In the end, it’s important to choose a provider that offers the best combination of features and prices for your specific needs.

Overage Charges

Some WordPress hosting providers will charge you for any overages on your hosting plan.

Overage is the number of resources you use that exceeds the limits of your hosting plan.

For example, if you have a shared WordPress hosting plan that allows for up to 100,000 monthly visitors and you get 120,000 visitors in a month, some hosting companies will charge extra for the 20,000 overage visitors.

Be sure to find out if your WordPress hosting provider charges for overage before you sign up for a hosting plan.

You can look at hosts such as HostGator and DreamHost without worrying in this area.

Endless Fees for Add-ons

Some WordPress hosting providers will try to nickel-and-dime you with endless fees for add-ons.

These can include fees for things like SSL certificates, security services, email accounts, and more.

You can find hosts that include all of the above services for free.

For instance, you’ll get a free SSL certificate, email, and security from hosts such as Bluehost, SiteGround, and Dreamhost.

Before you sign up for a hosting plan, be sure to find out if there are any hidden fees.

The last thing you want is the surprise of a fee you didn’t know about when it’s time to renew your hosting plan.

Customer Service and Support

The best WordPress hosting providers will offer excellent customer service and support.

It is a crucial consideration because you never know when you’ll need to contact your host for help.

When you’re comparing hosting providers, look into the kind of customer service and support they offer.

The last thing you want is to get stuck with a hosting provider that doesn’t offer the kind of support you need.

Find out what kind of customer service and support options are available before you sign up for a hosting plan.

For example, as a newer business owner, you might want to go with a company like WP Engine that gives you chat, email, and phone support.

If you’re more experienced and you don’t value phone support as much, you might not care that Pressable only offers chat and email support.

Frequently Asked Questions

You might still have a few questions about WordPress hosting.

Here are the answers to three commonly asked questions.

vector graphic showing an image that illustrates the best wordpress hosting for education

How hard is it to switch web hosts?

Switching web hosts is not as hard as it might seem.

Most hosts make it simple to export your site data and import it into your new host.

SiteGround, for instance, makes the process seamless.

It boils down to clicking one button inside your hosting account.

You’ll see your entire website migrated over to their servers in a matter of hours.

Which is better: HostGator or Bluehost?

Both HostGator and Bluehost are excellent choices for WordPress hosting.

They’re both affordable and offer similar features.

Bluehost wins out based on slightly faster website speeds, no need to pay for website backups, and a slightly less pushy approach to upsells.

Indeed, both HostGator and Bluehost will aggressively try to get you to pay for more services.

However, Bluehost’s customer service team pays more attention to your pending issues than HostGator’s support team does.

The Hostgator support team will try to upsell while fixing your technical challenges.

What to do after picking a web host for WordPress

After you’ve selected a WordPress host, it’s time to place an order and set up your new account.

The process is slightly different for each host.

However, most hosts make it simple to install WordPress and start building your website.

Follow the instructions provided by your chosen host.

If you get into any trouble, contact their customer service team.

Wrapping Up

Which host comes out as the clear winner on our list?

We choose Kinsta.

While a bit pricey in comparison to other hosts, Kinsta wins in the most important hosting categories.

You’ll get a fast website, superior security features, a simple WordPress dashboard, and a friendly customer support staff.

Due to its guarantee, you get to use Kinsta for a full 30 days.

Use that time to get familiar with the dashboard.

Find reasons to contact support so you can gauge their response times.

Set up the automatic backups and test the staging area.

HostPapa and GreenGeeks come in as two lesser-known, but interesting, runner-ups.

HostPapa fits any budget.

It also gives you plenty of storage space and offers a fast site.

GreenGeeks will also help if you’re budget-minded while providing you with fast-loading times.

You also won’t run out of space with GreenGeeks.

Now it’s your turn.

Choose two or three of our best WordPress hosting companies, compare their features against one another, and select the one that first you need most effectively.

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