Looking for the best WordPress hosting services for your website? You'll want to consider a few key features before making your decision, including uptime reliability, site security, and one-click WordPress installation.
One of the biggest benefits of choosing the best WordPress hosting service is that WordPress itself is free and open source.
Even the most basic shared hosting plan typically includes a one-click WordPress installer, allowing even the newest bloggers to get started in less than a minute (yes, we've timed it).
With so many web hosting companies offering WordPress hosting plans, it can be tough to know where to start.
To help you out, we've narrowed down the top five WordPress hosting services on the market. Whether you're a newbie blogger or a large business, there's a hosting plan that's right for you - and with prices starting at budget-friendly levels, you'll be sure to find an option that fits your needs.
So don't waste any more time searching for the perfect WordPress hosting service - read on to find out which options we recommend and get your site up and running in no time!
1. Hostinger
When it comes to hosting your WordPress site, cheap options might seem appealing, but they usually lack the features and reliability that high traffic sites require. For the best results, you'll want to choose a top-tier WordPress hosting provider like Hostinger.
Hostinger offers four dedicated WordPress plans, with the WordPress Starter plan being the perfect option for those looking to quickly get their WordPress site up and running. For just $2.99/month, you'll have the ability to create up to 100 websites, 100 GB of SSD storage, and unlimited bandwidth.
If you're a web professional, Hostinger also offers Business WordPress ($6.99/month) and WordPress Pro ($11.59/month) plans with developer-specific management features.
Setting up your WordPress site with Hostinger is a breeze, thanks to their one-click installation feature and user-friendly tools and plugins. And if you ever run into any issues, their dedicated 24/7 WordPress customer support team is always available to help.
But Hostinger's services don't just stop at easy setup and customer support. They also offer top-notch security features, including a free SSL certificate and their LiteSpeed cache engine, which provides reliable protection from potential security threats.
And with Hostinger, you'll receive a free domain of your choosing and up to 100 domain-based email addresses - all at no additional cost. Plus, their WordPress acceleration features are specifically designed to boost your site's performance.
2. WP Engine
WP Engine has been in the business of providing managed hosting solutions for WordPress CMS for over a decade now, and it shows. The service is easy to use and comes with a relatively simple dashboard that includes all the features of a specific WordPress hosting package.
What sets WP Engine apart from its competitors is the option to customize plans according to your needs. During our testing, we were able to add up to 25 additional sites, automated plugin updates, an extra layer of security, and site monitoring, albeit at an extra cost.
WP Engine's hosting solution starts at $20 per month for the Startup plan, which includes one site, 10 GB storage, and 50 GB of bandwidth per month.
It also has Professional, Growth, Scale, and Dedicated Custom packages, catering to businesses of all sizes. For ecommerce solutions using WooCommerce, the Professional package costs $50 and comes with three sites, 15 GB storage, and 125 GB of bandwidth per month.
It's worth noting that the only package that comes with a 99.9% uptime SLA is WP Engine's Dedicated Custom plan.
WP Engine also offers a 60-day money-back guarantee for all new Startup, Professional, Growth, Scale, and ecommerce Dedicated Custom plans. Unfortunately, other premium and custom plans are not included in the refund policy.
3. InMotion Hosting
When it comes to choosing a WordPress hosting plan, most providers limit your options by only offering a few plans that may not fit your needs in the long run. InMotion Hosting, on the other hand, offers six plans to cater to everyone, from small blogs to big businesses.
Even the lowest-tier WP-1000S plan, which costs $4.99/month initially and $8.99/month upon renewal, provides ample features like 50GB SSD storage, unlimited bandwidth and email addresses, preinstalled WordPress, SSL, backups, automatic updates, SiteLock security, cPanel site management, and more. The only caveat is that it's best for blogs with up to 20,000 monthly visits.
InMotion's higher-tier plans offer more resources and features such as premium themes and plugin subscriptions, a dedicated IP address, and support for hosting more sites. The company is known for being reliable, professional, and honest, making any price premium worth paying.
Moreover, InMotion offers an exceptional 90-day money-back guarantee, giving you ample opportunity to test the waters and the confidence that comes with such a guarantee period.
4. Bluehost: Optimized WordPress Hosting with Custom VPS Architecture
Bluehost has taken the extra step of customizing its VPS-based architecture for optimum WordPress performance. By optimizing its platform for WordPress, Bluehost delivers performance-enhancing benefits using NGINX, a custom PHP-FPM setup, and intelligently allocated resources through KVM hypervisor. This custom approach ensures that the platform is not using a standard configuration but rather a tailored one that is specific to WordPress.
Unlike other web hosting companies, Bluehost is upfront about its offerings, providing detailed information about the resources and features that come with each plan. For instance, the Basic plan, which starts at $2.75 per month for the first term (renewing at $8.99), provides 50GB of SSD storage, a free domain for a year, and a single website. All plans come with free SSL, unmetered MySQL DB, and unlimited parked/subdomains.
Moreover, Bluehost has a Marketplace where users can access premium themes and plugins at exclusive prices. Additionally, new Bluehost accounts receive a free service called Blue Spark, which helps newcomers with everything WordPress-related and a free website migration service.
If you need more power and features, the Plus plan starts at $5.45 per month for the first term (renewing at $11.99), adds unlimited websites and website space, and extra features like spam protection, free CDN, and a WP staging environment. The Choice Plus plan, which starts at $5.45 per month for the first term (renewing at $16.99), has even more features. Bluehost offers a 30-day money-back guarantee if you feel the service fails to deliver.
For users who require more advanced features, Bluehost has Managed WordPress Hosting starting at $9.95 per month, which comes with malware detection and removal, JetPack site analytics, business review tools, and more, along with unlimited everything.
All plans include domain privacy and protection, daily scheduled backups, and a 30-day free trial of Microsoft email.
5. IONOS WordPress Hosting
IONOS, one of the leading web hosting providers, has an extensive range of hosting plans including WordPress hosting. The WordPress Hosting Starter plan is only $3 per month ($4/month after the first year) but still provides exceptional value compared to other providers. With 25GB of storage, unlimited bandwidth, and no visitor limits, it's ideal for new bloggers.
IONOS has all the features you'd expect from a WordPress hosting provider including a setup wizard, pre-installed plugins, automatic updates, and 24/7 support via phone. Plus, you get a personal consultant free of charge. The hosting platform uses NGINX, PHP 7.2, OPcache, and up to 2GB RAM guaranteed to boost your blog's performance.
IONOS also provides a free domain, SSL, and email accounts with all plans, similar to Bluehost, Hostinger, and InMotion Hosting. This makes it an unbeatable deal at this price point.
For power users, the Unlimited plan offers unlimited WordPress sites and storage, unlimited databases (1GB max), unlimited email accounts (2GB each), Wildcard SSL, SiteLock malware scanning, and the RailGun content delivery network for $16 per month ($8/month for the first year).
If you're new to WordPress, consider the Starter plan, claim your free domain, and use the first year to learn and explore WordPress. Then, if you're happy with the service, you can renew, or if not, apply your newfound knowledge to choose a better hosting provider that suits your needs.
6. Hassle-Free Hosting for WordPress with HostGator
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If you're looking for a budget-friendly WordPress hosting service, HostGator may be the perfect solution for you. Their Starter plan offers a wide range of features for just $5.95 ($3.98 with our promo code) per month for three years, and $9.95 per month afterwards. You'll get a free site migration, SSL certificate, automatic malware detection and removal, unlimited email addresses, and unmetered storage and bandwidth. Plus, the Starter plan can handle up to 100,000 visits a month.
The high-end Business plan offers even more power and support for up to three sites and 500,000 visits per month. And with a cost of just $9.95 ($9.18 with our promo code) per month for the first three years, then $22.95 monthly afterwards, it's a great value.
HostGator provides smart caching and a CDN to optimize your website's performance, and their 24/7 support team ensures that your site is always up and running. Bonus features include free domain privacy to protect against identity theft and reduce spam.
HostGator's reliable service is backed by a generous 45-day money-back guarantee, making it a low-risk option for those in need of quality hosting. With HostGator's mid-range products, you can rest assured that your website will be taken care of without having to worry about complicated details.
7. Nexcess: A Reliable Managed WordPress Hosting Provider
When it comes to WordPress hosting services, it can be challenging to decide which one to go for. With Nexcess, a subsidiary of Liquid Web, you can rest assured that you're in good hands. This managed WordPress hosting provider offers excellent performance and features at a reasonable price, and it's one of the more user-friendly options out there.
Nexcess has seven different managed WordPress hosting plans to choose from, with a broad range of prices and capabilities. The cheapest plan, which starts at $13.30 per month, offers 15GB storage, 2TB bandwidth, and can host one site. Meanwhile, its Enterprise plan is on the more expensive side, with a cost of $699.30 per month, but it lets you host up to 250 websites, with 800GB storage and 10TB bandwidth.
Navigating Nexcess' dashboard is easy and straightforward, giving you access to all of your website's tools and features. The dashboard also automatically backs up your site every day, and you can manually create an on-demand backup whenever you need it.
Nexcess provides 24/7 support on all its plans. We found the live chat support to be quick and helpful, while email and ticket support are also available. However, phone support was not as responsive in our testing.
One of Nexcess' unique features is its visual comparison testing, which allows you to see the difference between your current site and the new version when applying updates. Not every WordPress hosting provider offers this feature.