Hey there and welcome back!
One of the most important parts of any website, especially a WordPress website, is the web host. If you pick the right web host, everything is going to be smooth sailing for you. But pick the wrong one and it becomes a nightmare.
So as we head into this new year, let’s run through the list of the WordPress web hosts that you might want to use for your new website.
But before we begin, if you want to see more videos on WordPress, ecommerce, digital marketing and other website related topics, be sure to hit the subscribe button and to ring the bell for notifications.
Now let’s get started.
WP Engine
First off, we have WP Engine. This is who I use to host my websites. I’ve been using them for about five years now, and I’ve never really had any major issue with them. In fact, I switched because I was having uptime and security problems at a previous web host, and I haven’t had those same problems with WP Engine.
They provide a lot of great tools that you can use, such as Git and SSH, page speed reports, content analysis and more. Also, Atomic Blocks and Genesis and StudioPress themes are included in your plan. And finally, they have automated daily backups, which are great in case something breaks on your website or someone hacks your site.
On the other side, if you’re not a developer some of those tools probably don’t mean a whole lot to you. Plus, it’s all very technically focused, so a whole lot of these things might pertain to you if you’re just looking to host a single website. And those things do kind of add up in the cost.
Plus it can get a bit pricey once you start to host more than one website.
Still a single site will cost you $25 a month to host. Which isn’t too bad considering everything you get.
Liquid Web
If you’re a medium to large sized business looking to sell online, then Liquid Web is a web hosting company that you’re going to want to take a look at.
They have high-quality plans with managed hosting that can run any kind of store. And they also offer a virtual private server option. Plus, their technical support is great, and they have a lot of great people that can help you out.
And their current client list includes Home Depot, National Geographic and Porsche.
However, their hosting packages are among the most expensive on this list. Their lowest WordPress hosting tier starts at $119 a month. Plus, there aren’t any shared hosting options.
But if you need the technical knowledge and the high-end specs for your online store, Liquid Web is certainly something worth checking out.
Pantheon
Pantheon has really become a big part of the WordPress community, both by sponsoring WordCamps and having their own employees speak at those WordCamps.
Because of that, a lot of what they do is focused on Web Ops, which will be something that developers will like. They offer production, staging and development sites for each of your installs, which is great for testing things out on your site without actually breaking the live site. And they have developer-focused workflows like Git, SFTP and a command line interface.
Like WP Engine, a lot of the tools that they offer are more focused for developers and not for normal people just looking to host a website. And Pantheon also has the Liquid Web issue where their prices are a little bit more expensive than you might like. The plan most small businesses would like to use on Pantheon starts at $114 a month.
Still, the lowest tier of hosting that you can get starts at $29 a month. And that might be worth looking into.
Siteground
If you’re looking for something a little bit more simple and just want a web host for your website, Siteground is something that you’re going to want to look at.
In addition to quality web hosting, you’ll also get a free SSL certificate, which is basically a requirement for today’s web. Plus you’ll get free email accounts and automated updates for WordPress core, plugins and themes. And if you’re big into green energy, their servers run on renewable energy, so you can feel good about your website ecologically.
There are, however, a couple of downsides. First, you don’t get as much storage space as you will with the other web hosts. The lowest tier starts at 10 gigabytes, which you might go through if you’re not careful with what you’re uploading. And there aren’t any dedicated server options.
But the best part is that the plan that you’re probably going to want to go with starts at just $9.99 a month. And the cheapest plan starts at $6.99. That’s a great deal for anyone just starting out with a website.
Pressable
Similarly, if you’re in that same boat, you might want to take a look at Pressable (and yes I’m wearing a Pressable shirt I got from WordCamp San Antonio in 2017).
Among the features you’ll get is unlimited storage, which is great if you use your website to store a lot of files. You also receive a free SSL certificate and a content delivery network, which will help your page speed. And you get automated daily backups. That’s always a plus.
On the other side, you don’t get an email account included in the hosting. And in researching this video, I did come across a few complaints about customer service. Although that seems to be fairly typical these days.
The pricing, however, is slightly higher than what you can get with Siteground. Their plans start at $25 a month. But it’s still something to check out.
Bluehost, GoDaddy, Inmotion
Finally, we have this group of three which are more in the general web hosting category. They do a lot more than WordPress, although they each have a function built in to where you can create a WordPress website with just a few clicks.
The main advantage of these hosts is that they are pretty cheap. They also sell domain names, so you can get both your domain and your web hosting in one place. And they are great places to start if you’re just creating your first website.
But they do have their issues as well. They might not have the best structure to support larger websites, especially if you’re selling a lot of products online. I had uptime and security issues with Bluehost in the early 2010s as well. And GoDaddy does not play nice with a majority of forms plugins in WordPress. I learned that one the hard way.
That being said, if you need something quick and cheap, they are a pretty good option to go with. Just lower your expectations a little bit.
Exact pricing will differ from company to company, but they’re generally around $10 or less to start out with.
Outro
So what is your favorite web host? Or do you have a horror story from a web host that you used in the past? Be sure to leave your answers down in the comments section below.
Also, if you are tired of dealing with the technical aspects of your WordPress website, like updates, security and the like, I offer WordPress Website Care packages that can take care of that for you, give you web hosting and more. You can learn more about it in a link the description below.
And to see more videos about WordPress, ecommerce, digital marketing and other website related topics, be sure again to hit the subscribe button and to ring the bell for notifications if you already haven’t done so.
And be sure to check out the blog for more WordPress tips and other posts about websites and digital marketing.
Until next time, happy WordPressing!
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