Looking to grow online? Check out industry-leading website builders:
*GoDaddy Airo Site Designer uses AI to generate WordPress websites, content, images, and copy based on your prompts. All output is provided “as is” and may require review and editing. Users are solely responsible for ensuring the accuracy, legality, and appropriateness of any AI-generated content before use or publication.
**One free .COM, .NET, .ORG, .CO, .INFO, .BIZ, .US, .CLUB, .COMPANY, .DESIGN, .EMAIL, .FIT, .LIFE, .LIVE, .ONLINE, .PRO, .ROCKS, .SHOP, .SITE, .SOLUTIONS, .SPACE, .STORE, .TECH, .TODAY, .VIP, .WORK, .WORLD, .XYZ with purchase of a new annual (12 months/1 year or longer term) plan. Plus ICANN fee of €0.17 per domain name per year. You must add the domain name into your cart before purchase, and you must select a domain term length equal to or less than the term length of your plan to qualify for the free domain offer. If you purchase a domain name for a term longer than 1 year, you will be charged for the additional registration term at the then-current rate. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer, sale, discount or promotion. Free domain offer applies only to the first year of the hosting plan. After the first year, domains purchased through this offer will renew at the then-current renewal price.
What is WordPress hosting all about?
You only have to look at WordPress statistics to see the influence that WordPress has on the internet. 23% of all websites globally use WordPress, and every day, 50,000 new websites appear. In terms of traffic, 409 million people view WordPress blogs every single month, with over 16 billion pageviews recorded. It’s no wonder so many people choose to use it to create their websites.
But when it comes to hosting, many people want to be able to use the excellent open source platform, and self-host their website elsewhere to increase capabilities. And pretty much every reputable web host out there will have options to run WordPress. All they will need is PHP version 5.5 or greater, and MySQL version 5.5 or greater. This is shared hosting. For nearly all websites, it is more than enough speed and capacity, and is an extremely cost-effective way of building a customisable WordPress website.
What is the best option out there?
Some companies offer managed hosting. Where regular shared hosting will allow you to use WordPress, perhaps with 1-click install, managed hosting is a service provided by some companies where all technical aspects of running WordPress is managed by them. This includes security, back-ups, scalability and speed. You will also receive premium support from experts who have loads of experience with any troubleshooting or customisation.
The advantages to look for when searching include:
- Hacker-proof security including powerful malware scanning.
- Daily backups and restore points for your content.
- Automatic updates
- Expert support who are knowledgeable in WordPress and available 24/7.
- Development tools such as a staging area or version control.
- Plugin support, helping you block plugins which slow down your website to improve SEO and performance.
How do I know if I need managed WordPress hosting?
If you are looking into the added costs of running an extremely large website and paying system administrators to take on the site's hosting, you are probably better off paying for a managed solution, even though it is more expensive than simple shared options. You also need to feel comfortable passing over the control of the technical aspects, as you might not have as much say over the changes being made behind the scenes. All of our top picks have knowledgeable customer services teams who can help you make the right choice.
Our Top 3 Picks
- 1
Exceptional9.8Wide choice of hosting optionsWide choice of hosting optionsRead IONOS Review1&1 IONOS offers a wide variety of hosting options ranging from shared and WordPress-optimized hosting to dedicated servers and VPNs.
IONOS Pros & Cons
PROS
Wide variety of hosting packagesFast SSD storage99.9% uptimeCONS
Higher prices after 1st yearEmail limit on lower tiers - 2
Excellent9.2Comprehensive hosting plans with perks includedComprehensive hosting plans with perks includedRead Bluehost ReviewWith more than 2 million websites internationally, Bluehost is one of the most popular web hosting services in the industry. And that’s not hard to understand when you look at what’s being offered. 1-click WordPress installation, 24/7 expert support from trained professionals, and a 30-day money-back guarantee are just a few of the reasons we’re so impressed by Bluehost.
Bluehost Pros & Cons
PROS
Outstanding customer supportSuite of added web toolsUnlimited bandwidth and storageCONS
Have to pay for site transferA lot of upselling - 3
Very good8.5A comprehensive selection of hosting plansA comprehensive selection of hosting plansRead GoDaddy ReviewYou’ll no doubt be familiar with GoDaddy, the somewhat snarky, slightly scandalous, and seriously silly hosting service that combines humor and website hosting in a professional and reliable way. Between that and perks like affordable pricing, 99.9% uptime, and a free SSL certificate with most plans, GoDaddy is a great deal.
GoDaddy Pros & Cons
PROS
One-click install for Drupal, WordPress, JoomlaGlobal data centersLoads of hosting plans to chooseCONS
Content isn’t transferred over themesPricing disclosure is not transparent
