When it comes to choosing a hosting provider for your WordPress website, speed and performance are two of the most important factors to consider. However, if you’re not familiar with things like server uptimes and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), you may not know how to assess these elements.
That’s why we’ve rounded up three of the best WordPress hosts available, to compare how they stack up. SiteGround, DreamHost, and Kinsta are all fast and efficient, but analyzing them in-depth can help you make a more informed decision about which is right for your unique needs.
In this article, we’ll go over the basics of WordPress hosting providers. Then, we’ll compare three web hosts in terms of price, performance, features, and their WordPress-specific offerings. Let’s dive in!
A website hosting provider ‘hosts’ a site by supplying the services it requires to run on the internet. This includes space on a web server so that pages can be processed and delivered to visitors. Most web hosts also provide their users with tools for database management, security, and performance monitoring. Furthermore, certain providers have unique features and tools geared to hosting WordPress sites specifically.
There are many WordPress hosting providers on the market. According to FinancesOnline, there were more than 330,000 hosting providers as of 2019. That makes for a lot of options to choose from. Fair pricing, speed, and scalability are key characteristics of a good web host. However, they can vary greatly.
There are free providers, but you may want to avoid them since they are limited in features and speed. On the flip side, there are options that can cost upwards of $5,000 per month. Finding a provider that can balance affordability with effectiveness is crucial.
Another factor to consider is scalability. Whether you’re a small business, a blog, or an enterprise, the capacity of visitors you can have per month will depend on your web host and plan. Therefore, if you expect to expand down the line, you might want to consider a plan that can grow with your business.
When choosing a hosting provider for WordPress, it’s also wise to keep performance in mind. Fast page loading times are important for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and user experience (UX). This can help ensure that your site is discovered in search results and that your visitors aren’t frustrated by a slow site.
Site speed is affected by many factors, including web server location and type, uptime, CDNs, and more. You can test your site speed by using popular tools such as Pingdom, GTmetrix, and Google Pagespeed Insights.
Now that we’ve discussed the different elements that make a good web host, it’s time to take a look at three top contenders for speed and performance. Let’s dive in!
SiteGround is a hosting provider that offers powerful load times and excellent support. It is one of the few web hosts recommended by WordPress.org. This is likely because it has many WordPress-specific features.
For example, SiteGround lets you install WordPress in just a few clicks. Furthermore, it allows you to transfer your site for free and offers automatic WordPress updates. It also includes site caching on three different levels, which translates to faster loading times for your site.
Additionally, SiteGround offers 24/7 assistance, which includes a ticketing system, live chat, and phone support. It also offers webinars and tutorials to help you understand the ins and outs of its services. You’ll also get a discounted subscription fee as a new user. However, it’s important to note that you’ll pay a higher price when it comes time to renew.
Some of its speed and performance features include:
Pricing: SiteGround’s WordPress hosting plans start at $3.99 per month. All plans include a free CDN, out-of-the-box caching, unlimited databases, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
DreamHost is one of the most popular hosting providers on the market. It is known for its beginner-friendliness, fast and secure performance, and access to thousands of themes and plugins. It hosts more than 1.5 million websites.
One unique DreamHost offering is its uptime guarantee. This means, that if your website ever gets kicked offline due to hosting issues, you will get a refund for the amount of time your site was down.
Furthermore, its WordPress plans include free site migration, 24/7 expert support, and automated site backups. It also includes a free Secure-Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate, which protects your personal data.
DreamHost has affordable pricing options and doesn’t require a long-term commitment. You can cancel your subscription anytime. Plus, monthly plans include all the same features as annual plans.
However, it is worth noting that DreamHost has very few data centers. It also doesn’t have any web servers outside of the United States. Therefore, it may not be ideal for international sites and businesses.
Some speed and performance features include:
Pricing: DreamHost has managed WordPress hosting options starting at $12 per month. They also offer a WordPress basic plan that’s just $1.99 per month, but it limits emails. All plans have a 97-day money-back guarantee.
Kinsta is a hosting provider tailored specifically to WordPress. Its cloud hosting is powered by Google Cloud, which means it is automatically optimized for performance and speed. It has 33 data centers across the world and a 24/7 hour support team available via live chat.
All of Kinsta’s plans include unlimited basic migrations from any host, free SSL certificates, and automatic daily backups to protect your site. It uses a custom-built dashboard called MyKinsta, which is designed to provide a user-friendly experience. The most basic plan includes 25,000 monthly visits, one WordPress installation, and 10 GB of disk space.
However, there are a few restrictions when it comes to Kinsta. For instance, it doesn’t offer unlimited storage. This means you’ll be charged if you go over your set amount. There are also certain plugins that aren’t compatible with Kinsta due to security reasons.
Some of Kinsta’s top performance and speed features include:
Pricing: Kinsta’s plans start at $35 per month. All options include an SSL certificate, CDN, staging, site migrations, and a 35-day money-back guarantee.
Choosing the right hosting provider is crucial if you want to run a successful website. Speed and performance can play an especially important role since they directly impact user experience and search engine rankings.
To review, here are three of the best WordPress hosting options for speed and performance:
Do you have any questions about which of these high-performing hosting providers might be right for you? Ask us in the comments section below!
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