I’m often asked who I recommend for WordPress web hosting and my answer is usually, it depends. It’s important to determine which hosting company will be the best fit for you. There are tons of variables to consider and not ever host is the right fit for every case.
I figured it’s finally time to give a complete run-down of my own personal favorite WordPress web hosting companies to work with, important features to consider, pricing, pros, cons, and who each is best suited for.
Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links which means I make a commission if you click-through and make a purchase, however, I highly recommend the companies below regardless.
Cloudways
Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform (PaaS) that offers quick optimized WordPress installs and a choice of (5) different cloud infrastructure providers. They are currently my favorite for most cases.
I actually host this site with Cloudways using the DigitalOcean option and in case you didn’t notice – this site loads really fast. I also recently migrated a client’s site from MediaTemple to Cloudways and reduced their homepage load time from nearly 4 seconds down to under 1 second with no other changes.
Favorite features
- Choice of (5) cloud hosting providers
- Choice of server location (huge plus for local businesses)
- Unlimited apps/sites
- Free SSL
Pricing
- Starts at $10/mo for a DigitalOcean plan and goes up from there depending on provider and server specs
- Pay only for the time you use
Pros
- Ability to easily scale up resources as needed
- Spin up WordPress installs within minutes with minimal effort
- Easily clone applications or add new servers
Cons
- Control panel takes some getting used to
- Extra step and add-on to setup outgoing (transactional) email from your site
Best for
- Developers or savvy site owners
- Site owners with a website care plan
- When you have multiple sites
Flywheel
Flywheel is a managed WordPress hosting provider with a beautifully designed interface with plans geared towards freelancers, agencies, and also everyday site owners and bloggers.
Flywheel isn’t the cheapest, but you can’t compare them to budget shared hosting because every account is on it’s own VPS. Speed, performance, and support is what really sets them apart. I have had nothing but good experiences with them and really haven’t come across anyone with a bad thing to say.
Favorite features
- Simple control panel
- Staging tool
- Free SSL
Pricing
- Starts at $15/mo, but if you need staging or more than 5k monthly visits, go with the $30/mo plan
- Save a few bucks when you pay annually
Pros
- Specifically optimized for WordPress
- Excellent speed and performance
- Friendly helpful support
Cons
- No staging on their cheapest plan
- High traffic sites will cost considerably more
Best for
- Agencies and creatives
- When you have 1, 10, or 30+ sites to host
WP Engine
WP Engine is a managed WordPress hosting provider that claims that 5% of the online world visits an experience on their platform each day. I like WP Engine and have several clients hosted with them and have experienced typically good performance and support with just a few downsides.
WP Engine, like most managed WordPress hosts, are not cheap. Reliable? Absolutely. Good support? Yep.
Favorite features
- Genesis Framework + themes included (awesome!)
- Dev & staging environments included
Pros
- They push the latest stable PHP version
- Support is excellent
Cons
- Cost
- Inflexible plans for multiple sites (AFAIK)
- Sales is a bit pushy in my experience
Best for
- When you have a single site to host
- High traffic sites + a big budget