What is the best WordPress hosting?
The best WordPress hosting depends on your budget and how much traffic you expect. WordPress runs well on many hosts, but some are significantly better optimised for it than others.
Disclosure: What's Hosting operates a GoDaddy reseller storefront. Competitor guides are editorial research, not products we sell.
Overview
For beginners on a budget, SiteGround's GrowBig plan and Hostinger's Business plan both offer excellent WordPress performance at low starting prices. Both include one-click WordPress installation, free SSL, and automatic updates.
For business websites where performance and reliability matter, managed WordPress hosting from WP Engine or Kinsta is worth the investment. These platforms are built exclusively for WordPress, delivering faster page loads, better security, and developer-friendly tools like staging environments.
Bluehost and DreamHost are officially recommended by WordPress.org and are solid choices for simple sites. They are not the fastest or most full-featured options, but they are reliable and beginner-friendly with competitive promotional pricing.
When evaluating WordPress hosts, run their sites through PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix before committing. Server response time (TTFB) is one of the most important performance metrics for WordPress. Look for TTFB below 200ms. Also confirm that the plan includes staging environments if you plan to test changes before pushing them live.
Best managed WordPress hosting providers
Managed WordPress hosting takes care of WordPress updates, backups, security scanning, and performance optimization for you. The best providers go further, including staging environments, developer tools, and performance infrastructure built specifically for WordPress. They cost more than shared hosting but save meaningful time and reduce risk for business-critical sites.
WP Engine is one of the best-known managed WordPress platforms. It includes automatic WordPress updates, daily backups, one-click staging, a built-in CDN, and developer tools like SSH access and Git integration. Plans start around $25 per month for a single site. WP Engine focuses exclusively on WordPress hosting.
Kinsta uses Google Cloud infrastructure for fast performance. It offers a well-designed dashboard, automatic backups, staging environments, a built-in application performance monitoring tool, and 24/7 expert WordPress support. Kinsta plans start around $35 per month.
SiteGround offers managed WordPress hosting at a lower price point than WP Engine or Kinsta. Plans start around $15 per month at renewal and include automatic updates, daily backups, staging, and a performance caching system. SiteGround is a good starting point for businesses that want managed WordPress without the premium price.
Flywheel (owned by WP Engine), Nexcess, and Pressable are other managed WordPress providers worth evaluating. When comparing managed WordPress hosts, look for staging environments, automatic updates including plugins and themes, daily backups with easy restores, 24/7 WordPress-specific support, and included CDN.
Common questions
What is the best hosting for a WordPress blog?
For a personal blog, Hostinger or SiteGround shared hosting is more than sufficient and very affordable. Either can handle thousands of monthly visitors without breaking a sweat.
What hosting does WordPress recommend?
WordPress.org recommends Bluehost, DreamHost, and SiteGround as preferred hosting partners. All three have long relationships with WordPress and offer one-click installation.
Is managed WordPress hosting worth it?
For sites that generate revenue or have important traffic, yes. The automatic updates, backups, and performance optimisation save time and reduce the risk of a security issue taking your site down.
Is managed WordPress hosting worth the extra cost?
For sites that generate revenue or where security and uptime matter, yes. The cost of one security incident or downtime event typically far exceeds several months of managed hosting fees. For hobby blogs, standard shared hosting is sufficient.
What is included in managed WordPress hosting?
Typically: automatic WordPress core, theme, and plugin updates; daily backups; malware scanning and removal; a staging environment; a CDN for faster page loads; and WordPress-expert customer support.
What is the difference between managed WordPress hosting and regular WordPress hosting?
Regular WordPress hosting just means WordPress is pre-installed on a standard shared server. Managed WordPress hosting includes ongoing technical management of the WordPress environment by the hosting provider.