What is e-commerce hosting?
E-commerce hosting is web hosting configured and optimised for running online stores. It needs to handle product catalogues, shopping carts, payment processing, and customer accounts reliably, with strong security and good performance under traffic spikes during sales events.
Disclosure: What's Hosting operates a GoDaddy reseller storefront. Competitor guides are editorial research, not products we sell.
Overview
Any hosting plan can technically run an e-commerce site, but dedicated e-commerce hosting includes features that matter for stores: SSL certificates (required for payment security), higher resource limits for database queries, dedicated IP addresses, and PCI compliance support.
WooCommerce on WordPress is the most popular way to build a self-hosted online store, and most managed WordPress hosts offer WooCommerce-optimised plans. Alternatives include Shopify (a fully managed platform), BigCommerce, and PrestaShop.
For a small store with up to a few hundred products and moderate traffic, a quality shared hosting plan or entry-level managed WordPress plan is sufficient. As your store grows in products and traffic, upgrading to VPS or cloud hosting gives you the performance headroom you need.
Security is especially important for e-commerce. Look for hosting that includes a free SSL certificate, automated backups, malware scanning, and ideally a firewall. PCI DSS compliance is a requirement for stores that handle card payments directly (though using payment gateways like Stripe usually handles this for you).
What is Magento hosting?
Magento hosting supports the resource and software needs of Magento Open Source or related Adobe Commerce projects.
A store may require a supported PHP version, database, search service, scheduled jobs and reliable caching. Requirements change by application version, so check the version's official deployment documentation.
For a revenue-producing store, budget for developers, security updates, staging and tested restores as well as the server. Generic shared hosting advertised as unlimited is not proof it can operate your store reliably.
Common questions
What type of hosting do I need for an e-commerce store?
Start with a quality shared hosting or managed WordPress plan with WooCommerce support. As your store grows, move to VPS or cloud hosting for better performance. Always ensure SSL is included.
Is shared hosting good for e-commerce?
For small stores with modest traffic, yes. For stores with high traffic or thousands of products, VPS or managed WooCommerce hosting will deliver better performance and reliability.
What is the best hosting for an online store?
Nexcess, SiteGround, and WP Engine are well regarded for WooCommerce. Shopify is a managed platform that handles hosting and e-commerce together. The best choice depends on your budget and technical comfort.
What is Magento hosting?
Magento hosting supports the resource and software needs of Magento Open Source or related Adobe Commerce projects.