Today, you’re about to learn which web hosts are the best for WordPress sites, and which ones to avoid.
I’m going to talk about your best options for hosting WordPress websites.
Here’s the deal – it’s a minefield.
I know that because I’ve been hosting websites since 2004.
And I’ve been hosting WordPress websites since 2007.
Way back in the early days of WordPress.
So, I know what the concerns are.
I know what you need to be looking out for.
So, I’m going to show you:
- The best web hosts for WordPress.
- And, the ones you need to avoid.
Because it can be really problematic if you get stuck with poor service.
And there are a number of questions and concerns, such as:
- What if the site doesn’t work?
- What if the downtime is pretty high?
- What if you have to install WordPress manually?
- Which web hosts come with cPanel?
- What if there’s no support available after you’ve signed up?
- What if you get hacked?
- Does the hosting company cover your back?
- Do they take backups?
And for this, you need to understand that most hosting reviews are kind of biased.
There’s an ulterior motive for the recommendations of web host.
Because most people who review web hosts and then offer their recommendation are actually affiliates.
And that sways their decision – they tend to recommend the hosting companies that have the highest commission.
But I’m going to make sure I don’t go down the same road (I’m NOT an affiliate!)
So just so you know – my intentions are good.
- I’m not going to use any affiliate links.
- It’s all based on my hands-on personal experience over the last many years.
- I’m not trying to profit from this in any way!
So, let’s dive into it.
Table of Contents:
Types of Web Hosting
There are 3 types of hosting.
And each type of hosting environment caters to a different need.
Shared Hosting
The most common one is shared hosting.
This is where they cram hundreds or even thousands of websites on to one server.
Everybody shares the resources.
This can be problematic if you have a high-traffic website.
Building a test website using Shared Hosting
I remember in a recent test we did with profitcopilot.com, I set up a test website using shared hosting.
On this test website, we started using traffic methods from one of my training courses.
In the first 2 weeks, the traffic started to increase.
It went up to approximately 1000 people a day.
On the hosting environment that we had tested, a 1000 people a day caused the website to shutout.
The server couldn’t handle that much traffic to that website.
This is a common problem with shared hosting.
To be completely upfront with you, I did that as part of a marketing strategy because I wanted to show what kind of results using my traffic methods can have on shared hosting website.
In fact, it allowed me to take a screenshot that displayed ‘server melting traffic’.
Such as situation will have you want to upgrade your hosting account.
VPS – Virtual Private Server
VPS or Virtual Private Server is still on a shared hosting account, but here you get more resources.
You get more room, more things to play with.
So, you can have more plugins installed; you can have more traffic coming to your website.
And that is generally the type of hosting account I use for my websites because it can sustain the traffic levels that I’m throwing at it.
Dedicated Server
A dedicated server is for when you have really high traffic websites.
I only have one dedicated server and there’s one website on that.
That website gets crazy traffic levels, upwards of 30,000 to 50,000 people a day.
Occasionally, we get over 100,000 people a day to that site.
For that, we need a dedicated server.
Even VPS wouldn’t cut it in this case.
So, here’s what you get with the three types of web hosting:
- Shared hosting – shared resources
- VPS – a bit more resources
- Dedicated server – 100% resources.
Things to look out for when choosing a Web Host
Because I have multiple types of web hosting accounts, I’m going to show you what you need to look out for no matter which web host you choose.
-
Pick a host that has cPanel
This feature lets you install WordPress with a few clicks. It’s really important.
-
Test the Customer Support
Always check out the customer support before you sign up.
For this:
- Send them an email.
- Check the response time.
- See what kind of detail they go into.
Most likely, you’re going to be dealing with a sales representative.
Now, if they know what they’re doing, they will either get the tech to give them the information they need, or refer you to someone who has got more knowledge.
The Companies You Should Avoid
Now, let’s get down to the companies you should avoid.
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IX Webhost
You have to stay away from these guys. They’re shockingly bad.
The downtime I experienced with them was really high.
The support was non-existent.
-
iPower Web
I moved from IX Webhost to iPower Web, and I had almost the exact same experience.
The funny thing is, both are owned by the same parent company – EIG hosting company.
You have to avoid pretty much any web host owned by EIG – Endurance International Group (EIG).
Other webhosting companies owned by EIG are:
- Bluehost
- Fast Domain
- Host Gator
- Host Monster
- Site 5
And many more.
EIG purchase good hosting companies and then they lay off the support staff.
They stop investing in the technology, because that company only exists to increase the profit for its shareholders.
Not really for providing a good customer experience.
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One-on-One Hosting
Speaking of web hosting companies to avoid, another one is one-to-one webhosting. With them, I went ahead with WordPress hosting option, and everything was fine.
Until, I tried to install a plugin.
Also, the second I installed Jetpack, things started to go totally downhill.
The site just stopped working.
It took around 3 days for support to get back to me to investigate.
Their solution was that ‘I needed to upgrade to a dedicated server’.
So, that’s one to stay away from.
-
A2 Hosting
I found here that the lack of features was kind of worrying.
The speed wasn’t very good either.
And to do anything worthwhile with the hosting account, I needed to pay additional monthly purchases.
For example, installing WordPress incurred an extra monthly fee.
And the support wasn’t too helpful when I needed them.
-
InMotion Hosting
These guys have got a pretty good reputation.
But based on my own experience, I can’t really recommend them.
This is because almost immediately, every test site that I built on their VPS got hacked.
And it got hacked very quickly.
I also found the support to be very disorganized.
I had to repeat myself to about 8 different members of support staff, before they took any action.
I found that to be a bit unacceptable.
However, the uptime is pretty good, but the speed of the server is quite slow.
So, these are the web hosts that should be completely avoided, based on my personal experience, (other people may have completely different experience, but here’s what I went through!).
Better Web Host
Croc Web
I used to really love this company.
And, for a while, everything I had, was hosted with these guys.
But for the last couple of years, their support has been kind of lacking.
I still have a dedicated server with them, and that’s really because the site that I’m hosting there is mammoth!
It’s got around 100,000 posts on there, and people keep contributing to that every single day.
So it’s a nightmare to move for me.
And the server is just fast enough to do what I need it to do.
But, there are frequent problems, and it seems that there’s only one member who actually knows what he’s doing.
I have to personally request that he takes a look at the issues when they arise.
Otherwise, I’m left with support staff that don’t really know what they’re doing.
So, I would recommend them if you don’t mind dealing with lazy support staff.
The Best Companies that I’ve Used
Finding a good hosting company is quite difficult. We know this now.
These two I totally recommend as I’ve personally used them, and I’ve had really good service working with them.
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Liquid Web
I found them to be an amazing company.
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Site Ground
At the moment, I have my most important website hosted with Site Ground.
That is because the uptime has been brilliant.
The websites load fast and the support is fantastic.
They make everything easy to use.
They even give you free SSL’s!
So if you’re looking for an option that doesn’t break the bank, then I recommend Site Ground at the moment.
That might change over time.
But if you really want to know how to put your web host to the test, and want to get more traffic then you know what to do with, then here’s the deal:
I’ve got a free training course for you that is 100% free.
That will give you 3 secret traffic methods that you haven’t seen before.
And it won’t cost you a single penny!
So claim your free course by going to profitcopilot.com/traffic