Are you looking for the best managed WordPress hosting for your website? With so many providers to choose from, it can be difficult to know which one is right for you.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll take an in-depth look at the top 10 managed WordPress hosting companies for 2024. We‘ll compare features, performance, support, and pricing to help you find the perfect hosting partner for your needs.
But first, what exactly is managed WordPress hosting and how does it differ from regular shared hosting? Let‘s find out.
What Is Managed WordPress Hosting?
With traditional shared hosting, your website shares server resources like CPU and RAM with many other websites. It‘s an affordable way to host your site, but performance can suffer if other sites on the server experience high traffic.
Managed WordPress hosting, on the other hand, is a concierge hosting service optimized specifically for WordPress. Your site still shares server resources, but with far fewer websites. This leads to faster loading times and better performance.
In addition, managed WordPress hosts take care of many technical aspects of running a WordPress site for you, including:
- WordPress core updates
- Daily backups
- Security monitoring and malware removal
- Caching and content delivery network (CDN) for faster page loads
- Staging environments to safely test changes
- Knowledgeable WordPress support
This allows you to focus on creating content and growing your business without worrying about the technical details of hosting your site. But this premium WordPress hosting comes at a higher price than regular shared hosting.
Important Factors When Choosing Managed WordPress Hosting
With so many great managed WordPress hosting providers, how do you choose the right one for your needs? Here are the most important factors to consider:
1. Speed and Performance
One of the main reasons to choose managed WordPress hosting is for the lightning-fast speed. Look for a host that offers server-level caching, a global CDN, and the latest technologies like PHP 8 to ensure your site loads quickly for visitors.
2. Security
Keeping your WordPress site secure is crucial to prevent hacks and data breaches. The best managed hosts provide automatic security updates, malware scanning, and removal, and robust firewalls to protect your site.
3. Uptime
Website downtime can be devastating for businesses. Choose a managed host with a track record of 99.9%+ uptime so you know your site will always be available to visitors.
4. Knowledgeable Support
Even with managed hosting, you may occasionally need help with your WordPress site. Look for a host with 24/7 support from knowledgeable WordPress experts who can quickly resolve any issues that arise.
5. Useful Features
The top managed WordPress hosts include useful features that make your life easier, like automatic backups, staging environments, developer tools, and one-click WordPress installation. Consider which features are most important for your needs.
6. Price
While managed WordPress hosting costs more than shared hosting, the exact price varies significantly from one provider to another. Choose a host that provides the best overall value for the speed, support, and features your site requires.
With these factors in mind, let‘s take a look at the top managed WordPress hosting companies for 2024.
1. WPX Hosting
WPX Hosting is our top pick for managed WordPress hosting in 2024. Their servers are optimized for WordPress sites, resulting in incredibly fast load times. You also get free unlimited SSL certificates, malware removal, and enterprise-level DDoS protection.
WPX provides email hosting for no additional cost, which is rare among managed hosts. Plus, their expert support team is available 24/7 via live chat and typically resolves issues within 30 seconds.
All plans include a free domain, unlimited site migrations, and a 99.95% uptime guarantee. Pricing starts at $29.99/month for 5 websites.
2. Cloudways
Cloudways offers managed WordPress hosting on top of cloud infrastructure from providers like DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud. This unique approach allows you to easily scale your server resources as your site grows.
Cloudways‘ custom dashboard makes it simple to manage your WordPress sites, staging environments, and backups. The platform is developer-friendly with support for PHP 8, MySQL, Redis, and more.
Other useful features include a free SSL certificate, Cloudways CDN, and advanced caches. Support is available 24/7/365 via live chat and tickets. Pricing starts at just $12/month for 1 GB RAM, 25 GB storage, and 1 TB bandwidth.
3. Kinsta
Kinsta is a premium managed WordPress host powered by the Google Cloud Platform. Their auto-scaling infrastructure can handle even the most demanding WordPress sites with ease.
With Kinsta, you get automatic daily backups, free hack fix, and malware removal, plus a free CDN and SSL certificate with all plans. The intuitive MyKinsta dashboard makes it easy to manage your sites, users, and billing.
Kinsta‘s expert support team is available 24/7 via live chat to help with any questions or issues. All plans come with a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Pricing starts at $35/month for 1 WordPress site and 25,000 monthly visits.
4. WP Engine
WP Engine is one of the largest managed WordPress hosts, powering over 1.5 million websites worldwide. They offer best-in-class speed and performance thanks to their proprietary EverCache technology and CDN.
With WP Engine, you get automatic WordPress updates, daily backups, and malware scanning and removal. The user portal provides an at-a-glance view of your site‘s key metrics.
WP Engine‘s support team is available 24/7 by live chat or phone to provide expert WordPress assistance. All plans include a generous 60-day money-back guarantee. Pricing starts at $28/month for 1 site and 25,000 monthly visitors.
5. DreamPress
DreamPress is the managed WordPress hosting service from the popular web host DreamHost. It offers an affordable way to speed up your WordPress site without the high costs of other managed hosts.
All DreamPress plans include unmetered bandwidth, unlimited email, a free SSL certificate, and WordPress pre-installed. You also get on-demand and automatic backups, built-in caching, and a 1-click staging environment.
DreamHost‘s support team is available 24/7 via live chat, email, and Twitter. All plans are backed by an impressive 97-day money-back guarantee. Pricing starts at just $16.95/month for 1 site and 100,000 monthly visitors.
6. Liquid Web
Liquid Web is a premium managed WordPress host known for high performance and knowledgeable support. Their cloud infrastructure is built on top of AWS and optimized for WordPress.
With Liquid Web, you get automatic daily backups, staging environments, and iThemes Security Pro to protect your site from threats. All plans also include a free SSL certificate and blazing-fast CDN.
Liquid Web‘s support team is available 24/7/365 by phone, email, and live chat to provide expert WordPress assistance. Pricing starts at $19/month for 1 site and 20 GB of SSD storage.
7. Servebolt
Servebolt is a relatively new entrant to the managed WordPress hosting space, but they‘ve quickly made a name for themselves with incredibly fast performance. In fact, they boast the ability to achieve load times under 100 ms.
With Servebolt, your WordPress site runs inside a container called a "Bolt". This innovative infrastructure allows for the creation of development, staging, and production environments for each site.
Other notable features include built-in server-level caching, developer-friendly tools like SSH and WP-CLI, and free 24/7 support by live chat. Pricing starts at $99/month, making it one of the more expensive managed hosts on this list.
8. SiteGround
SiteGround is an affordable managed WordPress host that‘s officially recommended by WordPress.org. Their custom hosting platform is built on top of Google Cloud infrastructure for excellent speed and reliability.
With SiteGround, you get automatic WordPress updates, daily backups, and a free SSL certificate and Cloudflare CDN. Their proprietary SuperCacher technology ensures fast loading times for your site.
SiteGround‘s support team is available 24/7 via live chat, phone, and tickets to assist with any WordPress issues. Pricing starts at $6.99/month for 1 site and 10 GB web space.
Pricing Comparison
Here‘s a breakdown of the starting price for each managed WordPress host on this list:
- Cloudways: $12/month
- DreamPress: $16.95/month
- Liquid Web: $19/month
- SiteGround: $6.99/month
- WPX Hosting: $29.99/month
- Kinsta: $35/month
- WP Engine: $28/month
- Servebolt: $99/month
While SiteGround is the cheapest, and Servebolt the most expensive, keep in mind that the features, resources, and performance you get vary significantly between providers.
In most cases, you get what you pay for with managed WordPress hosting. I‘d recommend Cloudways or DreamPress if you‘re on a tight budget, and WPX Hosting if you want the best overall value.
Recommendations for Different Use Cases
Here are my recommendations for different common WordPress site use cases:
- Small blog or personal site: DreamPress or SiteGround
- High-traffic blog or publication: WPX Hosting or Kinsta
- Online store: Liquid Web or WP Engine
- Web design agency hosting client sites: Cloudways
- Developers who want control over their server: Servebolt
- Large enterprise site: WP Engine or WPX Hosting
Of course, these are just general recommendations. Be sure to consider the specific needs of your site when choosing a managed WordPress host.
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have questions about managed WordPress hosting? Here are answers to some of the most common queries:
Is managed WordPress hosting worth it?
If you want the fastest possible speeds, top-notch security, and expert support for your WordPress site without the technical hassles, managed hosting is absolutely worth the extra cost compared to shared hosting.
However, if you‘re on a tight budget or only need to host a small site with minimal traffic, you may be better off with cheaper shared hosting.
Can I use plugins with managed WordPress hosting?
Yes, you can install plugins on your WordPress site with managed hosting. However, some hosts may prohibit certain plugins that negatively impact performance or security. Check with your provider for details.
Do I need managed WordPress hosting for an eCommerce site?
While it‘s not absolutely essential, I highly recommend using managed WordPress hosting for online stores. The faster speeds, enhanced security, and knowledgeable support will help provide a better experience for your customers and keep your store running smoothly.
How do I choose a managed WordPress host?
To recap, the most important factors to consider when choosing a managed host are:
- Speed and performance
- Security
- Uptime
- Knowledgeable support
- Useful features
- Price
Evaluate the different providers based on these criteria to find the best fit for your specific needs and budget.
Managed WordPress Hosting: The Bottom Line
Managed WordPress hosting provides the fastest speeds, best security, and most knowledgeable support for your WordPress site. While it costs more than regular shared hosting, the premium features and performance are well worth it for many site owners.
To recap, here are the best managed WordPress hosting providers for 2024:
- WPX Hosting
- Cloudways
- Kinsta
- WP Engine
- DreamPress
- Liquid Web
- Servebolt
- SiteGround
I recommend WPX Hosting as the overall best choice that provides an excellent balance of speed, support, features, and pricing. However, the right host for you depends on the unique needs of your website.
Use the factors and recommendations outlined in this guide to find the perfect managed WordPress hosting provider for your site. With quality hosting powering your WordPress site, you‘ll be able to focus on content creation and growing your business online.
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