which one is best?_
If you’re looking for a quick, easy and concise break-down as to which WordPress hosting provider is the best, we’ve made it easy for you in this post. Read on.
Here at Wirebox, we’re no stranger to hosting websites.
As you can probably imagine, we build, manage, and host a lot of websites (including WordPress websites), so we’re well-versed in the topic of WordPress hosting. Over the last decade, we’ve tried, tested and used a number of WordPress hosting companies, from the large providers, to the smaller, UK-based providers.
Whether it’s a low-cost shared server you’re looking for, or a high-grade enterprise solution, WordPress offers something for everyone.
“The hosting market has always been competitive…”
The best hosters we’ve found are the ones that provide the best support 24/7. This is why historically, we’ve favoured the bigger providers such as Rackspace and UKFast. However with WordPress quickly becoming the most popular CMS in terms of its user base, specialist hosting providers have started to pop up all over the place.
One of the first (and now the biggest) is WP Engine. But let’s not forget about GoDaddy and BlueHost; both of whom are well-known for their dedicated WordPress hosting services.
WP Engine
If you’re hosting a dedicated server (even if it is a cloud-based server), the operating system needs to be updated, as well as your libraries and code base.
One of the advantages of WP Engine is that it helps to manage the infrastructure of your server.
Dedicated hosts provide this, and/or they’ll provide the tools to do so.
This is a major advantage for companies that need to host their own websites, without requiring sysadmin support. Instead, your hosting company can provide this, alongside any additional support.
However, is WP Engine the best?
An article that was brought to our attention recently from Matthew Woodward is called “Why Your Business Must Avoid WP Engine At All Costs.”
Matthew notably switches from praising WP Engine one minute – to stating that he never uses them. Also, he gives a very detailed article on the problems he claims to have experienced with WP Engine.
We’ll admit.
We’ve had issues with WP Engine before, but NOT on this scale. Their support does vary (sometimes you receive great support, and other times, it’s not so great), however, overall, our experience has been good, and the features available in comparison to other hosts are great, too.
One thing that’s important to mention though, is that because we’re a software company, naturally, we have a larger server than most companies due to our needs, and our client’s needs, so maybe this is why we’ve had such a positive experience?
Going back to Matthew Woodwards for a moment, he tested twelve different WordPress hosting providers. According to his due diligence, WPX Hosting and Pantheon came out on top.
So, we decided to put him to the test…
WPX Hosting
Based in Bulgaria, WPX Hosting appears to provide good support and speed.
- WPX offers a 30-day money-back guarantee – which is basically a free one-month trial.
Their control panel is very basic in comparison to WP Engine, but it works well, and it includes all of the features you’ll ever need. - The support was good. However, there were some communication issues, and DNS issues.
- With WPX Hosting, you can do one migration per package, but they’ll only allow you to use the domain of the site. This is frustrating if you want to use a test url.
Also, the test speed score results were slower than the original site, but there were reasons for this.
The original site was heavily optimised, however, I went back to WPX, and they managed to get the site a lot closer. WP Engine wouldn’t have done this to get it as fast. Another issue was that I had a site with a big database, and WPX said they couldn’t host it.
Panethon
Panethon’s migration was a DIY-setup without support. Their migration process was quick and easy. Also, unlike WPX Hosting, Panethon automatically used a temp url. But, once the site was set-up, the testing software was quite slow. There was optimisation that needed to be done, and this would be harder for non-technical users without support
As well as this, Panethon is higher in price per month.
Conversio
Conversio’s support is good.
They’ll take care of any tests you require. All you need is to send over the files, or give them access to your current host. We were able to have our test sites tested with high score results.
And, their platform is different to WPEngine.
For instance, where WPEngine has 30000+ customers, Conversio has roughly 3000, and therefore, they’re able to provide a more specialised support service. Also, they’re happy to engage in technical questions. Their control panel is good, and it includes many features for scaling.
Although Conversio is one of the highest priced WordPress hosting companies, their features are especially good for high traffic sites, which would cost the same on WPEngine.
Our Recommendation(s)
Unfortunately, there is no obvious, clear-cut winner, because each hosting provider has its own advantages.
WPX is fast, but it’s also limited in what you can do via its control panel, and it’s limited in functions with its features. BUT, the cost per month is very good, so for certain sites – it would be perfect.
The Pros
- A low monthly price
- Fast hosting scores
- Their support is knowledgeable
The Cons
- It can’t handle big installations
- There are no temp urls for test sites
WPEngine
WPEngine is the largest and most well-known.
They’re always rolling out new features, and you can receive good support most of the time. Although Matthew had issues, you can get around most of these, and you can make it work.
The Pros
- A varied monthly price
- Fast hosting scores (if configured)
- Their support is knowledgeable, depending on who you speak to.
- There are automatic updates
The Cons
- It costs more than other providers
- Their support agents aren’t as good as smaller hosters
- Their packages are larger with higher costs.
Conversio
Our Recommendation(s)
For large traffic sites that have spikes, this would be good. There’s features you can prepare for these moments at particular times.
The Pros
- There’s fast hosting scores once configured by their support
- Their support is knowledgeable
- There’s a dedicated Slack channel
- There’s tools for scaling
The Cons
- There a higher cost than with other providers
- There aren’t as many features as WP Engine
Panethon
Panethon is great, with good reviews from other reviewers, but the setup was longer ,and it was more expensive than others.
The Pros
- Self migration was quick and easy.
- High speeds are possible with configuration.
The Cons
- It costs more than other providers
- There aren’t as many features as WP Engine
- It needs more setup time to achieve higher scores.
- Overall, we would recommend hosting your website based on your specific requirements, such as traffic, budget, and support needs.
We use a lot of the hosting companies above, and when we make a recommendation to a client, we always give our reasoning. The client is then in a good place to make a decision. WPEngine became popular because of their affiliate scheme, but they’ve now reached a point where they have a good product that backs it up.
