The web hosting space can be confusing, especially when you’re trying to understand the real differences between traditional web hosting and “WordPress hosting.” Is there even a difference? And if so, what exactly is it?
I wish the answer were simpler. Unfortunately, “WordPress hosting” isn’t an official term with a defined set of standards that a platform has to meet in order to be called WordPress hosting.
In reality, it’s a lot more fluid.
In this post, I’ll try to give you some answers and help guide you toward choosing the ideal host for your specific needs.
When I use the term “WordPress hosting,” I’m not implying it refers to hosting directly from the WordPress brand. I’m simply using it to describe a segment of the hosting market that specializes in hosting WordPress websites.
The unfortunate truth about market practices around “WordPress hosting”
Before diving into the technical details and parameters, I think it’s important to first address the downside.
A lot of the time, “WordPress hosting” is just a label that companies slap onto any web hosting plan they’re offering. In many cases, it’s just a marketing tactic.
They can do this because, technically speaking, any PHP/MySQL hosting can run WordPress without issue. So, for better or worse, almost any web hosting could be called WordPress hosting.
That said, some companies go much further and genuinely aim to deliver highly optimized hosting environments tailored specifically for WordPress. They focus on configuring their servers to make WordPress sites run smoothly and efficiently.
Now that you have a sense of what’s really going on, we can start fresh. I’ll cover some theory first, then offer advice on how to decide if you need “real WordPress hosting” or not, and finally, I’ll highlight some of the top companies that truly excel at providing this kind of service.
Web hosting vs WordPress hosting in a nutshell
Here are the basics:
Web hosting is a broad term that covers various types of hosting services, including shared, dedicated, VPS, and cloud hosting. These services allow you to store your website files on a server, making them accessible on the internet. This general hosting can support a wide range of content management systems and website builders, without being tied to any specific platform.
WordPress hosting, on the other hand, is a specialized form of web hosting that’s specifically optimized for WordPress sites. It usually comes with additional features, performance enhancements, and specialized support from teams who are well-versed in WordPress.
Common differences you can expect between web hosting and “real” WordPress hosting:
Feature | Web hosting | WordPress hosting |
---|---|---|
Platform optimization | General-purpose servers suitable for various platforms | Servers optimized specifically for WordPress |
Installation | Manual installation of various CMS + one-click installers also available | One-click installation of WordPress or WordPress pre-installed |
Updates | User is responsible for managing updates | Automatic updates for WordPress core, plus often themes and plugins |
Support | General technical support | Specialized support for WordPress issues (hopefully) |
Performance | Basic performance features | Often enhanced through additional optimization plugins or server configuration |
Security | General security measures | Enhanced security tailored to WordPress vulnerabilities, often including custom plugins or tools |
Backups | May not include regular backups | Regular automated backups included |
Scalability | Depends on the hosting plan | Usually scalable resources optimized for WordPress growth |
Control panel | Standard control panels like cPanel or Plesk | WordPress-specific dashboards and management tools + cPanel |
Hosting other software | You can usually host anything you like | Very often those platforms are just for WordPress |
Limitations | Usually no limitations as to what you can do with your server or what you can install | Some plugins can be banned with certain hosts, WordPress MU not always available |
Included for free | Email hosting, ability to host multiple sites | Sometimes you can’t get your emails hosted – platform dependent, the number of sites you can have is also usually limited |
The advantages of WordPress hosting
The main advantage of hosting your WordPress site on a platform optimized for WordPress is fairly obvious: you should get better features, improved performance, and an overall smoother experience. But let’s break these down in more specific terms:
The key to WordPress hosting isn’t just the server itself, but the specific configuration and optimizations designed to make the server work more efficiently with WordPress.
This often includes having the right versions of PHP, MySQL, and a range of PHP extensions installed on the server to ensure WordPress runs smoothly. There’s even a page in the documentation that outlines the “suggested setup.” While WordPress’ minimum requirements are fairly relaxed (PHP 7.4, MySQL 8.0, and HTTPS support), a server that’s fine-tuned beyond the basics will offer much better performance.
Beyond that, you also get access to a variety of additional features, helpful tools, and bonus add-ons that can further enhance your WordPress experience.
Here are some of the features you’ll commonly find with WordPress hosting providers:
- Pre-built templates, starter sites, or WordPress themes included.
- Popular speed optimization plugins, or even custom-built plugins by the host, designed to further enhance performance.
- Pre-configured page and object caching tailored to WordPress.
- Integrated automatic updates for WordPress core, plugins, and themes.
- Security scanners that check for common vulnerabilities and plugin security alerts.
- Compatibility checkers to ensure everything you’ve installed – especially plugins – works well together.
- Support for WordPress multisite.
- Easily accessible staging sites for testing changes before going live.
- WP-CLI and SSH access for advanced management.
- Automatic migration tools to simplify moving your site.
- A knowledgeable support team specializing in WordPress.
- Pre-configured CDNs for faster content delivery.
- Premium versions of popular WordPress plugins, like Jetpack, and other backup or security tools.
Lastly, most WordPress hosting plans come with at least a one-click WordPress installation module, if not WordPress pre-installed when you sign up. This makes the initial setup much more beginner-friendly, as you won’t need to deal with the technical aspects of getting WordPress up and running.
Day-to-day site management is also typically simplified. Many WordPress hosts offer custom user panels that hide some of the more technical details and instead focus on performance insights and tools that help you manage your site’s content more easily.
However, there are potential drawbacks when going deeper into the WordPress hosting route.
First, some hosts only allow WordPress websites. This means you can’t host other types of sites, and in some cases, you won’t be able to host your email on the same server – a feature that’s usually standard with general web hosting.
This can drive up your costs since you’ll need to find separate email hosting.
Additionally, some WordPress hosts may restrict certain plugins. For example, WP Engine doesn’t allow plugins like “Broken Link Checker” due to their high demand on server resources. (To be clear, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this plugin – it’s just resource-intensive.)
Standard web hosting isn’t far off
After reading the above, you might be convinced that if you’re running a WordPress site, you must choose WordPress hosting. But that’s not necessarily the case.
The truth is, standard web hosting isn’t that far behind in terms of features. Many of the things WordPress hosts offer through their user panels can also be done using free plugins available directly through WordPress itself – meaning you can manage most of it from your wp-admin dashboard.
Here are a few examples:
What WordPress hosting does | Free alternative |
---|---|
One-click installation of WordPress or WordPress pre-installed on the server | Most cPanel based hosts (which is most hosts) offer one-click WordPress installers too |
Optimized caching settings, performance, and security | You can get a similar range of optimizations through caching plugins, performance plugins and security plugins. |
Automatic backups | There are loads of free backup plugins available – we list the top ones here. |
Automatic updates | Can be configured in WordPress regardless of hosting |
Of course, this list is shorter than what I outlined earlier, but it really comes down to how much of that you actually need.
What I’m trying to say is that if you’re considering WordPress hosting just for the promise of automatic updates and backups, that might not be a strong enough reason, since you can easily set those up for free within WordPress.
Then there’s the topic of performance. If you’ve been following us for a while, you know that we’ve been testing various hosting companies and setups for years. You can check out the results of some of these tests on our blog (for example, here).
What we’ve learned from all this testing is that WordPress hosting isn’t always faster, nor does it necessarily have better uptime than standard hosting. Okay, there is a slight difference, but nothing to write home about. Check out these comparison tables:
Average loading time | N.Virginia | California | Utah | London | Paris | Mumbai |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
For standard hosts (s) | 1.25 | 1.14 | 0.98 | 0.93 | 0.99 | 1.70 |
For WordPress hosts (s) | 0.86 | 1.07 | 0.77 | 0.77 | 0.78 | 1.66 |
Average uptime last month | |
---|---|
For standard hosts | 99.98% |
For WordPress hosts | 99.99% |
“Do I really need WordPress hosting”?
Okay, so I’ve shown you some considerations and also pros and cons of both standard web hosting and WordPress hosting. So how to make the final decision?
Here are some helpers:
- If you value flexibility to run various types of websites or applications, then choose standard web hosting. Standard web hosting allows you to host various types of websites and applications, not just WordPress. Whether you’re running a static HTML site, using another CMS like Joomla or Drupal, or experimenting with custom code, standard hosting provides the versatility to accommodate different platforms.
- If you want an optimized environment specifically for WordPress, choose WordPress hosting. WordPress hosting offers a server environment tailored exclusively for WordPress sites. This means enhanced performance through server-level caching, optimized databases, and all the other things we’ve discussed in this post above.
- If you prefer managing technical aspects yourself, choose standard web hosting. With standard web hosting, you have full control over installations, updates, security configurations, and backups. This is suitable for tech-savvy users who enjoy handling the backend operations and customizing their environment.
- If budget is a primary concern and you need a cost-effective solution, choose standard web hosting. Standard web hosting plans are generally more affordable and offer the essential features needed to run a website. If you’re starting a personal blog, a small business site, or any project with limited resources, standard hosting can provide a cost-effective solution without unnecessary extras. And, let’s not forget, you can also run WordPress sites on those.
- If you value specialized support and expert assistance with WordPress, choose WordPress hosting. WordPress hosting providers typically offer dedicated support teams with extensive knowledge of WordPress. They can assist with platform-specific issues, performance optimizations, and troubleshooting plugin conflicts.
Best WordPress hosting platforms that deliver
If you’ve made up your mind and want to go ahead with a quality WordPress host that actually comes with some custom features, consider the following providers:
Host | Best for | Price from | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Kinsta | 💪 best for power use | $30.00 / mo. | 0.89s | 100% |
SiteGround | 🌟 users love it | $2.99 / mo. | 0.89s | 100% |
Rocket | $25 / mo. | 0.27s | 100% | |
Flywheel | $13.00 / mo. | 0.67s | 100% | |
Cloudways | $11.00 / mo. | 0.77s | 99.95% |
For a more in-depth look at any of the companies listed above, check out our detailed analysis here. That guide covers the best hosting options for WordPress, including both standard hosting that works well with WordPress and specialized WordPress hosting.
Conclusion
Choosing the right web host can often make or break your website’s success. There is nothing wrong with launching your WordPress site with standard web hosting if that’s your preference. Still, WordPress-specific features can save you a lot of hassle in the long run.
To recap, WordPress hosting means your server resources will be specially configured to match the platform’s unique requirements. Therefore, you will benefit from higher security and better performance overall. Also, WordPress hosting often comes with automated maintenance tasks and dedicated customer support, making it a better choice for beginners.
Do you have any questions about web hosting vs WordPress hosting? Let us know in the comments section below!
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