If CNET has inspired you to start writing reviews of your own, then there’s only one content management system you need: WordPress. It’s one of the most popular CMS options out there, with around 40% of all websites using it, according to Web Tribunal. Not only that but more than 600 sites are created every day with WordPress. That’s around 10 times more than Shopify and Squarespace’s 60 to 80 a day. Yes, if you need a website, then WordPress is the way to go.
Choosing a WordPress hosting service can be challenging. A huge number of WordPress hosting options offer great customer service and a lot of good features at a reasonable price. We examined the data for 22 services to help make the choice easier for you.
While we didn’t test these services, we did read through each service’s offerings and ranked them according to essential features. Here’s what we looked for to determine the best WordPress hosting service. You can also check out CNET’s best web hosting services and things to know about web hosting for more information on some of these features.
Tiered hosting plans: Tiered plans give you the option to scale your WordPress site up as it grows.
Security features: Services need to include some basic security features such as SSL certificates, DDoS protections and backups to protect your and your visitor’s data. The best web hosts do this at no extra charge.
Uptime of 99.9% or higher: An uptime of 99.9% or higher ensures your site won’t go down for more than 20 minutes a month, so you keep losses of readers and sales to a minimum.
Customer support: All services offer some kind of customer support. Some say they offer customer service 24/7, but they mean you can email them any time. That’s a good start, but if you have an issue that needs immediate attention live chat support is better, and phone support is best.
The best WordPress hosting services meet all four of those criteria. If a service falls short on one or more of those measures, you’ll find it in our list of other WordPress hosting services to consider or our list of additional WordPress hosts.
Three of the WordPress hosts on this list are recommended by WordPress: Bluehost, Dreamhostand Siteground. Bluehost and Dreamhost are not among our best WordPress services. Bluehost doesn’t have an uptime guarantee, and Dreamhost lacks phone support and offers customer support by chat only within limited daily time frames.
Note: Pricing for hosting services is hard to follow. Services usually list introductory rates that require contracts of one or more years. Once those contracts are up, the prices jump considerably, meaning the long-term cost is quite different than it seems at first glance. This is why it’s important to check the renewal price because most services auto-renew contracts annually to ensure sites stay up at all times. Actual month-to-month plans are available in some cases, but they usually bill at the regular rate without an introductory discount.
Best WordPress hosting services
WordPress hosting providers compared
SiteGround | InMotion Hosting | IONOS | A2 Hosting | HostGator | HostPapa | GoDaddy Web Hosting | Nexcess | AccuWeb Hosting | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Starting price for WordPress hosting, per month | $3 | $3 | $0.50 | $12 | $6 | $4 | $9 | $14.70 | $4 |
Uptime promise | 99.99% | 99.99% | 99.99% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 100% | 99.99% |
24/7 customer service | Phone, live chat and ticket submission | Phone, live chat, email and ticket submission | Phone and live chat | Phone, live chat and email | Phone, live chat and email | Phone, live chat and email | Phone and live chat | Phone, live chat, email and ticket submission | Phone, live chat and ticket submission |
Money-back guarantee | 30 days | 90 days for contracts longer than 6 months; 30 days for month-to-month contracts or dedicated hosting plans | 30 days | 30 days | 45 days | 30 days | 30 days for annual plans; 48 hours for monthly plans | 30 days | 30 days |
Other WordPress hosting services to consider
GreenGeeks
Mochahost
DreamHost
Hostinger
WebHostingPad
Bluehost
Hostwinds
Web Hosting Hub
iPage
More WordPress hosting services to consider
These services either don’t offer tiered plans, lack basic security features and customer support options, or have an entry price at least 10 times higher than some other services. We don’t think they’re as robust as our other picks, but they could be right for you and your needs.
Kinsta: Offers 10 tiered WordPress hosting options, SSL certificate and hack and malware removal included, has a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and customer support is available 24/7 by phone or chat. Prices start at $30 a month.
WP Engine Web Hosting: Three tiered WordPress hosting options, SSL certificate and threat blocking security included, 99.9% uptime guaranteed with higher tier plans, as well as 24/7 phone and chat support available with higher tier plans. Prices start at $20 a month.
Pantheon: Three tiered WordPress hosting options, automated backups and DDoS protections included, 99.9% uptime guarantee and customer support available 24/7 by phone or email. Prices start at $41 a month.
NameCheap: Three tiered WordPress hosting options, SSL and security features included with higher prices plans, 99.9% uptime and customer support available 24/7 by chat or ticket submission. Prices start at $2.08 a month, billed at $24.88 a year.
Glowhost: Shared, VPS and dedicated WordPress hosting plans are available, but there are no tiered options within each plan, security features are available separately, plans have a 99.95% uptime guarantee and customer support is available 24/7 by phone, chat or ticket submission. Prices start at $10 a month.
For more on web hosting, check out CNET’s best web hosting services, best VPS hosting services and best website builders.