Before you buy WordPress hosting you should read and compare real WordPress hosting reviews that are based on real people opinions on Twitter. Compare features, prices and ratings in our comparison chart and choose the best managed WordPress hosting for small businesses, startups and entrepreneur websites and blogs.
| Company | Main features | Price | Rating | More |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bluehost | Free domain name included SiteLock security & advanced CDN Migrate & manage multiple sites & backups 30-day money back guarantee More features at bluehost.com | From 12.49 /mo | 61% score | Visit website Read reviews |
 Cloudways | Free WordPress site migration VMAN cloud server deployment Click&Go console, 1-click operations Free 30 day trial More features at cloudways.com | From 5.00 /mo | 71% score | Visit website Read reviews |
 Flywheel | Free WordPress site migration Managed WordPress updates & backups Built-in caching & staging sites Free 30 day trial Endorsed by WordPress More features at flywheel.com | From 15.00 /mo | 70% score | Visit website Read reviews |
 InMotion Hosting | WordPress comes pre-installed & ready Free domain name included SSD storage for 20x faster hosting Free 90 day trial More features at inmotionhosting.com | From 4.89 /mo | 70% score | Visit website Read reviews |
 Media Temple | WordPress-certified 24/7 support 30 day file backup & restore Automatic WP core updates 30-day money back guarantee More features at mediatemple.net | From 20.00 /mo | 78% score | Visit website Read reviews |
 Pagely | Free WordPress site migration Fully managed updates & security PressCDN, PressCache, PressDNS & PressArmor Free 30 day trial More features at pagely.com | From 64.00 /mo | 50% score | Visit website Read reviews |
 Pressable | Automatic WordPress updates & backups Automatic nightly backups Premium CDN included Free 15 day trial More features at pressable.com | From 20.83 /mo | 50% score | Visit website Read reviews |
 Pressidium | Full server management & DevOps Managed WordPress auto updates Staging sites & automated backups Free 60 day trial More features at pressidium.com | From 17.90 /mo | 71% score | Visit website Read reviews |
 SiteGround | Free SSD, Free SSL & HTTP/2, Free domain Automatic updates & daily backups SuperCacher caching & CloudFlare Free 30 day trial Endorsed by WordPress More features at siteground.com | From 3.95 /mo | 90% score | Visit website Read reviews |
 Liquid Web | Free "white glove" site migration included Free SSL certificate included On-site "heroic" support team Free 30-day trial & 100% uptime guarantee More features at liquidweb.com | From 89.00 /mo | 75% score | Visit website Read reviews |
 WP Engine | Premium managed WordPress hosting Staging sites & in-house caching technology Free automated site migration Free 60-day trial & SLA credits. More features at wpengine.com | From 29.00 /mo | 71% score | Visit website Read reviews |
So what is managed WordPress hosting?
According to WPBbeginner
Managed WordPress hosting is a specialized service where all the technical aspects of running your WordPress site is managed by the web host. This includes security, speed, WordPress updates, daily backups, website uptime, and more.
Un-managed hosting gives you no such extra services to work with. It’s completely ‘unmanaged’. You yourself have to install WordPress and keep it up-to-date, ensuring plugins and core files are updated.
WordPress hosting explained
Managed WordPress hosting is a relatively new form of web hosting available to website builders. Now, we all know that a strong and powerful web host is essential. This is the foundation of your website. It’s the server that stores all your files, and the website itself.
The web host must provide a fast, efficient, and secure server if you’re to run a reliable business. So, whether you’re running a blog, an e-commerce site, or a business page, you need to trust your web host.
If you run your website from WordPress, as 24% of the entire internet do, you can now switch to managed WordPress hosting.
It’s highly tuned to deal with WordPress websites, making your site faster and more efficient. It will take care of everything ‘under the hood’, and let you focus on the business.
Before we find out more about the benefits of managed WordPress hosting, let’s look at the background.
WordPress
WordPress is the world’s most popular platform to build and run a website. It is a content management system, or CMS, that lets anyone create a site from scratch.
It’s simple, easy, and free to get started. You don’t need to know any code. You simply choose from a design template, and input content. This part is easy, even for digital newbies.
The tricky part is understanding the connection between your website and the web hosting. A web host provides you with a small corner of the internet where your site will sit.
But, how do you put the website on that plot of internet land? And how do you manage that web host to make sure it’s as powerful as possible? That’s where ‘managed WordPress hosting’ comes in to make things very simple.
Un-managed hosting vs managed hosting
Another aspect we need to understand is the difference between managed and un-managed hosting. Remember, you web host is everything that’s under the bonnet. It’s all the tricky mechanics that keep your website up and running.
» Un-managed hosting gives you no extra services to work with. It’s completely un-managed. You’ll get a server, and perhaps an operating system. The rest is up to you. You’ll have to install WordPress yourself, and install any extra features you might want.
There are two types people who would benefit from un-managed hosting. Number one: serious website geeks who want to build every tiny detail from scratch. And number two: people who just want a static website with no frills and no control.
If you’re running any sort of business, however, you need more.
» Managed hosting comes with all sorts of bells and whistles. In this case, it will come with WordPress installed.
It will also have Malware scanners and additional security features. Not only that, but it manages itself. It will automatically backup your website, and monitor its uptime status. There is tech support on hand, and plenty of additional features.
Managed hosting lets you tweak and amend the foundations. They’ll also look after themselves to a certain extent. It’s a much better option if you’re running a business and constantly evolving.
WordPress Managed Hosting
So, we can all agree that managed hosting is the preferred format for most small businesses. But, what’s so special about ‘managed WordPress hosting’ specifically?
Well, the platform is highly tuned to run WordPress sites. It means those added extras and bonus features are built with WordPress in mind. With this type of hosting the server itself, and all the software, is chosen specifically to strengthen a WordPress site.
You can’t run a website from any other platform (i.e. Drupal, Joomla, or a website builder like Wix), but that’s the beauty of this hosting.
What are the benefits?
» Speed
A fast website is essential in modern business. You might not know this, but more than 50% of people abandon a website if it takes longer than three seconds to load. A fast website will increase sales, and boost user experience.
Managed WordPress hosting is highly optimized to monitor the things that slow WordPress down. It looks for problems, and fine tunes them before you even realize. How? Because it already knows every inch of the WordPress system.
Managed WordPress hosting is a hosting infrastructure of super speed and efficiency.
» Security
There have been a lot of high-profile hacks and data breaches in the news recently. You certainly wouldn’t want you business to experience a similar fate. And, considering that WordPress is responsible for 24% of the internet, they’re a high target.
But because of that, WordPress has one of the best security systems in the world. With managed WordPress hosting, your host is constantly scanning for holes and imperfections. It will fix them before you know it.
And if you are compromised, they’ll quickly revert your site back to how it was.
» Highly tuned plugins
If you run a WordPress site, you’ll know that plugins are the best way to add extra features to your site. But, they also take up space and slow things down. With managed WordPress hosting, most of the essential plugins are already included on the hosting package.
Everything from SEO tools to caching are already built into the system. It means you don’t have to worry about installing and updating the best plugins. They’re already there for you.
» Auto updates and backups
With managed WordPress hosting, it’s almost like having an extra member of the team. They keep working, even when you’re asleep. The website will constantly update. The WordPress plugins will keep evolving, and automatically upgrading.
Best of all, the entire website will back itself up every night.
What are the alternatives?
So far we’ve raved about managed WordPress hosting. But, what if you also run a Drupal site, or you want to leave your options open in the future?
Well, the simple alternative is using a traditional shared hosting solution or a VPS. They are still very effective. But, if you’re using WordPress exclusively, they will be slower, less secure, and you’ll have to take an active management role.
To recap, managed WordPress hosting provides a host that is finely tuned for WordPress sites. It takes the hassle out of managing (or even worrying about) your server. It’s faster, more secure, and more powerful than a traditional web host.
