If you are running a small business, getting the top web hosting is inevitable. If you choose a shoddy provider, your business is most likely to suffer in terms of business value and bottom line!
Are you looking for a well-managed WordPress hosting to run your small business? If yes, read on! Running a business site is not an easy task. You must take care of everything and from all aspects. This may include site design, content, marketing, social media and so forth.
However, before you actually do that, you must make sure that your WP site runs smoothly while your existing WP hosting provider is not giving out any issues or headaches.
When we say “quality hosting,” we refer to managed hosting. This type of hosting is particularly created for the users of WordPress. In fact, this new breed of WP hosting is becoming a very popular choice among business owners, developers, and bloggers. While hosting was actually recognized by WordPress.com VIP, there are now several players in the current WP hosting market.
Why You should Go With Top Hosting Solution?
Even though web hosting is the most overlooked aspect by small business owners, it plays a significant role and is the key component for a site’s success. When you pick the right WordPress hosting for your business needs, it increases your sales and improves SEO. There are different kinds of WP hosting options available like Shared, Free, Dedicated, VPS, and managed WP hosting. This guide will help you select the best WP hosting for your small business site.
Managed WP hosting is the only way to get better security, faster loading times and expert WP support. However, being a small business owner, you may find it a bit costlier than other shared hosting solutions. These WP host’s servers are configured for offering faster and better WP performance.
A good hosting solution takes cares of every technical aspect of your WordPress-based website, allowing you to pay attention to sharing and creating engaging content. This means that you can be stress-free about site updates, up-time, site speed, and other such matters.
There are several hosting companies which use their own server-level caching and CDN, so you don’t need to depend on cache plugins like WP Super Cache or WP Total Cache. This kind of hosting works best for people who hold no technical skills or even time to manage the server.
Below is the list of top hosting solutions that offer both managed and dedicated web hosting services for small businesses. All of these web hosting solutions offer something unique, considering your specific business requirements. To help you find the best hosting solution for your small business, let’s take a look at the most recognized and popular WP hosting services.
1. HostGator
Currently, HostGator is hosting more than 8 million small and large domains. It is the most in-demand and popular web hosting solution in the entire industry. It offers 1-click WP installation, 24/7 support and 99.9% up-time guarantee. This means that your business site may only be out of action for just an hour or less in one year. It is a smart choice for small business owners.
It is not wrong to say that HostGator is snapping up all of its opponents as the top web hosting solution for small businesses particularly. If we consider the factors like ease-of-use, price, support, a range of hosting options, HostGator has scored the top mark of 96% in the overall comparative research.
The best part of choosing HostGator is that if the platform fails to deliver, it refunds billing for the first month you used their service. When it comes to its plans, there are many grand plans for you to capitalize on. The three popular packages include:
- Hatching – Great value for money, Entry-level, from $2.75/month
- Baby – Get more help to grow your small business, from $3.95/month
- Business – Great package for fast-growing business, from $5.95/month.
The pricing of HostGator is also very reasonable with regards to the features you get. So, if you are searching for a power-packed and affordable hosting solution for your small business, just look no further! All the plans offer unlimited emails, one-click installation with Drupal and WordPress integration as well as unmetered bandwidth. If you outgrow the basic hosting plans, you can also go with its WordPress, VPS and dedicated hosting packages.
When signing up to this hosting solution, don’t forget to check the package information. Some boxes are pre-ticked and offer additional services. In fact, this should be practiced with every hosting solution you look out for. All in all, Host-gator is well-recognized among hosting solution options for small businesses.
2. WPEngine
This is another one of the best-managed options available in the market. However, the price of this option is a bit higher than other managed hosting solutions. This is because this platform emphasizes to offer fast loading times, great support and better and secured servers. WPEngine offers a team of experts who keep your business site up and running, fast and secured. To stress the great functionality of this platform, brands like Foursquare, HTC, and SoundCloud use WPEngine as their primary hosting platform.
WPEngine also offers a backup and restore process that is included with all the hosting plans. One of its great features is the scanning and monitoring for hacking attempts. In case your site is hacked, the company fixes it without any cost.
Some of its other features include:
One-Click Restore Point – In case things go wrong with the theme, site or plugins, you can set things back to the previous state by using a one-click restore point.
Staging Area – It builds a replica of your live business site so you can easily test new plugins and themes before actually applying any changes to the live site.
Hacking Scans – In case your site is hacked, WPEngine fixes it free of cost.
WPEngine comes with five unique hosting plans. They start at $29/month and comes with malware scanning, 24/7 support, and automated daily backups. This means that you don’t need to utilize any 3rd party apps like Sucuri or Backup-buddy. Also, all packages offer unlimited data transfer and are easily up-gradable, if required.
WPEngine comes with maximum flexibility just like its staging area feature that let you play around with new plugins, new themes, new layouts, and test updates by cloning your site to a testing area. With this hosting platform, your site remains safe and unbroken even if an update causes an element to become incompatible.
3. BlueHost
It is the oldest web hosting platform dating back to 1996. The great BlueHost has now become one of the most significant brand names regarding WP hosting. It is the official hosting provider of WordPress. The best part about using BlueHost is that you don’t need to worry about the site being slow, even in times of heavy web traffic.
The platform offers 24/7 experts support, no matter if you need it by email, phone or live chat. When we speak of picking the best web hosting solution for small businesses, BlueHost takes the #1 spot. BlueHost promises secure, and fast-managed WP is hosting at a very affordable cost.
To give you an example, one of its basic plan allows for around 100 million visits every month, offer 30GB storage and 2GB RAM. The security with BlueHost is top notch and comes with SiteLock Pro and SiteLock CDN. The pricing of BlueHost starts at around $2.95 in the first month and then switches to $24.99/month after that.
Some of its notable features include:
- Robust Security – Includes an advanced CDN, SiteLock and SiteLock WAF.
- Expert Support – Every hosting plan offer 24/7 access to WP experts.
- Includes Manage-WP – Migrate and manage multiple WP sites all within just one hosting plan.
- VPS-Based – It is created on a VPS platform that makes for enhanced site speeds and performance.
- Enhanced c Panel – It makes the complete transition from managed to shared hosting a lot more seamless while working in a familiar interface.
In short, BlueHost is one of the top-notch hosting services. It is owned by the same company that is behind HostGator and hosts around 2 million sites around the globe. The one-click WP installation of BlueHost is a pleasure and means that even the least technical user can quickly launch and run the WP site with BlueHost.
4. Pagely
Pagely is another web hosting platform that claims to the best hosting provider. It has the best technology, the best employees and even the best clients. This hosting platform is well-recognized for its managed WP hosting with a great emphasis on on-site security. The hosting platform focuses on offering only high-class protection along with fast loading sites.
The company offers a range of amazing features like plugin updates, automatic WP Core updates, daily backups including PressArmor custom WP security configuration that help to keep your site safe and secured.
Also, you are free to use different apps or plugins. The prices of its hosting plans start from $499/month and offer 200 GB bandwidth for 30 sites. It also includes:
- Varnish Caching –Latest varnish caching layer to get millisecond load times.
- Convenient Updates – Automatic WP plugin and core updates with the requirement of minimal interaction.
- Free Plugins – Make the most of nearly any theme or plugin you want.
- VPS-Based – It is created on a VPS platform that makes for enhanced site speeds and performance.
- Complete Website Scan –It includes DDoS protection, real-time malware scanning along with removal plus redundant firewalls.
Like all other hosting providers, Pagely also offers six different and unique hosting plans to facilitate small and large businesses WP sites. Its plans start from the minimal amount and scale up to $1800/month. Also, you get to compete online support team to assist you whenever you require them.
However, being a small business owner, you may find this managed hosting provider a bit costly than others, but it offers security-focused and feature rich-managed WP hosting. It comes with an open attitude towards themes and plugins and offers varnish caching and PRESSCON for faster site load times.
Things to Consider Before Picking a Small Business Hosting Solution
Now you are familiar with the top four WP hosting solutions for small businesses. We have also discussed what makes each of these hosting providers your best choice. So now it’s time to pick one hosting provider for your business site.
Well, there are a few things to take into account before you select a hosting provider. When choosing a small business web hosting solution, always consider:
- If you have a tech-savvy team to take care of the support you would need or if you are skilled enough to benefit from the hosting service.
- Decide the budget you need to get the most suited hosted platform. This depends upon the scale and size of your business. For instance, if you are working with five to ten employees, then a shared WP hosting plan is enough to cater to your business’s technical needs while helping you to stay within your budget.
- Think of the expected web traffic on your site. If you are waiting for heavy web traffic, then you need to pick a better hosting solution. If you own an established small business, you should go with a dedicated server as they expect to receive massive site hits.
The Bottom Line
If you are a small business owner, it is better to start with a shared hosting solution. In case you outgrow the shared plan, you can easily transition to a VPS or dedicated hosting package. Also, if you wish to have a bit of almost everything, then WPEngine is your best bet.
Indeed, all the four hosting solutions are the best choice for small businesses which doesn’t want to compromise the quality of support or lose developer-friendly tools. For any small business, these hosting providers are the best starting point!
So which WP hosting solution are you using? What are your thoughts about managed WP hosting as a whole? Share your feedback in the comments section below!
English