But the very best web hosting for WordPress will be from a fully managed WordPress host. 5 Best Managed WordPress Hosts Flywheel – Runner-Up for Small Websites Kinsta Pressable Liquid Web Managed WordPress hosting is significantly more expensive than shared web hosting — we’re talking $30–100/month versus $4–15. Our Picks for Best WordPress Hosting WP Engine is the biggest name in WordPress hosting — when most people think of managed WordPress, they think WP Engine. Above, WP Engine’s plans are more expensive than a shared hosting provider — but the quality of service is worth it. But features are not what managed WordPress hosting is about. You’re paying for service, and service is where WP Engine shines. For many developers and site owners, the biggest surprise with WP Engine is its exclusion of certain plugins and scripts — as in there is a list of both that will not run if your site is hosted on WP Engine. Liquid Web is obviously not right for everyone — most people reading this are small businesses, not enterprise clients — but Liquid Web deserves its spot on a list of best web hosts for WordPress. Automatic WordPress updates aren’t hard to come by — lots of shared hosts do it too — but managed WordPress hosts all automatically install security updates too. The help desk and support staff of a managed WordPress site are WordPress experts.
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Pretty much every single web host out there can run WordPress, and run it just fine. But the very best web hosting for WordPress will be from a fully managed WordPress host.
“Managed WordPress” means the infrastructure your site is hosted on was tailor-made for WordPress, and everyone working behind the scenes has WordPress expertise. As a result, your website will be significantly faster, more stable, and more secure than on a typical shared hosting plan. Customer support will be more knowledgeable and more nuanced. And, a lot of the technical aspects of keeping your website up and running is done for you — no web admin know-how necessary.
The best out there is WP Engine.
5 Best Managed WordPress Hosts
- Flywheel – Runner-Up for Small Websites
- Kinsta
- Pressable
- Liquid Web
Managed WordPress hosting is significantly more expensive than shared web hosting — we’re talking $30–100/month versus $4–15. It’s designed to deliver superior performance to WordPress sites, no matter how big or complex or heavily trafficked. And because a lot of the backend site and server maintenance is done by the host, it delivers superior support to those sites’ owners, too. For businesses that can’t afford any glitches or downtime, and people who don’t have the resources to update, tinker with, and troubleshoot their sites, the price is absolutely worth it.
Small, less complex, and low-traffic sites would absolutely still enjoy the benefits of managed WordPress hosting — just like someone who needs a couple of stitches for a cut on their finger would absolutely still enjoy the benefits of an elite plastic surgeon. But if your site is just starting out, or your traffic is small enough that no one’s really going to notice a few minutes of downtime here and there, a great shared hosting provider will be more cost effective initially.
In fact, two of our favorite hosts, SiteGround and Dreamhost, have a few managed WordPress benefits built right into their basic shared hosting packages, including automatic core updates and daily backups. If the higher price tag for a fully managed WordPress host doesn’t fit into the budget, and you don’t mind a couple of hours a month dedicated to site maintenance, we recommend starting there. You can always transfer your site to a managed WordPress host in the future.
Our Picks for Best WordPress Hosting
WP Engine is the biggest name in WordPress hosting — when most people think of managed WordPress, they think WP Engine. It deserves its reputation. It’s often compared to a boutique 5-star hotel: its services are unique, elegant, and comprehensive.
If you look at the features that are included with WP Engine’s plans, you may be surprised at the price tag. For $30/month, you can host one 10GB site with a limit of 25,000 monthly visitors. The next tier of service is a hefty $115/month for five sites and 100,000 monthly visitors. (And those prices don’t take into account overage fees if, say, a blog post goes viral or a PR push hits it big.) You can blow through those stats on most shared hosting plans for under $10/month — and get email hosting and a domain name bundled in.
Above, WP Engine’s plans are more expensive than a shared hosting provider — but the quality of service is worth it. Below, a partial list of WP Engine’s banned plugins.
But features are not what managed WordPress hosting is about. You’re paying for service, and service is where WP Engine shines. As a managed host, it maintains speed and security at the server level — meaning you don’t have to do anything at the site level. You don’t have to research and rely on plug-ins to shave seconds off your load time, or become an expert on the best practices for building a lean site. You don’t have to carve out time to update your install and plugins, or run backups, or implement security features to ward off brute force attacks. WP Engine takes care of it all behind the scenes. If we use our hotel analogy, WP Engine does your dry cleaning and serves you three meals a day (plus snacks!) without you even having to call down to the front desk.
Customer service is also excellent, with 24/7 chat support for all tiers of service, and 24/7 phone support starting at the second tier. Its ticketing system is trackable, and its knowledge base is one of the best. And because support is an expert at one thing only — WordPress — the answers you get from human interactions tend to be nuanced and comprehensive.
For many developers and site owners, the biggest surprise with WP Engine is its exclusion of certain plugins and scripts — as in there is a list of both that will not run…
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