WordPress has become a popular and versatile content management system used by countless websites worldwide. However, choosing a suitable managed WordPress hosting provider is crucial to a website’s success, as it can significantly impact its performance. With so many options available, it’s important to focus on the features that truly matter.
In this article, we’ll explore the ten essential features to consider when selecting the best-managed WordPress hosting provider. We’ll take an in-depth look at each feature. Then, explain why it’s critical to ensure your website runs smoothly, efficiently, and securely. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be better equipped to distinguish the top-managed WordPress hosting providers from the rest.
Table of Contents
- What is a Managed WordPress Hosting Provider
- Why Your Business Website Should Consider Managed WordPress Hosting
- 10 Top Features To Consider in Managed WordPress Hosting Provider
- Our Top Picks
- Summary
- Managed WordPress Hosting FAQs
- What is the difference between shared hosting and managed WordPress hosting?
- Can I switch my existing WordPress website to a managed hosting provider?
- Can I host multiple WordPress websites on a single managed WordPress hosting plan?
- How do I know if my website has outgrown its current hosting plan?
- Can I install custom plugins and themes on managed WordPress hosting?
- Is managed WordPress hosting suitable for beginners?
What is a Managed WordPress Hosting Provider
WordPress is currently the most widely used Content Management System (CMS) in the world. There are around 43% of websites being powered by it. As a result, many web hosting companies offer managed WordPress hosting services, which are specifically designed to optimize websites built on this CMS.
The primary distinction between regular hosting and managed WordPress hosting lies in the additional features provided by the latter. For example, a managed hosting plan may include pre-installed plugins that enhance website performance, free site migration, and automatic WordPress updates, among other benefits. These features are designed to streamline website management and improve website performance, making managed WordPress hosting an excellent choice for those seeking a hassle-free website-building experience.
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Why Your Business Should Consider Managed WordPress Hosting Service
Managed WordPress hosting, as mentioned, offers several advantages over traditional web hosting, making it an excellent choice for businesses. Here are some of the benefits that your business website can enjoy:
Improved Performance
Managed WordPress hosting is optimized for speed and performance, resulting in faster loading times and better overall site performance.
Security Features
Managed WordPress hosting providers offer advanced security features to protect your site from hackers. This is especially crucial if you collect sensitive information from your customers.
Expert Support
Managed WordPress hosting providers have a team of experts available 24/7 to help you with any issues that you may encounter. You can reach them via chat support, email support, or phone support.
Automatic Backups
Managed WordPress hosting providers automatically back up your site on a regular basis. This makes it easy to restore your site to a previous version if anything goes wrong.
Easy Site Management
Managed WordPress hosting providers offer user-friendly site management tools that make it simple to manage your site. You can easily install WordPress updates, manage plugins and themes, and perform other essential tasks.
Overall, managed WordPress hosting can help your business website run more smoothly and securely, allowing you to focus on growing your business. Now, let’s discuss what features to look for in a managed WordPress hosting service to achieve these benefits.
10 Top Features To Consider in Managed WordPress Hosting Provider
Managed WordPress hosting providers offer a variety of features and services to ensure your website runs smoothly and efficiently. However, with so many options available, it can be challenging to determine which features are essential for your business.
Below, we’ll explore the top 10 features to consider when selecting the best-managed WordPress hosting provider. From performance and reliability to security and customer support, we’ll cover each feature in detail to help you make an informed decision about which provider is right for your business. By understanding these key factors, you’ll be better equipped to choose a managed WordPress hosting provider that meets your specific needs and offers the best value for your investment.
Performance
Considered one of the most crucial factors for search engine rankings and user experience, website speed and performance are key factors in choosing a managed WordPress hosting provider. Performance lies at the core of a successful website. Slow-loading websites not only frustrate visitors but also rank lower on search engines. When evaluating hosting providers, consider the following performance-related factors:
Server Infrastructure
Opt for a provider that utilizes modern server infrastructure, including solid-state drives (SSDs), for faster data retrieval.
Content Delivery Network (CDN)
Look for providers that offer integration with a reliable CDN. CDNs distribute your website’s content across multiple servers globally, ensuring faster load times for users around the world.
Server Resources
Ensure that the hosting provider allocates sufficient resources such as RAM, CPU, and bandwidth to accommodate your website’s traffic without slowdowns.
These features not only ensure seamless navigation and help minimize loading times, but they also improve the site’s overall user experience.
According to data, customer satisfaction falls by 16% for every 1-second delay in site loading. And 1 in 4 users will abandon the website if it takes more than 4 seconds to load. Because of these, a well-managed WordPress hosting solution should ensure the site loads quickly so it won’t affect your business.
You can Google to find an up-to-date third-party loading speed comparison of different hosting providers to find the ones that perform best in this criteria.
Reliability and Uptime
Downtime can be detrimental not only to a website but also to a business. It affects its revenue and credibility. That’s why getting the best-managed WordPress hosting provider for your website is crucial. The hosting provider must have a strong track record of uptime reliability and offer a Service Level Agreement (SLA). This secures a certain percentage of uptime. It is critical to get a hosting provider that provides high uptime rates to ensure that the website is accessible to visitors whenever they want to access it.
Unplanned downtime can result in lost revenue, damaged reputation, and frustrated users. A reputable hosting provider should guarantee high reliability and uptime. Here’s what to look for:
Uptime SLA
Check if the hosting provider offers a Service Level Agreement (SLA) guaranteeing a certain percentage of uptime (e.g., 99.9% or higher).
Redundancy
Inquire about redundant systems, backup power sources, and failover mechanisms that ensure your website stays online even during hardware failures.
Monitoring and Support
Choose a provider that monitors server health 24/7 and provides proactive support to address potential issues swiftly.
The industry standard is 99.9% uptime. This means that the website should be up and running at this rate all of the time. Anything less than that can result in lost traffic, poor user experience, and revenue. Therefore, a managed WordPress hosting provider with a high uptime rate and a reliable server infrastructure will help maintain user trust and a positive reputation.
You can Google to find an up-to-date third-party uptime comparison of different hosting providers to find the ones that perform best in this criteria.
WordPress-Specific Support
Because WordPress is a powerful content management system, it can be complex to manage. That’s why having specialized WordPress support can be a game-changer. With knowledgeable experts to help you with theme issues, plugin compatibility, and other WordPress-related queries. This way, you are guaranteed that assistance is available whenever needed. You can be confident that whenever you encounter issues, they can be resolved in real time.
Managing a WordPress website can present unique challenges. A managed WordPress hosting provider with WordPress-specific expertise is invaluable:
WordPress-Experienced Support
Ensure that the hosting provider’s support team consists of professionals who understand the intricacies of WordPress and can provide assistance tailored to the platform.
Plugin and Theme Guidance
Look for a provider that offers guidance on selecting, configuring, and troubleshooting plugins and themes for optimal performance and security.
Performance Optimization
A knowledgeable support team can offer insights into optimizing your WordPress site’s speed and efficiency.
Security and Risk Management
If there is one item that website owners must prioritize, it is website security. When choosing a managed WordPress hosting provider, look for features such as malware scanning, SSL certificates, and web application firewalls (WAF). The provider should also have daily backups to recover data and the latest cybersecurity software to protect your website from malfunctions. Moreover, a hosting provider must give its users access control. This means authorized people should only be allowed to approach the website’s administrative features. A robust risk management strategy protects the website’s data, giving visitors peace of mind.
Malware Scanning and Removal
The hosting provider should conduct regular malware scans and offer tools to remove any detected threats promptly.
Firewalls and Intrusion Detection
Look for providers that implement firewalls and intrusion detection systems to prevent unauthorized access.
SSL Certificates
A reputable managed WordPress hosting provider should offer free SSL certificates to encrypt data transmission between your website and users.
User-Friendly Control Panel
It is helpful to have an intuitive dashboard whether the user is a seasoned professional or a newbie. With a user-friendly control panel, even a non-tech-savvy user can use it for website management tasks. Check for features that allow you to manage domains, email accounts, databases, and other aspects that would help easily manage the site.
Intuitive Dashboard
Choose a hosting provider that offers an intuitive control panel/dashboard for managing domains, emails, databases, and other aspects of your website.
One-Click WordPress Installation
An easy one-click WordPress installation process saves time and eliminates the need for manual setup.
Centralized Management
The control panel should provide easy access to essential tools, settings, and features necessary for managing your WordPress website.
Automatic Updates and Maintenance
Keeping your website up to date is essential for optimal performance and security. That’s why choosing a managed WordPress hosting provider that provides regular maintenance, such as plugin updates and security patches, is extremely beneficial.
Automated Updates
Opt for a provider that offers automatic updates for WordPress core, themes, and plugins to ensure your website stays current and secure.
Maintenance without Disruption
The hosting provider should perform routine server maintenance without causing downtime or interruptions to your website.
Compatibility Checks
After updates, the hosting provider should ensure that your website’s functionality remains intact by performing compatibility checks.
If your provider doesn’t offer automatic software updates, it’s best to consider switching to a provider that does. Outdated software can negatively impact your SEO score and leave your website vulnerable to hackers and malware. By selecting a hosting provider that offers automatic updates and maintenance, you can ensure that your website remains secure and performs at its best.
Staging Environment
If you find yourself needing to update your website’s theme and add new sections without disrupting your site’s traffic, a staging site is essential. A staging environment allows you to make and test changes to your website without affecting the live version visitors see. This feature is crucial for website owners and developers as it prevents potential issues and errors, ensuring the smooth functioning of your live website.
By utilizing a staging site, you can confidently make changes and updates, knowing that they won’t impact your live website’s performance. This not only helps maintain a steady inflow of traffic but also safeguards your website’s revenue. Without a staging environment, there is a higher risk of encountering problems that could disrupt your website and lead to decreased traffic and revenue. Incorporating this top feature provides peace of mind and ensures the seamless operation of your website.
- One-Click Staging – Look for web hosting providers that facilitate the easy creation of staging environments with a single click.
- Isolated Testing – Staging environments should be isolated from your live website to prevent any unintended effects on user experience.
- Seamless Deployment – The ability to seamlessly deploy changes from the staging environment to the live site simplifies the process of implementing updates.
Scalability and Resource Allocation
As your business grows, your website traffic will probably grow, too. Because of this, your managed WordPress hosting provider must offer a scalable plan allowing website owners to upgrade and downgrade resources as needed. With flexible resource allocation, it guarantees that your website can manage traffic spikes without a deteriorated performance.
A flexible hosting provider should offer:
- Scalable Plans – Choose a provider with plans that allow you to easily upgrade or downgrade based on your website’s traffic and resource needs.
- Resource Allocation – Ensure that the hosting provider allocates resources in a way that guarantees consistent performance even during traffic spikes.
- Resource Monitoring – Providers that offer resource monitoring tools help you track your website’s resource usage and make informed decisions.
Cost-Effective Plans
When selecting a hosting provider, cost is a crucial factor to consider. It’s important to find a provider that offers a balance between cost-effectiveness and quality features. Comparing different plans and their features can help you determine which option best fits your website requirements and budget.
However, it’s essential to remember that the cheapest option isn’t always the best choice. Inexpensive providers may come with hidden costs or lack essential features, which could lead to issues such as security flaws, slow performance, and inadequate support. These issues can significantly impact your business, costing you much more than it would have cost to have gone with a reputable provider that offers quality services.
Additionally, it’s crucial to ensure that your chosen provider has no hidden fees or additional costs. Most reputable hosting providers include top features in their plans, eliminating the need for additional fees. By selecting a provider that offers transparency and quality services, you can ensure that your website runs smoothly and efficiently without any unexpected costs or issues.
Responsive Customer Support
Responsive customer support is an essential feature to consider when selecting a managed WordPress hosting provider. Technical issues can arise at any time, making access to reliable customer support paramount. It’s key to choose a provider that offers 24/7 customer support through multiple channels such as email, phone, and live chat.
By selecting a provider with responsive customer support, you can rest assured that assistance is readily available whenever you need it. This feature not only ensures that technical issues are resolved quickly but also provides peace of mind, knowing that you have access to expert support when you need it most.
- 24/7 Support – Ensure the hosting provider offers round-the-clock customer support through multiple channels, including live chat, tickets, and phone support.
- Knowledgeable Staff – A support team well-versed in WordPress and hosting-related issues can swiftly address your concerns and provide effective solutions.
- Community Resources – Additional resources like community forums, knowledge bases, and tutorials can empower you to troubleshoot minor issues independently.
Also, it is crucial to know the support team’s level of expertise. This means that support must also provide advice on enhancing security, optimizing performance, and upgrading themes and plugins, not just basic server management.
But What’s The Catch?
While a managed WordPress hosting provider can greatly assist in the proper running and maintenance of your WordPress site, to some businesses and individuals, cost can be a problem. It can be more expensive than traditional web hosting services. Additionally, some hosting providers may not offer email hosting, and the number of sites you can host may be limited. It can also be challenging to move your site to a different hosting provider if you decide to switch in the future. Some hosting providers may also ban certain plugins, and storage may be limited.
However, it’s important to note that these disadvantages may not apply to all managed WordPress hosting providers. The best-managed WordPress hosting advantages, such as improved performance, enhanced security, expert support, automated backups, and easy site management, outweigh any potential drawbacks for some businesses. Some even have dedicated servers and cloud hosting that can be beneficial to ecommerce sites.
Overall, it’s essential to carefully evaluate the features and pricing of different managed WordPress hosting providers to determine which one is the best fit for your business’s needs.
Our Picks For the Best, Fastest Managed WordPress Hosting
Based on the comprehensive analysis of various factors outlined in this article, we have identified the most optimal and efficient managed WordPress hosting provider. Our top pick is guaranteed to deliver lightning-fast website performance, coupled with exceptional management and support features.
| Hosting Provider | Uptime | Speed | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| NameHero | 99.9%* | Fast* | Fully-containerized cloud platform, 100 GB storage, 2x more CPU and RAM for managing 400,000 site visits |
| Passionate Hosting | 99.9%* | Very Fast* | Fully managed, Free & Auto SSL, Unlimited Databases, Unlimited Addon & Parked Domains, Unlimited Subdomains |
| Kinsta | 99.9%* | Very Fast* | Fully managed, Free Migrations, Daily Backups, Google Cloud Platform, Free SSL Certificates* |
| Siteground | 99.9%* | Fast* | Fully managed, Free Migrations, Daily Backups, Free SSL Certificates, Advanced Caching* |
Summary
Having a website is essential for any business to succeed in today’s digital landscape. A website provides a platform for businesses to showcase their products and services, connect with customers, and generate leads. However, managing a WordPress website can be a daunting task, especially for business owners who lack technical expertise.
Comparing and selecting the best-managed WordPress hosting provider is a crucial step in ensuring your website’s success. By evaluating the top features of a hosting provider, you can guarantee that your website operates efficiently, securely, and smoothly. Moreover, it will enhance your website’s performance, allowing you to spend more time on other critical tasks, such as growing your online presence and creating valuable content.
While managing a WordPress website can be complicated due to its dynamic functionality, a managed WordPress hosting provider with top features can make website maintenance a manageable task. Its valuable features, such as plugins and themes, can help you create and maintain a website with ease.
It is important to remember that choosing the right hosting provider is crucial because selecting the incorrect one can lead to poor-quality service that hinders your business and website from becoming successful.
Choosing the best-managed WordPress hosting provider will be very important for your business website. With its top features, such as speed and performance, security, automated backups, expert support, and easy site management, it’s easy to see why more businesses are turning to managed WordPress hosting. So, if you’re looking for a reliable and secure hosting solution for your WordPress site, make sure to also consider a managed WordPress hosting solution.
Managed WordPress Hosting FAQs
What is the difference between shared and managed WordPress hosting?
Shared hosting means multiple websites share the resources of a single server, making it more affordable but potentially affecting performance and security. Managed WordPress hosting, which can also be shared, involves a tailored environment and features specifically for WordPress sites, providing advanced features such as automatic updates and enhanced security measures.
The main difference between shared and managed WordPress hosting is the level of tools and support offered. Generally, shared hosting is a more affordable solution that provides basic hosting services, while managed WordPress hosting provides a suite of advanced features tailored to WordPress.
Can I switch my existing WordPress website to a managed hosting provider?
Yes, it is possible to switch your existing WordPress website to a managed hosting provider. However, the process may vary depending on your current hosting provider and the managed hosting provider you choose.
Before making the switch, it’s essential to back up your existing website to ensure that you don’t lose any data during the migration process. Most managed hosting providers offer migration services or provide step-by-step guides to help you move your website to their platform.
If you are using a self-hosted WordPress site, you will probably need to migrate your website manually. This process involves exporting your website’s content, installing WordPress on your new hosting provider’s platform, and importing your content into the new site. You may also need to update your domain name servers (DNS) to point to the new hosting provider.
It’s important to note that switching to a managed hosting provider may result in some downtime for your website while the migration process takes place. However, most managed hosting providers work to minimize downtime and ensure that your website is up and running as quickly as possible.
Can I host multiple WordPress websites on a single managed WordPress hosting plan?
Yes, many managed WordPress hosting providers offer plans that allow you to host multiple WordPress websites under a single account. These plans often come with features like separate staging environments and resources for each website. However, it’s important to review the specifics of the hosting plan to ensure that it provides adequate resources and support for the number of websites you intend to host. Additionally, consider the performance implications and resource allocation for each website to maintain optimal loading speeds and user experiences.
How do I know if my website has outgrown its current hosting plan?
There are several indicators that can help you determine if your website has outgrown its current hosting plan, such as slow loading speed, increased downtime, limited storage and bandwidth, poor performance during peak times, lack of scalability, and security concerns.
If you are experiencing any of these signs, it may be time to consider upgrading to a more robust hosting plan that can better support the needs of your growing website. It is recommended to assess your website’s performance, evaluate your resource requirements, and consult with hosting providers to determine the best course of action.
Can I install custom plugins and themes on managed WordPress hosting?
Generally, managed WordPress hosting allows the installation of custom plugins and themes. However, it’s important to choose well-coded, reputable plugins and themes to avoid security vulnerabilities. Some managed hosts may have restrictions to maintain server stability and security.
Is managed WordPress hosting suitable for beginners?
Managed WordPress hosting is an excellent choice for beginners who want to create a website using WordPress. This type of web hosting is designed to be user-friendly, with easy-to-use tools that make creating and managing a WordPress website simple.
One of the main benefits of managed WordPress hosting is that it takes care of all the technical aspects of hosting, such as security, updates, and backups. This means that beginners can focus on creating content and building their websites without having to worry about the technical details.
