The first thing you need to know about hosting is that it’s the backbone of your website. It keeps everything running, from your blog posts to the images on your site. But how do you find a hosting company and what should you look for in terms of pricing?
In this article, we’ll help break down Managed WordPress Hosting vs Shared Hosting so that you can make an informed decision!
Shared Hosting Overview
Shared hosting is a type of Internet hosting service where many customers share the resources. The term “shared” means that the cost of hardware, bandwidth, and related management overhead (administrators, space in data centres, electricity) are distributed across all customers using the given service.
A single machine or group of devices often serves all customers; each hosted customer blog typically has its address on the World Wide Web. Services may be used for personal blogs, small business blogs, and other web applications such as wikis and email hosting.
Some companies offer additional FTP accounts and other services to their customers via an optional upgrade
Managed WordPress Hosting Brief
Different from shared hosting, managed hosting gives you a dedicated private server to store files. It’s essential when you want to be aware of everything that happens. As long as you use a stable admin panel and know how everything works, you can save yourself from server downtimes and insecurity issues.
Most companies even provide you with free training on how to use their system, which is perfect for complete beginners or those that are not really confident about using WordPress themselves. The goal is to make the art of managing the whole process as easy and hassle-free as possible.
Shared Hosting Features
Here are some features of shared hosting:
Shared Server
With this option, you are sharing a single server with other webmasters. That means resources like CPU power, memory, and bandwidth are available to all the users in a particular server. That can lead to performance-related issues since too many blogs on the same server will lead to slow loading speeds.
No Coding Experience
The good thing about going with this option is you don’t need coding or experience managing a web server. All that is handled by the company, which then allows you to focus entirely on content management, rather than splitting your focus between editing posts and running security checks.
Multiple Users
If multiple people are working together on the same blog, they can also work within separate accounts, which may come in handy if you want to keep your content different from other writers. That is great for those working together on a project or assignment since they can work independently and have access to all files.
Not Secure
In addition to this, you may have downtimes and security concerns. You see, others on that server can be affected and bring downtimes for everyone else. That’s the same thing when malware attacks one blog. It easily spreads. Though, there are many third-party applications to prevent that.
One other feature is that you will have to oversee all technical details yourself. You’ll have to download and install WordPress on your web server, copy all the necessary files, and make sure everything is running smoothly through regular backups, maintenance, and software updates.
Managed Hosting Features
The option comes with the following features:
A Dedicated Hosting Solution
With a dedicated server, you are given an entire server to manage all by yourself. That means if you have a blog getting 100+ visitors per day, then this option could be the best one for you. It has minimal performance-related issues to deal with. Security will also be your responsibility.
There might be some limitations involved but managed to host on dedicated servers is much more cost-effective in the end since it’s secure and fast.
You Don’t Share A Server
Each client is provided with resources such as memory RAM, storage space, and bandwidth on managed WordPress Hosting. Yes, you have complete control over your dedicated server.
You can install any software or hardware as per your blog requirements, thereby giving you better performance and allowing you to get more out of your business.
Enhanced Security
The security issues are minimal here since you are on a single dedicated server. There will be minimal openings for any virus or malware since only your site is hosted on that particular server. So, the security is up to you.
Additional Features
There are also some other additional features such as IP Address management, IP whitelisting/blacklisting, DNS, etc. With a shared plan, if you are looking to add a new site or even upgrade your current plan, it may take longer to go through an arduous approval process and is at the discretion of server management.
However, it’s easy with a managed WordPress hosting since you can set up additional resources just by paying for them.
The Advantages of a Shared Plan
These are reasons why most webmasters opt for this option:
It’s Cost-Effective
The most significant advantage of a shared plan is its cost-effectiveness. With all things considered, you don’t need to shell out cash for your server. You can even discover some cost-effective deals going for as little as $5 per month with no extra bucks and get hold of more storage space, which is enough for several sites or blogs.
Always have an array of options before making the jump. Determine the best offer that includes what you want and finds out if it fits your budget. I will give you a list of the best shared hosting companies to choose from.
Numerous Add-Ons Services
What’s more, lots of shared web hosts provide a ton of free add-ons such as domain name registration, email accounts hosting, numerous free plugins (such as caching plugins), and a whole lot of themes and templates. You can download and install these with ease right there on your WordPress dashboard.
You might need to purchase some of these if you are going with a dedicated server option.
Excellent Support
Though you might not have root access to your account – it’s shared between all customers and maintained by the host – you can always contact the support team when something goes wrong. The help might always take some time, but most companies, such as SiteGround, have a highly responsive support team.
The company has complete access to your site, including every single file stored on its hard drive. So, they will be able to resolve your issue quickly.
What Are The Disadvantages?
Limited Storage
You may find yourself with limited disk space and bandwidth. If your posts are extremely image-heavy, it could cause problems since WordPress will automatically resize images when displaying them in your posts or pages.
In some cases, this can slow down your page loading time if there aren’t enough resources available, such as content management systems that enhance server-level caching.
In addition, other bloggers may be using up most of the disk space within your shared account; that means you may run into problems storing large files if they’re part of your blog posts.
Plugins And Themes Can Have Malware
It can also be challenging to run plugins in shared accounts. Shared hosts may only allow specific WordPress plugins, limiting the functionality you can add to your site if you want to go beyond the basics.
And if some other bloggers on a shared host upload malware or other harmful code onto their site, it could infect your account without you even realizing it. That can be particularly dangerous if this person decides to host a pirated copy of a WordPress theme. It will automatically install malicious code onto the servers of all users who visit their site with an outdated copy of WordPress.
Shared WordPress hosting offers a variety of valuable plugins, such as backup plugins with no additional cost. Plugins are generally safe to use, but there’s always a risk when downloading them since some contain malware or other harmful programming elements.
Pros of Managed WordPress Hosting
Here is why you might opt for this option:
Prevention And Handling of Issues
Since there is no one else responsible for handling your server, you are in charge of everything. It becomes easy to identify a threat or malware and get rid of it.
It is always advisable to monitor your server at least once a month or more often if needed and keep checking for any alerts or warnings, which might pop up in case of high CPU usage. That will ensure you are aware and take the necessary steps before the hardware fails and causes downtimes for your site.
Better Performance And Control
Managed WordPress hosting gives you complete control over your server. You have access to every file, folder, and content on your server. So, you will be much more able to control issues as they arise.
And since not many people are sharing the same hardware, it’s always easy to resolve an issue within one server. That can be a high-traffic, caching issue, or any other web hosting issue. The result is you are optimizing the site for faster performance.
Cons Of Managed Hosting
You have reasons to go for managed WordPress hosting, but there are also a few cons to doing the same.
Here are some of the major cons:
Extra Cost
Managed WordPress solutions are usually cheaper than traditional web hosting or VPS solution (the other managed option) but still more expensive than self-hosted solutions.
So, if the switch happens, know that you will have to cater for the additional costs. That’s why you have to be sure in that decision and understand your ROI.
Support
With managed WordPress hosting, you might not wholly depend on the support team if something goes wrong. In most cases, they won’t solve your issue since they don’t know how to fix everything that can happen on your site.
They might not be able to go inside the server directly to fix the issue. WordPress provides a built-in tool called WP-CLI, which helps manage themes, plugins, users, databases, and other areas of your website.
The best way to solve these issues is to learn how the administration panel works, such that you can fix any problem when it arises.
Companies That Offer Shared Hosting
Many companies offer shared web hosting services, from domain name registration, server/website management features (such as PHP MyAdmin) to pre-installed scripts like e-Commerce software for shopping carts and CDN for server-level caching.
Even though the main advantage of this type of web hosting is cost, the servers are typically less secure due to their increased exposure to vulnerabilities. However, most customers consider the price of the hosting provider when searching for the right web host.
Shared hosting plans are the most budget-friendly option on the market. People chose them often because they represent a relatively low investment to start a business online.
Here are some companies that offer the best Shared hosting services:
BlueHost And Its Hosting Costs
BlueHost offers four types of plans to choose from. Each has different features ranging from the number of blogs to use, domain names, free SSL certificates, varied storage spaces, integrations with other apps, and GMB listing.
Here are BlueHost’s plans:
The basic plan going for $2.95 per month
The choice plan for $5.45 per month
The choice plus plan is $5.45 per month
The pro plan going for $9.50 per month
Remember, these prices are if you choose to go for their three-year plan. The one-year plans will tend to be a bit higher. However, the functionalities will remain the same.
Here is an in-depth blog post about the same [link]
SiteGround
SiteGround is one of the top-rated web hosting companies in the world. It has powerful features, staging sites, an excellent support team, and a wide range of other great services. In addition, the company received several annual web hosting awards for its outstanding service.
The company has three pricing plans with varied features:
StartUp at $4.99 per month
The hosting package allows one blog, 10 GB of web space, 10,000 monthly visits, unmetered traffic, free SSL, the free content delivery network for content caching, unlimited databases, free WP migrator, and free WP installation.
GrowBig at $7.99 per month
It’s the second plan and allows unlimited sites, 20 GB of web space, 25,000 monthly visits, free SSL, free CDN, daily backing up of your web content, unlimited databases, and out-of-box caching.
GoGeek $14.99 per month
It’s the third tier and has most of what is in the first and second plans. It also comes with 40 GB of web space, 100 000 monthly visits, unmetered traffic, free WP installation, automatic updates, free SSL and CDN, daily backup, WP-CLI, and SSH.
I wrote an in-depth article about SiteGround here; read it to get the complete information.
HostGator And Its Hosting Plans
HostGator is almost similar to BlueHost. The features and pricing might vary a little bit, but they are nearly the same. The company was started in 2002 and now hosts more than 2 million websites on the internet.
Here are the features it offers amongst all its plans:
- One-click WordPress install
- Free SSL certificate
- Free domain name
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Unlimited storage
And many other features that come with different pricing plans.
There are three pricing plans to choose from with HostGator. The first one is the hatchling plan for 2.75$ per month, the baby plan for 3.50$ a month, and the business plan for 5.25$ per month.
Managed WordPress Hosting Provider
Many web hosting companies have begun to provide Managed WordPress Hosting services. However, it is essential to note that not all of them offer the same level of services and support.
So, when choosing a managed WordPress hosting company, whether it will be managed or unmanaged server hosting, ensure they provide excellent support and harbour the features you need to succeed online.
In the past, there were a few quality hosts that offered this kind of service. However, more companies are realizing the potential the service harbours in terms of getting profit and the simplicity of use – which means that even ordinary people can have access to this kind of high-quality service at a price they can afford.
Most companies offer packages geared for professionals with specific needs like eCommerce websites or large-scale blogs.
Here is a list of some top managed WordPress hosting providers.
WP Engine
WP Engine – The best web hosting for WordPress – is a company specializing in hosting WordPress- related sites. They have developed a solution that helps them ensure maximum uptime and the fastest load times for their customers.
WP Engine uses WordPress – a popular CMS accredited to power about 27% of the blogs on the internet – as a foundation to host its sites. So, you will always have a better advantage in WordPress management than someone using a web host that isn’t on the list of WordPress recommended companies.
It is a managed hosting service provider for businesses and offers free SSL certificates, automatic backup & restore services, staging environments, and one-click staging deploys for websites.
It comes with up to four pricing plans, with the most affordable one going for $25 per month and the expensive one going for $241.67 per month. Each plan has different features. So, it’s worth checking out the functionalities of each before making the jump.
Dreamhost
Dreamhost has a managed WordPress hosting service called DreamPress. It has been in operation since 2002 and is one of the best and most affordable in the market. They offer enterprise-quality hosting at an affordable price by using their technology and handle more than 180 million visitors a month.
Here are some of the standard features depending on the pricing plan you choose:
- Unlimited emails
- Unmetered bandwidth
- 1-click staging environment
- A free SSL certificate
- Free automated WordPress migration
- WP website builder
It also has other storage and security features that come in handy when running and maintaining your online brand.
The pricing packages begin from $16.95 per month for DreamPress, $24.95 per month for DreamPress Plus, and $71.95 for DreamPress pro. What’s more? These are the most affordable rates for a managed server.
Some FAQs
Here are answers to some questions you might have:
Is Managed WordPress Hosting Worth The Extra Price?
Yes. If you have a WordPress blog that gets a lot of traffic, you can always go for a dedicated server, which accommodates that amount of traffic. Otherwise, you might end up getting lots of server requests and incur slow loading times.
Is WordPress Hosting Faster Than Shared?
Yes, it’s faster since there is no sharing of server resources such as disk space – as is the case for shared hosting. You will have your server with an independent RAM space and CPU power. You will also be in complete control of your server and optimize it for better performance.
How Much Traffic Can Shared Hosting Handle?
Well, this will depend on the plan that you select and the web hosting company. However, a shared WordPress hosting plan can’t accommodate a lot of traffic since you share the server with others, which are also receiving a ton of traffic.
Managed WordPress Hosting vs Shared Hosting:Which One Should You Go For?
So, which is the best hosting option for your website? If you want a powerful, cost-effective option for your website and don’t need customizations or service guarantees, shared hosting is the way to go.
This type of service has both lower monthly costs and restrictions than managed hosting does. The trade-offs include less customization and more downtime when there are server issues or scheduled maintenance periods from time to time.
With Managed hosting, you get all the benefits of having a tech-savvy monitoring services available 24/7.
They’re always checking in on your site to make sure it’s running as smoothly and efficiently as possible while also making backups so if anything goes wrong during their routine maintenance period (usually nightly), they’ll have a backup plan ready for any hiccups that occur.
When deciding between these two
Choose shared hosting if you are on a budget, but if you want speed, more traffic, and faster business growth, managed WordPress hosting will help that idea see the light of the day.
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