With this guide on the best Shared vs Managed Hosting, you will learn the importance of choosing the right web hosting service for your site.
The article is based on my experience of using different Shared and Managed WordPress hosting for my websites.
Within this article, I will share some of the most important requirements and features to consider, and briefly explain what they are for and why they are important.
In this way, you will be able to better understand how to choose the best hosting for your WordPress blog or website according to your needs.
Managed hosting vs shared hosting is always a topic to discuss when you want to build a website that depends on the performance. Just think for a while that you want to start a website for your business. Now once you build your website, you would not want to get your hands dirty with code or troubleshooting. That’s where managed hosting wins over shared hosting.
The reading is a bit long and demanding, but it’s worth it if you read it till the end. If you have a small idea but want to make it bigger & better, Shared vs Managed Hosting is going to help you all the way.
I recommend you read the article till the end as you will understand the key differences between the recommended Shared vs Managed Hosting.
Not just the difference between the top Shared vs Managed Hosting, but I will also share cheap WordPress hosting providers.
You will get to know WordPress hosting features, it’s pricing, and then choose the best one for your website.
What is Shared Hosting?
A Shared Hosting is where your site will be hosted on a server shared with other website owners. Shared hosting is cheaper than Managed hosting and is recommended for newbies with a low budget.
A Shared Linux Hosting comes with a lot of features like a control panel, SSL, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited disc space, and more. But when hosting your site with Shared Hosting, you might not experience blazing fast speed.
The reason for slow page load times is due to sharing the same bandwidth with other website owners. To load your site 2x faster, you should consider switching to a Managed hosting.
What is a Managed WordPress Hosting?
The managed WordPress hosting is a proven choice for many bloggers, affiliate marketers, webmasters due to its quality features.
What makes it special is that is it WordPress optimized, so your WordPress site will run like a roadrunner with zero downtime.
Other amazing WordPress hosting features include the “SuperCache” which can be configured to further increase your site speed.
When a hosting package specifies that it is “WordPress hosting“, it mostly means that it incorporates a Linux operating system.
By purchasing other packages that are not specified to be specific for WordPress can also include the option for the Windows operating system.
WordPress hosting includes a control panel that comes with inbuilt WordPress installation, so you don’t have to waste your time doing it manually. Whereas, in Shared Hosting, you have to install and setup WordPress (though using a software installer).
The system automatically updates WordPress every time an update releases.
With Managed WordPress hosting, you will get premium 24/7/365 support. If you face any technical issues, you can contact the support team via chat, email or phone.
Till now, you all must have understood the difference between Shared vs Managed Hosting. To help you choose the right hosting and save your time, I have listed the best WordPress hosting providers.
Have a look and choose the right one!
List of 5 Best WordPress Hosting Providers 2023
WPEngine
If you want to host your WordPress site at a fast, reliable & secure WordPress platform, then WPEngine is the preferred Managed WordPress Hosting.
Over 120,000+ customers in over 140 countries trust WPEngine WordPress Digital Platform for its high security.
It offers unparalleled speed and performance for your WordPress site and scales your online business. If you want to host your site at WPEngine, you need a high budget as it offers super-quality features at a high cost.
When you signup for a WPEngine plan, you get access to premium WordPress themes and the Genesis framework. Any alternative to WPEngine or a hosting provider that claims to have the same features as WPEngine would be a perfect managed WordPress Hosting provider.
WPEngine Managed WordPress Hosting Features:
- Reliable architecture that keeps your site up & running.
- Improves your site SEO, bounce rate, and boosts conversion.
- Saves your time with optimized AWS and GCP for WordPress.
- Free Let’s Encrypt SSL, EverCache, and global CDN.
- Award-winning support with less than three minute response time for a chat.
Kinsta
Kinsta is a premium managed WordPress Hosting provider for small and large websites. It runs WordPress sites with Avant-grade technology.
When you run your WordPress site with Kinsta, you are at peace and experience a user-friendly, yet powerful hosting solution.
MyKinsta is the control panel where you can manage your site, and keep a track of your site’s performance. You can analyze your site’s visitors, bandwidth usage, response times, and more.
With MyKinsta, you can manage your WordPress sites with ease. You can add multiple users in your team and give them access to perform their specific roles.
Kinsta Managed WordPress Hosting Features:
- Fully managed WordPress hosting.
- Free site migrations.
- Daily backups.
- High speed and security like Fort Knox.
- Google Cloud Platform.
Also read: Kinsta Alternatives | Rocket.net Review
Cloudways
Cloudways is an easy Managed Cloud Hosting platform with no complexities in building a great website. It gives you the choice of selecting 5 different cloud providers like Digital Ocean, AWS, and more.
The cost of Cloudways plans might be higher but it’s worth hosting your site as you get a worry-free experience. It offers an innovative control panel with automated backups, round the clock monitoring, and built-in CDN.
You need to follow quick steps to get your site up & running in minutes. Cloudways is known for ironclad security, and scaling websites seamlessly.
Cloudways Managed Cloud Hosting Features:
- SSD offers high speed & reliability
- A built-in cache like Varnish, Memcached, and Redis enhances site speed.
- The latest PHP versions supported.
- Reduces latency and improves response time with CloudwaysCDN.
- In-built Breeze plugin for better WordPress site performance.
- Free WordPress migration to Managed Hosting using Cloudways migrator plugin.
NameCheap
NameCheap Managed WordPress Hosting is the cheapest when compared with other hosting providers. Not just cheap, but it also offers high speed and is the best Shared vs Managed hosting choice for starters.
EasyWP is a world-class managed WordPress hosting solution for all kinds of websites. When compared with other hosting solutions, NameCheap EasyWP loads your site in 0.7 seconds.
With one-click, you can install WordPress with its own control panel that is easy to use and understand.
NameCheap Managed WordPress Hosting Features:
- NameCheap cloud platform powers your site to handle an enormous amount of traffic.
- It is 3x faster than standard WordPress hosting.
- A 99.9% uptime guarantee ensures your site will always be live.
- Affordable cost as compared to other Managed hosting.
Liquid Web
Liquid Web is a perfect choice for your managed hosting needs offering Managed WordPress Hosting with image compression & automatic plugin updates.
Apart from the Managed WordPress hosting, you can also choose Cloud servers, Dedicated servers and VPS hosting as per your website requirement.
If you are looking for a hosting partner, then Liquid Web has a helping team to support you at every step of your next hosting project.
The data centers are located globally with SSAE 16-compliant and Level 3 technicians on site.
Liquid Web Managed WordPress hosting features:
- Nexcess delivers exceptional service and expertise in WordPress.
- No limitations like overage charges, or traffic limits.
- Automatic plugin updates to save your time.
- In-built images optimization to boost your site speed.
- Automatic SSL and daily backups.
List of 5 Best Shared Hosting Providers 2023
HostGator
HostGator is one of the leading hosting providers that has been in the industry for over 17 years. Its shared hosting is easy, affordable & secure. The Shared hosting comes with bundled features that you won’t find in other hosting companies.
With wide-range of tools like HostGator site builder, you can create your site in minutes and take it to the next level.
The HostGator Website builder comes with drag & drop functionality, and in-built templates. This helps you to craft your site & publish it in no time.
HostGator Shared Hosting features:
- Free SSL Certificate.
- 45 day money back guarantee.
- Free HostGator website builder tool with over 100+ responsive templates.
- Latest & flexible control panel cPanel.
- Award-winning 24/7 support via phone and live chat.
Also read: HostGator Review | Alternatives
SiteGround
SiteGround is another better Shared hosting provider with over 2000,000 sites hosted. It offers a fast & secure web hosting solution for personal and business websites.
There are three shared hosting plans offered by SiteGround at a discounted price. If you want to run a single website, you could choose the Startup plan. The Startup plan comprises of 10 GB disc space, free SSL & CDN, unlimited traffic & databases, and more.
If you are not satisfied with its hosting services, you need not worry about the cancellation. You are covered with a 30 days money back guarantee.
SiteGround Shared Hosting features:
- Round the clock support with 100% customer satisfaction.
- SSD storage & Google Cloud offers ultra-fast site speed.
- Free Let’s Encrypt SSL, CDN and daily backups.
- One-click WordPress installation.
- Easy domain registration & site management.
A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting provides a 20x faster web hosting solution that boosts your site speed and SEO to rank higher on Google. With high-speed, your site will experience lower bounce rates and higher conversion rates.
If you need any technical assistance, then you have A2 Hosting Grew Crew support standing by 24/7 to help you. You need not worry about configuration settings as each hosting comes with A2 optimized.
If you are not satisfied with your existing hosting and want to migrate it to A2 Hosting, then you need not worry as site migration will be done for free.
A2 Hosting features:
- Turbo servers with 20x faster speed and high-speed SwiftServer platform.
- Free site migration.
- Free automatic backups, SSL, CDN, website builder, and cPanel.
- Unlimited email accounts and transfer.
- 24/7/365 Guru crew support.
BlueHost
BlueHost is a reliable web hosting provider with affordable Shared and Managed hosting solutions. Over 2 million websites are powered by BlueHost worldwide and the numbers will keep increasing.
You won’t always find all the users appreciating its web hosting but when it comes to the renowned names in the industry, they recommend it.
Believe it or not, BlueHost is made for success whether you are a small site owner or an enterprise with the next level hosting needs. The WP Pro feature provides in-depth analytics to your WordPress site, and supercharges it.
BlueHost Shared Hosting features:
- All plans come with unmetered bandwidth.
- Free Let’s Encrypt SSL establishes a secure connection between your visitors and site.
- 24/7 expert support.
- Ready to go with automatic WordPress installation.
GoDaddy
If you are looking for cheap Shared hosting, then GoDaddy shared hosting plans is a perfect choice. GoDaddy is the world’s largest domain registrar but also provides affordable shared hosting India plans.
For a starter with no experience, GoDaddy shared hosting plans is a one-stop solution to run sites with a low budget.
For Indian users, the GoDaddy Shared Web Hosting Starter Plan starts at INR 99/month. You can run a single website with unlimited bandwidth, 30 GB storage space, 256 MB RAM, 1 Database, and free one-click WordPress installs.
GoDaddy Shared Hosting Features:
- Easy to use control panel cPanel.
- Over 150+ apps available at one-click.
- Get peace of mind with 24/7 network security.
- Increase your resources like RAM, CPU at one-click.
Pros and Cons of Shared Hosting
Pros:
- Cheap price.
- Free SSL, and control panel.
- Unlimited bandwidth and disc space.
- Install any WordPress plugins.
Cons:
- Slow page load times.
- High risk of vulnerabilities as you share the same server with other site owners you don’t know.
- Can’t rely on customer support
Pros and Cons of Managed WordPress Hosting
Pros:
- High page load times.
- WordPress optimized with inbuilt Super Cache.
- Free SSL and CDN.
- Premium customer support.
- Additional features & bonuses are not available in Shared Hosting.
- Auto-updates and backups.
- One-click Staging.
Cons:
- High cost.
- Limited resources like bandwidth, and space.
- Some WordPress plugins are banned.
Conclusion: Which One Is Suitable For You?
In my opinion, if you are a new blogger or a small business owner with less traffic on your site, then shared hosting is suitable for you.
But if your site is already up & running with an increase in traffic, then you should consider switching your site to a Managed WordPress hosting.
I hope what I explained in this managed WordPress hosting vs shared hosting was helpful. Do share your experience with Shared or Managed WordPress hosting if any in the comments section.
Also, don’t forget to share this article with your friends & colleagues who might be willing to start a new venture or need proper guidance in choosing a good hosting.
