Are you looking to take your website’s hosting experience to the next level without the hassle of managing the performance and security yourself? If so, managed web hosting may be the perfect solution for you. I found it extremely helpful.
As a seasoned digital marketer, I can tell you it’s one of the best things I’ve done for my website.
In this blog post, we’ll introduce you to the nine best-managed WordPress hosting providers in 2024.
Each of these providers comes with its own set of strengths and unique points of difference.
Best Managed WordPress Hosting Providers in 2024
If you’re itching to know who offers the best-managed web hosting services, this is for you. We analyzed dozens of managed web hosts while putting this article together and here are the top nine options on the market right now.
Siteground
Shared, WordPress, WooCommerce, Cloud hosting
WPX Hosting
Fastest managed WordPress hosting for marketers by a marketer.
Nexcess
Managed WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento hosting
1. SiteGround (Editor’s Choice)
After using SiteGround on several projects, I can attest to its dedication to site speed and performance. I understood why it is a popular choice based on several other features, including load time and customer support.
SiteGround beats most of its competition when comparing the speed and uptime performance of its servers for both cloud and shared hosting.
Not only that, but SiteGround also hosts over 2 million WordPress websites and is known for providing an outstanding support team and technical assistance.
As far as performance, all our tests have consistently indicated top-notch performance for all WordPress sites on SiteGround.
GT Metrix Performance Averages | Performance Score | TTFB |
---|---|---|
Vancouver | 93% | 108ms |
London | 72% | 936ms |
Sydney | 72% | 269ms |
Pingdom Performance Averages | Pingdom Performance | Pingdom Load Time |
---|---|---|
San Francisco | 96 | 508ms |
Frankfurt | 96 | 726ms |
Tokyo | 96 | 792ms |
London | 95 | 1.79s |
Washington DC | 86 | 720ms |
Sydney | 96 | 1.21s |
2018 Uptime | 2019 Uptime | 2020 Uptime | 2021 Uptime | |
---|---|---|---|---|
SiteGround’s Uptime Averages | 99.99% | 99.98% | 99.99% | 100% |
It’s no surprise why WordPress.org recommends SiteGround as one of the best web hosting companies on today’s market.
SiteGround is a great all-rounder offering affordable managed WordPress hosting for all kinds of sites without compromising quality.
- Unmetered traffic
- Free WordPress installation
- Free website migration plugin
- Custom security plugin
- Daily backups
- Enhanced security
- Managed automatic updates of plugins, themes and WP core
- Excellent support team
- Free domain
- Affordable, quality services
- Ultra-fast performance
- Security-focused
- Great support
- Reliable uptime
- Limited starter plans
- Requires long-term contract for best rates
2. WPX
I recommend WPX to sole entrepreneurs, bloggers, affiliate marketers and small businesses who want to perform at an excellent level.
Over the years, we’ve tested out dozens of companies for hosting a number of our websites.
We ran them through the same rigorous tests as every other company. Here’s how WPX stack up as a suitable choice for managed WordPress hosting.
Average Performance Score | 95% |
---|---|
Average Uptime | 99.999% |
Average TTFB | 433ms |
Average Fully Loaded Time | -2.5s |
- Average 30-second support response times
- Free high-speed CND
- 28-day automatic backups
- Free malware removal
- Free fixes if your site is offline
- Free site speed optimization
- Free site migration
- Super fast support
- Fast out-of-the-box WP hosting
- Fix a bunch of issues for free (even if it’s not WPX’s fault)
- Free performance optimizations
- WordPress hosting only
- Limited data center locations
3. Nexcess
Nexcess offers versatile managed hosting solutions for WordPress, Woocommerce, Magento, Drupal, and more. With custom built-in tools to enhance performance, Nexcess means serious business.
From a built-in Content Delivery Network and 99.99% uptime to advanced caching technology, Nexcess pulls no punches when it comes to performance.
Perhaps Nexcess’ best feature is its versatility. It is a well-rounded solution with managed WordPress hosting plans suited to small businesses and enterprises alike.
No matter the CMS platform a website is hosted on, Nexcess is likely to have a managed hosting solution that’s just right for you.
- 99.99% uptime guaranteed
- Premium image compression
- Built-in Content Delivery Network and advanced caching
- Customizable server infrastructure
- Managed hosting for most top CMS platforms
- Suitable for enterprise websites
- Daily backups
- 24/7 support & security monitoring
- Free domain
- User-friendly dashboard
- Flexibility and versatility
- Scales for enterprise-level business needs
- Inbuilt caching and performance features
- Free WP migrations included
- No unlimited site options
- Somewhat expensive
4. Cloudways
Cloudways reviews may be conflicted since the feedback is based mainly on personal hosting requirement needs. In my experience, the web hosting service provided excellent features in some aspects but failed to address certain factors.
You can easily tap into powerful servers from any of the top cloud computing companies.
However, the level of support offered has been known to be terrible. It’s also worth noting that you have limited support included in out-of-the-box packages.
CloudWays is the only web host we’ve found that charges extra for additional support.
Nevertheless, CloudWays has earned a pretty good reputation among people with intermediate to advanced technical skills.
You can leverage these server infrastructures for your test site without needing any very advanced technical skills:
The range of features available on Cloudways hosting will depend on the servers you choose. Let’s look at the features of Digital Ocean’s servers, as this is the most affordable option that many affiliate marketers find satisfies their needs.
- RAM: 1GB – 8GB
- Processor: 1 Core – 4 Core
- Storage: 25GB – 160GB
- Bandwidth: 1TB – 5TB
All plans also come with free CDN add-ons, automated backups, and other essential security features.
- Range of cloud computing services to choose from
- Scalable hosting at affordable prices
- Leverage over 65 data centers globally
- Great performance when stacked with Vultr
- Only pay for what you use
- No free domain
- Not suited to beginners
- Only 15 mins of live chat support on basic plans
- Support is an extra add-on instead of inclusive in all packages
- CDN is not included
- The knowledge base isn’t always helpful
5. Kinsta
Kinsta offers Google’s C2 server infrastructure on any plan you choose, at an additional cost.Â
Google’s C2 servers offer the power and performance of Google’s cloud infrastructure to anyone who hosts their website using this technology.
Additionally, Kinsta’s services are built to help you scale no matter the size of your website. Using tools like NGinx and Maria DB allows websites hosted on Kinsta to load quickly and to be automatically scaled.
Uptime is checked over 700 times a day and for as little as $35/month that’s a pretty sweet deal.
It’s always been our philosophy that you’re better off paying a little more for a hosting company that cares about the things that matter. Kinsta definitely fits the bill by cutting no corners when it comes to delivering you the best fully-managed WP plans.
- Manual backup points
- Automated daily backups
- Hack prevention and malware removal
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
- SSL certificates
- Cloudflare integration
- Caching plugin
- Performance monitoring tools
- 24/7 expert support
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Premium, fully-managed solution
- Built on Google’s fastest C2 cloud machines
- Multi-lingual support
- Free SSL certificate
- More expensive than other managed WordPress hosting
- Limited to WordPress
- Does not offer unlimited sites
- Every plan caps traffic and monthly visits
6. Pressable
Pressable is a managed WordPress host that offers a scalable solution to managed web hosting compared with other shared hosts.
Instead of locking you into a rigid plan, you can choose the perfect amount of resources for your WordPress website or portfolio, as it is right now.
The beauty of Pressable’s plans comes down to how easy they are to scale as your WordPress website needs to grow.
Pressable also offers customized plans to suit a range of different audiences including:
- Agencies
- Freelancers
- Web Developers
- Digital Marketers
- IT Managers
- High Traffic Website Owners
- WooCommerce Store Owners
- Small Business Owners
- Content Creators
Pressable is sure to offer a scalable or custom solution no matter your needs.
- Scalable pricing and plans
- Free site migration
- Daily Jetpack security
- 24/7 support
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- 100% optimized for WordPress speed, uptime and security
- 100% guaranteed uptime
- Daily backups
- Scalable if managing many websites
- Easily extend your installs, storage, or traffic limits
- Unlimited bandwidth
- WordPress hosting only
- Does not offer dedicated or VPS options
7. Hostwinds
Comparatively, Hostwinds may be considered a low-profile company, but my experience with the web hosting service was impressive.
Being a relatively new player in the hosting arena allows the company to be agile and provide more advanced products (like state-of-the-art VPS hosting on Linux and Windows operating systems).
Even Hostwind’s lowest-price shared plans include managed support for free.
As far as managed VPS hosting goes, Hostwinds offers two varieties:
- Managed Linux Hosting
- Manages Windows Hosting
Not only can you choose your operating system but you can also customize your VPS resources including available:
- CPUs
- RAM
- Storage
- Bandwidth
Over the years we’ve tested dozens of companies and it’s rare that a hosting company pleasantly surprises us with it’s performance.
In the case of Hostwinds, it is one of these rare exceptions. You can read our full HostWinds review for all the details on speed, uptime and other performance factors.
- 99.9999% uptime guarantee
- Nightly backups
- Redundant network
- Scalable VPS solutions
- Real-time server monitoring
- Enterprise hardware & firewalls
- SSD storage
- Scalable VPS solutions for Linux or Windows
- Fully-managed by server experts
- WP engine
- Enterprise-level solutions at a fraction of the cost
- Great uptime
- Average 5-minute tickets for resolving support requests
- Only a 72-hour money-back window
- Not 100% beginner-friendly
- Support can be too technical at times
8. Pantheon
Pantheon stands apart from other managed WordPress hosting companies due to its mission to empower marketing and development teams with streamlined workflows and better-performing websites.
With its cutting-edge CMS-as-a-service (or serverless CMS) offer, Pantheon has revolutionized the way development teams integrate their hosting solutions.
Everything Pantheon does seeks to improve DevOps with automated workflows and streamlined communications across enterprise teams.
As such, Pantheon is not very well suited for beginners, small teams, or solopreneurs.
Instead of a traditional cPanel dashboard, Pantheon has its own custom control panel which has a moderately steep learning curve for people with limited technical skills.
- 99.99% uptime
- Fast Drupal and WordPress site speeds
- Serverless CMS & CMS as a service options
- Enterprise-grade performance
- Website portfolio management
- Based on open-source technology
- Drupal, WordPress & Woocommerce hosting
- WP engine
- Round-the-clock security
- Daily & weekly automated backups
- Scalability
- Enterprise-level solutions
- Automated workflows
- Multi-platform
- Great performance and uptime
- 24/7/365 support
- Hosting for elite plans
- Not suited to beginners
- Can be overkill for many solopreneurs, freelancers, and affiliate marketers
- Somewhat expensive
9. Liquid Web
Ever since our team tested Liquid Web on one of our trial WordPress sites, I found out that the hosting service provided top-tier performance but at a higher cost.
The company offers a variety of managed hosting solutions, including email, WordPress, WooCommerce, VPS, dedicated, and cloud products.
Liquid Web’s plans are often far more powerful than rivals, and the company provides a comprehensive SLA (service-level agreement) that guarantees a quick response time to any issues that may arise.
However, they shine through its managed dedicated server plans. It has its own data centers and is equipped with fully-managed hardware and network infrastructure that many other hosting companies simply cannot compete with.
The biggest advantage this offers them is that they are in complete control of the quality of services and products they offer and can often resolve issues sooner.
- Dedicated Linux, Ubuntu, CentOS, and Windows servers
- Key software installed for you
- Ongoing updates and tech support
- Free external migrations
- WP engine
- Virus and spam protection
- 24/7 system monitoring
- 100% uptime guarantee
- SLAs guarantee support in under a minute
When you compare Liquid Web’s features to other providers, it comes out ahead of time and time again. Liquid Web is known for maintaining its quality instead of crippling its product range to sell at a lower price.
- Responsive support
- Team of experts
- Versatile web hosting plans
- Compelling features
- Somewhat expensive
- Not suited to beginners
How We Picked the Best Managed WordPress Hosting Provider
We picked the best managed WordPress hosting provider through testing and research, customer feedback and rating platforms.
1. Uptime and Reliability
All the tests we conducted consistently reflected the excellent performance of each provider based on uptime rating. Majority of the companies have a 99.99% uptime score, which is the ideal rating.Â
2. Special WordPress Features
Based on our research and website navigation, the hosting providers included special features to enhance WordPress management. These include automatic updates, optimization, daily backups and security.
3. ScalabilityÂ
Available data on the individual web hosting providers showed that most of the companies featured scalability. You can simply upgrade your current plan to accommodate a growing business or increase in website traffic.
4. Customer Support
Based on TrustPilot reviews and research on client testimonials and customer feedback, almost all the web hosting providers we looked into rated outstanding to excellent in terms of customer service.
The best response time we were able to establish was under a minute, while other service providers averaged 90 seconds to accommodate the call.
How To Choose the Best WordPress Hosting Services for your Website
To choose the best WordPress hosting services for your website, you have to consider the features offered by the hosting provider. This includes the following:
1. Performance
The most important factor to consider when getting a hosting provider is the uptime rate and performance of the platform. Uptime reliability directly affects the production, revenue and credibility of the website.
Most users prefer a hosting provider that can instantaneously address their needs.
2. Security Features
Website security must also be a priority when choosing a hosting provider. Features such as SSL certificates, web application firewalls, daily backups and malware scanning protect your website from hackers and cyberthreats.
3. User-Friendly Interface
A user-friendly interface is always an advantage to accommodate starters, average users and professionals into the site. Look for features that include features that would make the site uncomplicated and easy to manage.
4. Automatic Maintenance and Updates
Automatic maintenance and updates will keep your website performing optimally and secure. Look for features like plugin updates and security patches.
Types Of Managed Hosting
There are different types of managed web host options available in today’s market including:
- Fully-managed hosting
- Semi-managed hosting
- Managed WordPress hosting
- Managed cloud hosting
Pricing and service inclusions can vary quite significantly as a result of what each type of hosting package would typically include.
1. Fully-Managed Hosting
Fully managed allows you to run your business with a completely hands-off approach when it comes to web hosting. The company handles everything on your behalf so you can focus on the areas of your business that matter.
Fully managed is the most advanced hosting package available and not all providers offer it.
2. Semi-Managed Hosting
Semi-managed web hosting allows both you and your managed hosting provider to share the management of your hosting performance and security.
If you are an IT professional or experienced developer and would like to be actively involved in the server operations of your website, this shared hosting is a better option than a fully-managed package.
Semi-managed web hosting services are also well suited to businesses that have internal IT staff who can handle some aspects of server management internally.
3. Managed WordPress Hosting
Many of the best WordPress hosting service providers include plugin updates, security scans, and more.
The biggest advantage of choosing one of the best-managed WordPress hosting services available today is that your host will cover all your performance and security bases since they are familiar with (and use tools to enhance the performance of) your WordPress tech stack. And managed WordPress hosting cost isn’t always so high. You can find a managed WordPress hosting plan for cheaper too.
4. Managed Cloud Hosting
Managed cloud hosting takes the complexity out of running your website or application on a cloud infrastructure.
Cloud hosting can be more confusing to set up and maintain than cPanel or shared hosting.
So managed cloud hosting services are a great option for anyone who wants the best out of their hosting performance without the headache of setting up and maintaining a cloud server infrastructure.
Our Verdict on Best Managed WordPress Hosting Services
After our team’s comprehensive review and research of the best managed WordPress hosting services, it’s true that each of these companies offer significant advantages.Â
However, if I had to single one out, I’d lean towards SiteGround.Â
It combines rapidity and affordability, all the while ensuring excellent support, setting the benchmark for managed WordPress hosting services.
Therefore, for anyone seeking a hosting plan that balances top-tier performance and customer support, SiteGround is a stellar choice worth considering.
Our #1 Recommendation: Siteground
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