WordPress is essentially a self-hosted content management system, which means you’ll need to find your own hosting provider for your WordPress website.

There are different web hosting types and options you can consider. Those include entry-level shared hosting, premium WordPress hosting, managed cloud hosting, and others.

Beginners may feel lost among all the endless choices and reviews that can keep you going around in circles.

This is a simplified guide for beginners that explains the different types of WordPress hosting services and the main criteria for choosing the right provider for you.

What Type of WordPress Hosting Do You Need?

Here’s a quick breakdown of the most common types of web hosting that can be used for WordPress sites:

Shared hosting is the simplest and most affordable type of web hosting. It comes with a user-friendly control panel (e.g. cPanel) and it provides a fair amount of server resources for a low-traffic website.

Managed WordPress hosting is specifically built and fine-tuned for WordPress. It usually comes with more server resources, optimized caching systems, CDN, automatic backups and updates, and more involved technical support.

Cloud hosting often comes in the form of virtual server instances with dedicated computing resources (CPU and memory). It offers higher performance and easier scalability for high-traffic websites.

Most beginners opt for shared web hosting because it’s the cheapest option. That’s probably what you want to use if you are starting out with a small static website.

Small business owners may prefer managed WordPress hosting for the better stability and support it offers. On the downtime, this option is the most expensive and could end up being a waste of money if you just have a small personal blog or something similar to that.

Cloud hosting is commonly used by developers and agencies who need maximum flexibility. It can be either managed or unmanaged (self-managed) hosting. The latter option is cheaper, but requires a higher level of technical experience.

How Much Server Resources Does Your Site Need?

Each hosting plan comes with a limited amount of server resources, which include disk space, bandwidth, CPU, RAM, database size, and others.

It’s important that you understand your site’s current and anticipated needs in order to choose the right hosting plan for it.

If you’re launching a new static website, such as a blog or a portfolio type of site, you can start with a minimum of 512 MB of RAM, 5 GB storage, and 50 GB traffic.

Dynamic websites, such as e-commerce stores, will need more processing power, so choose a plan that offers at least 2 GB of RAM and 2 CPU cores.

You also want to be able to scale up or upgrade your plan as your traffic grows and more resources are needed.

If you already have an established website with substantial traffic, you should consider using a VPS server with dedicated resources. This provides increased performance and stability, and it’ll free your site from many limitations that come with shared hosting.

What Performance Features to Look For?

In addition to hardware resources, the server software and technology utilized by the web host can significantly affect your site’s performance.

The first thing you should pay attention to is the web server software. LiteSpeed is considered the best for WordPress hosting because of its faster performance compared to Apache and Nginx.

Server caching is another important factor that can affect performance. Dynamic caching systems like Redis and Memcached can boost loading speed and reduce pressure on your server’s resources.

A content delivery network (CDN) is also a key performance feature that is particularly useful for websites with a global audience. It improves content loading speed no matter where your site’s visitors are located.

What Security Features to Look For?

Security is a big concern for every WordPress website owner because WordPress doesn’t have its own native security system.

You’ll mainly have to depend on two things to secure your website: choosing a secure hosting service and installing a third-party security plugin.

If the hosting service includes essential security features, you probably don’t need to use any additional security plugins.

A web application firewall (WAF) and a malware protection system are the most important security features to look for in a WordPress hosting plan.

Where to Find Genuine User Reviews?

When choosing a WordPress host, you should look beyond the features and promises made by the company and see what other customers have to say about the service. All web hosts promise the best performance and support, but not all of them live up to those promises.

Finding genuine reviews can be a little tricky for a beginner. Most review sites are run by affiliates who mainly just want to make commissions and care less about what’s actually good for you.

For more objective feedback, check out trusted review sites like Trustpilot and G2. You can also find many helpful Reddit discussions about different WordPress hosting options, including beginner-friendly shared hosting and more advanced options like self-managed VPS hosting.

What Are The Best WordPress Hosts?

This is a tough question to answer without knowing your specific needs and budget, but let’s just look at a few good options worth considering.

HostArmada and Hostinger are great hosting providers for beginners. They have affordable plans and they both give you an initial discount so you can get started without breaking the bank.

If you are looking to host a heavy dynamic website, such as a WooCommerce store, it’s better to avoid shared hosting and opt for VPS hosting where you get enough resources to handle the workload without slowing down your website.

Two of the best providers of managed VPS hosting for WordPress are Cloudways and ScalaHosting. You can refer to this Reddit review to learn more about these two providers and how they compare to each other.

And if you want the finest WordPress hosting, you should consider a fully managed service like what Kinsta and Pressable offer. Yes, these are quite expensive, but you get solid performance, optimal uptime, and top-of-the-line support service.