If you’re currently on WordPress, it’s likely you first got onto the platform due to costs. You see, WordPress is a lot like android or your human potential, you can change almost everything about it and retool it to your needs given enough time and money.
This makes WordPress just wonderful for someone starting out with a lot of elbow grease and no money.
But not everything is worth any price, now is it?
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems in the world, powering over 40% of websites on the internet. Its popularity has led to endless hosting options, ranging from budget providers to high-end managed services. But because of how much range there is, it’s pretty confusing to figure out what you need when you’re starting out. So here’s the key points when choosing a WordPress host and how much you should expect to pay.
Shared Hosting
For small websites or blogs with low traffic, shared hosting is usually the most affordable option. Prices for shared hosting can start as low as $3-$5 per month, making it an excellent choice for beginners or those on a tight budget. However, since multiple websites share the same server resources, performance can sometimes suffer during peak traffic periods.
If you’re starting a business without an ad budget or existing customers, this is perfectly fine.
VPS Hosting
Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting is a step up from shared hosting. It provides more control and flexibility, as you’ll have dedicated resources allocated specifically for your website. Prices for VPS hosting typically start around $20-$30 per month, but can scale up depending on the resources required.
In terms of website performance, most e-commerce sites don’t need to grow past this point outside of viral moments as a VPS is generally more than enough for $10k a month worth of sales.
Managed WordPress Hosting
Managed WordPress hosting is designed to meet the specific needs of WordPress sites. These hosts offer optimized servers and environments for WordPress, automated updates, backups, and other management tasks. This results in improved performance, security, and peace of mind for site owners. Prices for managed WordPress hosting can start around $50-$100 per month, and can go much higher depending on the features and level of support offered.
Technically, managed hosting is either VPS hosting or dedicated server hosting but it adds a touch of customer support that’s useful if all you wanna do is focus on making sales or write blog posts without having to deal with the day-to-day details of keeping a WordPress site up to date. Most e-commerce businesses and content blogs eventually settle with managed hosting as they don’t wanna deal with maintaining a server themselves.
A great provider for this range is Pressable as they’re handled by the same people that made WordPress so they understand it best.
Dedicated Server Hosting
For large websites with high traffic, a dedicated server offers unmatched performance and flexibility. With a dedicated server, you’ll have an entire server to yourself, providing complete control over server resources and configuration. Prices for dedicated server hosting can start around $80-$150 per month, and can go much higher depending on the hardware and support offered. Although you can theoretically continuously scale up your VPS forever, there comes a point where having a dedicated server is more affordable and reliable for the same performance.
If you’re running a content site that relies on ads, you generally have to end up getting a dedicated server setup because you need a large amount of traffic in order to make a decent living.
Factors Affecting WordPress Hosting Costs
Like everything else in life, the cost of WP hosting is affected by several reasons:
- Specs: The more traffic your website gets, the more resources (CPU, RAM, storage) you will have to pay for.
- Support: Managed WordPress hosting plans typically cost more because of the additional services provided, such as automated updates, backups, and security monitoring.
- Security: Managed WordPress hosting will usually have security features, backups and rollbacks that regular hosting won’t have, adding to your peace of mind.
- Scalability: If you anticipate your website’s traffic and needs to grow significantly over time, you may need a more scalable hosting solution to avoid constantly migrating your site, which can be more expensive.
- Uptime Guarantees: Hosts that offer higher uptime guarantees with SLAs will charge accordingly.
Long story short, the cost of WordPress hosting depends on your specific needs and budget. While you can find affordable options like shared hosting for as low as $3-$12 per month, you should expect to pay around $30-$150 per month for a managed WordPress host if you’re serious about your website’s performance and security. While you can start small and shouldn’t let a lack of perfection stop you from having a presence on the internet, you eventually have to upgrade so you can offer customers the best site loading experience because losing a sale would be more expensive than hosting costs.
Name Radiance’s Solution
Obviously we’re gonna promote our own service here, what kind of serious agency doesn’t believe their service is the best right? We exist in the middle of managed hosting and dedicated server hosting.
Most of our clients house between 30-50 websites as opposed to most of our competitors’ 300-500 in order to maximize the headroom available in case anyone goes viral and needs the additional capacity. Reach out to us to discuss your hosting needs, we’ll give you a personalized recommendation if you’re not the right fit for us.
FAQ
What factors influence the cost of WordPress hosting?
The cost of your WordPress hosting has to do with a combination of factors such as the type of hosting, the overall performance it’s able to give you at scale, the amount of storage available, the security features, and the amount of personalized support you wish to have.
How much does shared hosting typically cost?
Share hosting will run you about $3-12 a month, the lower end usually being available if you pay for the whole year.
What’s the average cost of managed WordPress hosting?
Managed WordPress hosting will range as you’re paying for performance, security and service so you’ll typically see it range from $50 to $150 a month for a starter site but it can be upwards of $300 a month for high traffic ones or $20,000 a month for enterprise-grade sites.
Is free WordPress hosting a good option?
Compared to no website? Absolutely. But free hosting has a lot of limitations on how your website can be set up, ad visibility, and whether or not you even get paid for the ads. It’s worth setting up when you have a plan with no money but you eventually wanna migrate to a better tier to have all the features WordPress offers you.
Are there hidden costs associated with WordPress hosting?
Not with WordPress hosting itself but having a WordPress website inherently means you’ll be using themes and plugins which may cost an annual fee. Luckily for you, WordPress usually has a free or freemium alternative for almost every plugin you can think of.
How does traffic volume affect hosting costs?
The more visitors your site has, the more capacity your server needs to have so it can load quickly. Eventually you reach the scale where your website needs a CDN which will increase hosting costs as well.
Should I choose a monthly or annual hosting plan?
Obviously, an annual plan is more cost-effective in the long run but it’s a good idea to start on a monthly plan to see if you like your hosting provider first and save yourself the heartache.
What is the difference between WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress.org hosting?
WordPress.com is a specific flavor of the WordPress platform managed by its creators at Automattic inc. You go with them because you trust they understand the ecosystem best and accept that they lock you out of many of WordPress’ features to simplify your experience. WordPress.org is open for any hosting provider to offer you which varies the cost but allows you to get exactly the level of service you need and allows you to have all the customization options you might choose to use.
How can I reduce WordPress hosting costs?
If you have few visitors, start with shared hosting. There’s no shame in having a slower loading site when you’re starting out. Also, look into getting an annual subscription to lower your overall hosting bill.
Is expensive hosting always better?
In theory yes, in practice no. Having a more capable infrastructure means you can serve more visitors which would translate to more sales and income down the road. This only becomes useful if you actually have visitors in the first place.
What should I look for in a hosting provider?
If this is a business site, (you’re making money from it) make sure the provider offers speed and performance optimizations (every provider should have their unique solution) and offers scalability so that your site won’t crash if you accidentally become popular. There’s nothing worse than having customers and being unable to sell to them. Do consider asking them about their level of customer support if you’re too busy to learn the ecosystem in your free time.
Can I switch hosting providers if I’m not satisfied?
Yes, that’s the wonderful thing about having a WordPress site, no provider can keep you locked into their service if you’re unsatisfied with them.