Choosing the right hosting for best web hosting for small business or WordPress website is very important. Your website’s health will rely on the hosting provider your use. If you are trying to start a blog, then you will need to have a web host that suits your need and budget.
How do you know which one is the best WordPress host?
There are hundreds of companies to choose from. Even if you narrow down to the popular ones like Bluehost, SiteGround, HostGator, WP Engine, etc … how do you know which is the right WordPress host for your needs?
Whichever host you’re going to choose, keep in mind the 3 most important factors of WordPress hosting:
- Speed (load time): Speed is a critical element to provide the best user experience on your site and boost your SEO.
- Availability (uptime): Users expect your site to be up around the clock, so you’ll need to choose a WordPress hosting with maximum availability.
- Support: Choose a WordPress hosting that has a good reputation for resolving customer issues in a timely manner.
What are the WordPress Hosting Requirements?
You will be surprised to hear that WordPress is a very light-weight script, and it is compatible with almost all good web hosting companies. The simple requirements that WordPress put forth are:
- PHP version 7 or greater
- MySQL version 5.6 or greater
Due to the popularity of WordPress, all best web hosting companies come with easy 1-click install options for WordPress. All WordPress hosting companies that we have listed in this guide offer full support for running a WordPress site.
Bluehost
Bluehost is one of the largest hosting companies on the planet, and they are an official WordPress recommended hosting provider.
Here are the results from our Bluehost performance tests:
SPEED: | 406ms (December 2018 to June 2019 average) |
UPTIME: | 99.99% (December 2018 to June 2019 average) |
SUPPORT: | 24/7 Live Chat |
APPS: | WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and some website builders |
FEATURES: | Unmetered bandwidth and storage, email accounts, free domain 1st year |
HOSTING PLANS: | Shared, Cloud, VPS and Dedicated Servers |
SITE TRANSFER: | Not free |
PRICING: | Starting at $2.75/mo (renews at $7.95/mo) |
If your target audience is in the United States, then this would hugely benefit your website.
After our analysis, we rate Bluehost as the #1 WordPress hosting provider for small businesses to make a website.
- PROS: 63% off WordPress hosting + Free Domain + Free SSL
- PROS: Officially recommended by WordPress
- PROS: Anastasia Blogger was hosted on this for the first year of blogging
- PROS: Free Site Migration
- CONS: Sometimes support can be slow
HostGator
HostGator is a popular web hosting company that hosts over 8 million domains.
Here are the results from our HostGator performance tests:
SPEED: | 1007ms (December 2018 to June 2019 average) |
UPTIME: | 99.98% (December 2018 to June 2019 average) |
SUPPORT: | 24/7 Live Chat |
APPS: | Over 75 apps supported |
FEATURES: | Unmetered bandwidth and storage, single email account, free domain 1st year |
HOSTING PLANS: | Shared, Cloud, WordPress, VPS and Dedicated Servers |
SITE TRANSFER: | Single Free Site Transfer |
PRICING: | Starting at $2.75/mo (renews at $6.95/mo) |
After our analysis, we find HostGator to be a great option for growing businesses because they offer plans that grow with your business.
- PROS: Fast and Reliable with good support
- PROS: Free Site Migration
- CONS: No free domain and renewal fees are higher
SiteGround
SiteGround is one of the most popular and highest rated hosting providers in the WordPress community. They provide unique in-house speed and security solutions which is why they’re an official WordPress recommended hosting provider.
Here are the results from our SiteGround performance tests:
SPEED: | 713ms (December 2017 to March 2019 average) |
UPTIME: | 99.99% (December 2017 to March 2019 average) |
SUPPORT: | 24/7 Live Chat |
APPS: | Supports more than 500 applications |
FEATURES: | Unmetered bandwidth, 10GB storage, website builder, and free email |
HOSTING PLANS: | Shared, WordPress, Cloud, Reseller, Enterprise and Dedicated Servers |
SITE TRANSFER: | Not Free |
PRICING: | Starting at $3.95/mo (renews at $11.95/mo) |
Our SiteGround test site server performed really well in the United States and all other locations with the exception of Japan.
If your audience is in Asia, then you can ask SiteGround to move you to their Asia-Pacific servers to remedy this.
After our analysis, we find SiteGround to be a great option for beginners because their support is incredibly helpful.
- PROS: Best WordPress support, good uptime, fast speed, and free SSL.
- PROS: Officially recommended by WordPress
- PROS: Free Site Migration
- CONS: No free domain and GoGeek Plan is expensive
Choosing the best hosting for your site is also going to help you protect your brand online and ensure no hacking attack can ruin all your efforts.
InMotion Hosting
InMotion hosting has been a well-known industry brand with reliable performance for business class hosting. They offer award-winning 24/7 U.S. based support.
Here are the results from our InMotion hosting performance tests:
SPEED: | 900 (December 2018 to June 2019 average) |
UPTIME: | 99.98% (December 2018 to June 2019 average) |
SUPPORT: | 24/7 Live Chat |
APPS: | WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and some website builders |
FEATURES: | Unmetered bandwidth and storage, email accounts, free domain 1st year, Free Google App Integration, Free Data Backups, Great for E-commerce Support |
MONEY BACK | 90 Days Money back |
SECURITY | Super Secure Smart Wall Threat Defence System (TDS) |
HOSTING PLANS: | Shared, Cloud, VPS and Dedicated Servers |
SITE TRANSFER: | Free |
PRICING: | Starting at $2.75/mo (renews at $7.95/mo) |
For all locations, InMotion Hosting responded under a second. The response time was slightly higher for locations in Japan, Brazil, and Australia.
If your websites’ target audience is in the United States and/or United Kingdom, InMotion Hosting is a fast and reliable host. If your target audience is located outside these regions, then you might benefit from finding a server location near those regions.
After our analysis, we find InMotion Hosting to be a great option for businesses who value U.S. based support. Their plans grow as your business grows.
- PROS: U.S based support, good uptime, and free SSL.
- PROS: 90 day money back guarantee
- PROS: Free Site Migration
- CONS: No free domain and No instant activation for people outside U.S.
Get Started with InMotion Hosting
DreamHost
DreamHost has been around for 18 years and is known for their reliable web hosting. They are also an official recommended WordPress hosting provider.
Here are the results of our DreamHost performance tests:
SPEED: | 719ms (December 2017 to March 2019 average) |
UPTIME: | 99.96% (December 2017 to March 2019 average) |
SUPPORT: | Ticket & Callback |
APPS: | WordPress, Blogger, Drupal, Shopify, Wix, and more |
FEATURES: | Unlimited bandwidth and storage, free SSL, free domain 1st year |
HOSTING PLANS: | Shared, Cloud, WordPress, VPS, and Dedicated Servers |
SITE TRANSFER: | Not Free |
PRICING: | Starting at $2.59/mo (same renewal price) |
Overall, DreamHost is a great host for websites in any geographical location.
After our analysis, we find DreamHost to be a great option for businesses who value privacy. They offer free domain privacy with each of their domains. They also fought the U.S. department of Justice to protect the privacy of one of their customer’s website.
- PROS: Good speed, free SSL, free domain with privacy protection, and 1-click WordPress install.
- PROS: Officially recommended by WordPress
- PROS: Free Web Application Firewall Included
- CONS: More expensive than every other host in this list.
Author: Kunle Ajayi, founder of CMSFolks.com

I’m Anastasia and I’m a full-time blogger, online entrepreneur, and Pinterest marketing strategist. I help digital entrepreneurs and bloggers drive targeted traffic from Pinterest either through my online courses or through Pinterest consultancy.