What make the best web hosting for WordPress, would you say? It's determined by several factors, isn't it? Mainly by speed, security, uptime ratio, support, and of course whether WordPress is readily installed or not. What about the price? You really get what you pay for.
You want to look for a full package, not the ones that charge an additional fee for security as an add-on or that come with any other hidden extra. In my WP Engine review, I'll show you how it offers a full package, and also the benefit of 35+ premium WordPress themes that's included in the hosting fee.
Is WP Engine Good?
WP Engine is renowned for providing a variety of web hosting service types, such as WordPress hosting, and eCommerce Solutions, as well as large servers for corporate customers. Trusted by 185k+ customers worldwide including National Geographic, Dropbox, government bodies, non-profit organizations, and more.
Never Go For Cheap Web Hosting Services
The number of websites has trebled in the past 5 years, and accordingly, web hosting fees have become dramatically competitive. InternetLiveStats say that as of end December 2018, almost 2 billion websites exist globally, yet only about 1/10th of them are active. It shows how easy for anyone to start blogging, and also how disposable web spaces can be.
If you are willing to commit with your website a little more serious than others - looking to build a site that's trustworthy and engaging - you should go for a service that charges a decent fee. Because cheap web hosting services for WordPress especially, have quite a few weaknesses in common, such as;
As you can see for many reasons, never consider a cheap web hosting. Many of them provide an 'OK' service until something bad happens. And when it happens, bad will only turn worse. I've experienced that with a couple of cheap ones in the past!
Recommended: WP Engine
WP Engine is available from $24 per month (paid monthly) or $240 yearly in advance (works out as $20 per month). I'll explain some of the main benefits you can receive;
Premium WordPress Themes
36 x premium themes from StudioPress, each one of which is normally priced from $60-$130, come free.
Why premium themes? Because they're better. When you look at a WordPress website you can usually tell if the theme that's used is a free one or premium one at a glance. Serious bloggers choose to buy a premium theme, because it's versatile, more secure with built-in SEO, and looks better. These themes with Genesis Framework worth over $2,000 altogether, are included in the WP Engine's web hosting fee.
StudioPress WordPress Themes included in the price
Availability and Speed
The biggest two reasons website owners are switching the web hosting company are availability and speed. Your website going offline for hours due to the server problem - that's just not acceptable! You want a server that provides maximum uptime, and if it goes down, you want the quickest possibly recovery. Slow page loading speed is partly due to the server response, and that's of course beyond your control. So here's how WP Engine will keep your website up & running in better speed than others;
Extra Security
As a blogger / internet marketer, the last thing you want to worry about is cyber attacks. You shouldn't have to learn the technical details such as what kind of threats are there or how your site should be protected. Yet the whole security issue cannot be underestimated. Extra protections are included in WP Engine's hosting fee, so you can put your mind at rest.
Help and Support
You know, not just web hosting but with any online tools and services, we all encounter problems from time to time. And just like I mentioned earlier, nothing's more frustrating when something goes wrong and the support agents are not approachable.
I've been in contact with a bunch of very friendly and helpful people in WP Engine. They are quick to respond, they're all friendly, and they give you top notch advice.
Pricing
Use the code freedomtocreate to get 20% discount.
If you pay yearly in advance, you'll receive 3 months free right now. For an individual online marketer or blogger, the "Startup" plan covers more than enough storage and bandwidth. For bigger businesses (up to millions of visits per month) the quotes are available.
The Startup plan can only host one website, that's probably the only drawback; if you have 2 websites and want both of them hosted by WP Engine, you'll simply have to pay double the fee. If you have 3 websites, you might as well go for the Growth plan, which is not affordable for everyone.
Pro's and Con's
Pro's
Con's
WP Engine Review: Final Verdict
WP Engine is one of the best web hosting services for WordPress offering a value for money. Because the price includes premium features that many other providers don't offer for free such as full site backups, automatic caching. Also includes CDN that many others don't offer at all.
The price also includes premium WordPress themes, and there's a team of WordPress experts that you can ask questions to. Suitable for any WordPress users - not just for newbies - because premium themes come with extra features that free themes don't have. So the support agents can give you extra tips to make full use of it.
I have been using WP Engine for almost 2 years now and not a day have I experienced a downtime touchwood so far. The support is good. In the beginning there were a couple of guys who were amazingly helpful in setting up & restoring data. Nowadays I only ask some odd questions when I need to. I have used a few other web hostings in the past but I find WPE by far the best.
Hi James, thanks for sharing your experience. Great to hear positive feedback!
Hi, I am thinking about WP Engine it looks like good reviews by many people. Your review is honest and helpful. Thanks I’ll let you know when I start to use it.
Hi, thanks for your comment. It’s great to hear that you intend to use WP Engine. I wish you the best of luck with it. Any questions don’t hesitate to get back to me any time 🙂
It’s a great value for money. I totally recommend it. What you say is all true. Never use a dodgy cheap web hosting. I’ve wasted so much time and money for that in the past. It ended up costing more because I had to pay elsewhere to get things fixed. With WP Engine I don’t have such problems. 100% recommended. A+++++
Hi Chris, great to know that you’re happy with WP Engine. Thanks for your comment!
Hi, finding a good web hosting company is tough because once you decide to go for one company you will be tied up for a while. You need to consider very carefully.
My brother showed me your article and recommended it to me. WPengine looks like the perfect hosting company to me although it’s not the cheapest. But the cheapest plan will be good enough for me as I am new to internet business.
Thank you for your review, I have bookmarked your page now.
Hi Susie, it sounds like the Starter plan will be perfect for you if you are considering to pursue a website business; start with one site. Cheap web hosting services are not necessarily good for various reasons as I explained in the post. If you need any guidance in starting a business (niches to decide, etc) don’t hesitate to contact me any time. Thanks for your comment!
WP engine is my No. 1 recommendation as well. Anybody can set up a WordPress website within 5 minutes of registering and it’s extremely easy to use. I used to pay more than $70 per month for web hosting years ago, this is totally affordable.
Hi Mars, thanks for your comment. I’m glad to hear that you recommend WP Engine also. Yes I agree that the fee is affordable. I do remember I used to pay a lot for my web hosting fees years ago!
I appreciate your post. I used Bluehost for more than 5 years in the past now I am thinking about restarting my site then hear many negative reviews about Bluehost. I am looking for the best hosting company. A little over my budget but well worth considering. Cheers.
Hi Christopher, thanks for your comment. I don’t think Bluehost is bad though. I have been using it and especially my clients (who own simple small sites) generally seem happy. But as I said in the post, if you want an extra security protection and minimum downtime, WP Engine is my recommendation.
Hi, if I want to build a website as a hobby to start with, a cheap web hosting won’t be a harm, I guess? I just want to test my skill in the beginning (if I’m able to keep blogging on a daily basis). If I find it suitable perhaps I can use a serious hosting site like WP Engine maybe?
Hi Phil, Thank you for your comment.
I think we’ll have to do a bit of a math work here. Like I mentioned in my post above, it depends how ‘cheap’ the cheap hosting service is. No point if you have to pay 12-36 months in advance. But monthly payment can be expensive. If you are not sure whether you can continue or not, I suggest that you try SiteRubix, it’s totally free first, then if you decide to go premium, $49 per month but it includes not only web hosting and site security, but all the training, tips and live webinars. Take a look (“Get Paid To Post Comments On Blogs”). I totally recommend WP Engine but, for you perhaps you can decide at a future date.
Hi Ray, I agree with you, never buy a cheap hosting service. I used to be with Hostgator and had countless nightmares. My site was down at least once a week continuously for 30min – 1hr. Support was helpless. By the time they got back to me my site was back up again. Like you say, service was okay, mediocre, until a problem occurs. I stayed for 1 year.
I have not used WPEngine but it sounds like a good service. Next time I create a website I’ll go for this one. Cheers Ray!
Hi Seb, thanks for sharing your experience with Hostgator. It’s a shame though, because I’ve seen some mixed feedbacks about that company too. Downtime is critical. It doesn’t just keep you frustrated but steals your potential income away. That tells us that if anyone’s ever selling products (including as an affiliate), they should always go for a reputable web hosting services. Thanks Seb, happy new year to you!