SiteGround is a highly recommended and well used WordPress host but I wanted to run through some finer points of the hosting plans and who should choose what under what circumstance. to make sure you optimize your control over cost and features with them.
Table of Contents:
- wordpress.org and wordpress.com (why we are looking at SiteGround Instead)
- Managed Hosting with SiteGround
- How many domain names do you have?
- Are you a web developer or designer with clients?
- Should you register a domain with SiteGround?
- View SiteGround Plans
wordpress.org and wordpress.com (why we are looking at SiteGround Instead)
Just a reminder why we are not using,
- wordpress.org (lack of features and functionality) and
- wordpress.com (overcharges and is not necessary to use WordPress).
- More details in this article wordpress.com vs wordpress.org.
Managed Hosting with SiteGround:
Managed Hosting in WordPress is when the host does certain monthly software updates for you instead of you doing it manually. This is preferred by non-technical users as the site won’t get automatically out of date if you leave it alone for a few months or years. Updates to the various theme, plugin and WordPress Core software are necessary to keep the website bug free and on pah with current security best practices so your site is safe from hackers.
SiteGround Features worth noting
All plans have:
- Unmetered Traffic
- Free WP Installation
- Free WP Migrator
- WordPress Autoupdates
- Free SSL
- Daily Backup
- Free CDN
- Free Email
- Enhanced Security
- Ecommerce Enabled
- WP-CLI and SSH
- Managed WordPress
- Out-of-the-box Caching
- Unlimited Databases
- 100% renewable energy match
- 30-Days Money-Back
- Add Collaborators
StartUp Plan (in addition to the above)
- 1 Website
- 10 GB Web Space
- ~ 10,000 Visits Monthly (capacity)
GrowBig Plan (in addition to the above)
- Unlimited Websites
- 20 GB Web Space
- ~ 100,000 Visits Monthly (capacity)
- On-demand Backup Copies
- 30% faster PHP
- Staging Site
GoGeek Plan (in addition to the above)
- On-demand Backup CopiesHave peace of mind with any changes you make to your website by creating an instant backup and be able to restore from it if something goes wrong. You can create up to 5 on-demand backups at a time with our GrowBig and GoGeek package or purchase single backups with StartUp.
- 30% faster PHP
- Staging + Git
- White-label Clients
- Free Private DNS
- Highest Tier of Resources
- Priority Support
Useful links:
- More info here on managed vs shared hosting.
- If you’d like increases security best practices over and above the standard out of the box with WordPress (recommended by developers) then see best security plugins here.
How many domain names do you have?
If you only have need of hosting one domain name (a domain name is the yoursite.com associated you’ve chosen) and you have relatively low levels of traffic (approximately 10,000 views per month or less) then a ‘StartUp’ plan from SiteGround ($2.99 p/month at time of writing) is the way forward. As your site grows you can always upgrade the plan to increase your sites capabilities as your traffic and data grows.
PROTIP:
- Make sure to NOT register your domain name with SiteGround if you want to save yourself some money. Some of their plans offer a $20 p/year domain (free for first year but renews at this rate after that time). Instead check what it is with Namecheap first and if less than $20 p/year (at time of writing) then register with NameCheap instead and save yourself a few bucks.
- If you are not aware of how to choose a cheap and cheerful, industry specific domain name then read this article ‘how to choose an effective and affordable domain name‘ as it will still give you a lot of SEO juice but without the price tag.
Are you a web developer or designer with clients?
If so, consider going for a SiteGround ‘GoGeek‘ plan for $7.99 p/month (at time of writing) so that you can take advantage of their ‘white label’ hosting service which you can put your client’s website’s on. If you do this you can actually offer and charge web hosting to your clients as part of you list of products and services and increase your income with monthly recurring hosting fees.
If you don’t have clients AND you need to host multiple domain names then go for the mid tier GrowBig Plan for $4.99 p/month () at time of writing as this has. If you just have one domain name then as described above go for the StartUp Plan.
Should you register a domain with SiteGround?
DON’T register your domain name with SiteGround if you want to save yourself some money. Some of their plans offer a $17.99 p/year domain (for first year but renews at $19.99 p/month this rate after that time). Instead check what it is with Namecheap first and if less than $17.99 p/year (which it often is if you follow by guide in link below) then register with NameCheap instead and save yourself a few bucks.
If you are not aware of how to choose a cheap and cheerful, industry specific domain name then read this article ‘how to choose an effective and affordable domain name‘ as it will still give you a lot of SEO juice but without the price tag.
View SiteGround Plans:
View all SiteGround Plans and their various functionality.
