WordPress Blog Hosting - How to Pick a Host and What to Look For

Choosing the right hosting provider for your blog can be tough. Not only do you have to consider each prospect based on its reviews, performance, and price, you also have to factor in your unique needs. In other words, it means looking for the best WordPress blog hosting providers available.Fortunately, weve been around the block once or twice, so  we have plenty of experience when it comes to hosting. Plus, many  of the WordPress blog hosting providers well discuss offer competitive prices, so your budget wont have to be a limiting factor.In this article, were going to talk about what you should look for in a WordPress hosting provider for blogging, then introduce you to three of our favorite picks. Well talk about each providers performance, price, and key features, so youll have all the information you need to make an informed decision. Lets jump right in! In short,  cost is a key factor when looking for a blogging host. Youll want to  look for something affordable, since you may not be making much money at first. Its also smart to choose a host with a track record for high uptimes, since you cant build a consistent readership  if your site isnt reliably available. Finally, youll need plenty of server space, so you arent limited in the amount of content and resources you can share with your blogs audience.With so many factors to consider, picking the right service can be difficult. There are  a lot of potential choices to sort through. Lets talk about some of the features that separate decent web hosts from great ones:Excellent performance. Sometimes, your blog may feel sluggish due to poor optimization on your end. However, the problem may instead be  that your web hosts performance isnt up to par. Having a fast website is critical if you want to grow its audience, so keep an eye out for this metric.Competitive prices. As you might expect, some of the top WordPress hosting services arent cheap. However, there are plenty of starter plans that c an handle small to medium-sized blogs without breaking a sweat. If youre just starting out, you dont want to have to break the bank to afford hosting.Targeted WordPress offerings. What separates excellent WordPress hosts from all the other services out there are the specialized features they offer. For example, some hosts staff their support team with WordPress experts, while others offer dedicated  managed hosting services for the platform.These arent the only criteria to keep in mind when looking for a web host, but they all have one thing in common – theyre quantifiable. You can find hard data concerning all three of them, and use it to make an informed decision about which WordPress blog hosting service to choose.Three of the best hosting providers for WordPress blogsThe following are three popular hosting providers for WordPress websites (offering both shared and managed hosting plans). Well be evaluating each hosts performance with two different metrics: a simple spee d test using Pingdom Tools, and a stress test via  Load Impact. Plus, well show you what ratings they received (using a 1–5 scale) during our massive WordPress hosting survey,  and on popular review site WhoIsHostingThis  where applicable. Finally,  well showcase a  quote from a real-life customer about each hosting platform, and discuss pricing options.Before we jump in, its worth mentioning that you shouldnt only use one source to research  WordPress hosting. This is an important choice, so we encourage you to peruse  multiple reviews for any platform youre seriously considering. With that in mind, lets  take a look!TOC: Flywheel | SiteGround | A2 Hosting Go to top1. FlywheelFlywheel is one of the best-known names when it comes to managed WordPress hosting, and with good  reason. The platform offers plans tailored both to WordPress enthusiasts and agencies, plenty of useful features, and excellent  performance.Key features:Easy-to-set up staging sitesNig htly backups  for your siteHands-on security  optionsPage speed test with Pingdom:Melbourne:  2.20  secondsNew York: 0.59 secondsStockholm: 1.36 secondsBasic load testing with Load Impact:Load generator:  Ashburn, USATest server:  Ashburn, USAMinimum response time:  0.15  seconds.Maximum response time:  1.19  seconds.The numbers speak for themselves, but if you want to read more about Flywheels performance, check out our full review for the platform.Load Impact chart:User ratings:Overall rating: 4.7Support service rating: 4.9WhoIsHostingThis? user rating:  N/AWhat customers think about Flywheel:The reliability, speed, and support are all amazing – but where Flywheel really shines is their deep understanding of the needs of agencies and design firms.Price:Flywheels managed hosting plans start at $14 per month for a single site. Thats a bit steeper than other web hosts, but you get plenty of extra features and excellent performance for that price.Go to top 2. SiteGroundSiteGround is a very popular option when it comes to WordPress hosting, and its a great match for both small and large websites. Aside from its excellent performance and support, it somehow manages to offer some of the best prices on the market.Key features:Access to the WordPress Supercacher  pluginOne-click WordPress staging sitesFree installation of GIT for WordPressPage speed test with Pingdom:Melbourne: 1.563 secondsNew York: 0.645 secondsStockholm: 1.390 secondsBasic load testing with Load Impact:Load Generator:  Portland, USTest Server:  Portland, USMinimum Response Time:  0.738 secondsMaximum Response Time:  1.480 secondsOur second entry in this web host comparison doesnt disappoint when it comes to performance. Check out our full thoughts on SiteGrounds speed in  our complete review for the service.Load Impact chart:User ratings:Overall rating: 4.6Support service rating: 4.5WhoIsHostingThis? user rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 (1,205 reviews)What custom ers think about SiteGround:I just wanted to say how pleased I am with SiteGround hosting. I have worked with multiple hosting companies over the years, and you consistently provide quality hosting, but even better customer support.Price:As far as prices go, its hard to beat SiteGround. Not only do they offer managed hosting services starting at $3.95 per month, but their support and performance are top of the line. The only downside is that they dont accept month-to-month payments, so if you want to see those savings youll have to shell out for a year upfront.Go to top3. A2 HostingA2 Hosting has a reputation for excellent performance, and they certainly deliver in that respect. Unlike the other entries on this list, they dont offer managed WordPress blog hosting services but that shouldnt stop you from giving them a shot.Key features:Optimized WordPress installationsConfigured for top performancePage speed test with Pingdom:Melbourne: 2.24 secondsNew York: 480 millisecondsStockholm : 911 millisecondsBasic load testing with Load Impact:Load generator:  Ashburn, USTest server:  Chicago, USMinimum response time: 230.83 millisecondsMaximum response time: 289.49 millisecondsThese results are impressive on their own – even more so when you consider we got them from a shared hosting plan. To read more about the host overall, check out our full A2 Hosting review.Load Impact chart:User ratings:Overall rating:  N/ASupport service rating:  N/AWhoIsHostingThis user rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 (199 reviews)What customers think about A2 Hosting:I wish I could send your entire support staff an ice cream cone. Or a new car. You could easily have blown off this technical question – many other hosts would have – but you took a few minutes to look it up for me.Unfortunately, we werent able to cover  A2 Hosting in  our extensive WordPress hosting review. However, their prices and performance results should speak for themselves.Price:A2 Hostings Wor dPress plans start at $3.92 per month, which puts them in the same neighborhood as SiteGround. However, they do enable you to pay for your service monthly, so theyre a great alternative if you dont want to commit to a full year quite yet.Go to topConclusionYour choice of host makes a huge impact on your sites performance. Since your blog deserves to be hosted on a robust platform, doing some research at this stage is crucial. Plus, it can save you headaches – and a possible future migration – down the line. There are plenty of competitively-priced services with top-notch features out there, so theres no reason to opt for a host that doesnt fulfill your needs.Lets review the results of our WordPress blog hosting comparison before wrapping up:WordPress blog hosting comparison summaryFlywheelSiteGroundA2 HostingOverall user rating4.74.6Support service rating4.94.5WhoIsHostingThis? user rating4.54.5Average loading time (in seconds)1.381.191.21Minimum response time under st ress (in seconds)0.150.730.23Maximum response time under stress (in seconds)1.191.480.28Starter plan price (per month)$15$3.95$3.92