Is SiteGround hosting the right choice for your site? This SiteGround hosting review dives deep into the pros and cons of SiteGround, along with the unique features you’ll find, so you can decide if it’s worth signing up for a plan.
Our Verdict: High-Performance Hosting, World Class Support, at an Affordable Price
SiteGround stands out in its commitment to caring about their customers and providing top-notch customer support. Beyond this, you’ll get high performing servers, fast loading speeds, robust security, plus additional features like a free SSL certificate, along with a free CDN.
TL; DR: Best option for those who want a high-quality support team.
Pros:
- Industry-leading support staff.
- Officially recommended by WordPress.
- High-performing servers.
- Custom-built security features.
Cons:
- Higher-renewal rates.
- Opting for monthly billing requires a setup fee.
- Free domain names aren’t included.
SiteGround Overview
SiteGround was founded in 2004, and operates as a private hosting company, meaning they aren’t owned by a giant corporation, like most other hosting companies. You’ll find their main office in Bulgaria, with another located in Spain. They’ve experienced steady growth over the years and currently host over 2 million domains while maintaining a staff of over 400.
I’ve been using Cloudways since January 2016 for this blog. I happily recommend Cloudways to my readers because I am a proud customer.
You’ll find hosting styles and plans that cater to every kind of website owner. From those starting their first sites, all the way to up large websites that are getting millions of visitors per month.
SiteGround offers shared, WordPress, cloud, and dedicated hosting plans. No matter which plans you choose you’ll get access to blazing-fast servers, high uptime, and a stellar support team to help with any issues you might run into.
SiteGround is probably best suited for website owners who are building out their first sites, but others might find value as well.
SiteGround is a flexible host with all-around great features. Because of this, they can effectively support a wide range of different types of websites. Some of the most common types of sites include blog and small business owners, WordPress site owners, developers who want Git support and SSH access, even large corporations, and massive websites that demand performance and security.
Which Form of Hosting Should I Choose?
Right away, you’ll notice that SiteGround offers nearly every style of hosting. They’re a flexible host that fits a wide range of websites. If this is your first-time exploring hosting, this can be a little overwhelming.
Before we jump into the meat of the SiteGround review, we’ll take a quick detour to cover what exactly these types of hosting entail.
With shared hosting, you’re sharing a server with hundreds (or more) websites. You’ll get allocated server resources, but generally, it’s the best fit for smaller websites, or those just starting. Sharing a server with this many users helps to keep costs incredibly low. Plus, it’s beginner-oriented, so setup and management are easy.
WordPress
The core of WordPress hosting is that you run your site on a server that’s been optimized to the specifications of WordPress. This helps WordPress load faster, improves performance, and even elevates security. Often, this will include automated updates and higher-level support. There’s also managed WordPress hosting, which involves a team of experts managing and optimizing your site. Overall, WordPress hosting is a great choice for WordPress site owners with growing sites.
Cloud
Cloud hosting is based on the concept of cloud computing, and is similar to VPS hosting. Instead of relying upon a single server to host your site, you rely on an entire network of servers. In this case, multiple different servers are partitioned, to create a network of machines that function as a single server. The benefit of that setup is that you can handle very large traffic spikes, along with scaling levels of traffic. This type of hosting can be more expensive, but you usually only pay for the server resources you use, so it’s cost-effective.
We have already published comprehensive reviews on industry leading cloud hosting providers like Cloudways, 10Web, BionicWP etc. Check them out.
Dedicated
Dedicated hosting gives you an entire physical server to yourself. This means you have the entire resources of the server powering your site. You can also configure the server to meet the exact needs of your website. This is generally the most expensive form of hosting, but you’ll get incredibly high performance and levels of security.
Generally, most readers will find shared hosting the best place to start. It’s affordable, easy to get started with, and will perform great for small and growing websites. Another great option is WordPress hosting. SiteGround offers some very cheap plans, plus if you’re running WordPress, it’ll perform better right from the start.
Is SiteGround Right for My Website?
With all of the flexibility, performance, and power that SiteGround provides why isn’t everyone hosting their site with this hosting provider? Even with all the good, it’s not perfect for everyone. Make sure you read the rest of the review and SiteGround user reviews to see if it’s the best fit.
Most website owners reading this are trying to find the best hosting for their new sites. SiteGround offers easy to use hosting and nearly every feature you’d want in a host. It’s not the cheapest hosting out there, but the value for your dollar is incredible.
With SiteGround you can easily start your new website supported by a host that cares, and offers performance and security, so you never have to think about hosting again.
The rest of this SiteGround hosting review will dive deeper into the plans and features offered, so you can decide if this is the right fit for your website.
SiteGround Web Hosting Plans Available
SiteGround offers a range of different hosting plans, shared, cloud, WordPress, and dedicated.
Here’s a look at how these various plans stack up:
Shared hosting is the most common and widely used form of hosting. It’s the type of hosting that everyone starts with and will meet most website owner’s needs.
SiteGround offers a shared hosting server that truly stands out in the crowded and competitive marketplace.
Here are some of the features it includes:
Easy to Use Control Panel
When you’re launching your first site the last thing you want is to spend hours in your hosting dashboard. SiteGround has built a new custom hosting dashboard that allows you to launch your site quickly, add features you want, one-click install a CMS like WordPress, open up your SiteGround webmail.
The interface was built from the ground up to help you accomplish a variety of hosting tasks. You’ll even find helpful walkthroughs for tasks that you’re doing for the first time.
Plans Based on Traffic Volume
The shared hosting plans differ based on the amount of bandwidth. So, the plan you choose will be based upon the amount of traffic your site receives. The more traffic your site gets the higher the plan you’ll need to sign up for.
This makes it very easy to pick the plan that’s right for you. Instead of guessing what plan you need to sign up for, you just pick the plan that more closely matches your traffic requirements.
Plus, if your traffic continues to scale, you’ll know when it’s time to upgrade to a higher plan.
Free CDN
A CDN stores copies of your site all over the world.
So, when a user visits your site from another part of the world, they will deliver that version of your site. This speeds up your site as a whole and makes it more secure.
Best of all, this feature is free no matter the plan you choose.
Free SSL Certificate
An SSL certificate will encrypt the traffic that passes through your website, making it more secure. This is a must-have for websites that process transactions, like eCommerce stores. However, it’s becoming more of a requirement for nearly all websites.
Sites that don’t have an SSL certificate installed are marked insecure by the Google Chrome browser, so this can result in a drop in website traffic and visitor trust.
On every shared hosting plan, you’ll get a free SSL certificate.
Bundled Website Builder
If you’re building your first website and don’t have a plan of attack, then you can take advantage of the free website builder.
This website builder is powered by Weebly and has a drag and drop interface, so you can quickly build your site without any previous technical experience.
There are a multitude of options to build to your website, but having a free bundled website builder included with your plan makes things easy.
So, how much does access to all these features cost?
You’ll have three different shared hosting plans to choose from:
- StartUp: Perfect for users who are just starting their sites, or planning on keeping it small. Space is limited to 10GB on this plan. This plan costs $6.99/mo.
- GrowBig: This plan is suited for growing websites or users who want to host more than one website. This also includes a website staging area, plus on-demand backups. This plan costs $9.99/mo.
- GoGeek: This plan offers you more space and higher-performing servers. Plus, it’s also PCI-compliant, so it’s well-suited for eCommerce store owners. Finally, you’ll get access to faster support. This plan costs $14.99/mo.
WordPress Hosting
For WordPress site owners, SiteGround offers a form of managed WordPress hosting. Essentially, this is a shared server that’s optimized to run WordPress sites, plus WordPress comes preinstalled on the server.
Their WordPress hosting is so good it’s recommended by WordPress.
Some unique features will help you get the most out of your WordPress site. For example, there’s a bot protection system that helps to significantly reduce the number of brute force attacks on your site. WordPress is especially susceptible to these kinds of attacks due to plugins and the login screen. This security tool alone will greatly help to protect the WordPress sites from attacks.
Here are some of the additional features included with the SiteGround WordPress hosting plans:
- Fast and simple WordPress site launch (have your site up in minutes)
- Managed updates for WordPress core
- Daily website backups and free website restore
- Higher levels of WordPress site security
- Support staff with advanced WordPress expertise
- A site staging tool to make cloned versions of your site
WordPress Hosting Pricing
One thing that makes SIteGround’s WordPress hosting so appealing is how cheap it is.
Here are the three different plans you can choose from:
- Startup: Perfect for one website that gets up to 10,000 visitors per month. This costs $6.99/mo.
- GrowBig: Can support unlimited websites of up to 25,000 visitors per month. This costs $9.99/mo.
- GoGeek: Can support unlimited websites of up to 100,000 visitors per month. This costs $14.99/mo.
WooCommerce Hosting
WooCommerce hosting is a form of WordPress hosting that’s built for WooCommerce store owners. If your plan is to create an eCommerce store using WooCommerce, then these plans are worth checking out. WooCommerce recommends this style of hosting.
Installing WooCommerce and getting started building your store is easy with this plan, as there’s a unique app that only takes a few clicks to launch your store.
WooCommerce Hosting Pricing
If you’re running a WooCommerce store, then you’ll have three different hosting options:
- StartUp: This is designed for single store owners who are getting up to 10,000 visitors per month. This plan costs $6.99/mo.
- GrowBig: This can support more than one website, along with 25,000 visitors per month. This plan costs $9.99/mo.
- GoGeek: This can support more than one website, along with 100,000 visitors per month. This plan costs $14.99/mo.
Cloud Hosting
The Cloud hosting plans can be seen as a step up from the Shared and WordPress plans highlighted above. You probably won’t need this level of hosting from the start, but as your site traffic levels grow it might make sense to upgrade.
Cloud hosting is a unique form of hosting in that it relies on a network of virtual servers, so you can scale up your resource needs at a moment’s notice. This makes it great for sites running big promotions and those with scaling levels of traffic.
If your site is growing too quickly for your current hosting plan, then this is worth checking out.
Cloud Hosting Pricing
There are four different cloud hosting plans to choose from based upon your memory, performance, and storage needs.
- Jump Start: You’ll get 4 CPU cores, 8GB of memory, 40GB SSD disk space and 5TB transfer. This plan costs $100/mo.
- Business: You’ll get 8 CPU cores, 12GB of memory, 80GB SSD disk space and 5TB transfer. This plan costs $200/mo.
- Business Plus: You’ll get 12 CPU cores, 16GB of memory, 120GB SSD disk space and 5TB transfer. This plan costs $300/mo.
- Super Power: You’ll get 16 CPU cores, 20GB of memory, and 160GB SSD disk space and 5TB transfer. This plan costs $400/mo.
Dedicated Hosting
Dedicated hosting is one of the most expensive and powerful forms of hosting out there.
With shared hosting, you’re sharing a single physical server with hundreds or thousands of other websites, but with a dedicated server, you have this entire physical server to yourself.
This level of hosting is generally reserved for massive websites and businesses with custom hosting needs. At this level, you’ll work directly with SiteGround to create a custom hosting plan and server solution perfectly matched for your site.
SiteGround Review: Best Features
SiteGround offers a ton of different features, but these are the handful that stands out the most:
Rock Solid Hosting Performance
One of the most important things when choosing a web host is performance. With a slow loading website, you’ll end up with a poor user experience and lower search engine rankings across the board. Website visitors highly value loading speed.
The hosting provider you choose will end up as the foundation for your site loading speeds. So, if you end up with a slow host there’s not a lot that you can do to fix it. Even making optimizations to your site won’t end up moving the needle that much.
Luckily, this won’t end up being an issue when you choose to host your website with SiteGround. No matter which plan you’re on you’ll find above-average hosting speeds across the board. Now, it isn’t the fastest host on the market today, but it’s more than enough for 90% of website owners.
Customer Support
SiteGround has an industry-leading support team. One of the stand out factors of this host is how fast and helpful their support team is. Even on the most basic of shared plans, you can expect high-quality support.
First, you’ll find an in-depth knowledge base if you’re the type of website owner who prefers to troubleshoot their own website and server issues.
Those who prefer to deal directly with the SiteGround customer service team can use the 24/7 live chat support, or even call in to speak with a support agent. The call times can differ, but you’ll never be on hold for more than a few minutes.
However, the response times with live chat are blazing fast and useful. Sometimes when dealing with live chat the support tech will have to spend time looking up each answer. But, with SiteGround support you’ll find knowledgeable agents that are well-versed in any issues that might come up.
Site Security You Can Trust
Having your website hacked isn’t something you’d wish on your worst enemy. Sadly, it’s more common than you might think. Now, a lot can be done at the website-level to help prevent threats and secure your website, but this is all lost if your host isn’t secure.
Luckily, SiteGround takes security very seriously. You’ll find several different tools that help to elevate the security of your website and server.
AI Bot Detection
Operating on all servers you’ll find a unique AI bot detection platform in place. Bot attacks will attempt to brute force their way into your server. What this platform does is find them before they occur and protect against them.
This runs 24/7, there’s no need to activate it or enable it. You’ll be protected from brute force attacks the moment you create an account.
Hacking Protection
For a lot of styles of hosting you’re going to be sharing server space with other websites. On occasion, if one of these websites is hacked it can end up spreading to your website.
SiteGround has an account isolation system in place, which helps to protect this from occurring. Essentially, your site will be isolated and protected from other websites, even if you’re sharing the same physical server.
Bundled Daily Backups
No matter which plan you’re on you’ll get access to automated daily website backups. These backups occur daily, and you can store 30 different complete website backups. Any backup that’s older than 30 days will be deleted.
You can also restore to a previous backup version of your website with ease. All it takes is a single click. So, if the current version of your website is hacked, or corrupted in any way you can restore to a previously working version with ease.
On higher-level plans, you have the option of scheduling backups at a certain time. You can also run backups instantly with the click of a button. For example, this can be useful when you’re making big changes to your website or are about to run a big update.
High-Levels of Datacenter Security
On top of all that the datacenters, which host the servers that hold your website files, are very secure. There are also replacement servers and hardware components that can be changed out at a moment’s notice if your server is experiencing an issue.
Here are a few of the security protocols and processes to help keep your servers secure at the hardware level:
- 24/7 monitoring of the servers by trained security professionals
- Biometric access points
- Bulletproof lobbies
- Video surveillance
Bundled CDN
Another great feature is the bundled Cloudflare CDN. A CDN will help to noticeably speed up your website, plus make it more secure from DDoS attacks.
Essentially, when you use a CDN, versions of your site are stored across a network of servers around the world. Whenever a user visits your website they’re served a version of your site from the closest physical server location.
This CDN is also very easy to setup. Once you have an account you can login to your control panel and enable the CDN with a couple of clicks. If you’re hosting more than one domain name on a single account, then these sites can take advantage of the CDN too.
Custom Control Panel
When you’re building your first site you want to be able to accomplish tasks easily.
The control panel used to be a custom SiteGround cPanel, but recently they’ve introduced an entirely new custom-built control panel. The goal is to make site management much easier and more time efficient. If you thought cPanel was good, this is even better.
The entire control panel is based upon simplicity, so you can quickly find what you need. Whether that’s improving site speed, security, opening up your email client or email application, or something else. For first time users, you’ll find several helpful prompts that will guide you through accomplishing a variety of hosting-related tasks.
Also, if you’re managing more than one site on your server, each will get its own individual interface to make accomplishing tasks much easier.
If you’re the type of person who wants to get your site up and running as soon as possible, without having to do any complex hosting tasks, then you’ll enjoy using this dashboard.
If you’re a higher-level user, then you can take advantage of the developer and collaboration tools that enhance your workflows.
Plenty of Guarantees
It’s nice to come across a host that guarantees the promises it makes. The first big guarantee you’ll find is the 30-day hosting money-back guarantee.
If you cancel within the 30 day money back guarantee you’ll get a full refund on your hosting. However, certain things aren’t refundable, like any domain names you’ve purchased, or admin or setup fees that might have occurred.
The other big guarantee you’ll find is the uptime guarantee. This is a 99.99% uptime guarantee which means that if the uptime drops below this, even to 99% you’ll get an entire month of free hosting added to your account. Judging by the performance numbers of 100% uptime this isn’t something that’ll occur, but the guarantee is still nice to have.
SiteGround User Reviews
By now you probably have a good idea of the core features of this host by reading this SiteGround hosting review. By now you’ve learned a lot about the type of services available and the core features.
But, when making a big decision, like choosing between hosting services, you want to be as informed as possible. A big part of this is looking at what some of the real-life users had to say about the service.
From what we’ve been able to find nearly everyone who used the service only has positive things to say. Some of the things stand out more than most, are the top-notch customer support, high performance, and fast loading speeds, along with the number of security tools automatically in place.
Just started using WordPress and after my first experience with the customer service at Siteground, I was so impressed that I immediately use them to host my company’s website. Since then, every time I have any inquiries, they were resolved immediately, their customer service is just impeccable!
Anita Au
https://www.trustpilot.com/users/609e5cd6e077cc001a96cb82I have been a SiteGround customer for over 10 years and when it comes to a hosting solution they win hands down. No other hosting solution has come close, whether local (Australia) or overseas, SiteGround servers and support are 10 out of 10.
Knight Design
https://www.trustpilot.com/users/609dacba85dde600191f976fAlways top-notch service with no messing around answers! I’ve used them personally for years and I recommend all my clients to switch to Siteground. They provide everything a developer could need.
Sarah Hansel
https://www.trustpilot.com/users/5fd7b2c8c4a9b8001960f56eYou’d be hard-pressed to find much of anything negative about this host online.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Here is a list of frequently asked questions regarding the SiteGround hosting review and the SiteGround web hosting service.
Is SiteGround a good web host?
Based on our own experience, plus the feedback and reviews across the web, yes, SiteGround is very good hosting. They offer some of the most affordable WordPress hosting on the market, considering the freebies, feature set, and using the latest speed technologies. Plus, they’ve got an incredible support team and 99.7% customer happiness rate.
How much does SiteGround cost?
Currently, the cheapest plan you’ll be able to find with SiteGround is $6.99 per month. On average, the SiteGround pricing ranges from $6.99 to $14.99 per month, however you’ll also find plans that range into the hundreds of dollars. Keep in mind that you may not be able to renew at the regular rate, and it could be up, depending on your contract length.
Is Siteground good for WordPress?
Yes, SiteGround offers hosting specifically designed for WordPress sites. They’re so good at managing WordPress sites, they’re even recommended by WordPress.org, the creators of WordPress!
Is SiteGround better than Bluehost?
SiteGround is more expensive than Bluehost but does offer better support and more options for growing websites.
Is SiteGround secure?
Yes, SiteGround has proprietary security tools they’ve developed that will protect your site from the threats lurking online. These tools are included in every plan.
Which SiteGround plan is best?
There’s really no “best” plan, but instead, the plan that’s best for you. For beginners just starting the Startup or GrowBig plans will probably be the best fit.
Does SiteGround offer a free domain?
Sadly, SiteGround does not offer a free domain on any of their plans.
What kind of support do I get with SiteGround?
You get access to one of the best support teams in the industry. You have access to support 24/7, get very fast response time, and can chat with support via live chat, support tickets, or even phone support.
What payment methods does SiteGround accept?
SiteGround accepts payment via Mastercard, VISA, American Express, or Discover. When you become a SiteGround customer, you’ll need to pay for a one, two, or three-year hosting contract.
Is there a money-back guarantee?
Yes, when you sign up for hosting you can take advantage of the 30-day money-back guarantee. If you don’t feel like the service is right for you, then you can request a full refund within that window.
Is there a free website migration?
Not on the basic shared hosting plan. But, on the GrowBig and GoGeek plans a free website migration is included. They can even handle WordPress site migrations.
Is there an uptime guarantee?
SiteGround will guarantee 99.9% uptime. If your site’s uptime falls below that number, then you’ll get account credit for one month of free hosting. They actively monitor uptime and will award you credit if an issue occurs.
Alternatives to SiteGround Hosting
If you are looking for web hosting, but you don’t think that SiteGround is the hosting company for you, consider these web hosting providers.
SiteGround vs BlueHost
BlueHost is a rock-solid WordPress host as well, with comparable features. You won’t go wrong with either host for a WordPress, or other site.
Check out our in-depth review on Bluehost. Also, here you can find an incredible discount for Bluehost hosting.
SiteGround vs A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting is more of a developer-oriented host. So, it could be great for more tech savvy site owners. But, beginners will want to stick to a host like SiteGround.
Check out our in-depth review on A2 hosting. Also, here you can find an incredible discount for A2 hosting.
SiteGround vs GreenGeeks
SiteGround offers better performance and features across the board. However, GreenGeeks is more affordable and has a commitment to the environment.
Check out our in-depth review on GreenGeeks. Also, here you can find an incredible discount for Greengeeks hosting.
SiteGround Review: Closing Thoughts
[wp-review id=”15849″]SiteGround is a rock-solid hosting provider through and through. It comes out ahead on the important factors like speed, quality of customer support, add-ons available, and ability to scale as your site grows.
No matter which plan you’re on your site will load amazingly fast, while still being secure. Plus, if you do run into an issue with your site you can rely on their expert support team. Even if you’re on the cheaper plans you’ll get access to the same level of support as the higher-priced plans.
Whether you’re looking for hosting for your first website or want to transfer to a new host, then SiteGround is a host that’s worth exploring.
