Last Updated on June 15, 2020 by Sunny Staff
Shared vs. managed WordPress hosting has been a hot topic in the WordPress community. Whether you’re a developer or user, you’ve probably heard about this common debate.
But what exactly are the differences between the two? And how do you know which is right for your website?
Keep reading for our full guide to understand managed WordPress hosting vs. web hosting and get started on building or upgrading your website.
The Managed vs. Shared Debate
Let’s start with the basics about the shared vs. managed WordPress hosting debate by better understanding WordPress.
WordPress is a popular open-source Content Management System that powers about 35% of all websites on the Internet. WordPress enables users to easily make a website and it’s compatible with almost every hosting company. Oh, and it’s free! It’s important to note that the WordPress software we’re referring to is different from WordPress.com, which is a host solution.
The debate around shared vs. managed WordPress hosting primarily relates to added WordPress-specific services and performance optimizations that come with managed WordPress hosting.
Managed WordPress hosting offers personalized and professional services for your WordPress site. However, shared hosting relies on the user for a lot of WordPress optimization. But it’s also important to understand that shared and managed WordPress hosting aren’t always mutually exclusive.
People often refer to shared hosting as generic hosting, but a lot of shared hosts offer managed services. So shared hosting just means your site will share resources with other sites on the same server. Managed WordPress hosting will include added professional services and personalized alterations for your website that will be included with your regular hosting.
What is Managed WordPress Hosting?
While shared hosting and managed web hosting can be connected, they can also be completely separate entities. So it’s important to understand the basics of each type before reviewing their differences.
Managed WordPress hosting involves a selection of professional services and value add-ons. Using managed WordPress hosting can help make your site load faster since configuration will be optimized for WordPress.
Managed WordPress hosting also gives you tools to help you make changes to your WordPress site and help maintain the site’s safety and security. Many managed WordPress hosting services will include automatic updates and backups, as well as better security.
For example, let’s analyze the Sunny HQ solution to better understand managed WordPress hosting. With this solution, our team maintains your site and provides you with hands-on service from technical experts. Sunny HQ is also a complete single solution for your WordPress site with enhanced features.
Sunny HQ includes complete WordPress care which means an expert will manage every aspect of your WordPress site. We provide a 100% turnkey WordPress maintenance that includes the management of all core, plugin, and theme updates every day. And best of all, you don’t have to lift a finger – we handle it all. Lastly, WordPress Support means that solution-driven answers are available from our team to help with any of your questions or issues.
What is Shared Web Hosting?
Shared hosting means many websites share a single server. Temporary websites, proof-of-concept websites, or any type of small site without much traffic often use shared web hosting.
Shared hosting means you share server resources with other sites, and this can also include cloud hosting. The number of sites on a shared host range from ten to hundreds, and might slow your site down if a bug occurs on one of the other sites. Higher quality shared servers avoid this by limiting the number of sites per server and not overselling the space.
These hosts also tend to use a generic cPanel dashboard with some WordPress specific features. But it won’t be designed to your specific WordPress site like a managed WordPress host.
Pros and Cons of Managed WordPress Hosting and Shared Hosting
The difference between managed WordPress hosting and shared web hosting comes down to performance, functionality, and professional services. But what are the pros and cons of each type?
Most of the pros for shared hosting involve price. Users often pay a low monthly fee since you are sharing the server and resources. Also, many shared hosts will allow users to host unlimited websites for a flat fee, and likely won’t have a cap on the number of visitors to your site.
The cons of shared hosting might have been obvious from the previous section. Due to the concept of sharing a host and focusing on keeping the cost low at the expense of performance, your website will likely be slower. Also, sharing resources means you’ll lack the value of automatic updates and WordPress-specific website security. With a non-managed shared host, you’ll have a lot of work to do keeping your site up to date.
The pros and cons of managed WordPress hosting are more diverse. Most managed WordPress hosts include automatic updates, frequent backups, and solid security. Full-service managed hosting includes all this as well as additional support hours to help with content updates, page builds, and other one-off tasks.
The downside of managed hosting is the cost. A managed hosting plan can be expensive and a fully managed solution even more so.
Making Your Decision
Choosing a web host is an important decision for your website. Your hosting platform will affect the functionality, security, and speed of your site, which will impact your visitors’ experiences for better or worse.
So if you are running a relatively small, static site that is infrequently updated and doesn’t have a lot of traffic, an inexpensive shared hosting plan is almost always the best choice.
However, if you have a mission-critical site that has a lot of moving parts with a lot of traffic and especially if it is an eCommerce site, you’ll want to seriously consider a managed hosting plan. The extra cost is more than worth it when you consider how much time you’ll save and the peace of mind you’ll have knowing your site is being managed by WordPress professionals.
Check out this article if you want to find out more about the benefits of outsourcing your WordPress site management.
Understanding the Difference Between Managed WordPress Hosting vs. Web Hosting
The managed WordPress hosting vs. web hosting debate is an important one among WordPress users and for good reason.
It’s essential to understand the differences between these two. Staying informed and using the information in this guide will help you make the right decision for your website.
Click here to contact the Sunny HQ experts and learn more about how we can help you take your website to the next level!
