In a digital world where the web often determines the success of an entire business, choosing the right hosting is crucial. Why? Because the speed, availability and security of your website depends on the quality of the hosting you choose.
WordPress, as the most popular CMS in the world, has won the hearts of many web developers (including mine) due to its flexibility and the fact that it is an open source system. However, without quality hosting, even the best website can face numerous problems – from slow page load times to frequent outages.
In this article, I’ll introduce and discuss three WordPress hosts that I have experience with: SiteGround, Your Hosting, and Wedos. I’ll try to outline their advantages and disadvantages so you can get an idea if this might be a suitable solution for your needs.
But let’s take it from the beginning.
What to look for when choosing WordPress hosting?
When choosing WordPress hosting, it’s important to focus on a few key aspects to ensure your website is fast, secure, and easy to manage.
It’s not rocket science, and while we’ll outline some of the main criteria you should look for below, I consider one golden rule in particular to be important: Make sure the company in question has servers optimized for WordPress use. And if you don’t have experience with hosting, also make sure the hosting has a one-click WordPress installation option.
However, many hosting companies (almost all) meet these basic criteria. So what else should we look at and why?
- Speed and performance: optimal load times and stable operation.
- Security: daily backups, anti-malware security and other advanced security features.Support.
- Optimized for WordPress.
- Flexibility.
- Availability: server uptime guarantee, often expressed as an uptime percentage.
- SSL certificates: Secure encryption of data between the server and the end user.
- 1-click installation.
- Storage and data transfer.
All of the hosts mentioned below meet these parameters, though they vary in quality. So let’s take a look.
A table comparing hosting providers if you don’t have time
Below you will find a table comparing the main parameters:
Níže najdete tabulku srovnávající hlavní parametry:
| Aspect | SiteGround | Váš hosting | Wedos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed and stability | Known for high speed and great stability thanks to the use of the latest technology and Google servers. | I have never experienced a problem. It is a fast and stable option. | It has strong servers and if set up properly, the speed will be good. note: Most people can’t set up their servers properly with Wedos and the result is consistent with that. |
| Security and backup | It offers automatic daily backups and advanced security features such as an anti-hack system and an internal firewall. | Security is mainly up to you as the administrator in my experience. If you have a VPS center, backups will be automatic, otherwise you will have to pay extra for backups (see https://www.vas-hosting.cz/blog-zalohovani-dedikovanych-serveru-a-vps) | Backups are and security is primarily up to you. In the Extra hosting plan, backups are automatically made daily, however, they are only available 7 days in advance (see https://www.wedos.com/cs/zalohovani/) |
| Customer support and evaluation | Excellent customer support available 24/7, with whom I have resolved a number of tricky issues, even ones that go beyond hosting. However, support is only in English. | I have a mixed experience with customer support. However, the support is in Czech, helpful and in the end we always resolved what was needed. | They offer Czech support with a fast response time. My experience is limited, however positive. |
| Price and Packages | The most expensive of all the hosting mentioned. We start at 400 CZK/month. However, for the first year, SiteGround offers a discount of 81% off this amount. | We start at 100 CZK per month, usually with some kind of discount at the beginning. | We start at 85 CZK per month, but thanks to all sorts of discounts you can get much lower. |
???? Overall Winner: Siteground
If you have a problem with English: Váš hosting
I would only recommend Wedos to advanced users who can configure it and take advantage of its features. For laymen, I would recommend avoiding the lure of Wedos at a low price.
Below you will find more detailed medallions of all the companies mentioned.
Siteground
Siteground is a dominant player in the global hosting market. And although it earns its position mainly through expensive marketing and big discounts, it is also a quality solution from a technical point of view.
The main disadvantage is the higher price and system capacity of hosting so-called inodes. The latter means in practice that, especially if you use hosting plans for multiple sites, you may hit limits relatively quickly and be forced to optimize/expand your hosting.
Below you will find a table of other advantages and disadvantages.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great server speed and stability. | More expensive than most competitors. |
| Advanced security features and automatic daily backups. | Limited storage capacity in some packages. |
| 24/7 customer support with fast response time. | [Additional drawback, if any] |
Who is Siteground ideal for from my point of view?
From my point of view, Siteground is ideal for a person who has no problem with English and is looking for fast, quality hosting that will do and look after a number of individual things for them so they can focus on the rest.
While SiteGround also has a number of pitfalls/things to know about, I have personally been using it for over 3 years for both my projects and clients and am extremely satisfied.
You can read more about SiteGround in my SiteGround review article.
Váš hosting (Your hosting)
Your hosting has been operating on the Czech hosting market for over 10 years, which puts it in the position of a well-established and quality provider.
Apart from traditional hosting services, it also offers services optimized specifically for WordPress users, making it a good choice if you are looking for WordPress hosting in Czech.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Czech provider | less clear/intuitive interface |
| optimized for WordPress | fewer built-in features |
| very helpful owner and tech team | for a layman, in my opinion, quite complicated |
Wedos
Wedos is the biggest player in the Czech hosting market, and is condemned by many people for its aggressive marketing and websites that are often slow.
But at the same time, it is one of the few hosts (at least from what I can follow) that comes up with regular innovations, sets up its own CDN, and the slow sites (and other problems) are not so much Wedos’ problems as they are the problems of people who don’t know exactly what they are buying, what they need, and have misplaced expectations.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Servers in the Czech Republic, high availability, frequent upgrades | If you “jump” to the lowest offer, you will probably be disappointed with speed and features |
| Low price offer with many features. | In my opinion, not suitable for laymen. |
| Czech support | Non-intuitive administration for laymen |
Who is Wedos ideal for from my point of view?
From my point of view, Wedos is ideal for people who know what they want and what they are doing, and who can customize the basic configuration a bit more.
On the other hand, for laymen, who are attracted to Wedos mainly because of the lowest price on the market, I would recommend avoiding this option, as these people will often pay for the low price in other ways… Often, for example, with slow speed.
Should you set up your hosting yourself or should you leave it in the hands of a professional?
In this day and age, with so many tools and platforms available for self-service website creation and hosting, it can be tempting for many people to venture out on their own. However, as a freelance web designer, I know the confusion that can sometimes be caused by those who decide to embark on this journey without the proper knowledge. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of self-hosting a website.
| For self-hosting | Against self hosting |
|---|---|
| Complete control over your website and data. | High complexity for inexperienced users. |
| Potentially lower costs in the long run. | Risk of technical problems and downtime. |
| Opportunity to learn new skills. | Demanding on time and maintenance. |
| Flexibility in server customisation. | Security risks without the right knowledge. |
| Endless possibilities for integrations and extensions. | Complications in resolving technical issues. |
Although self-hosting can bring some benefits, many non-professionals often run into complications that could often be avoided with the knowledge of a professional. It’s important to carefully consider your skills, time and resources before deciding if self-hosting is the right choice for you.
Conclusion
I have focused in this article on three hosting companies that I have experience with and have tried to pass on some of that experience to you.
Feel free to let me know how I (dis)succeeded in the comments!
At the same time, there are a large number of hosts in the Czech Republic (not to mention the world) that are missing in this comparison: Active24, Forpsi, Web Globe, Zoner/Czechia, Czech hosting, WordPress hosting and many others…
So if you would like to have an opinion on any of these mentioned hosts, let me know in the comments and I can take a closer look at them.
Frequently asked questions about WordPress hosting
Why is quality hosting important for my WordPress website?
Quality hosting ensures that your website is always available, loads quickly, and is protected from external threats such as DDoS attacks. Fast loading pages can impact SEO and keep visitors on your site, while high availability ensures that your users have a consistent and positive experience.
Can I host WordPress on any hosting?
Technically yes, you can host WordPress on most hosting services. However, dedicated WordPress hosting is optimized for the best WordPress performance, which can include automatic updates, backups, and WordPress-specific security.
What’s the difference between shared hosting and a VPS (virtual private server) for WordPress?
Shared hosting means that your website shares server resources with other websites. This can be more economical, but it can also make your site slower if other sites are using too many resources on the server. VPS is usually faster and more reliable because you have dedicated resources, but it is also usually more expensive.
Is automatic backup important for my WordPress site?
Yes, automatic backups are key. If a problem occurs, such as an update error, site attack, or other technical issue, you can easily restore your site from the last working backup instead of starting over – from scratch.
What is the effect of server location on my site speed?
Server location can significantly affect the loading speed of your site. If your visitors are predominantly from one geographic area, it is ideal to have your server as close to that area as possible. The closer the server is to your visitors, the faster your site will typically load.
What is a VPS
VPS stands for “Virtual Private Server.” It is a virtual machine provided by a hosting service on which you can run your website and applications. Unlike shared hosting, where you share resources with other sites, VPS gives you dedicated resources, which improves performance and stability. VPS is often used for sites with higher traffic or for applications that require specific server configurations.
