Most hosting comparison articles are written by affiliates who earn commissions for every signup. Here's the honest version of what actually matters for small business WordPress sites.
What Actually Matters
Speed (pages under 1 second), reliability (99.97%+ real uptime), WordPress-specific optimization (caching, PHP 8.x, staging), genuine daily backups, support that knows WordPress, and transparent renewal pricing.
Hosts to Avoid
EIG-owned hosts (Bluehost, HostGator, iPage): Notorious for overselling servers and support optimized for closing tickets rather than solving problems. Promotional pricing looks attractive; renewal rates can be 3-4x higher. GoDaddy shared hosting: Consistently among the worst performers in independent speed tests. Sales-oriented support.
Solid Options
SiteGround ($14–$40/mo): Good performance, LiteSpeed servers, excellent support. Pricing increases significantly at renewal. Cloudways ($14–$80/mo): Excellent performance, more technical interface. No email hosting included.
Premium Options
Kinsta ($35+/mo): Google Cloud-based, outstanding performance. WP Engine ($25+/mo): One of the originals. Good performance and support.
Bottom Line
For most small businesses under 50,000 monthly visits: choose managed WordPress hosting with LiteSpeed, PHP 8.x, staging, and genuine daily backups. Evaluate on renewal pricing and support quality, not promotional rates.
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