Your new website is ready to launch. All you need is the right hosting to make it accessible online. WordPress hosting vs web hosting – which of these two is the way to go? While both options can get your site online, they offer distinctly different experiences and benefits.

What is WordPress hosting?

WordPress hosting is a specialised web hosting service optimised for WordPress websites. It provides servers configured specifically to run WordPress efficiently, offering enhanced performance, security and ease of use. These hosting plans typically include features like 1-Click WordPress installation, automatic updates, pre-installed plugins and WordPress-specific security measures.

What is Web hosting?

Web hosting, also referred to as shared web hosting, is an entry-level hosting option where multiple websites are hosted on a single physical server, sharing its resources such as CPU, RAM and storage. In this setup, each website has its own partition on the server, but all sites draw from the same pool of server resources. This type of hosting is cost-effective and popular among small businesses and individuals with low-traffic websites.

Let’s look at these two hosting types in further detail by unpacking the key differences that separate the two from each other:

1. Optimisation

WordPress hosting is specifically configured to run WordPress. This includes optimised PHP settings, MySQL databases and server-side caching mechanisms tailored for WordPress. Web hosting, on the other hand, is set up to accommodate various types of websites and content management systems, leading to more generalised optimisation settings.

2. Performance

Due to its specialised nature, WordPress hosting often provides better speed and performance for WordPress websites. This is achieved through WordPress-specific caching solutions, content delivery networks (CDNs), and optimised server configurations. Shared hosting, on the other hand, offers more basic caching mechanisms that are suitable to small-to-medium-sized websites with moderate traffic.

3. Features

WordPress hosting typically includes features that cater specifically to WordPress users, such as 1-Click WordPress installation, automatic core updates, staging environments for testing and pre-installed popular plugins. Web hosting usually offers a more generic set of features to accommodate various types of websites, and does not include advanced tools specifically designed for WordPress.

4. Security

WordPress hosting often includes WordPress-specific security measures such as specialised firewalls, malware scanning and automated backups tailored for WordPress sites. Shared web hosting typically also offers robust security, but these features have not been tailored to any CMS.

5. Cost

WordPress hosting is usually more expensive than basic web hosting due to its specialised nature and additional features. However, the extra cost can be justified by improved performance, security and WordPress-specific support.

6. Control

Shared web hosting often provides more flexibility to run different types of applications and scripts. WordPress hosting, while more restricted to WordPress-specific operations, often provides more control over WordPress-related settings and optimisations.

7. Resource allocation

When it comes to web hosting, your site shares server resources with various types of websites, which can lead to performance issues if another site on the server uses excessive resources. WordPress hosting often provides more isolated or dedicated resources, ensuring more consistent performance for your WordPress site.

When it comes to WordPress hosting vs web hosting, these differences highlight why it could be a better choice for WordPress-based websites to opt for hosting made specifically for them. However, shared web hosting remains a viable and often more affordable option for small websites or those not exclusively using WordPress.

About Domains.co.za
Domains.co.za is a domain name and website hosting provider based in Johannesburg. We don’t believe in tying our customers down with tedious contracts, but we do believe in offering a great service and excellent, affordable products. In fact, we usually exceed our 99.9% uptime promise. The core of our business is to help entrepreneurs, start-ups and small businesses take their ventures onto the world wide web. All our packages are scalable, which means they can grow with your business’s growth. We also offer value-added services like SSL and antivirus as well as a simple-to-use website builder add-on called Site Builder. Oh, and have you heard about our great customer Control Panel? You’ll love it! Follow Domains.co.za on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and YouTube.