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Tag: Web Hosting

  • 8 Fastest WordPress Hosting in 2023 (Performance Tests)

    Are you looking for the fastest WordPress hosting?

    Fast hosting can help your website load more quickly. Fast loading pages improve user experience, increase your pageviews, and help with your WordPress SEO.

    In this article, we will share our performance test results to help you find the fastest WordPress hosting for your website.

    Fastest WordPress Hosting (Performance Tests)

    Why Fast WordPress Hosting Is Important

    Do you want a fast WordPress website? One way to do that is to choose a reputable WordPress hosting provider that is optimized for speed.

    The most important performance indicator is your website’s speed. It not only affects user experience, but it can also hurt your site’s search engine optimization (SEO). Users may leave a slow website before it even loads.

    According to a case study that involved Amazon, Google, and other larger sites, a 1-second delay in website speed can reduce your conversions by 7%. A delay of 3 seconds can cost you 50% of your traffic.

    speed study infograph

    On top of that, Google and other search engines penalize slower websites by pushing them down in the search results.

    This means slow sites get less traffic, while a fast WordPress website will help you get more traffic, subscribers, and revenue.

    How We Tested Website Performance for the Fastest WordPress Hosting Providers

    One reason that WPBeginner is the most trusted WordPress resource site is that our reviews are based on actual data and experience.

    To find the fastest WordPress hosting providers, we actually signed up with each provider and thoroughly tested their services.

    We wanted to accurately measure performance across all WordPress hosting companies, so we created the same sample WordPress site on each hosting provider and used the default WordPress theme.

    Next, we imported dummy content for theme development, including images and media, so our test resembles an average user website.

    Then, we used independent third-party tools to test the performance of our sample website on each hosting provider:

    1. We used Pingdom, an industry-leading website speed test service, to get a performance grade for each provider and measure how long it took a page to load.
    2. We used the Load Impact (k6) service to send virtual users (VU) to each website to see how the hosting server would handle multiple connections at once, like peak traffic times of up to 100 visitors at once.
    3. We used Bitcatcha to test server response times across many geographical locations, including the United States, London, Singapore, São Paulo, India, Sydney, and Japan. This helps us decide which hosting company is best for each geographical location.

    Now that you know our testing process, let’s compare the performance of different hosting companies to see which is the fastest WordPress hosting company on the market.

    1. Hostinger

    Hostinger

    Hostinger is a popular web hosting provider with a reliable and user-friendly platform to launch websites. They offer affordable shared hosting plans with great customer support, a free domain name, a free SSL certificate, and more.

    You can learn more in our complete Hostinger review.

    Pingdom Website Speed Test

    Here are the Pingdom speed testing tool results for Hostinger.

    Hostinger speedtest results

    Our test site loading speed was a fraction of a second at 181 milliseconds, which is great. But keep in mind that this test was performed when the website had no traffic. Let’s take a look at how that speed is affected by more visitors.

    k6 Load Impact Test

    Here are the k6 performance overview results for Hostinger. To see how more visitors would impact the site’s speed, we gradually built up to 100 unique visitors at once.

    Hostinger stress test results

    As you can see, Hostinger performed really well on this test. As we increased virtual users (purple line), the response time (blue line) remained steady, with an average of 460 milliseconds.

    This means that if you have a small business website, an online store, or a growing blog, your Hostinger website will easily handle sudden traffic spikes.

    Bitcatcha Server Response Time

    The web server’s response time will vary depending on how far your visitors are from the server. The Bitcatcha test measures how fast the Hostinger server actually responds from different locations around the world without loading the web page.

    Hostinger response time

    You can see that the response times were great across the board. They were particularly fast in Europe and North America.

    Hostinger Pros and Cons

    Hostinger is a robust platform to host your website. Now that you have seen their performance test results, you might like to see some of their other pros and cons.

    Pros:

    • Most affordable hosting on the market
    • Performance-optimized hosting
    • Excellent customer support
    • 1-click WordPress install
    • Free domain and free SSL certificate
    • Many datacenters across the world

    Cons:

    • Renewal prices are a bit higher

    Why We Chose Hostinger

    Hostinger is a great option for beginners who want to start a website without spending too much money. Their low-price shared hosting options offer good value for money with great performance and an extremely easy-to-use control panel.

    Hostinger Pricing Plans

    Hostinger offers many hosting plans with different features starting at $2.99/month. These plans include shared hosting, eCommerce hosting, VPS hosting, cloud hosting, a website builder, and more.

    Pro Tip: WPBeginner users can get the best price using our Hostinger coupon code.

    2. DreamHost

    DreamHost

    DreamHost is a popular, award-winning hosting company and one of WordPress.org’s officially recommended hosts. Their plans include automatic daily backups, a free SSL certificate, a free domain name, WordPress privacy features, and more.

    Learn more in our complete DreamHost review.

    Pingdom Website Speed Test

    Here are the Pingdom speed testing tool results for DreamHost.

    Dreamhost Website Speed Test

    Our test site loaded in less than half a second with a total of 335 milliseconds, which is excellent. This test was done during low traffic, so let’s now see how DreamHost responds during peak traffic times.

    k6 Load Impact Test

    Here are the k6 performance overview results for DreamHost. We built up to 100 unique virtual visitors at once to see how the server would handle more requests and connections at the same time.

    Dreamhost Load Impact Test without Caching

    While our site remained available throughout the test, the response time went up as users increased. The average response time was 2,193 milliseconds.

    This poor result happened because we turned off DreamHost’s pre-installed WordPress caching solution. So, we tried enabling a caching plugin, and the stress test result improved dramatically. Notice how much lower the light blue line is in the graph below.

    Dreamhost Load Impact Test

    This time, our test site handled 97 requests per second (16,000 requests total), and the average response time was a very fast 77 milliseconds.

    This means that WordPress blogs, small business websites, and eCommerce stores hosted on Dreamhost can easily handle sudden traffic spikes.

    Bitcatcha Server Response Time

    Next, we used Bitcatcha to test our Dreamhost test site’s response time from different geographic locations.

    Dreamhost Server Response Time Test

    DreamHost’s response times remained consistent around the world and were fastest in North America and Europe.

    DreamHost Pros and Cons

    DreamHost has been around for 18 years and is known for making web hosting easy. Now that you have seen their performance test results, you might like to see some other pros and cons.

    Pros:

    • Award-winning hosting
    • Excellent customer support
    • Officially recommended by WordPress
    • 1-click WordPress install
    • Free domain name, SSL certificate, and privacy
    • Automatic daily WordPress backups

    Cons:

    Why We Chose DreamHost

    DreamHost is highly rated for their fast and reliable hosting, which is great for bloggers, online store owners, developers, and web designers. They have won many awards and get excellent reviews from their customers. But they may not be the right choice if you need a lot of help getting started.

    DreamHost Pricing Plans

    DreamHost’s shared hosting plans start at $2.59 per month (for a 3-year billing period). You can also pay monthly for the Shared Starter plan, which costs $4.59 per month.

    WPBeginner users can get the best price on shared hosting using our DreamHost coupon code and shared hosting using our DreamPress coupon code.

    3. WP Engine

    WP Engine Managed Hosting

    WP Engine specializes in VIP managed WordPress hosting, which is an ideal choice for people looking for hassle-free, premium WordPress hosting. They provide automatic backups, security updates, caching, WordPress security, and more.

    You can learn more in our complete WP Engine review.

    Pingdom Website Speed Test

    Here are the Pingdom speed testing tool results for WP Engine.

    WP Engine speed test result

    Our WP Engine test site loaded in less than half a second (337 milliseconds) without any performance optimizations on our end. This is a good result.

    k6 Load Impact Test

    Next, we tested how WP Engine servers respond under peak traffic using a tool called k6. Here are the results as we gradually built the test up to 100 unique visitors at once.

    WP Engine stress test result

    As you can see, our test WP Engine website maintained an incredible response rate throughout the test, with an average response time of 67.01 milliseconds. It performed really well with only minor spikes.

    Bitcatcha Server Response Time

    The Bitcatcha test measures how fast a server responds from different locations around the world. Here are the results for WP Engine:

    WP Engine response time tests

    WP Engine’s server response time was fastest on the east coast of the United States (30 milliseconds), and even its slowest speed of 235 milliseconds in Bangalore is very fast at less than one-quarter of a second.

    WP Engine Pros and Cons

    WP Engine offers fast servers, security, and peace of mind that users need from a managed WordPress host. Now that you have seen their performance test results, you might like to see some of their other pros and cons.

    Pros:

    • Fast loading times
    • 24/7 expert WordPress support
    • Advanced security tools to protect your website against DDoS attacks, SQL injections, brute force attacks, and more
    • 1-click WordPress install
    • Free SSL certificate, content delivery network (CDN), and site backups
    • WordPress staging tools
    • 36+ Premium Themes

    Cons:

    • No free domain
    • WP Engine doesn’t allow you to install some WordPress plugins

    Why We Chose WP Engine

    WP Engine can be a great option if you are looking for a completely hassle-free web host for your WordPress site. Their advanced features will save you time, and there is plenty of room to scale as your traffic increases.

    WP Engine Pricing Plans

    WP Engine only offers managed WordPress hosting, and 5 different levels are available, starting at $20/month and going up to $194/month.

    WPBeginner users can get the best price using our WP Engine coupon code.

    4. SiteGround

    SiteGround hosting

    SiteGround is one of the most recommended WordPress hosting companies, and we use them ourselves on WPBeginner. Among other features, they allow customers to choose between 6 different datacenters worldwide.

    Learn more in our complete SiteGround review.

    Pingdom Website Speed Test

    Here are the Pingdom speed testing tool results for SiteGround.

    SiteGround speed test result

    Our SiteGround test site loaded in 491 milliseconds, which is less than half a second. This speed is incredible, but the website had no traffic during this test. Let’s see how more visitors will affect the speed.

    k6 Load Impact Test

    To test how SiteGround servers would respond to increased traffic, we used a tool called k6 to gradually send up to 100 users to our test website.

    Here are the results:

    SiteGround stress test results

    This test shows that SiteGround is a good choice if you are looking for a really fast website. It performed consistently throughout the test without any hiccups, and an average response time of 249.71 milliseconds.

    This is partly because of some of the innovations they use. For example, most of their servers are hosted on the Google Cloud Platform, and they have a custom plugin for optimization called SG Optimizer.

    Bitcatcha Server Response Time
    We also ran a Bitcatcha test to see the response time around the world. Here are the results:

    SiteGround server response time from multiple locations

    The server responded in just a fraction of a second in the United States, making SiteGround a great choice if your target audience is mostly in North America.

    It responded quickly in other locations as well. Plus, SiteGround lets you choose a data center closer to your target audience so you can get the best response times in a particular region.

    SiteGround Pros and Cons

    We found SiteGround to be fast and reliable. Here are some of their other pros and cons.

    Pros:

    • Speedy servers powered by Google Cloud
    • Excellent customer support
    • 1-click WordPress install
    • Free domain name, SSL certificate, CDN, and website backups
    • WordPress staging tools
    • Free website migration

    Cons:

    • A bit more expensive than other hosting options

    Why We Chose SiteGround

    SiteGround offers fast and reliable web hosting with great customer support. They have hosting plans for every budget, and each plan comes with super fast servers and the option to pick your datacenter.

    SiteGround Pricing Plans

    SiteGround’s shared hosting packages are available in three levels to match different budgets. The Startup plan is limited to one website and costs $4.99/month. The GrowBig plan costs $7.99/month, and the GoGeek plan costs $14.99/month. These plans offer unlimited websites.

    WPBeginner users get an exclusive 70% discount and free SSL with our SiteGround coupon code.

    5. GreenGeeks

    GreenGeeks

    GreenGeeks is a web hosting provider whose goal is to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Their hosting plans also offer great performance, managed updates, a choice of 5 datacenters, and more.

    You can learn more in our complete GreenGeeks review.

    Pingdom Website Speed Test

    Here are the Pingdom speed testing tool results for GreenGeeks.

    GreenGeeks speed test results

    Without additional traffic, our test site loaded in about half a second (527 milliseconds), which is great. Next, we ran a k6 stress test to see how extra traffic affects the site performance.

    k6 Load Impact Test

    We used the k6 tool to measure how GreenGeeks performs during peak traffic, gradually building up to 100 unique visitors.

    Here are the results:

    GreenGeeks stress test results

    Unfortunately, GreenGeeks didn’t perform well during this test. Performance started to degrade after there were 30 users visiting the site. The response time became too slow, and the server started giving errors.

    This means that GreenGeeks will work well on a small website but isn’t recommended for sites with lots of visitors. Traffic spikes will significantly degrade your website performance and may cause downtime.

    Installing a WordPress caching plugin may help a little. But it won’t make a significant improvement on a slow web server.

    Bitcatcha Server Response Time

    We also tested GreenGeeks’ response time around the world using Bitcatcha. Here are the results:

    GreenGeeks response time

    Our test GreenGeeks site responded quickly for visitors in North America. It was slower in other parts of the world, such as India and the Asia Pacific region, but these times are still quite fast.

    GreenGeeks Pros and Cons

    GreenGeeks is affordable, and their plans include plenty of useful features. Now that you have seen their performance test results, you might like to see some pros and cons.

    Pros:

    • Environmentally-friendly hosting
    • A free domain name
    • Great customer support
    • 1-click WordPress install
    • Free SSL certificate, CDN, and website backups
    • Built-in performance tools, including LiteSpeed caching

    Cons:

    • Their phone support isn’t available 24/7

    Why We Chose GreenGeeks

    GreenGeeks is the most eco-friendly web hosting. It is a good hosting solution for anyone who is just starting out. For higher traffic volumes, you may need to upgrade to a high-performance plan or move to a managed WordPress hosting provider.

    GreenGeeks Pricing Plans

    GreenGeeks has a wide range of hosting plans for customers of every size, starting at $2.95/month.

    WPBeginner users can get the best price using our GreenGeeks coupon code.

    6. Rocket.net

    Rocket.net

    Rocket.net is a managed WordPress hosting company offering super-fast and fully managed WordPress hosting solutions. Their plans come with a custom, user-friendly hosting dashboard, a CDN, automated backups, and more.

    You can learn more in our complete Rocket.net review.

    Pingdom Website Speed Test

    Here are the Pingdom speed testing tool results for Rocket.net.

    Rocket.net speed test results

    Our test website loaded in 588 ms, which is just over half a second.

    k6 Load Impact Test

    We then used the k6 tool to test how Rocket.net would hold up under traffic spikes. We slowly increased the number of virtual users to 100, sending multiple page requests.

    Rocket.net stress test result

    This is an excellent result. Our test site responded quickly, regardless of the number of users and page requests. It also had an average response time of 13.91 milliseconds.

    Bitcatcha Server Response Time

    Next, we used Bitcatcha to measure response times for Rocket.net from different geographic locations.

    Rocket.net response times

    These results are incredibly fast. Our test site responded in just a couple of milliseconds for all locations.

    That’s because Rocket.net uses a CDN and cloud edge network. Users are sent to the closest server for the fastest response time.

    Rocket.net Pros and Cons

    Rocket.net offers a fast and reliable platform to host your website. Now that you have seen their performance test results, here are some of their other pros and cons.

    Pros:

    • Very fast servers
    • Excellent customer support
    • 1-click WordPress install
    • Free SSL certificate and CDN
    • WordPress staging tools
    • Integrated firewall and WordPress security features

    Cons:

    • No free domain

    Why We Chose Rocket.net

    Rocket.net’s servers are fast and highly optimized for WordPress websites. You also get peace of mind with enhanced security, automatic updates, and knowledgeable support. This is why we recommend Rocket.net as one of our best choices for a managed WordPress hosting provider.

    Rocket.net Pricing Plans

    Rocket.net offers 4 levels of managed WordPress hosting plans starting at $25/month (billed annually).

    WPBeginner users can get the best pricing using our Rocket.net coupon.

    7. HostGator

    HostGator

    HostGator is one of the largest and most popular hosting companies in the world. They offer all kinds of hosting plans, including shared, managed, and VPS hosting.

    You can learn more in our complete HostGator review.

    Pingdom Website Speed Test

    Here are the Pingdom speed testing tool results for HostGator.

    HostGator speed test result

    Our test site loaded in just 1.03 seconds. This is a great result without traffic, so we also ran a k6 stress test to see how extra users affect our site’s performance.

    k6 Load Impact Test

    We sent up to 100 users at once to our test site using the k6 tool to see how HostGator performs under load. Here are the results:

    HostGator stress test result

    The average response time of 234.99 milliseconds is particularly good for a shared hosting account.

    Bitcatcha Server Response Time

    Response time is also affected by how far your visitors are from the server. We ran a Bitcatcha test to measure response time from 10 locations around the world.

    HostGator response time test results

    In the United States, our HostGator testing site responded in just 26 milliseconds. Times from other locations were also fast, and the slowest speed in India was still a respectable 262 milliseconds.

    You can be confident that a HostGator website will load quickly around the world.

    HostGator Pros and Cons

    HostGator has grown quickly due to their great shared hosting plans, reliable web hosting, and quality customer service. Here are some of their pros and cons.

    Pros:

    • Reliable web hosting
    • Free domain and SSL certificate
    • Free business email address
    • 1-click WordPress install
    • 45-day money-back guarantee

    Cons:

    • Higher monthly pricing
    • HostGator uses a lot of aggressive upselling tactics

    Why We Chose HostGator

    Over 2 million customers trust HostGator. They offer a variety of fast hosting plans that fit all budgets and requirements, as well as the user-friendly tools you will need to build a website.

    HostGator Pricing Plans

    HostGator plans include shared hosting, VPS hosting, cloud hosting, reseller hosting, and dedicated hosting. The Hatchling plan starts at $3.75/month and allows you to host only one website.

    WPBeginner users get an exclusive 60% off with our HostGator coupon code.

    8. Bluehost

    Bluehost hosting

    Bluehost is one of the biggest web hosting companies in the world and an official WordPress-recommended hosting provider. They are a great option for beginners, and their budget-friendly plans are suitable for all kinds of websites.

    Learn more in our complete Bluehost review.

    Pingdom Website Speed Test

    Here are the Pingdom speed testing tool results for Bluehost.

    Bluehost speed test results

    Our test site loaded in well under two seconds. However, this test was performed when the site had little traffic.

    k6 Load Impact Test

    We then used the k6 tool to test how Bluehost servers respond to increased traffic. We gradually sent up to 100 visitors to the site to see how it would handle increased requests from multiple connections at once.

    Bluehost stress test results

    You can see that the blue server load time line remained stable even though traffic and page requests increased. There was an average response time of 156.45 milliseconds.

    Bitcatcha Server Response Time

    We also used the Bitcatcha server response test to see how the server response time varies around the world.

    Bluehost response time test result

    The fastest response times were for users in the United States and Canada. In other parts of the world, the time was higher, but still acceptable.

    Note that this test was performed with a Bluehost server in the United States. If your users come from other parts of the world, then you can change the server location to improve the response time.

    Bluehost Pros and Cons

    Bluehost is reliable, fast, and affordable, with friendly 24/7 customer support. Now that you have seen the Bluehost performance test results, you can check out their pros and cons.

    Pros:

    • Affordable hosting prices
    • Free domain name
    • Free CDN + SSL certificate
    • Great customer support
    • Officially recommended by WordPress
    • 1-click WordPress install

    Cons:

    • Higher domain renewal price

    Why We Chose Bluehost

    Bluehost is often ranked the #1 web hosting provider by many websites. They offer a wide range of hosting options with tons of features that help you easily build your website. All their hosting plans include expert 24/7 customer support from knowledgeable staff. Most importantly, they offer affordable starter plans that fit any budget requirement.

    Bluehost Pricing Plans

    Bluehost offers a shared hosting package suitable for starter websites. Their shared plan is available at 4 different levels starting at just $2.75/month.

    WPBeginner users can get the best price using our exclusive Bluehost coupon code.

    Which Is the Fastest WordPress Hosting Provider?

    Now that we’ve shared our performance test results for each hosting provider, let’s take a look at which services are the fastest.

    Page Load Time

    Pingdom assigned a performance grade to each service to give you an idea of how optimized the hosting is for speed. The grade is based on how well the service implemented its recommended performance optimization strategies.

    Half the services in this review were given an A, and the rest a B.

    Hosting Provider Performance Grade Page Load Time
    Hostinger B 86 181 ms
    Dreamhost A 95 335 ms
    WP Engine A 94 337 ms
    SiteGround A 94 491 ms
    GreenGeeks B 89 527 ms
    Rocket.net B 87 588 ms
    HostGator B 85 1,030 ms
    Bluehost A 91 1,480 ms

    A more important metric is the page load time. Here, Hostinger was quickest, with the page loading in just 181 milliseconds.

    Three other services, DreamHost, WP Engine, and SiteGround, had loading times of less than half a second.

    However, all providers had loading times of well under 2 seconds, which is very good.

    Response Time During Peak Times

    The page load times above were tested during low-traffic periods. So, we also tested how each provider’s response time changed when we sent multiple users to the site.

    Note that this test didn’t time how long it took the page to load, just how long it took until the server could respond. It also measured how that response time changed as we sent more and more users.

    Here are the average response times for each provider during our stress test.

    Hosting Provider Average Response Time
    Rocket.net 13 ms
    WP Engine 67 ms
    Dreamhost 77 ms
    Bluehost 156 ms
    HostGator 235 ms
    SiteGround 250 ms
    Hostinger 460 ms
    GreenGeeks 3450 ms

    Rocket.net performed especially well in the stress test, and most of the other services maintained a stable load during the test.

    However, GreenGeeks did not perform well when encountering a lot of visitors at the same time. You can address this by installing a WordPress caching plugin. However, if your web server is slow, then caching alone won’t make much difference.

    Response Time Around the World

    We also tested each provider’s response times from different locations around the world. That’s because the response time will be slower the further your users are away from the company’s web servers.

    Here are the response times (measured in milliseconds) for each provider from 8 locations around the world.

    Host US
    (W)
    US
    (E)
    UK Singapore Brazil India AU Japan CA Germany
    Hostinger 147 83 10 280 192 126 270 255 90 10
    Dreamhost 18 81 153 182 190 283 158 112 83 168
    WP Engine 56 30 95 189 140 23 190 128 30 109
    SiteGround 60 34 104 254 157 257 200 161 29 114
    GreenGeeks 50 27 89 214 147 212 185 152 20 101
    Rocket.net 2 1 3 7 4 5 1 2 2 2
    HostGator 26 71 152 189 193 262 163 128 92 159
    Bluehost 46 35 107 212 140 226 179 159 47 116

    Rocket.net recorded blazing-fast speeds around the world.

    SiteGround and Bluehost are good options anywhere in the world because you can choose a data center location where most of your users are.

    Besides these hosting providers, if most of your visitors are in the United States, then your best options include DreamHost, HostGator, and WP Engine.

    Your visitors in Europe will have the fastest experience with Rocket.net and Hostinger, and the Asia Pacific users will enjoy the fastest speeds with Rocket.net.

    Fastest Overall WordPress Hosting Providers

    Our top web hosting recommendations are:

    Based on our performance tests, these are all good choices for fast hosting.

    However, if website speed and performance are your highest priority, then you should also look carefully at Rocket.net. They have a better response time under load and around the world than any other provider.

    FAQs About WordPress Hosting

    Having helped over 400,000+ users start their websites, we have answered quite a lot of questions. Below are some of the answers to the most frequently asked questions about WordPress hosting.

    Do I need WordPress hosting to start a website?

    If you want to build a WordPress website, then you need web hosting. Your hosting server is where your website files are stored.

    Every website that you see online uses a web hosting provider.

    Are there any free WordPress hosting providers?

    Yes, there are several free website hosting companies out there, but we highly recommend that you stay away from them.

    In most cases, free WordPress hosting providers put advertisements on your website. They may even distribute malware to your users. Last but not least, they can shut down your website at any time without any notification.

    Avoid anyone who offers to give you free WordPress hosting, especially if you are serious about your site. Here are reasons why having a ‘free website’ is a bad idea.

    How much does it cost to build a WordPress site?

    The cost of building a WordPress website varies based on your needs. It can range from $100 to as high as $30,000. We have created a detailed guide explaining how much it really costs to build a WordPress website.

    How do I install WordPress on my WordPress hosting account?

    Every WordPress hosting provider that we recommend comes with a 1-click WordPress install. You can follow our step-by-step guide on how to install WordPress on your host.

    Can I switch my WordPress hosting provider later?

    Yes, you can absolutely switch if you are unhappy with your WordPress hosting company.

    Most WordPress hosting companies offer free migration services, which makes the process fairly smooth. However, if you want to do the migration yourself, then you can follow our step-by-step guide on how to move WordPress to a new host with no downtime.

    Best WordPress Guides for Web Hosting

    Want to learn more about WordPress hosting? Here are our best guides on the topic:

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post 8 Fastest WordPress Hosting in 2023 (Performance Tests) first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • How to Host Multiple Websites on One Server (Beginner’s Guide)

    Do you want to host multiple WordPress websites on a single server?

    You can easily manage multiple domains from a single place by hosting them on one server. Plus, it helps save costs as you won’t need to purchase separate servers for each website.

    In this article, we will show you how to host multiple websites on one server.

    How to host multiple websites on one server

    Why Host Multiple Websites on One Server?

    If you’re planning on expanding your business from one website to more, then it’s a feasible option to host them on a single server.

    That’s because it is easier to manage them from a single place. It can be time-consuming and inconvenient to log in and out of multiple WordPress websites on different servers. If all your websites are on one server, then you can simply switch between them from the same dashboard.

    Hosting multiple sites on a single server will also help save and be more economical for your business.

    Many hosting providers offer dedicated hosting where you have full control over the server and allow you to set up more than 1 website.

    Instead of purchasing individual hosting plans for each site, you can choose a plan that allows multiple WordPress sites on one server. This will also allow you to fully utilize your server resources.

    That said, let’s see how you can host multiple websites on one server.

    Select a Hosting Service and Buy Domains

    Before you can add any website to a server, the first step is to purchase a hosting service and domain names for your websites.

    Choosing a WordPress Hosting Provider

    There are many services to choose from, but we recommend Hostinger. It is a fast-growing web hosting provider that offers different types of hosting options.

    For instance, you can get premium shared hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, cloud hosting, managed hosting, and more.

    Hostinger website

    In the Hostinger WordPress Starter plan, you can add up to 100 websites, get free email, an SSL certificate, unlimited bandwidth, managed WordPress, and more. You also get 1 free domain name, but you’ll need to purchase other domains.

    The best part is that WPBeginner users can get up to 81% OFF on WordPress hosting plans. Simply click the link below to claim the offer.

    Another advantage of using Hostinger WordPress plans is that WordPress comes pre-installed. You don’t have to manually install WordPress for your websites.

    If you’re looking for alternatives, then you can also use Bluehost or SiteGround to add multiple sites to one server.

    Purchasing Domain Names for Your Website

    After choosing a web hosting platform, the next step is to purchase domain names that you’ll need to host on a server.

    Hostinger lets you buy a new domain or transfer an existing domain. To purchase a domain, simply go to the ‘Domains’ tab from your Hostinger dashboard.

    From here, simply select the ‘Get a new domain’ option.

    Click the get a new domain option

    Next, you can search for a domain name.

    Go ahead and enter a keyword or brand name in the search bar.

    Search your domain name

    From here, you’ll see a list of URL options along with different domain extensions and prices.

    Simply select an option you want and click the ‘Buy domain’ button.

    Buy a domain name

    Next, a popup will open with different billing periods for your domain name.

    Go ahead and choose a billing period.

    Select billing period

    After that, you can complete the checkout process by choosing a payment method and purchasing the domain name.

    You can repeat this process to purchase as many additional domains as you’d like.

    Alternative Method: If you don’t want to buy a domain from Hostinger, then there are many domain registrars that allow you to register a domain name with ease. For instance, you can use Domain.com as it offers top-level extensions, an easy domain registration process, and a bunch of features.

    Adding Multiple WordPress Sites to One Server

    After selecting a hosting provider and buying domain names, you can add multiple sites to one server.

    From your Hostinger dashboard, you can go to the ‘Websites’ tab and click on the + Create or migrate a website option.

    Click create or migrate a website

    Next, Hostinger will walk you through the process of creating a new website on the same server.

    For instance, you can select a website type. This includes an online store, blog, business, portfolio, and other types.

    Select your website type

    After that, you’ll need to select whether you’d like to create or migrate a website.

    If you already have a website on another hosting platform, then you can transfer it to Hostinger. Simply select the ‘Migrate my website’ option and follow the steps.

    For this tutorial, we will select the ‘Create a new website’ option.

    Select create or migrate option

    Next, you can select a platform to build a new website. Hostinger will offer 2 methods, where you can use WordPress with artificial intelligence (AI) or use Hostinger’s website builder with AI to create a site.

    Go ahead and choose the ‘WordPress with AI’ option.

    Select a platform

    From here, you’ll need to enter login details for your account.

    Simply choose a language, select an administrator email, enter a password, and click the ‘Continue’ button.

    Create login details for new website

    In the next step, Hositnger will ask you to add WordPress plugins to your site.

    You can simply select the plugins you want to install and click the ‘Continue’ button.

    Add plugins to your site

    After that, you will need to select a website design.

    Hostinger will load the default theme, but you can click the ‘Browse more templates’ option to view more designs.

    Select a website design

    From here, you can choose a different theme for your website.

    You can also click the ‘Show More’ button at the bottom to load more templates.

    Once you’re done, simply choose a design and click the ‘Select’ button.

    See more website designs

    Next, Hostinger will ask you to enter a brand name and a description of your business.

    It uses ChatGPT to generate a few pieces of content for your website. Once you are done, simply click the ‘Continue’ button.

    Create automated text with AI

    You can also skip this step by entering a name and brief description and then clicking the ‘Skip, I will write content later’ option at the bottom.

    After that, you’ll need to enter a name for your website. Hostinger will show 2 options, you can either select the ‘buy a domain or ‘use an existing domain’ option.

    Enter a name for your site

    If you haven’t purchased a domain name yet, then you can select the ‘Buy a Domain’ option and get one with Hostinger.

    However, if you already have multiple domains on another provider, then you can select the ‘Use an Existing Domain’ option.

    For this tutorial, let’s choose the ‘Use an Existing Domain’ option.

    Enter a domain name

    Next, you will need to enter the domain name and click the ‘Continue’ button.

    A popup window will now open with details for pointing the domain to Hostinger nameservers.

    View existing domain name details

    You can see your domain’s existing nameservers and the required nameservers you’d need to change in the domain registration service. The instructions will vary depending on the domain registrar you’re using.

    If you need help with domain transfer, then Hostinger offers step-by-step guides and documentation. You can also reach out to their support for further assistance.

    Note: You’ll also need to ensure that the domain you’re transferring is not locked by the current registrar and that 60 days have passed since initial registration.

    After noting down the nameservers, you can click the ‘Continue’ button.

    View wordpress installation

    Hostinger will then start to set up your website. It will take a few minutes for the setup to complete.

    The final step is to click the ‘Connect’ button under the Connect Your Domain option after you’ve set nameservers in your domain registrar.

    Click connect your domain

    Once connected, you can view your website from the Hostinger dashboard.

    Simply visit the ‘Websites’ tab to see your newly added site.

    View your newly added site

    You can now repeat these steps and click the ‘+ Create or migrate a website’ option to add as many websites as you want to a single server.

    Bonus: How to Create More Sites Using WordPress Multisite

    A WordPress multisite allows you to run and manage multiple websites from a single WordPress installation. You’ll see multisite networks used by large corporations that need separate domains for each department, universities and schools, news outlets, online businesses, and more.

    There is a slight difference between hosting multiple sites on a single server and a WordPress multisite.

    In a multisite, you have the same parent domain (example.com), and the new sites are subdomains (blog.example.com). They can share plugins, users, and other elements based on your settings.

    On the other hand, hosting multiple sites on a single server means you have different domain names for each website. They’re all completely separate from one another.

    You can easily set up a WordPress multisite using any web hosting service, including Hostinger. Once it’s set up, you’ll be able to add multiple sites to the network and manage them from the same dashboard on one server.

    Multisite network settings

    To learn more, please see our guide on how to install and setup a WordPress multisite network.

    We hope this article helped you learn how to host multiple websites on one server. You may also want to see our guide on how much does it cost to build a WordPress website and the best GoDaddy alternatives.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post How to Host Multiple Websites on One Server (Beginner’s Guide) first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • 5 Best Monthly Web Hosting Plans (Starts at $4.95/mo.)

    Are you looking for the best monthly web hosting plans?

    Most popular web hosting companies offer big discounts on annual, bi-annual, and multiple-year payment terms.

    These discounts may be promoted as low monthly payments, but when you go to the checkout page, you’ll pay a hefty amount upfront to buy the web hosting.

    In this article, we will share some of the best monthly web hosting plans that let you truly sign up for a month-to-month hosting service.

    Best Monthly Web Hosting Plans

    Why Choose a Monthly Web Hosting Plan?

    Many web hosting companies only offer discounts if you buy hosting for a full year or multiple years. That makes it can cost hundreds of dollars just to get started.

    Plus, if you don’t like the web hosting service, you may not be able to get a full refund, and you will lose your initial investment.

    A true monthly web hosting plan will be cheaper to get started. With a month-to-month hosting plan, you won’t commit to a hosting provider long-term, and it’s easier to move to another web hosting company.

    This allows you to choose the best hosting provider with the features you need to host your WordPress website.

    And more importantly, you will only pay a low monthly cost for the web hosting service you use.

    Without further delay, let’s look at some of the best monthly web hosting plans for small businesses.

    1. Dreamhost – $4.95/mo.

    DreamHost Web Hosting

    DreamHost is one of the most well-known web hosting companies, and they’re an official WordPress-recommended hosting provider. They offer the cheapest month-to-month web hosting plan on the market.

    They provide a custom control panel to add your domain name, manage emails, and access web hosting features.

    Moreover, DreamHost comes with automated website backups. These daily backups ensure the complete safety of your content.

    When it comes to DreamHost’s monthly pricing, their WordPress Starter or Shared plan costs $4.95/month with a free SSL certificate, free website migration, and more.

    You will have to pay for the domain name separately, which is fair.

    But if you’re willing to commit for the year, WPBeginner users can get up to a 72% discount on their Shared plan with a free domain name, website builder, SSD storage, and more.

    Our DreamHost coupon code is applicable on the 1-year and 3-year payment plans.

    DreamHost pricing plans and payment options

    DreamHost has other web hosting solutions, including VPS hosting, managed WordPress hosting, dedicated server hosting, WooCommerce hosting, and cloud hosting.

    Don’t miss our complete DreamHost review for more details on their shared hosting options and pricing plans.

    2. Hostinger – $2.69/mo.

    Hostinger website

    Hostinger is one of the leading web hosting companies on the global market. It offers WordPress website hosting, shared hosting, and cloud hosting plans.

    The month-to-month shared hosting plan from Hostinger starts at $11.99 for a single website.

    If you’re looking for a web hosting plan for multiple sites, then we recommend their WordPress Starter plan. It comes with a free domain name, a free SSL certificate, and free unlimited email accounts.

    The Hostinger WordPress Starter plan costs $11.99/month.

    You can use WPBeginner’s exclusive Hostinger coupon code to get a discount on your monthly web hosting plan. The Hostinger promo code offers more discounts on longer commitments.

    For example, if you choose to pay for up to 12 months, the cost for the WordPress basic hosting plan reduces to $2.99/month.

    And WPBeginner users get an additional discount that makes it $2.69/month.

    In short, you’ll pay $32.29 at once to get WordPress hosting for the full year.

    Hostinger Pricing and plans

    Their shared hosting plans cost similar to WordPress hosting. However, you’ll need to pay an additional setup fee.

    Hostinger also offers Virtual Private Server hosting (VPS hosting) plans, Minecraft server hosting, and other solutions.

    We ran several tests on Hostinger, and here’s our complete Hostinger review that may interest you.

    3. Bluehost – $2.75/mo.

    Bluehost offer for WPBeginner readers

    Bluehost is one of the most popular web hosting providers and an officially recommended WordPress hosting partner.

    Though they don’t offer a month-to-month web hosting plan, the initial cost is so low that we couldn’t resist adding them to this list.

    And you’ll save triple your investment with a free domain name, free SSL certificate, and a BIG discount on your web hosting package.

    So if you’re just starting out, we recommend Bluehost as the best web hosting for beginners, startups, and small businesses.

    The initial cost for your web hosting plan will be as low as $33 for the first year.

    This also includes your free domain name, free SSL certificate, and a cPanel for a one-click WordPress installation.

    Bluehost Package

    However, on the renewal, you’ll need to pay the full cost for your web hosting plan and domain name. But by then, you’ll be able to grow your business to afford the price.

    And if you still want to switch, you can easily move your WordPress site to a new web hosting company for a month-to-month hosting plan. Some web hosting providers also offer free migration services, so you’re safe anyway.

    On a side note, we thoroughly tested Bluehost for its features, speed, and uptime. And we recommend it to everyone, all the time.

    Most of our WPBeginner users start their websites with Bluehost web hosting and grow their businesses to the next level.

    4. SiteGround – $19.99/mo.

    SiteGround web hosting

    SiteGround is one of the best WordPress hosting providers. Their web hosting is optimized for speed and security. We use SiteGround to host the WPBeginner website.

    Among top features, SiteGround offers automatic WordPress updates, a free CDN network to improve page load time, a custom web application firewall to protect your web server against malware and DDoS attacks, and more.

    Their customer support team is available 24/7 to help you with any of your concerns, which you may rarely have with SiteGround web hosting.

    SiteGround has data centers all over the world since they use the Google Cloud network. It’s the reason they can provide a 99.9% uptime guarantee on their web hosting platform. Over the years of using their platform, we have never had downtime for the WPBeginner site.

    The SiteGround’s StartUp plan costs $19.99/month.

    It’s an expensive monthly web hosting plan compared to other hosting providers on the list, but it also includes functionality like free site migration, free SSL certificate, eCommerce support, basic WordPress site management, out of the box caching addons, and more.

    And WPBeginner’s exclusive SiteGround coupon code lets you buy their WordPress hosting plan with an 80% discount.

    This reduces the cost to up to $2.99/month for the StartUp plan.

    SiteGround pricing plan and payment options

    SiteGround’s discount deal is only valid when you choose to pay for up to 12 months upfront. So you’ll pay $35.88 for 12 months and get access to all their WordPress hosting features.

    The best part is that they also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

    Aside from WordPress, SiteGround also has cheap web hosting for other content management systems like Drupal, Joomla, Magento, and basically any other Linux based app.

    We have done a detailed SiteGround review which shared performance tests from various locations along with coverage of their additional services like Site Scanner.

    5. WP Engine – $30 / mo.

    WP Engine WordPress Hosting Homepage

    WP Engine is the most popular managed WordPress hosting company in the market. They are typically the go-to choice for large websites, enterprise customers, as well as small businesses and developers who want a fully managed web hosting platform with speed, security, and support.

    WP Engine offers monthly cloud hosting plans starting at $30 per month on a month-to-month billing which gives you access to 10GB of disk space, 50GB of bandwidth, 10 premium themes from StudioPress, free automated migration, automated website backups, and more.

    All their plans come with advanced developer tools like one-click staging, dev & prod site environments, threat blocking & security, built-in CDN for turbo website speed, transferable sites for easy client handoff, activity log, and more.

    WP Engine also offers managed hosting solutions for WooCommerce online stores starting at $50 per month as well as enterprise cloud hosting starting at $600 per month.

    But if you use the WPBeginner’s WP Engine coupon code and pre-pay for annual plans, then you will get 4 months free.

    WP Engine Pricing Page

    WP Engine also offers additional services like automated plugin updates, extra SOC2 level security with managed WAF, site monitoring, and more which can be purchased separately.

    We did a detailed performance test of their platform in our WP Engine review that we highly recommend you check out.

    BONUS: Other Popular Month-to-Month Web Hosting Options

    6. HostGator: One of the most popular web hosting providers, HostGator offers unmetered bandwidth, a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and more. Their shared hosting plan costs $7.65 for the first month (including tax) for WPBeginner readers. The plan renews at $11.95 per month from the second month.

    7. GreenGeeks: The eco-friendly WordPress hosting offered by GreenGeeks comes with multiple types of hosting, including reseller hosting, dedicated hosting for websites, and more. It has built-in caching for fast performance, which costs $11.95 per month. You also need to pay a setup fee of $15 for the first time.

    Which Month-To-Month Web Hosting Plan Should I Buy?

    If you’re looking for true monthly web hosting with no long-term commitment, then DreamHost has the best monthly web hosting packages.

    DreamHost’s top features include free website migration, free SSL, security, and a 97-day money-back guarantee.

    With that said, when you’re starting a website, you want to get the best web hosting deal because it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be switching hosting providers every month.

    Most people that choose a reliable hosting provider rarely ever switch. In over a decade of running the WPBeginner website, we have switched hosting providers only once, and that was after 10 years when we outgrew our previous provider.

    So, in that case, what’s more important is that you choose a provider that’s giving you the best deal with one-year commitment.

    We recommend Hostinger, SiteGround, or Dreamhost for those just starting out.

    Hostinger’s WordPress Starter plan ($32.29 for the first year) is the cheapest web hosting option on paying upfront for 12 months, and you get a free domain name worth $9.99/year.

    On the other hand, SiteGround’s StartUp plan on a 12-month upfront payment ($35.88/for the first year) is close to Hostinger’s pricing for the basic starter plan.

    However, SiteGround servers are blazing fast since it’s hosted on Google Cloud, and you get tons of advanced performance and security features which is why we use SiteGround for the WPBeginner website.

    If you’re looking for a more managed web hosting provider with enterprise support, then WP Engine is going to be your best bet since they offer monthly web hosting plans for cloud hosting.

    Note: At WPBeginner, we regularly look into dozens of web hosting companies that are not listed in this article, like A2 hosting, GoDaddy, InMotion Hosting, Cloudways, Namecheap, LiquidWeb (Nexcess), and others. We decided not to list them all in this article because we don’t want to cause choice paralysis. If you choose a host from our recommended list, you won’t go wrong.

    We hope this article has helped you find the best monthly web hosting plan.

    You may also want to check out our other guides on related web hosting and business growth.

    Best Web Hosting Guides for Small Businesses

    Best WordPress Guides for Small Businesses

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post 5 Best Monthly Web Hosting Plans (Starts at $4.95/mo.) first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • What is HTTP/2 and How to Enable It in WordPress?

    Are you wondering what is HTTP/2 and how you can use it in WordPress?

    HTTP/2 is the major revision of the HTTP technology used by all websites.

    In this article, we’ll explain HTTP/2 and how to enable it on your WordPress site.

    What is HTTP/2 and how to start using it in WordPress

    What is HTTP/2?

    HTTP/2 is the revised version of the original HTTP protocol. It was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and is based on an experimental SPDY protocol developed by Google.

    HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is like a language that allows computers to talk to each other on the internet. It’s how information gets sent back and forth when you use websites or apps.

    When you visit a WordPress website, your web browser sends a message called a request to the server that stores the website. The request asks for specific information, like the page’s text, images, or videos.

    Tip: See our article on how WordPress works behind the scenes for more details.

    The server receives the user’s request and sends back a response. This response is like a package containing the information you asked for. It includes things like the text you see, the pictures you look at, or even the videos you watch on the website.

    HTTP 0.9 was first launched in 1991. A significant revision to that, HTTP 1.1, was published in 1999 and most websites ran on that until 2015, when the HTTP/2 protocol launched.

    HTTP/2 is supported by all modern web server software and browsers, though many websites still run on HTTP 1.1 if they do not have an SSL certificate installed.

    The IETF currently proposes the upcoming version of HTTP/3. It will use QUIC (Quick UDP Internet Connections) instead of TCP and is expected to be much faster than HTTP/2.

    What is the Difference Between HTTP2 and HTTP?

    The HTTP 1.1 protocol sent data requests without prioritization. This means if a website has a reference to a JavaScript file in the head, it will load before any other content.

    This makes a website appear slower to the users who could not see the content they were expecting to see.

    HTTP/2 protocol uses a binary single stream to send and receive requests with prioritization support. This means developers can tell the server which data to send first.

    The HTTP/2 protocol also uses compression for HTTP headers and multiplexing. Both of them further improve the page load performance.

    The newer protocol also comes with HTTP/2 Server Push support. This allows developers to push data to the users’ browsers without them requesting it.

    To summarize, HTTP/2 is faster than HTTP 1.1 and significantly improves your WordPress speed and performance.

    What Do You Need to Use HTTP/2 in WordPress?

    First, you need a hosting company offering the latest server software with HTTP/2 support. You’ll also need to install an SSL certificate on your WordPress website.

    Most of the top WordPress hosting companies already use cutting-edge web server software.

    We recommend using Bluehost, which uses the latest Apache web server software with HTTP/2 support enabled by default.

    Luckily, the folks at Bluehost are offering WPBeginner users an exclusive discount with a free domain name and SSL certificate.

    Other hosting companies we recommend include SiteGround, Hostinger, and WP Engine. They all offer free SSL certificates and the latest server software with HTTP/2 support.

    How to Enable HTTP/2 in WordPress?

    The only requirement to enable HTTP/2 support in WordPress is installing an SSL certificate.

    It is not an official requirement. However, major browsers like Google Chrome don’t support HTTP/2 on non-secure URLs.

    If your website uses SSL, your URLs will have the https:// prefix like this:

    https://wpbeginner.com
    

    Visiting your website will also show a padlock icon in the browser’s address bar.

    Secure website padlock

    If your website does not use an SSL certificate, you can ask your WordPress hosting provider to install it for you.

    Need more help? See our tutorial on how to move from HTTP to HTTPS in WordPress.

    Once you have enabled SSL, your WordPress website will almost certainly be served via HTTP/2 protocol.

    Testing HTTP/2 Support for Your Website

    If you want to see if your WordPress website is serving pages via HTTP/2, then there are two ways you can test it.

    First, you can visit HTTP2.Pro and enter your website’s URL. This free online tool will then tell you whether your website supports HTTP/2.

    HTTP/2 support check

    Another more effective way to check if your website serves pages on HTTP/2 is using the Chrome developer tools.

    Simply open a new browser window in Google Chrome and visit your website. After that, open a new browser tab and enter the chrome://net-export URL in the address bar.

    Start logging to disk

    Chrome will then ask you to save a JSON file to your computer.

    After saving the file, visit the netlog viewer app and click on the ‘Choose File’ button.

    Choose file to view in netlog viewer app

    Select the netlog file you downloaded earlier to continue.

    The app will then present the file in a readable format. Click on the HTTP/2 tab in the left column, and it will show you all the websites you visited that were using the HTTP/2 protocol as h2.

    Websites using HTTP/2 protocol

    We hope this article helped you learn about HTTP/2 and how to enable it in WordPress. You may also want to see our complete WordPress speed and performance guide or look at our beginner’s guide to WordPress SEO.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post What is HTTP/2 and How to Enable It in WordPress? first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • 9 Best Google Domains Alternatives for 2023 (Compared)

    Are you looking for a Google Domains alternative?

    Google Domains helps you register a domain name for your website. However, the service is shutting down and migrating to Squarespace. That has sent many customers looking for a new place to register or transfer their old and new domain names.

    In this article, we will show you the best Google Domains alternatives.

    Best Google Domain Alternatives

    Why Do You Need a Google Domains Alternative?

    Google launched a domain registration service in 2015 to help users find, buy, and manage a domain for their business.

    However, the Google Domains service will close down, and Squarespace will take over the business and assets. Squarespace is a popular website builder that also provides hosting services.

    With Google Domains ending, all the existing customers and their domains will be migrated to the Squarespace platform.

    One of the drawbacks of transitioning to Squarespace will be domain renewal costs. Squarespace has said it will honor all existing Google Domains customers’ renewal prices for at least 12 months. However, you can expect higher renewal costs after that.

    Besides that, many other domain registration services in the market offer free domain names with hosting plans. Plus, the hosting plans are often much cheaper than Squarespace.

    That said, let’s look at some of the best Google Domains alternatives you can get your hands on today.

    1. Domain.com

    The Domain.com domain registrar

    Domain.com is the best Google Domains alternative in the market and one of the most popular domain registrars. You get top-level domain name extensions (TLDs) and lots of country code top-level domains (ccTLDs).

    It makes it very easy to search for and manage a domain name. For instance, you can access tools like WHOIS privacy protection, bulk registration, private registration, DNS management, renewals, and more.

    Domain.com also easily integrates with Google Workspace (formerly known as G Suite). You can use your Gmail for business emails and access other tools like Google Drive for storage. You also get file-sharing tools and can communicate with others using Google Meet.

    Besides that, Domain.com offers web hosting services, website builder and web design services, email marketing services, and more. There are different security features, including SSL certificates, daily malware scans, DDoS protection, blacklist monitoring, and more.

    While these additional services are beneficial, Domain.com is the perfect solution for registering a domain without hosting and using it as an alternative to Google Domains.

    For WPBeginner readers, Domain.com is offering a 25% off discount on domain products. Simply use our Domain.com coupon code to get your hands on the offer.

    2. Hostinger

    Hostinger start now

    Hostinger is another popular WordPress hosting service that also offers free domain registration. You can choose from top-level domain name extensions (TLDs) and get free WHOIS privacy protection.

    What makes Hostinger a great Google Domains alternative is that you get a variety of web hosting types to choose from. For instance, you can share hosting, cloud hosting, managed WordPress hosting, and VPS hosting.

    Plus, it offers affordable hosting prices compared to Squarespace, which will be the domain hosting platform once Google Domains shuts down.

    Besides that, Hostinger offers free CDN, a 1-click WordPress install, automatic updates, enhanced security features, 24/7 live chat support, free email, free SSL, unlimited bandwidth, WordPress acceleration, and more.

    You can check out our Hostinger coupon to get exclusive discounts and also read our expert Hostinger review for complete details.

    3. GoDaddy

    The GoDaddy website builder

    GoDaddy is the next Google Domains alternative on our list. It is one of the oldest and most popular domain registrars.

    GoDaddy offers over 84 million domains to choose from, with over 500 domain extensions. It is a great place to search and register a domain.

    It is an excellent alternative to Google Domains because it is a one-stop solution. You can buy a domain of your choice, choose a web hosting plan, and start to build a WordPress website. It also offers one of the cheapest domain registration services, with prices starting from $0.99 per year.

    If you can’t find the domain you’re looking for, then GoDaddy also offers a WHOIS search feature and domain broker service. You can hire GoDaddy to find, negotiate, and purchase a domain in the broker service.

    There is also an auction section on GoDaddy where you can see domains up for sale. Simply bid for a name you’re looking for before the auction ends.

    Besides that, you get other features like beginner-friendly domain management facilities. This includes domain name changes, bulk domain renewals, and more. GoDaddy also offers WordPress hosting, website builder, email marketing service, and other tools.

    4. Network Solutions

    Network Solution

    Network Solutions is another Google Domains alternative and one of the largest domain registrars in the market, with over 7 million domains registered.

    It offers domain features such as domain transfer, forwarding, private registration, expiration protection, WHOIS search, trademark protection, and more.

    With Network Solutions, you can register a wide variety of domain extensions, like .com, .org, .net, .biz, .info, and other niche TLDs. This makes it a create Google Domains alternative as you can choose from different domain extensions.

    Aside from that, it also offers web hosting, website builder, SSL certificate, cybersecurity solution, email marketing tools, SEO tools, and more.

    5. Bluehost

    Bluehost offer for WPBeginner readers

    Bluehost is the best web hosting service and the official WordPress hosting partner. They offer fast and affordable hosting services along with domain name registration services.

    If you’re looking for a Google Domains alternative that also offers web hosting and free SSL, then Bluehost is one of the best solutions.

    With Bluehost, you get a free domain name and a free SSL certificate with each hosting plan. This means you don’t have to pay extra to purchase a domain or get an SSL certificate.

    Another benefit of choosing Bluehost is that WordPress comes pre-installed. It also has a beginner-friendly interface, and you can easily manage everything from a single dashboard. Plus, you can use Google Workspace to set up your business emails.

    WPBeginner readers can enjoy a 60% off discount on Bluehost. This means you can start with a domain name and web hosting for only $2.75 per month.

    6. Namecheap

    Namecheap

    Namecheap is another attractive Google Domains alternative. It is a popular domain registrar that offers a powerful domain search tool. Plus, Namecheap provides suggestions for different domains if the preferred name or extension isn’t available.

    Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) is free with every purchase of a domain name. This provides an extra layer of security by checking the DNS address and keeps your domain secure from cyber threats.

    Namecheap also provides different types of hosting services. You can choose from shared, WordPress, VPS, dedicated servers, and reseller hosting.

    Besides that, you get 24/7 customer support, a free 2-month email address trial, privacy protection, domain transfer, SSL certificates, and more.

    7. Hover

    Hover

    Hover is a beginner-friendly domain name registrar service and a great alternative to Google Domains.

    It makes it very easy to find a domain name of your choice and purchase it. You can also choose from popular domain extensions and other niche TLDs. You can also transfer domains, and renew them.

    The best part of using Hover is getting WHOIS and 2-factor authentication for free with every purchase. This is something that makes it different from Google Domains and worth checking out as a replacement for the service.

    Hover also offers tools like custom emails and Realnames emails to create a personal touch for your readers. The Realnames email lets you turn your name into an email address in the format of firstname@lastname.

    8. DreamHost

    DreamHost

    DreamHost is another great Google Domains alternative. Like many other options on the list, it also helps you register a domain and get web hosting for your website.

    You get a free domain name, SSL certificate, and domain privacy with any hosting plan. However, you can purchase a domain name for your business using DreamHost.

    There are over 400 domain extensions to choose from. Besides that, DreamHost provides a variety of hosting options.

    For instance, you can select shared hosting, managed WordPress hosting called DreamPress, dedicated server hosting, cloud hosting, VPS hosting, and more. You can see our details DreamHost review to learn more.

    It also easily integrates with Google Workspace. Plus, DreamHost offers email hosting, a website builder option, custom web design, SEO marketing, social media marketing, and other website management services.

    9. HostGator

    HostGator website

    HostGator is the last Google Domains alternative on our list. It is another popular hosting provider for WordPress that offers a free domain name.

    What makes it an attractive option compared to Google Domains is the pricing plans. You get affordable plans that include free one-year domain registration, SSL certificate, easy WordPress install, and more.

    HostGator also offers a domain transfer feature. You can migrate a domain from another platform, such as Google Domains, to HostGator.

    Aside from that, the hosting service provides other features like website builder, shared and dedicated hosting, Google Workspace integration, web design facility, SEO and pay-per-click (PPC) consultation, and more.

    Which Google Domains Alternative is the Best?

    After reviewing multiple services, our top picks are Domain.com, Hostinger, GoDaddy, and Network Solutions.

    Domain.com makes it super easy to find a domain name with multiple domain extensions. It also offers some of the best domain management and security features.

    On the other hand, if you want a domain name with web hosting, we highly recommend Hostinger. With each hosting plan, you get a free domain name and SSL certificate for one year.

    If you’re in the market to just register a domain name, then GoDaddy and Network Solutions are excellent alternatives to Google Domains. Both offer powerful domain search tools.

    FAQs about Google Domains Alternatives

    Here are some frequently asked questions about choosing a Google Domains alternative.

    1. Is Google good for buying domains?

    Google launched Google Domains in 2015 to help users buy a domain name for their websites and offer competitive prices compared to other domain registration services. However, Squarespace acquired Google Domains in 2023. Once the migration is complete, you can purchase domains on Squarespace, and Google Domains will no longer be available.

    2. Why is Google Domains better than GoDaddy?

    One of the reasons why people liked Google Domains is because it offered cheaper domains compared to GoDaddy. However, with Google Domains transitioning to Squarespace, GoDaddy is a more attractive option than Squarespace. You get more features, web hosting, a website builder, and more in GoDaddy.

    3. What is the lowest cost of a domain?

    The cost usually depends on the domain name and extension you’re looking for. Domain.com offers domain names starting from $11.99. On the other hand, Hostinger offers a domain for free with its WordPress starter and higher plans. GoDaddy lets you register a domain for as low as $0.99.

    4. Can I sell my Google domain?

    Yes, you can sell your Google domain. There are many domain registrars and marketplaces where you can sell your domain. For example, GoDaddy lets you select domains from your portfolio and list them for sale. Besides that, you can also use marketplaces like Flippa and Efty to sell your domain or website.

    We hope this article helped you pick the best Google Domains alternative. You may also want to see our guide on what’s the difference between a domain name and web hosting and must-have WordPress plugins for business sites.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post 9 Best Google Domains Alternatives for 2023 (Compared) first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • 5 Best Offshore Web Hosting Services for Privacy-Friendly Hosting

    offshore web hostingSometimes you want to create a website, but you don’t want your personal information to be connected to it in any way. This might be because you’re planning to host controversial content that might get you in trouble with certain governments, or simply because you want to maintain your privacy. Either way, the solution is offshore web hosting.

  • How to Create a Truly Anonymous Website (Step by Step)

    Do you want to create an anonymous website?

    Some users may need to create a website anonymously to protect their privacy and additional security.

    In this step-by-step guide, we’ll show you how to easily create a truly anonymous website. We’ll also talk about protecting your identity online.

    Creating an anonymous website

    Why Create an Anonymous Website?

    An anonymous website conceals the identity of who runs or owns a particular website.

    Some users may want to remain anonymous for a number of reasons.

    • Whistleblowers trying to expose corruption.
    • Journalists under authoritarian regimes
    • Citizen watchdog groups
    • Or users who just want to remain anonymous for privacy reasons

    Creating an anonymous website makes it difficult to find out who created and runs the website.

    Important: Please keep in mind that there is no guaranteed way to remain completely anonymous. While you can make it difficult to trace, there is still a chance that it can be tracked.

    What Do You Need to Create an Anonymous Website?

    You’ll need the following items to create a basic anonymous website.

    • Anonymously purchased domain name and hosting
    • A separate encrypted email account
    • A secure and reliable VPN service

    Now, let us explain why you’ll need those things.

    First, you will need to create a new separate email account. You’ll be using that account to manage your website.

    To remain anonymous we recommend creating an email account using privacy-focused email services like Proton Mail.

    Next, you will need to hide is your IP address. The easiest way to do that is by using a VPN service. We recommend using IPVanish.

    IPVanish

    Once you have created an email account and turned on the VPN on your computer, you can go ahead and buy a hosting plan.

    Normally, you can just go to any of the top hosting companies and start a website in a few minutes.

    However, many of these companies require credit card information. This means your personal information will be stored and can be traced back to you.

    That’s why we recommend using Hostinger.

    Currently, they are giving WPBeginner users a generous discount and a FREE domain name. Basically, you can get started for $2.78 per month.

    → Click Here to Claim This Exclusive Hostinger Deal ←

    Hostinger is one of the best WordPress hosting companies on the market and allows you to pay using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to keep your purchase as anonymous as possible.

    Buying Hosting and Domain Name Anonymously

    First, you need to make sure you have VPN turned on whenever you are working on your anonymous website.

    After that, you need to visit the Hostinger website and click on the ‘Start Now’ button.

    Hostinger start now

    This will bring you to the pricing and plans selection page.

    We recommend choosing a 48-month plan which gives you the best discount. Plus, you wouldn’t need to worry about future payments for a long time.

    Choose your hosting plan

    Click to select the plan you want to buy, and then go to the payment section.

    From here, first, you need to provide the anonymous email account you created earlier.

    After that, you need to select ‘Coingate’ as the payment method and then click on the ‘Submit Secure Payment’ button.

    Choose payment method

    This will take you to the payment wizard.

    First, you need to select a cryptocurrency that you want to pay with and click Continue.

    Choose cryptocurrency

    Next, you need to enter your anonymous email address and click on the ‘Continue’ button.

    Note that you don’t need to create a Coingate account to pay using this method.

    Provide email address

    On the next screen, you’ll see the QR code to make the payment through your Bitcoin wallet app.

    You can also pay manually, by sending the amount to the Bitcoin wallet address mentioned on the screen.

    Pay with BitCoin

    Upon completion of the transaction, you will be redirected back to the Hostinger website.

    You will receive an email from Hostinger with a link to log in to the hosting control panel.

    Once you log in to your hosting account control panel, you’ll see a notification to claim your free domain name.

    Claim free domain

    During domain registration, ICANN requires website owners to provide their personal information such as name, address, email, and phone number.

    You need to provide at least the email address you created earlier so that you can be reached for verification.

    During the registration, you may also see an option to turn on Domain Privacy.

    This feature hides any information you provide during domain registration from WHOIS searches. Anyone who checks will see Hostinger’s proxy info.

    After domain registration, you may receive an email to verify your registration.

    Installing WordPress to Make Your Anonymous Website

    Now that you have completed the domain name and hosting setup, it is time to install WordPress.

    Hostinger allows you to easily create a WordPress website. Click on the ‘Manage’ button next to your URL under the hosting panel.

    Manage hosting

    This will bring you to your back-end dashboard.

    From here, you need to visit the Website » Auto Installer page and then click on the ‘Select’ button under WordPress.

    Hostinger auto installer

    This will launch the auto-installer wizard.

    Simply follow the on-screen instructions to finish the setup.

    After that, you will see your new website options under the Hostinger control panel.

    From here, first, you need to click on the ‘Install’ button next to the ‘SSL Certificate’ option.

    Turn on SSL

    After that, you need to click on the toggle next to ‘Force HTTPs’ option.

    SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) allows your website to use secure HTTPs. Using it improves your WordPress security by encrypting all traffic to and from your website.

    Having an SSL certificate is also a factor in ranking well in search engines and a part of a solid website SEO plan.

    Finally, click on the ‘Edit Website’ button to launch and start editing your new WordPress website.

    Edit website

    Working on Your WordPress Website Anonymously

    By design, WordPress is privacy-conscious software to the extent that you can choose what information you want to share on your website.

    First, you may want to visit the Users » Profile page and choose a pseudonym for the default admin or author of your website.

    Change name

    Don’t forget to click on the ‘Update Profile’ button to save your changes.

    Next, you need to decide whether you want to allow users to comment on posts and pages across your website.

    Simply go to Settings » Discussion page to configure comments. Uncheck all options under the ‘Default Post Settings’ section to disable comments, trackbacks, and pingbacks.

    Disable comments

    Don’t forget to click on the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.

    Adding Content to Your WordPress Site

    WordPress comes with two default content types called posts and pages. Posts are part of a blog and are displayed in reverse chronological order, meaning that newer posts appear first.

    Pages are standalone pages that are not part of a blog. They are used to create a website structure and layout. See our list of must-have WordPress pages for all types of websites.

    To add a page, simply visit the Pages » Add New to create one.

    WordPress block editor

    WordPress comes with a powerful editor called the Block Editor. See our complete WordPress block editor tutorial to familiarize yourself with the interface.

    Similarly, to create a post you will need to visit Posts » Add New page.

    Choosing a Theme (Template) For Your Website

    WordPress comes with a powerful templating engine that allows you to change the appearance of your website by installing themes.

    There are thousands of free and paid WordPress themes available. You can choose one that looks closer to what you have in mind for your website.

    WordPress Theme Stats

    You can look for themes under the Appearance » Themes page. It will show you a bunch of default themes that come with your WordPress install.

    For more themes, click on the ‘Add New’ button at the top to find more free themes.

    Add new theme

    For premium or paid WordPress themes, you can try trusted WordPress theme shops like SeedProd, Thrive Themes, Astra, Elegant Themes, and more.

    However, there is such an abundance of WordPress themes that it may become difficult for beginners to decide which theme they want to use.

    We recommend choosing a minimalist design with plenty of white space. This provides you plenty of room to customize the theme and make it your own.

    For more details, see our guide on how to choose the perfect theme for your website.

    Install Privacy Friendly WordPress Plugins

    Plugins are like apps for your WordPress website. They allow you to add new features and extend the functionality of WordPress.

    There are more than 60,000 free plugins available in the WordPress.org plugin directory alone. Plus, there are premium WordPress plugins sold by third-party developers with priority support and guaranteed updates.

    WordPress plugins

    However, you also need to consider which plugins you need to use to keep your WordPress website secure, private, and anonymous.

    Following are our top picks for the best WordPress plugins to install on your anonymous website.

    • WPForms – It is the best WordPress contact form plugin and allows you to easily create forms for your website.
    • All in One SEO for WordPress – It is the best WordPress SEO plugin on the market and helps your anonymous website get more traffic from search engines.
    • SeedProd – It is a powerful WordPress page builder that allows you to use a drag-and-drop interface to create any type of page for your website.
    • OptinMonster – It is a conversion optimization software, which helps you convert website visitors into email subscribers and customers.
    • MonsterInsights – The best WordPress Google Analytics plugin which helps you see where your visitors and coming from and what they see on your website.

    For more plugin recommendations, see our full list of essential WordPress plugins for any kind of website.

    FAQs About Running an Anonymous Website

    Following are some of the most commonly asked questions about creating an anonymous website.

    1. Is it possible to create a fully anonymous website?

    Yes, it is possible to create a fully anonymous website. However, you’ll need to be very vigilant about it. Each internet activity creates an information trail leading back to the person who initiated the activity. This trail can be traced by hackers, government agencies, and ISPs. As an anonymous website owner, it will be your job to anonymize all activities.

    You can do this by minimizing the activities around your website and using a VPN to hide your IP address. Be careful about any social interactions as they may reveal personally identifiable information.

    2. What is anonymous offshore hosting?

    Anonymous offshore hosting is a website hosting service that allows users to purchase hosting and domain name without providing real name or credit card information.

    Some of these lesser-known companies host their servers in countries with stricter privacy laws. These companies also promise to not store user logs or share them with third-country agencies.

    However, these anonymous offshore hosting companies often have very bad customer service and outdated technology.

    3. Can a website owner be traced?

    Yes, a website owner can be traced even if they are trying to remain anonymous. However, an anonymous website owner can use privacy tools to make it harder to be traced.

    Even then if someone is determined to figure out and has the technology, tools, and resources, then they may be able to find out who is running an anonymous website.

    4. Can I buy a domain name anonymously?

    Yes, you can buy a domain name anonymously from a domain name registrar that accepts cryptocurrencies as a payment method.

    Hostinger, also allows you to register additional domain names using cryptocurrencies. During the registration, you can use a separate anonymous email account as the contact address for your domain name.

    We hope this article helped you learn how to create a truly anonymous website. You may also want to see our guide on how to create a private blog or take a look at our complete WordPress security guide to keep your anonymous website secure.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post How to Create a Truly Anonymous Website (Step by Step) first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • 5 Best Monthly Web Hosting Providers in 2023 (From $4.48/mo)

    monthly web hostingWeb hosts tend to push customers into long-term payment plans. But not everyone needs to pay for a year in advance to build a website. Unfortunately, not all web hosts offer reasonable pricing plans for monthly users. That’s why we hunted down the ones with the best monthly web hosting plans. Keep reading to see them all.

  • 10 Best Streaming Video Providers for Hosting Your Videos Online

    streaming video providerVideo is a great tool for businesses that are keen on brand building and customer engagement. In fact, one source puts video as the leading source of information for 66% of people. Of course, if you hope to benefit from the broad appeal of video content, the crucial thing is to work with the best streaming video provider that you can afford.