Shared Hosting vs WordPress Hosting: What's Best?

You’re looking at web hosting plans from some of the best web hosting providers and you notice there are shared hosting plans and WordPress hosting plans. You also notice there is no difference between the plans. Why? That’s because most of the time they’re exactly the same thing under the hood. Shared hosting is a type of hosting while WordPress hosting is a specialized type of hosting service that can be based on shared hosting or any other type of hosting. WordPress powers over 40% of the websites on the internet so most of the time shared hosting comes optimized for WordPress out of the box. If you don’t have or want a WordPress site, that’s not a problem. When you use a different CMS the host can put you on a server optimised for hosting that CMS.

What is shared hosting and WordPress hosting

Shared hosting is a type of hosting that hosts multiple websites on one server, sharing resources like bandwidth, storage space, and processing power. This makes shared hosting the most affordable type.

However, it has a downside: If one of the websites on a server experiences a traffic surge, it could negatively affect the performance of the other sites on the same server, causing them to load more slowly.

Still, shared hosting is a budget-friendly and easy-to-use option for beginners. It’s ideal for bloggers and small businesses seeking a cost-effective web hosting solution with sufficient features.

Meanwhile, WordPress hosting is a hosting service optimised specifically for websites built on WordPress. It typically offers WordPress-related features, such as WordPress-specific server configuration and a WordPress experts support team.

As WordPress hosting is not a type of hosting a better question compared to shared vs WordPress hosting which is better? Is to ask: what type of hosting is best for my WordPress site. To answer that, we can look at other types of hosting.

Types of Hosting

There are four types of web hosting: shared, VPS, dedicated, and cloud hosting. Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages but all can be optimized for WordPress sites.

WordPress on Shared hosting

Shared hosting is a type of hosting that places multiple websites belonging to different accounts on one server. On this server the websites share the resources including RAM, CPU, and bandwidth. Most of the time the server is preconfigured to be optimized for WordPress. The tell tale signs are that the host has a shared hosting option and a WordPress hosting option. If you don’t have a WordPress site you’ll need to check whether your CMS of choice is supported by the server and ask support how the server is configured differently for that CMS to get the best results.

WordPress on VPS hosting

VPS hosting provides a private virtual environment (VPS stands for virtual private server) that has its own resources that are not shared by anyone else. As the server is not shared with anyone else there is a lot more flexibility. Receiving a blank server might be a bonus for some but can be a steep learning curve for others. Some hosting companies offer fully managed VPS hosting services for those that don’t know what they’re doing or just want to leave the responsibility of running a VPS to someone else.

WordPress on Dedicated hosting

Dedicated WordPress hosting means you have an entire server and all its resources exclusively for your website. You get complete control and don't share disk space, memory, or processing power with anyone else, resulting in optimal performance, security, and uptime for your site.

It suits high-traffic websites that need a high level of uptime, such as healthcare or government websites.

WordPress on Cloud hosting

Cloud WordPress hosting means your website utilises a network of virtual servers spread across multiple data centers. Your site's resources scale dynamically, ensuring high uptime and performance even during traffic spikes, while also providing redundancy for increased uptime.

It suits websites with fluctuating traffic, global audiences, or those prioritising scalability and reliability, such as e-commerce sites or online publications

Shared Hosting vs WordPress Hosting: What's Best: Summary

To put it simply, WordPress hosting is not a type of hosting but rather a service web hosts provide on top of a type of hosting. This means that there is not an answer to this question. Instead, you should ask yourself two questions: Are you hosting a wordpress site, and if so how complex and busy will it be? Then, you can correctly decide whether you should host your WordPress site on shared hosting or a different type of hosting.