Differences Between Web Hosting and WordPress Hosting: What You Need To Know

Key takeaways:

• Web hosting is a versatile service that works for any kind of website, whether it’s built with WordPress, another platform, or using custom code.
• WordPress hosting is a specialized service with features and servers that are fine-tuned just for WordPress sites. While it can host websites from other platforms, they may not function optimally.
• You can use a general web hosting for a WordPress site, but you’ll be responsible for handling your own WordPress-specific updates, security, and performance. Plugins and themes may also behave unpredictably and require manual reconfiguration.

The hosting world can be difficult to navigate. There are so many types available. However, new website owners are often presented with two options: web hosting and WordPress hosting.

This leads us to ask: why these two?

What’s more, while WordPress hosting is built specifically for WordPress websites, it’s not exclusive to WordPress. You can host a WordPress site on regular hosting or run other sites on WordPress hosting.

This is what makes people wonder if there’s something really different between the two. And they’re right to question that. Let’s clear up the confusion and help you choose the hosting type that’s right for your site.

What is the difference between web hosting and WordPress hosting?

To help you understand the most important differences, here is a side-by-side comparison of WordPress hosting and standard web hosting:

Aspect	WordPress hosting	Web hosting
Performance	Optimized specifically for WordPress to deliver faster speeds.	Can be fast, but performance relies on the web hosting plan you’ll use.
Support	Offers specialized, WordPress-specific support and expertise.	Provides more general, non-specialized technical support.
Flexibility	This is specifically optimized for WordPress. Although you can use WordPress hosting for other platforms, you might encounter compatibility issues.	Supports a wide range of website builders and content management systems.
Cost	Often more expensive due to specialized features, managed service, and specialized support. Our “Growing Businesses” plan with 20 GB of storage costs $8.99 per month for the first year	Generally, more affordable, with basic plans for a lower price point. Our “Essential” plan with 20 GB of disk space costs $4.99 per month for the first year

Note: The prices shown are for our recommended plans. Other plans are available, and all rates are subject to change, especially upon renewal. Please see the specific plan’s details for current pricing.

In the next section, we’ll dive deeper into what WordPress hosting is, its pros and cons.

What is WordPress hosting?

WordPress hosting is a form of web hosting specifically optimized for WordPress websites. With 43% of websites worldwide built on WordPress, there’s clearly strong demand for this type of hosting.

The popularity of the platform isn’t why it has its own hosting type though. WordPress hosting is optimized for the platform’s performance and security and often includes features that make it easier to manage themes, plugins, and other WordPress-specific functions.

Pros of WordPress hosting

Apart from letting WordPress users fully take advantage of their WordPress website, here’s what WordPress hosting has to offer:

• Simplifies management
• Optimizes performance
• Provides specialized WordPress hosting support
• Easy WordPress setup and migration
• Automatic backups and restoration

Simplifies management

With WordPress hosting plans, your web hosting provider handles most of the technical details for you. Many providers make managing your site easier with a centralized dashboard that allows automatic logins or updates for plugins and themes. Depending on your plan, you can even manage multiple WordPress sites all in one place.

Optimizes performance

A WordPress host is configured to make your website as fast as possible. It offers specialized server settings, built-in caching, and other performance tools that let you regularly check and boost your site’s loading speed.

Provides specialized WordPress hosting support

When you have a question or a problem, you want help from someone who truly understands your site. WordPress hosting companies have a support team full of experts who specialize in WordPress and are equipped to handle issues related to the platform’s external plugins and add-ons.

Easy WordPress setup and migration

WordPress hosting often comes with WordPress pre-installed or offers a one-click installation setup. Many hosting providers also offer WordPress hosting plans, so if you switch providers, you won’t need to manually move files or databases. Some even offer migration support to help ensure your WordPress features are intact.

Automatic backups and restorations

Most WordPress hosting providers offer regular cloud back up of all your WordPress website’s data which makes it easy to restore a previous version when needed. While you can do the same with regular hosting, it often requires extra, time-consuming steps to ensure you have everything you need.

Cons of WordPress hosting

WordPress hosting is great for WordPress users, but it’s important to know the trade-offs.  The biggest disadvantage is straightforward: you’ll need to build your site with WordPress to fully take advantage of it.

Here are other drawbacks to consider with WordPress hosting:

• Costs can be higher
• Limits may be put on some plugins and themes
• You have less control of server configurations

Costs can be higher

WordPress hosting is often more expensive than regular hosting because it relies on specialized infrastructure. This often includes faster hardware, content delivery networks (CDNs), and optimization tools, which contribute to slightly higher costs.

Limits may be put on some plugins and themes

Many managed WordPress hosting providers will limit or even ban certain plugins and themes. They do this to make sure their servers run smoothly and securely for every WordPress website.

This can be frustrating if a plugin is a key part of how your WordPress site works. Providers often block plugins that are known to cause performance problems or have security issues.

You have less control of server configuration

WordPress allows the use of third-party plugins. This simplifies website creation, but it also makes server configuration riskier and more complex. To prevent integration issues and unauthorized plugin use, WordPress hosts have to limit certain configuration settings.

While these restrictions keep the hosting environment secure and stable, advanced users who want to fully control their server may find this frustrating.

What is web hosting?

Web hosting is a service that stores your site on web servers so it’s accessible from the internet. There are many types of web hosting, including WordPress hosting.

Here’s a quick roundup of other popular hosting types:

• Shared hosting. This is a cost-effective option where your website shares a single server and its resources with many other websites. It’s a great choice for beginners or small websites with low traffic volumes.
• Virtual private server (VPS) hosting. In VPS hosting, a single physical server is divided into multiple virtual servers, giving each customer a dedicated portion of resources. It offers a balance between cost, performance, and control, making it ideal for medium-sized websites.
• Cloud hosting. This is similar to shared hosting wherein sites share server resources, but the key difference is that your site is hosted across multiple servers. This distributes the load and can boost website speed and reliability as the traffic is spread out among many servers.
• Dedicated hosting. This is where an entire physical server and its resources are allocated to a single website. Dedicated server hosting is the highest-cost, highest-performance option and is typically used for very large, data-heavy websites with significant traffic.

You’ll notice most providers sell their services in hosting packages, not as separate types. This means the right choice depends on your specific needs, not just on the hosting type itself.

Pros of web hosting

Web hosting services are designed to store websites built with any website builder or content management system, including WordPress. These services are often offered in varying types and plans, each with their advantages and disadvantages.

Generally, however, the pros of web hosting include:

• Hosts multiples sites from different platforms
• Customization of server configurations
• Cheaper options

Hosts multiple sites from different platforms

A general web hosting option is a versatile solution for hosting websites from various builders and platforms. This means you can host websites built on varying platforms under one hosting account.

Customization of server configurations

Web hosting gives you greater control over your server. This is a big advantage for users with more technical expertise, as it allows you to configure server settings, fine-tune performance, and install custom applications to meet your specific needs.

Cheaper options

General web hosting plans are typically more affordable because they don’t need specialized hosting infrastructure and support to keep running. They also offer more variations and packages to meet different websites’ needs and budgets.

Cons of web hosting

While web hosting is a great option for many sites, it also comes with some disadvantages you should be aware of.

The cons of web hosting include:

• Less specialized support
• Performance variations between hosting providers   

Less specialized support

Web hosts are made to host websites built on varying platforms. Their support teams may not be equipped to handle compatibility issues with specific website builders or their features. To avoid this, it’s often best to use the website builder that a web hosting provider offers or is known to have strong support for.

Performance variations between hosting providers

Standard hosting is not optimized for one specific platform. Instead, it is configured to meet the needs of a wide range of platforms and hosting types. As a result, the server settings and performance tools are not fine-tuned for any specific site. But they do offer more flexibility when it comes to setting up your server configuration so you can adjust it yourself.

Which one should you choose? 

At first glance, the answer seems obvious. If you’re building a WordPress site, you go with WordPress hosting. If you’re using another platform, you choose general web hosting.

But it’s not that simple. You’ll need to consider your priorities, along with the control, support, and flexibility that you need when hosting your website. After all, the performance of your website relies heavily on the type of hosting option you choose.

With that in mind, here are a few questions for you to answer to help narrow down your choice:

• Do you plan to build a WordPress site?
• Do you have a specific non-WordPress platform in mind?
• Do you need full control over every server setting and configuration?

Do you plan to build a WordPress site?

If you’ve decided to build a WordPress site, you’ll need WordPress hosting. But why build with WordPress?

Apart from the benefits of specialized hosting and support, WordPress itself is a powerful and flexible content management system (CMS). In fact,   43% of websites worldwide are built on WordPress.

Here’s why:

• No vendor lock-in. Since WordPress is an open-source platform supported by the vast majority of hosts, you’re free to move your site at any time to take advantage of different rates and perks.
• Unparalleled freedom. With access to over 60,000 plugins and thousands of themes, WordPress gives you unmatched freedom to customize your site and stand out from the crowd.
• Unmatched SEO capabilities. WordPress is built with SEO in mind, and its vast library of plugins gives you complete control over every SEO element.
• Ultimate scalability. The right combination of WordPress plugins can make a site’s capabilities seem almost limitless, providing ultimate scalability for your business as it grows.

While WordPress offers incredible flexibility and scalability, its power does come with a bit of a learning curve. You’ll find that while your hosting provider can help with server issues, they may not cover development-related concerns. For that kind of help, you can rely on the vast WordPress community or a developer instead.

Do you have a specific non-WordPress platform in mind?

If you are considering a non-WordPress platform, see if all the features, themes, and functionality meet your website needs. You should also evaluate the platform’s web hosting coverage.

While it is possible to choose web hosting services elsewhere, it is generally recommended to opt for the provider’s services, as they are specifically designed to be integrated and optimized for the platform. 

Do you need full control over every server setting and configuration?

For most users, this level of control is not necessary. While WordPress hosting might offer more flexibility than regular web hosting when it comes to server configurations, this functionality is typically only required by developers or those managing a highly customized site. Therefore, it is important to consider your site’s specific needs before prioritizing full server control.

Choose the right web hosting plan for you

Now that you know the differences between web hosting and WordPress hosting, you can narrow down your choices more easily. If you want to learn more about which hosting types and platforms fit your needs, we have plenty of resources to explore.

When you’re ready to get hosting too, we offer both web hosting and WordPress hosting packages for you to choose from along with a friendly, responsive support team to help you every step of the way.

Choose the hosting that fits your needs and let us help you get your site live today!

Frequently asked questions