Features and Pricing
SiteGround carries three managed WordPress hosting plans for you to choose from, with features that can cover everything from the essentials to some handy add-ons depending on how much you care to spend.
4th Place9.2 out of 10StartUp Plan – $3.95+ Monthly
StartUp, the lowest-priced plan, is great if you’re just starting out, with SiteGround marketing the plan towards users who get an estimated maximum of 10,000 visits a month. At an initial discounted price of $3.95 per month (from a regular rate of $9.95 per month), you can host one website (with a free domain name registration) and choose the server location that best serves your audience. SiteGround owns datacenters in Chicago, Amsterdam, London, and Singapore, so that’s good coverage for North America, Europe, and Asia.
You’ll also get 10 GB of disk space and unmetered bandwidth, plus unlimited email accounts, MySQL databases, and subdomains. SiteGround also gives you a drag-and-drop site builder, cPanel and Softaculous, so you can administer and design your site without any hassle. Flexing your web development muscle isn’t a problem either, since SiteGround also supports various languages like PHP, Perl, and Python.
If you’re apprehensive about site administration in general, you can rest easy knowing that SiteGround’s hosting management services cover everything from WordPress installation to security and support, free of charge. SiteGround automatically updates your WordPress version, fixes security vulnerabilities, and even offers support for popular WordPress plug-ins and extensions, so you can make the most of the platform.
SSD storage, the free use of the CloudFlare content distribution network, and HTTP/2 protocol support means SiteGround can deliver you blazing-fast page loading times, as well. Meanwhile, measures like datacenter power and hardware redundancy, their custom account isolation server setup, daily backups, and constant server monitoring ensure that your sites won’t be going down anytime soon.
GrowBig Plan – $7.95 Monthly
At $7.95 a month, initially discounted from the regular monthly rate of $14.95, the GrowBig plan builds on all those essential features. This plan is made for people looking to grow their audience, giving you 20 GB of disk space and letting you host an unlimited number of websites. Aside from StartUp’s features, you’ll also be getting a Premium Wildcard SSL certificate, a specially developed WordPress SuperCache for accelerated site performance, a more robust backup and restore service that gives you 30 backup copies every month, and priority customer support.
GoGeek Plan – $14.95 Monthly
If you need even more advanced measures, though, the GoGeek plan probably fits the bill better. At $14.95 per month, from a regular monthly rate of $29.95, the plan delivers 30 GB of disk space and unlimited websites. On top of the GrowBig and StartUp features, you’ll also get a number of premium features: one-click WordPress Staging that lets you test site modifications on a staging copy before implementation on the actual site; SG-Git so you can carry out advanced version control and use repositories for your site; a premium backup and restore service that gives you unlimited manual restores; PCI compliance; and server configurations optimized for your needs.
Contract Terms and Guarantees
Overall, SiteGround’s plans are relatively cost-effective, especially for all the great services you get. However, since some exclusive services can’t be purchased as separate add-ons, users who might have modest resource needs but would nonetheless like some advanced features like premium backups will have to go whole-hog with more expensive plans instead. Nevertheless, all of SiteGround’s plans come with a robust 30-day money-back guarantee, so you’re free to see which plan best fits your needs without any risk.
SiteGround lets you choose from several contract lengths: 1 month (the trial period), or 1, 2, or 3 years. The monthly rates remain the same regardless of the duration of your contract term, so users looking to sign up for a shorter period won’t have to fret about losing out on some good discounts. If you’re just signing up for the 1-month trial period, though, bear in mind that SiteGround also charges you a $14.95 setup fee that they waive for longer-term contracts.
Customer Support
SiteGround promises extensive support coverage, going so far as to guarantee their help for WordPress-related issues beyond the usual hosting-related questions. Their support team promises responses in under 5 minutes, and they’re available 24/7 through phone, livechat, or the company’s ticketing system. If you opt for the GrowBig or GoGeek plans, SiteGround also grants you priority responses and assistance.
What's the Verdict on SiteGround?
SiteGround WordPress Hosting Review – Conclusion
SiteGround claims to build all of their services on a “handcraft” philosophy, and that shows in their WordPress hosting program. The features that accompany their 3 basic plans have been carefully selected to best address the needs of WordPress users at varying levels, and services like WordPress autoupdates demonstrate an attention to user concerns that assure you of their ability to manage your account well. That same “handcraft” philosophy means you’ll also get customer support infused with a personal touch, and backed by the company’s 12 years of hosting experience. With reasonable plans overall and a risk-free 30-day refund period, SiteGround gives you a stable foundation for your website.
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