In short
WordPress hosting is the server, software and support your website runs on. This guide covers three hosts, listed A to Z: Cloudways, Krystal and WP Engine. Cloudways and WP Engine list a London data centre, and Krystal says its managed WordPress hosting is backed by its own UK infrastructure. Plans and prices are on each provider's own site.
See Cloudways' managed hosting plans
Cloudways lists its cloud providers, server sizes and locations, including London, on its own site.
How to use this WordPress hosting guide
Choosing UK WordPress hosting comes down to a handful of practical questions: where your site will be hosted, how much of the server work the host looks after, what comes with each plan, how your existing site gets moved in, and how you pay. This guide answers those questions for three WordPress hosts that UK businesses commonly look at: Cloudways, Krystal and WP Engine.
A few ground rules make it easier to use:
- Facts come from the hosts themselves: every feature, location and policy on this site is taken from the host's own website and attributed to it, for example "Krystal says ..." or "WP Engine's plans page lists ...". Hosts change their plans, so check the detail on the provider's site before you buy
- Hosts are listed A to Z: the order is alphabetical, not a ranking. Each host suits different sites, and the right one depends on what yours needs
- No prices on this site: plans, prices and offers change often and are published on each provider's own site, so this guide explains what drives the cost instead
- You buy direct: hosting is bought from the host, through its own sign-up and on its own terms
Where to start depends on what you already know:
| If you want to ... | Start with |
|---|---|
| See the three hosts side by side | Compare WordPress hosting |
| Work out which host fits your site | Our picks for the best WordPress hosting in the UK |
| Understand what managed hosting covers | Managed WordPress hosting |
| Keep your site in a UK data centre | UK-based WordPress hosting |
| Understand what you will pay for | WordPress hosting cost |
| Move an existing site | Moving a WordPress site to a new host |
See WP Engine's managed WordPress plans
WP Engine lists its plans and data centre options on its own UK site.
WordPress web hosting in the UK: the hosts in this guide (A to Z, not ranked)
Each of these hosts sells hosting built for WordPress, and each says you can host your site in the UK. They take different approaches, which is what makes comparing them useful.
Cloudways
Cloudways describes its WordPress product as managed cloud hosting on the cloud provider you choose: DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS or Google Cloud. You pick a server size and a location, and Cloudways' pricing page lists London for each of those providers, plus Manchester on Vultr. Cloudways says billing is hourly with no contract, and its Autonomous product adds server capacity when traffic climbs. More: Cloudways WordPress hosting.
Krystal
Krystal is a UK hosting company: its website says Krystal is the trading name of Krystal Hosting Ltd, registered in England and Wales. Its managed WordPress hosting runs on Onyx, a platform it built for WordPress, and Krystal says the service is backed by its own UK infrastructure and UK-based support team. Its managed plans include automatic core, plugin and theme updates, two staging sites per live site, and migration of your first three sites by its team. More: Krystal WordPress hosting.
WP Engine
WP Engine runs a managed hosting platform for WordPress on Google Cloud, with AWS and Microsoft Azure available on Premium plans. Its data centre list includes Google Cloud London, plus AWS London and Azure London for Premium plans. Every plan lists automated and on-demand backups, a global CDN, one-click staging and development environments, and automated WordPress and PHP updates. More: WP Engine WordPress hosting.
What good WordPress hosting services include
Whichever host you choose, good WordPress website hosting for a UK business covers the same ground. Use this as a checklist when you read any host's plans page:
| What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| A UK data centre | Pages that cannot be cached, such as the WordPress admin, logged-in areas and checkout, respond faster when the server is near your visitors |
| Caching and a CDN | Cached pages and files served from locations near each visitor make the site feel quicker everywhere |
| A firewall, DDoS protection and SSL | They protect the site and its visitors without you configuring them yourself |
| Automatic backups you can restore | A recent restore point turns a bad update into a short interruption |
| Staging | A private copy of the site lets you test plugins, themes and updates before visitors see them |
| Help moving in | Migration by the host, or a migration plugin, takes most of the risk out of changing host |
| Support that knows WordPress | The channels on offer, and what support covers, decide how quickly problems get fixed |
| Clear plan limits | Sites, visits or bandwidth, storage and server size decide when you would need a bigger plan |
All three hosts in this guide include most of this list on their plans, but the detail differs: which plans include staging, how long backups are kept, whether email is part of the package, and how support is reached. The sections below set out what each host says. For the background on how WordPress hosting differs from ordinary web hosting, read web hosting and WordPress hosting.
Not sure which host to choose?
See the three hosts side by side on the features each one lists.
Managed, cloud or shared: which kind of hosting fits
The three hosts use different models, and the model shapes how much you manage yourself:
| Host | How the host describes it | What you choose |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudways | Managed cloud hosting for WordPress on DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS or Google Cloud | A cloud provider, a server size and a location; as many sites as the server can support |
| Krystal | Managed WordPress hosting on Onyx, its platform built for WordPress, with dedicated resources for each site | A plan by number of sites, visits and storage |
| WP Engine | A managed hosting platform for WordPress; a shared environment on Essential and isolated resources on Business and Enterprise | A plan by visits, storage and bandwidth, and a data centre for the account |
WordPress-focused managed platforms, such as Krystal's Onyx and WP Engine, handle the server for you and package the features by plan. A managed cloud server, such as Cloudways, gives you a server you size yourself, with Cloudways managing the software on it, which suits people who like to choose their cloud provider and scale the server up or down.
Shared hosting, VPS hosting and running your own server sit further along the do-it-yourself scale. Our guides to managed WordPress hosting and shared vs VPS WordPress hosting explain the trade-offs, and WordPress cloud hosting covers the cloud model in more depth.
Which managed WordPress hosts offer UK hosting?
Where your site is hosted affects how quickly it responds to UK visitors. Cloudways and WP Engine each list a London data centre, and Cloudways also lists Manchester on Vultr. Krystal says its managed WordPress hosting is backed by its own UK infrastructure. How you choose the location differs: per server on Cloudways and per account on WP Engine.
A good rule for any host is to start from where most of your visitors are, which your website analytics will show. If most of them are in the UK, a UK data centre is the natural choice, and the host's CDN serves visitors further away. Our guide to UK-based WordPress hosting sets out each host's UK options, CDN coverage and the questions UK businesses ask about UK GDPR.
Speed, security and backups: what the hosts include
All three hosts build caching, a CDN, security features and automatic backups into their WordPress hosting, and each lists staging, so you can test changes before visitors see them. The names and the detail differ: which caching technology each host uses, which security features are included and which are add-ons, and how long backups are kept, which each host states on its own plans page.
Our WordPress hosting comparison sets these features side by side, and our guides to fast WordPress hosting, secure WordPress hosting and WordPress hosting with staging go into each area.
Moving your site: migration help from each host
Moving host is the part most people worry about, and all three hosts offer a way in. Cloudways says its engineers migrate your first website, and its Autonomous plans include a managed migration. Krystal's team migrates your first three sites onto its managed plans. WP Engine offers its Automated Migration plugin, with managed site migrations on its Business plan.
However the files and database are copied, the final step is the same: you point your domain at the new host by changing DNS records, and those records also tell the world where your email lives. Our step-by-step guide to moving a WordPress site to a new host explains the whole process, including how to keep email flowing and the checks to make before you go live.
Plans and prices: on each provider's own site
This guide does not list prices, because they change often and every host publishes its own on its plans page. What it can tell you is what drives the price, and how each host bills:
- Number of sites: most plans cover one site, a few sites or many sites
- Traffic: Krystal and WP Engine size plans by monthly visits, and WP Engine's plans also list storage and bandwidth
- Server size: on Cloudways you pay for the server you choose, by its memory, processors and storage
- Storage, backups and add-ons: extra backup frequency, object caching, managed updates and advanced security are add-ons on some plans
Billing models differ too. Cloudways says it bills hourly with no contract. WP Engine offers monthly or annual billing. Krystal offers monthly, annual or two-year billing. Check the current terms, and what a plan renews at, on the provider's own site.
Our guides to WordPress hosting cost and WordPress hosting plans explain how to compare plans, and cheap WordPress hosting covers what to look for when the budget is tight.
Next step: compare the hosts side by side
The quickest way to narrow the field is to decide what matters most for your site, then compare the hosts on those points:
- Decide on location: if most of your visitors are in the UK, shortlist hosts with a UK data centre that suits your plan
- Decide how hands-off you want to be: a WordPress platform that manages everything, or a managed cloud server you size yourself
- Check the plan details that matter to you: staging, backup retention, email, support channels and the number of sites
- Check how the host will move you in: migration by its team, a plugin, or a move you do yourself
- Read the plans and terms on the host's own site before you buy
Our WordPress hosting comparison puts the three hosts side by side, and each host has its own page: Cloudways, Krystal and WP Engine.
More WordPress hosting guides
Frequently asked questions
How do I choose a host for a WordPress site?
Start with where your visitors are, then decide how much of the hosting you want the host to run. For most UK businesses, managed WordPress hosting with a UK data centre is the simplest route: the host looks after the server, caching, security and backups. Then compare the plan details that matter to you, such as staging, backup retention, support channels and how the host will move your site in. Our comparison page sets the three hosts side by side.
Which WordPress hosting services does this guide cover?
Three hosts, listed A to Z: Cloudways, Krystal and WP Engine. Each sells hosting built for WordPress, says you can host your site in the UK, and publishes its features on its own website. Every fact on this site is taken from the host's own pages, and each host has its own guide here.
Do I buy hosting from this site or from the host?
From the host. You sign up and pay the host directly, and your hosting contract is with the host on its own terms. This site does not sell hosting.
See Cloudways' managed hosting plans
Cloudways lists its cloud providers, server sizes and locations, including London, on its own site.