In short
Our picks for UK WordPress hosting are Cloudways, Krystal and WP Engine, listed alphabetically. Each says it offers a London or UK hosting option, caching, backups, security features, help with moving your site and support. Which one fits depends on your site, so use the checklist below and compare the three side by side.
See Cloudways' managed hosting plans
Cloudways lists its cloud providers, server sizes and locations, including London, on its own site.
What best means for you
A brochure site for a local firm, a busy WooCommerce shop and a group of agency client sites need very different things from a host. So rather than asking which WordPress hosting service is best in general, ask which host fits this site, these visitors and the people who look after it.
Before you compare anyone, write down a few facts about your own site:
- Who visits: mostly the UK, the UK and Europe, or worldwide
- What the site does: information pages, a shop, a membership area, bookings or lead forms
- How busy it is: monthly visits, and whether traffic jumps around campaigns or seasons
- How many sites you run, and whether you need WordPress Multisite
- Who looks after WordPress: an in-house person, a web agency or nobody in particular
- How you like to get help: chat, phone or tickets, and at what times
- How you want to pay: monthly, annually, or by the hour for the server you use
With that list in front of you, a vague question becomes ten things you can check on any host's website. If you are still deciding what kind of hosting you need, our guides to managed WordPress hosting and shared vs VPS WordPress hosting explain the main options.
Our picks for the best hosting for WordPress in the UK (A to Z, not ranked)
We picked hosts that offer WordPress hosting with a London or UK hosting option, publish their features on their own websites, and help you move an existing site. They are listed alphabetically: the order says nothing about which is right for you. Every fact below comes from the host's own site.
Cloudways
- Managed cloud hosting on the cloud provider you choose: DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS or Google Cloud, each with a London location on Cloudways' list
- Caching built in (Varnish, Memcached and Redis, plus its Breeze cache plugin), with staging, backups and 24/7 support on all plans
- Billed by the hour for the server you run, with no contract, and several sites can share one server
May suit you if you want to choose your cloud provider and server size yourself, run several sites on one server, or pay for resources as you use them. Cloudways' plan descriptions range from personal sites and simple blogs to online shops. See Cloudways WordPress hosting or Cloudways' own WordPress hosting page (opens in a new tab).
Krystal
- A UK hosting company that says its managed WordPress hosting is backed by its own UK infrastructure; its technology page names Netwise East in East London among its facilities
- LiteSpeed caching, two staging sites per live site, daily backups with 30 days of restore points, and Patchstack-powered Intelligent Protection
- UK-based support by ticket, live chat and phone, and its team migrates up to three WordPress sites at no extra cost
May suit you if you want UK-based infrastructure and a UK support team, with plans Krystal describes for personal sites, business sites and agencies. See Krystal WordPress hosting or Krystal's own managed WordPress page (opens in a new tab).
WP Engine
- Managed WordPress hosting with London and other European data centre regions, on shared or isolated environments depending on plan
- Its EverCache caching and a global CDN powered by Cloudflare, with daily backups kept for 30 to 60 days
- 24/7 chat support on all plans, phone support on its Business plan, and an automated migration plugin
May suit you if your site is growing towards enterprise needs and you want the same platform from a small business plan to custom contracts. See WP Engine WordPress hosting or WP Engine's own plans page (opens in a new tab).
Checklist: ten things to compare between WordPress hosting companies
Use this checklist with any host on your shortlist. Each point is something the host should state on its own website, so you can check it before you buy.
| What to check | Why it matters | What to look for on the host's site |
|---|---|---|
| Data centre location | Hosting close to your visitors shortens every uncached request | A named London or UK location, and whether you choose it per site |
| Hosting type | Decides whether you share resources with other customers | Shared, isolated containers, dedicated resources or a cloud server of your own |
| Caching and CDN | Cached pages and nearby copies of files make sites quicker | Server page caching, object caching and a CDN, and which are included or add-ons |
| Security | Stops attacks before they reach WordPress | A firewall, DDoS protection, vulnerability protection and SSL |
| Malware help | Tells you who cleans up after a hack, and on what terms | Malware scanning and removal, included or as an add-on |
| Backups | Decides how far back you can restore, and from where | Backup frequency, retention period, on-demand backups and where copies are stored |
| Staging | Lets you test updates away from the live site | Which plans include staging, and how changes are pushed live |
| Migration help | Moving a site is where many problems start | A migration team, a migration plugin, or both, and how many sites are covered |
| Support | Decides how you reach someone when something breaks | Channels (chat, phone, tickets), hours, and which plans include each |
| Contract and billing | Affects how easily you can change plan or leave | Monthly, annual or hourly billing, renewal terms and what happens over plan limits |
Also check each host's trial or money-back terms, and what happens when a site goes over its plan limits. We set the three hosts out against these points on our WordPress hosting comparison page.
See Cloudways' managed hosting plans
Cloudways lists its cloud providers, server sizes and locations, including London, on its own site.
Where the server is: UK and European data centres
Every request for an uncached page travels to the server and back. The closer the server is to your visitors, the shorter that trip, so for a mostly UK audience a UK data centre is a sensible starting point. All three of our picks say you can host in the UK, and Cloudways and WP Engine list other locations too. When you read a host's site, check:
- Is the UK location available on the plan you want? Some hosts limit certain locations to higher plans
- Do you choose the location per site, per server or per account? That decides how flexible you can be later
- Where are backups stored? Backups have a location too
- Does the location fit your organisation's data rules? Check the host's own privacy and data protection documents; WP Engine, for example, says it has a data privacy addendum covering obligations under GDPR and the UK GDPR
Visitors further away are usually served by a CDN or edge caching. Our WordPress hosting comparison lists each host's UK and European locations side by side, and our guide to UK-based WordPress hosting covers data location in more detail.
Speed: caching, CDN and how to test it yourself
Speed comes mostly from how much work the server does for each visit, so caching matters more than anything else. All three of our picks describe built-in caching: Varnish, Memcached and Redis at Cloudways, LiteSpeed Cache at Krystal and EverCache at WP Engine. Our guide to fast WordPress hosting sets out each host's caching and CDN options side by side.
Headline speed claims are measured on someone else's site. The fair test is your own:
- Pick three or four real pages: the home page, a typical content page and, if you have one, a product or checkout page.
- Test each page several times from the same location and tool, as a logged-out visitor and as a logged-in user or shopper.
- Repeat the same tests on a staging copy of your site at each host you are considering, before you change DNS.
Not sure which host to choose?
See the three hosts side by side on the features each one lists.
Security, backups and malware help
Security on a WordPress host works in layers. The host should handle the ones at the network edge and on the server, and back everything up so you can recover. This is what each host lists:
| Host | Security features the host lists | Backups the host lists |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudways | Dedicated firewall (Imunify360), WordPress vulnerability scanner, SSL, IP allow lists; malware removal as an add-on | Automated and on-demand backups, with off-site backup storage charged by use |
| Krystal | Patchstack-powered virtual patching, malware scanning, CloudLinux isolation, firewalls and DDoS protection, SSL | Daily backups, more often on larger plans, with restore points covering the last 30 days |
| WP Engine | Layer 3 and 4 DDoS protection, security patching and plugin risk scans, SSL; managed WAF and advanced DDoS as an add-on | Daily automated and on-demand backups, kept for at least 30 days and no longer than 60 |
Ask any host who removes malware if your site is hacked, and on what terms. Cloudways sells malware removal as an add-on, Krystal says its team can step in to investigate or remove malware, and WP Engine asks you to contact its support team for deep-level malware scans and cleaning.
Our secure WordPress hosting guide explains each layer and what you still look after on your side.
Support: who answers and how
When something breaks, what matters is how quickly you reach someone who understands WordPress and the server underneath it, through a channel that suits you. Check three things on each host's site: which channels your plan includes (chat, phone or tickets), the hours each channel is staffed, and what the support team covers.
Hosting support covers the hosting platform and how WordPress runs on it; design, content, SEO and custom code usually sit with whoever builds your site. WP Engine, for example, publishes a scope of support that sets out where the line is. Our WordPress hosting comparison sets out each host's support channels side by side.
Migrations: who does the work
Moving a WordPress site means copying files and the database, checking URLs, testing, then switching DNS without losing email or breaking forms. All three of our picks offer help, from a migration plugin you run yourself to migrations done by the host's own team, and they differ in how many sites are covered and on which plans. Check both points on the host's site before you buy.
Whoever copies the site, you usually make the final switch by updating DNS. That step is where email, verification and other records get missed, so list every existing DNS record before you change anything. Our guide to moving a WordPress site to a new host walks through the whole process, and our comparison sets out each host's migration help.
Which pick fits which site
Each of these hosts can run a wide range of sites. The table matches common situations to what each host says about itself, so you know where to start reading:
| Your situation | Hosts whose own pages describe this | Our guide |
|---|---|---|
| One small business site, mostly UK visitors | All three list a London or UK location; Krystal and WP Engine describe plans for personal or small business sites | WordPress hosting for small business |
| You want to choose your own cloud provider and server size | Cloudways (DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS or Google Cloud) | WordPress cloud hosting |
| An online shop | Cloudways, Krystal and WP Engine each describe WooCommerce or ecommerce hosting | WooCommerce hosting |
| A web agency hosting client sites | Krystal describes an Agency plan; WP Engine has a hosting-for-agencies offer | WordPress agency hosting |
| A large organisation with procurement or custom terms | WP Engine describes Enterprise plans alongside its Essential and Business plans | Enterprise WordPress hosting |
| UK-based support by phone | Krystal (UK-based team, weekday phone hours); WP Engine also lists phone support | Managed WordPress hosting |
Next step: from checklist to shortlist
Once you have your site's facts and the checklist, the quickest way to narrow things down is to see the three hosts in one table, then read the host pages for the ones that fit.
- Compare all three on hosting type, data centres, backups, staging, caching, security, support, migration help and billing on our WordPress hosting comparison
- Read the host pages for Cloudways, Krystal and WP Engine
- Check plans and prices on each host's own site, because plans, limits and terms change; we do not list prices here
- Test before you switch: put a staging copy of your site on the host you choose and run the same speed tests before you change DNS
If cost is the deciding factor, our guides to cheap WordPress hosting and WordPress hosting cost explain what to compare beyond the monthly figure.
WordPress hosting by need
Frequently asked questions
Which hosts are your picks for the best WordPress hosting in the UK?
It depends on your site: where your visitors are, what the site does, how busy it is and who looks after it. Our picks for UK businesses are Cloudways, Krystal and WP Engine, listed alphabetically. Each says you can host in the UK. Use our ten-point checklist to see which fits your site.
How do I compare WordPress hosting companies fairly?
Write down what your site needs first, then check the same ten points on each host's own website: data centre location, hosting type, caching and CDN, security, malware help, backups, staging, migration help, support, and contract and billing. Test speed on a staging copy of your own site rather than relying on headline figures.
Do I need managed WordPress hosting, or will shared hosting do?
Shared hosting can suit a simple personal site. For a business site, managed hosting moves updates, caching, backups and security work to the host, which saves time and reduces risk. Some hosts offer both, so check what each plan includes. Our guide to shared vs VPS WordPress hosting explains the differences.
Where do I buy hosting from one of your picks?
Directly from the host, on its own website. Your account, billing and hosting support are all with the host you choose.
Can I move to another host later?
Yes. WordPress sites can be moved between hosts, and all three of our picks describe some form of migration help, from plugins to migrations done by their own teams. Keep a copy of your DNS records and a recent backup, and test the new copy before you switch.
See Krystal's WordPress hosting plans
Krystal lists its UK hosting plans on its own site.