In short
Web hosting is the server space and connection a website needs to be online. WordPress hosting is web hosting configured for WordPress, with suitable PHP, database and web server settings plus caching, staging, backups and security tuned for it. Managed WordPress hosting, from hosts such as Cloudways, Krystal and WP Engine, also runs the platform for you.
See Cloudways' managed hosting plans
Cloudways lists its cloud providers, server sizes and locations, including London, on its own site.
What is WordPress hosting?
WordPress.org describes WordPress as the platform of choice for millions of sites across the web. The software is open source: WordPress.org says it is "built on PHP and MariaDB, and licensed under the GPLv2". To be visible on the internet, a WordPress site needs a computer that stays connected, runs the right software and answers visitors' browsers. That is hosting.
WordPress hosting is hosting set up specifically for WordPress. At its simplest it is ordinary web hosting with WordPress pre-installed. At its most complete, it is a platform built only for WordPress, where the host manages performance, security, backups and server updates for you.
The word "WordPress" in a hosting product describes what it is built to run. WordPress is a trademark of the WordPress Foundation, and hosting companies are separate organisations that build their services around the software.
What does ordinary web hosting give you?
General web hosting is designed to run almost any website. A typical plan gives you:
- Space on a server for your website's files
- A database for content, if your site needs one
- Bandwidth: the data your site can send to visitors
- A way to connect your domain to the server
- A control panel to manage files, databases and settings
- Sometimes email on your domain
That is enough to run WordPress, and many sites do. The difference comes in what happens next: who tunes the server for WordPress, who handles caching and security, and who you turn to when something goes wrong.
General-purpose hosting is built to suit every kind of website, so it rarely knows anything about WordPress in particular. You install WordPress yourself or with a one-click installer, choose and configure a caching plugin, add a security plugin, set up backups and keep everything updated. For a simple site with a confident owner that can work well. For a business site, where downtime or a hacked page costs enquiries, most of that work is better done by a host that does it every day.
What does WordPress-specific hosting add?
WordPress hosting takes the general-purpose server and adds what a WordPress site benefits from:
- Server settings tuned for WordPress: PHP versions, memory and database settings chosen for how WordPress works
- Caching built for WordPress: full-page caching that knows which pages can be cached and which, such as checkout pages, cannot
- WordPress-aware security: firewalls and scans that look for known vulnerabilities in WordPress plugins and themes
- Staging: a safe copy of the site for testing updates
- Backups and simple restores of the whole WordPress site
- Tools for developers: WP-CLI, SSH and Git access
- Support staff who know WordPress, not only the server
Managed WordPress hosting puts all of that together and takes the server work off your hands. Our page on managed WordPress hosting explains what each host includes.
What a WordPress site needs from its host (PHP, database, web server)
Every WordPress site relies on three pieces of server software, plus a secure connection:
| Component | What it does | What WordPress.org recommends |
|---|---|---|
| PHP | The programming language WordPress is written in; it builds each page | PHP 8.3 or greater |
| Database | Stores posts, pages, settings and users | MariaDB 10.11 or greater, or MySQL 8.0 or greater |
| Web server | Receives requests from browsers and returns pages | Apache or Nginx |
| HTTPS | Encrypts the connection between the visitor and your site | HTTPS support |
These recommendations come from WordPress.org's hosting requirements page (opens in a new tab), which also notes that WordPress still works with older versions that have reached end of life. Keeping PHP and the database current matters for both speed and security, because older versions stop receiving security fixes.
On top of these, a good WordPress host adds caching, a CDN to serve images and files from locations near your visitors, and enough memory and processing power for busy moments, such as a sale or a newsletter going out.
See Cloudways' managed hosting plans
Cloudways lists its cloud providers, server sizes and locations, including London, on its own site.
Types of WordPress hosting: shared, VPS, cloud, dedicated and managed
Most WordPress hosting falls into one of five types. They differ mainly in who manages the server and how much of it is yours:
| Type | What it means | Who manages the server | Typical fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared hosting | Many websites share one server's resources | The host manages the server; you manage WordPress | Small personal or test sites |
| VPS hosting | A virtual server with a reserved share of resources | Usually you or your own technical staff | Teams with server skills who want control |
| Cloud hosting | Sites run on cloud infrastructure that can scale | Varies: self-managed or managed | Sites that need to grow or handle peaks |
| Dedicated hosting | A whole server, physical or virtual, for your sites | You, or the host on a managed service | Large or specialised sites |
| Managed WordPress hosting | A platform or server set up for WordPress and run by the host | The host manages the server and the WordPress platform | Businesses that want speed, security and support without running a server |
The type of hosting decides who does the work when something needs fixing. On shared hosting the host keeps the server running, but caching, security plugins and updates inside WordPress are usually yours. On a VPS or dedicated server you, or someone you pay, run the server too. Managed WordPress hosting moves most of that work to the host, which is why it suits businesses without their own technical staff.
The lines blur in practice. Cloudways, for example, sells managed hosting on cloud servers you size yourself, while WP Engine's Essential plan uses a shared environment and its Business plan isolated resources, both managed by WP Engine. The detail is in shared vs VPS WordPress hosting, WordPress cloud hosting and dedicated WordPress hosting. If you would rather run WordPress yourself, our guide to self-hosted WordPress explains what that involves.
Examples: what managed WordPress hosts run your site on
To see how this works in practice, here is what the hosts in this guide say they run, listed A to Z and taken from each host's own pages:
| Host | What the host says it runs |
|---|---|
| Cloudways | Your choice of DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS or Google Cloud; its Lightning Stack of NGINX with PHP-FPM; Varnish, Memcached and Redis; PHP 7.4 to 8.4; MariaDB 10.11 or 11.4 |
| Krystal | Onyx, its platform built for WordPress: NVMe storage, each site spread across multiple servers with two containers, and LiteSpeed Cache pre-installed |
| WP Engine | Google Cloud, with AWS and Microsoft Azure on Premium plans; WordPress, PHP and MySQL managed for you; its EverCache caching and a global CDN powered by Cloudflare |
Each host manages its stack for you. When you compare hosts, check the PHP and database versions on offer against WordPress.org's recommendations above. The cloud and network providers are named only because the hosts name them to describe their technology. For a fuller side-by-side view, see compare WordPress hosting.
Not sure which host to choose?
See the three hosts side by side on the features each one lists.
Questions to ask before you choose a host
Whichever host you consider, the same questions will tell you most of what you need to know:
- Where will my site be hosted? A data centre near your visitors, such as London for a UK audience, helps speed.
- Who manages the server? Find out who patches it, tunes it and fixes it.
- What caching and CDN are included? Check whether they are part of the plan or extras.
- How is the site protected? Look at the firewall, DDoS protection, SSL and what happens if the site is hacked.
- How are backups taken and kept? Check how often, for how long, and how you restore one.
- Is there staging? A safe copy for testing changes avoids surprises on the live site.
- Will the host move my site? Check whether migration is included and how it works.
- How do I get support, and who answers? Find out the channels and whether the team knows WordPress.
- What does the plan limit? Check sites, visits or bandwidth, storage, and what happens if you grow.
Our picks for the best WordPress hosting in the UK goes through these questions host by host, and our WordPress hosting comparison sets the answers side by side.
Next step: compare WordPress hosts
Once you know the type of hosting you want, compare hosts on the features that matter for your site:
- See the hosts side by side: compare WordPress hosting
- See what managed hosting includes: managed WordPress hosting
- Weigh up hosts for your kind of site: our picks for the best WordPress hosting in the UK
- Plan a move: moving a WordPress site to a new host covers the domain, DNS and email side
Plans are bought directly from each host, and their plans, prices and terms are on each provider's own site.
Types of WordPress hosting explained
Frequently asked questions
Is WordPress hosting different from normal web hosting?
WordPress hosting is web hosting configured for WordPress. Normal web hosting can run WordPress, but WordPress hosting adds server settings, caching, security, staging and backups tuned for it, and managed WordPress hosting runs the whole platform for you.
Do I need special hosting to run WordPress?
No. WordPress runs on any host that supports PHP, a MySQL or MariaDB database and HTTPS. WordPress.org recommends PHP 8.3 or greater and MariaDB 10.11 or greater, or MySQL 8.0 or greater. Hosting built for WordPress makes it quicker, safer and easier to look after.
Is the WordPress software itself paid for?
No licence fee is charged for the software. WordPress.org describes WordPress as open source software, licensed under the GPLv2, and you can download it from WordPress.org. What you pay for is the hosting it runs on, your domain name and any premium themes or plugins you choose.
What PHP version does WordPress hosting need?
WordPress.org recommends PHP 8.3 or greater, and notes that WordPress still works on older versions that have reached end of life. Hosts let you choose: Cloudways, for example, lists PHP 7.4 to 8.4, and WP Engine includes automated PHP updates on every plan. Test a new version on staging before you switch your live site.
Is managed WordPress hosting the same as WordPress hosting?
Not quite. WordPress hosting is any hosting set up to run WordPress, which can be as simple as shared hosting with a one-click installer. Managed WordPress hosting is the version where the host also runs the platform for you: server updates, caching, security, backups and usually staging and migration help. All three hosts in this guide describe their WordPress products as managed.
Can I host more than one WordPress site on one plan?
Yes, with most hosts. Cloudways lets you run as many sites as your server can support, and Krystal's Agency plan covers five sites, upgradeable to ten. WP Engine sizes its plans by visits, storage and bandwidth. Each host's plans page lists the current limits.
See Krystal's WordPress hosting plans
Krystal lists its UK hosting plans on its own site.