DreamHost vs. SiteGround: Comparing Managed WordPress Hosting

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When it comes to running your own website for the first time, I recommend using WordPress because it’s a great way for business owners or new time bloggers to run your own website without needing to know how to code.  And it when comes to having a WordPress website for first time business owners and bloggers, I think you should use a Managed WordPress host, because that way you won’t have to waste time worrying about your server, updates, security, etc.

So today I want to look at two Managed WordPress hosts that are quite popular with bloggers and business owners: SiteGround and DreamHost.  Both SiteGround and DreamHost offer Managed WordPress options, and they do so at relatively affordable rates.  Here are some of their lowest plan options and I will compare them side by side with each other.

The first thing I want to discuss is price.  First of all, the price can be a bit deceptive when you look at webhosts, and that is the case here.  You might see “$3.95/month” and think you’ll just pay this each month, but with SiteGround you actually have to pay the entire year upfront, so it costs $47.40.  This isn’t the worse thing because it does decrease your business’s monthly expenses, but it is something to consider when you are budgeting your startup costs.  DreamHost is the same way, though if you want to pay monthly rather than upfront there is an option, it will just increase the price (for example, you can pay $19.95/month instead of $16.95/month for the DreamPress plan and then pay each month rather than $203.40 upfront, which can have its perks in terms of budgeting).  Also, one thing to consider with SiteGround is that the price will increase after one year; for example, the SiteGround StartUp plan goes from $3.95/month to $11.95/month.  But the plus here is that after a year, you should be earning more money and therefore in a better position to pay the increased price; being able to save money at the beginning is always a plus.

So having said all this for price, despite the fact that you have to pay the year upfront and the price increases, if you want to pick a Managed WordPress host solely on price, then SiteGround is probably the best choice for you.  But the other big difference between these two plans is the server.  To put it as simply as possible, a cloud server is much preferable to a shared server.  Your website should load a lot faster on a cloud server and on a shared server, if you get a big spike in traffic you more run the risk that your site will temporarily go down.  Now, this should not be a huge problem if you are a true beginner and your website is in its infancy stage because it may be awhile until you get to that point.  But if you’ve already been running your website and already have a number of visitors and you’re just switching web hosts, or if you are starting a website for a business that’s already been around for while (just hasn’t had a website) and you expect a lot of traffic, then I think you are better off with DreamPress.  Also if you just don’t want to have to worry about something on your website going viral and your website temporarily going down, then DreamPress is a better option (SiteGround does have a cloud option, but it’s a lot more expensive).  However, if you just want your Managed WordPress to be as affordable as possible, then SiteGround is the better choice (plus, with SiteGround, you get a 30 day money back guarantee which is really nice if you are on the fence about whether you even really want a website).  I think the other factors between the web hosts are more or less comparable (such as the fact they both have 24/7 customer support).

So DreamHost and SiteGround are both good choices for anyone wanting a Managed WordPress, but SiteGround is the best choice for someone wanting to spend the least money and DreamHost is the best choice if you want a quicker website that’s better able to handle large amounts of traffic.

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