Difference between a managed WordPress web hosting plan and a shared hosting plan

How do I choose between shared WordPress hosting and managed web hosting?

When choosing your hosting service, there are four factors to bear in mind:

• Your budget: shared hosting packages are generally more affordable, while managed hosting plans require a higher budget. The additional costs that come with managed hosting cover technical supervision, automatic updates, and expert WordPress support.
   
• The performance you want: with shared web hosting, resources are shared with other websites. This can cause slowdowns in the event of a traffic spike. Managed WordPress hosting offers an optimised environment for WordPress to achieve better performance, with advanced cache options, CDN, and server optimisations often included.
   
• Your level of technical expertise: if you don't have the expertise or the time to manage your maintenance, a managed hosting plan will relieve you of the burden of more technical tasks such as server configuration, WordPress updates or security monitoring. Beginners will find these services very useful, as they can focus on the content or design of the website, which their users will appreciate.
   
• Scalability: when you’re just starting out, a shared web hosting plan may be enough, especially if traffic remains low. However, if you expect rapid growth or sudden spikes (e.g. if you launch a WordPress blog with viral content), a managed hosting service or VPS/Cloud solution will be more flexible, as it will easily adapt to changing loads.

The advantages of managed WordPress hosting

A managed WordPress hosting plan (managed WordPress hosting services or fully managed WordPress hosting) provides a comprehensive set of services to simplify the day-to-day management of your website.

1. High-end performance: the infrastructure (servers, network, storage) is designed to host WordPress in an optimal way. Cache technologies (Varnish, Redis) or CDNs are often integrated to offer the fastest managed WordPress hosting possible.
    
2. Enhanced security: Managed WordPress hosting plans set up tools to prevent common vulnerabilities linked to outdated WordPress plugins.
    
3. Expert technical support: get specialised support from WordPress experts. They will provide quick responses to resolve configuration errors or conflicts between plugins.
    
4. Automated updates: the CMS, its plugins and themes are continuously updated so you don’t have to remember, reducing the risk of exploitable vulnerabilities.
    
5. High availability: scalability is often facilitated by adding or removing resources depending on how frequently you use them. Technical incidents are also managed by a dedicated team.
   While these services justify a higher cost, they are invaluable for professional projects and critical websites, such as e-commerce and learning platforms.

The different types of WordPress web hosting services

In addition to shared web hosting and managed WordPress hosting, you may be considering other services, depending on the size and nature of your project.

WordPress shared web hosting services

Ideal for a quick, cost-effective start-up, especially if you have a limited budget. You can use it to create a WordPress blog or a showcase website without having to manage advanced settings, but this hosting plan quickly reaches its limits if you ever get a sudden increase in traffic.

Managed WordPress hosting services (coming soon)

A specialised solution for users looking for a WordPress-compatible turnkey solution. It often includes optimisations (PHP, MySQL) and custom support to make maintenance easier. It comes with a higher price tag, but offers considerable peace of mind.

Cost differences for web hosting

Your budget is often one of the first elements to guide your choice of hosting plan.

• Shared web hosting for WordPress: it only costs a few pounds a month for a basic subscription – enough for a small blog, a showcase website or a project that is just starting out. At OVHcloud, you can create a WordPress website for £0.99 a month (plus VAT) (link to STARTER solution).
   
• Managed WordPress hosting: higher billing, reflecting professional technical support, optimised features, and continuous security. Recommended forcreating an online store with WordPress, or for any other website generating significant turnover.

When comparing solutions, be sure to check the bandwidth offered, the type and volume of storage, and the quality of the support provided. Sometimes a top-range web hosting plan can meet your immediate needs, while some entry-level managed hosting plans offer limited benefits.

Security: a major issue for WordPress

Main risks with WordPress

As the market-leading CMS, WordPress is the target of many hacking attempts, ranging from SQL injections to brute-force attacks. With shared hosting, a vulnerable website can expose the entire server to threats.

Protection mechanisms for WordPress

• Regular updates: keeping WordPress and its plugins up-to-date is the basis for avoiding 80% of known vulnerabilities.
   
• Security plugins: Wordfence, Sucuri and iThemes Security make it easy to track and block malicious IPs.
   
• SSL certificate: data encryption is reassuring for visitors and appreciated by Google.
   
• Automatic backups: the ability to restore the website in the event of an attack or crash.

Managed hosting providers usually offer a layer of protection and continuous monitoring, whereas shared hosting providers offer only shared general security.

Web hosting performance: load speed and time

Load speed plays an important role in setting you apart in SERPs and providing a good experience for your users. A managed hosting plan offers technical optimisations that you often can’t get with shared hosting.

• In a shared environment: cache plugins (W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache) or compression plugins (Gzip, Brotli) installed. Remains dependent on traffic from other sites.
   
• With managed WordPress hosting: WordPress-optimised servers (recent PHP versions, MariaDB/MySQL specific versions, advanced caches). It guarantees the best possible hosting (fastest managed WordPress hosting) thanks to precise scaling and responsive technical monitoring.

Real-world scenarios for using WordPress hosting

1. Small blog or showcase website: shared web hosting is enough for low traffic, especially if you monitor basic security and keep your plugins up to date. This type of environment is perfect for creating a WordPress blog or a presentation website for a small business.
    
2. E-commerce websites or training platforms: stable performance and expert support are crucial. Choosing a managed solution or a managed VPS ensures speed and high availability. For e-commerce, you can create an online store with WordPress, and enjoy a seamless back-office.
    
3. Web agencies and freelancers: managing multiple customers via a shared hosting plan can become complex, with a lack of advanced control and a risk of overloading the server. Managed hosting, or a well-sized VPS, makes multi-project maintenance and management easy. A WordPress multi-site can also simplify the administration of multiple websites under a single network.
    
4. High traffic projects or event websites: managed hosting or cloud hosting is still the best option for absorbing sudden spikes. For a product launch, marketing campaign, or perhaps a webinar, rapid resource management is key.

Shared web hosting or managed WordPress hosting? Some key points to help you decide

1. Your level of expertise: we recommend a managed WordPress hosting plan if you are a new company or don't want to manage the technical aspects. This means you get comprehensive maintenance, and responsive support. If you already have experience with web hosting, or if your budget is tight, a shared hosting plan will do the job.
    
2. Your desired performance: for a website with low or medium traffic, shared hosting is a viable option. For a business website, e-commerce platform or a popular blog, managed hosting ensures consistent loading times and a premium quality of service.
    
3. Security and reliability: any project that manipulates sensitive data, transactions or high traffic requires managed hosting. A small website or personal blog will be fine with standard protection, as long as it follows best practices (updates, reliable plugins).
    
4. Budget and priorities:shared web hosting is the most cost-effective option.
   Managed WordPress hosting is a good investment if you are concerned about performance and security.

Managing your WordPress domain and choosing a dedicated server

If your company is considering creating or migrating WordPress websites, the first step is to choose a good domain and link it to your hosting plan. A reliable hosting provider usually offers a domain registration service, which makes the technical setup easier.

For larger-scale projects, a dedicated server can be a great option – offering a fully customised service, a dedicated customer support service and with an SSL service included with some offers – to guarantee optimal security.

Choosing the right type of hosting for your WordPress project

Shared WordPress hosting is a cost-effective, easy-to-use solution, ideal for small websites or blogs. It is perfect for those who are just getting started and have low traffic.  Managed WordPress hosting offers more expertise and stability to meet the needs of a business website, e-commerce platform or high-traffic platform.

The choice you end up making will depend on the resources your project has. If you are looking for peace of mind and long-term optimisation, outsourcing hosting is the best option. For tighter budgets or the creation of a personal website, it’s better to go with a well-configured shared hosting plan.

In any case, it’s important to analyse how your website will grow in order to choose the most appropriate hosting plan. Whether you choose shared hosting or managed web hosting, make sure the solution meets your performance, security and scalability needs.