Finding the best WordPress hosting Australia has to offer can be a daunting process for business owners. With so many options, price points and technical jargon thrown around it is no wonder it is a difficult process. We would like to take the sting out of the process for you and explain what website hosting options are available to Australian business owners. So, we have listed what we think are the Best WordPress hosting companies in Australia for you to narrow down your list and help with your research.
We have been in the website business since 2012 and have seen a lot of changes in technology. In this time, we have seen some great changes in local website hosting companies and the downfall of some of the more popular website hosting companies. Some of them have removed basic features on their lower packages like the chatbot (this is a no-no from us!). We have moved clients from hosting companies that no longer offer the best services and moved them to a web hosting plan that can provide all the essentials without hurting the hip pocket.
From cloud hosting and shared hosting to managed hosting and VPS hosting, this article is designed to help you make an informed decision.
Wait, what is WordPress web hosting?
Glad you asked! WordPress hosting is a specialised type of web hosting service designed specifically to support and run WordPress websites. With the increasing popularity of WordPress as a content management system (CMS), hosting providers have developed specific hosting solutions tailored to the requirements of WordPress websites. Meaning, the web server is optimised for WordPress websites.
Why do I need WordPress hosting?
Can’t I just have normal website hosting? Yes, you can. But having a reliable and optimised WordPress hosting solution is an important part of your website success story. WordPress hosting packages offer optimised server space for your WordPress website helping it work to its optimal level. Here are some of the key reasons why you should consider using WordPress hosting:
- Optimised performance: WordPress hosting provides a hosting environment that is optimised for the specific requirements of WordPress websites, ensuring that your website runs fast and smoothly. This includes server configurations, caching mechanisms, and other performance-enhancing features.
- Easy setup and management: WordPress hosting provides a simple and straightforward setup process that makes it easy to get your WordPress website up and running. In addition, many WordPress hosting providers offer easy-to-use management tools and features that simplify the process of managing your website, even for those with limited technical knowledge.
- Enhanced security: Security is a critical concern for any website, and WordPress hosting provides built-in security features and proactive measures to protect your website from potential threats such as malware and hacking attempts. This includes firewalls, automatic backups, and monitoring tools to ensure that your website is always secure.
- Technical support: Running a website can be complex, and having access to technical support is essential. WordPress hosting providers offer technical support specifically for WordPress websites, ensuring that you have access to expert help when you need it.
- Scalability: As your website grows, WordPress hosting can easily accommodate increased traffic and provide additional resources as needed. This helps to ensure that your website continues to perform well even as it grows in popularity.
- Updating: Hosting platforms also offer automatic updates of certain areas of your website. WordPress themes, WordPress Plugin and WordPress core updates are all taken care of with the click of a button!
Now you know the WHY you want to find the best WordPress web hosting plan, let’s just into what makes a good hosting package, and the best WordPress hosting Australia has to offer small to large businesses.
Australian WordPress hosting essentials: What makes a good web hosting provider and package?
There are a number of basic functions we believe a hosting package MUST offer to make it to the top of our list. As a minimum we expect:
- Easy to use interface (website hosting with cpanel)
- Fast server speeds
- Generous storage space
- High levels of security
- Plans in Australian dollars
- website hosting with ssl certificate (included not as an added fee)
- 99-100% server uptime
- Australian owned companies with servers in Australia and around the world
- Australian owned hosting offering packages in Australian Dollars (AUD)
- Email hosting (basic emails included in the hosting with the option to add exchange / Microsoft emails)
These are some of the factors we take into account when deciding which website hosting service is best for our clients.
The best WordPress hosting in Australia: Our Top 5 for 2023
Don’t want to read through our breakdown of the best WordPress hosting Australia has to offer? Sure, we get you. Time is money, money is time, just give me the answer and I’ll be on my way! Here is out list of the top WordPress hosting Australia has to offer (based on our high expectations)
VentraIp – Best Australian WordPress Plan
VentraIp is a Melbourne based hosting company offering Australian businesses amazing website hosting packages. They offer various website hosting packages from WordPress Hosting to custom website hosting.
VentraIp hosting offers fast, secure and scalable website hosting. This means you can rest assured your website hosting package can grow with your website and business.
Basic Shared WordPress hosting package inclusions:
- 10GB SSD Cloud Storage
- Unlimited Premium Bandwidth
- 200% CPU Allowance
- 2GB Memory Allowance
- Hourly Acronis Backups
- FREE Comodo SSL Certificate
- 24/7 Australian Support Local technical support specialists available 24/7.
- Unlimited Email Accounts
- Staging and Cloning
- Imunify AV Code Protection
- Search Engine Indexing
- Smart Updates
- Security Advisor
- DDoS Protection
- One-click WordPress Install
Price: $16/month ($8/month for the first invoice)
* These prices are in AUD. Australian company Australian Dollars. That’s a win for us.
Option to pay monthly or annually.
VentraIp has quickly become our FAVOURITE web hosting company. They are a hosting service that offers 24/7 customer service by a local support team and they have a data centre in Australia. If you are looking to choose a hosting with great shared WordPress hosting plans, best value for money and a great support team then VentraIp is the one for you.
SiteGround
SiteGround is not an Australian website hosting company but it is a great option for any business looking for reliable hosting. They have a great name in the web hosting space and offer reasonable packages to suit any business needs. SiteGround was founded in 2004 in Sofia, Bulgaria and has since grown to be a huge player in the hosting industry worldwide.
SiteGround hosting packages vary in price depending on your needs. They offer a HUGE discount for your first year. Don’t let this type of marketing sway your decision making. Sometimes this can cause alarm. Some companies want to lock you in as a client and then charge the world for future instalments, resting on the fact it is too hard to move hosting. SiteGround is not in this category. Whilst they do offer a HUGE discount for the first year their base rate is not absurd. It is generous for what they offer and the support is fantastic.
Basic WordPress hosting package inclusions:
- 1 Website
- 10 GB Web Space
- ~ 10,000 Visits Monthly
- Unmetered Traffic
- Free SSL
- Daily Backup
- Free CDN
- Free Email
- Enhanced Security
- Ecommerce Enabled
- Managed WordPress
- Out-of-the-box Caching
- Unlimited Databases
- 100% renewable energy match
- 30-Days Money-Back
- Add Collaborators
Price: Starting from $19.99/month with the first year on sale (currently $4.99/mo.) AUD Excl. 10% GST. SiteGround also offer packages for multiple websites. So if you are looking for the best hosting for multiple wordpress sites, Siteground is a great option for you!
* These prices are in Australian dollars. Not an Australian company BUT they offer AUD which is a benefit in our eyes.
While we no longer use Siteground for our websites they are still one of the best WordPress web hosting providers available.
WPX Hosting
WPX Hosting is marketing themselves as the Fastest WordPress hosting. This is something we are not going to argue! They are quick. Not only are they quick but they offer great additions to their packages. I mean, what website hosting company offers free malware removal? WPX Hosting does!
WPX Hosting includes so much value in their hosting packages:
- FREE site speed optimization
- FREE unlimited site transfers to WPX
- FREE lightning fast CDN
- FREE malware detection & removal
- FREE site fixes if down
On top of that, their support is amazing. Even SEO Guru Matthew Woodward has named them as having the best WP Hosting Support.
Basic WordPress hosting package inclusions:
- Up to 5 Websites
- NEW 15 GB Storage
- NEW 200 GB Bandwidth
- Free Malware Removal
- 30 sec Average Support Response
- Free Fixes If Site Offline
- Free Site Speed Optimization
- 30-day Money-Back Guarantee
- 99.95% Uptime Guarantee
- 1-Click WordPress Installs
- Data center Locations In USA, UK & Australia
- High-Speed Custom CDN with 33 Global Edge Locations
- Superfast SSD Storage
- Unlimited Site Migrations To WPX
- Unlimited SSL Certificates
- DDoS Protection
- 28 Days Automatic Backups
- Staging Area
Price: $20.83/month or $249.99 Yearly Purchase (2 months FREE included)
* These prices are in USD (Being an Australian company we would have liked to see AUD being used – just a small thing )
WPX Hosting is a special kind of web hosting. It is the best option if you want added malware protection services. They offer free malware detection and removal which is an amazing bonus.
WP Hosting
WP Hosting is an Australian owned hosting company offering dedicated WordPress hosting to Australian businesses. WP Hosting provides quality WordPress hosting packages to individuals, small businesses, companies, corporate and government.
Basic WordPress hosting package inclusions:
- 5GB SSD Storage
- Unlimited Data Transfer
- Daily Backups (15 Day Retention)
- Always-On DDoS Protection
- Australian Data Centre
Price: $19/month ($17/month if billed yearly)
* Australian company using AUD.
Web Central
Web Central, formerly known as Netregistry, has been around for a long time. They are a reliable Australian website hosting company and offer great support. Unfortunately, in comparison to other companies their packages have left us a little underwhelmed in the past. In saying that, they now offer free SSL as well as blazing fast servers.
To get their discount you need to lock in for three years which is something we do not like offering our clients. Having the ability to change your website tools when you want to is a benefit in website hosting and business.
Basic WordPress hosting package inclusions:
- WordPress optimised
- Auto WordPress install
- WordPress software & security updates
- 1-click staging and cloning
- 1 professional website
- 25GB blazing fast SSD storage
- 10 free business email accounts
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Unlimited databases
- Proactive website security
- Daily email and website backups
- SSL security encryption
- 100% uptime
Price: $19.95 /month ($13.95 /month on a 3-year term saving 30%)
* Australian dollars
Finding the best Managed WordPress hosting Australia has to offer
Benefits of Australia based WordPress Hosting
- Better value
- Potentially better for local SEO
- Local support
- Site load speed and performance
Essential features for WordPress Web Hosting
- One-click WordPress installation
- Easy to use cPanel
- WordPress updates
- Scheduled and manual backups with easy site restoration
- Built-in speed optimisation and caching solutions
- High quality customer support 24/7
How we worked out the Best WordPress hosting Australia has to offer
We used various factors to analyse which website hosting was the best option for Australian businesses. The criteria is based on:
- Usability
- Support (Support available within Australian time zones)
- Uptime
- Server speed
- Storage space
- Security
- Plans in Australian dollars
- Servers based in Australia
All of the aforementioned hosting companies have passed our tests and we approve them all based on the overall results of the service.
Summary: What to look for in a WordPress hosting provider in Australia
Depending on your plan, you can get anywhere from 1 to unlimited websites hosted on a WordPress hosting plan. Pricing ranges from $16/month through $21/month for the basic packages. All of the best WordPress hosting companies offer various levels of hosting, although most of our clients will find that the base packages are more than enough to get started.
Our preferred WordPress hosting packages (on the basic package) offer between 5 GB and 25 GB of SSD storage and 100 GB to unlimited bandwidth. They all offer plans that include a Free SSL certificate, guarantee +99.9% uptime and offer 24/7 customer support throughout the year.
Additionally, all of the hosting services on our list offer easy to follow set up processes and guided help if you require additional assistance.
So, in summary, if you are running a WordPress website and select any of the above website hosting companies for an Australian business you will be in great hands. We have been selective with the best WordPress hosting Australia has to offer. There are many more international hosting options, but we prefer to keep local.
Want to ask us a question about what to look for in WordPress hosting? We would love to chat with you! Contact us to discuss WordPress hosting or how we can help build your WordPress website.
Frequently Asked Questions about WordPress Hosting
Can I build a website without hosting?
A website requires hosting. Every single website on the web has web hosting. So, is website hosting necessary, yes it 100% is a requirement for your website.
I already have hosting. Can you transfer website hosting?
Yes you certainly can. All of the above mentioned hosting companies offer free website migration to new clients.
Where is the best place to host a website?
We believe hosting your website in the local country is the best option for businesses. So being an Australian business you should host with an Australian hosting company who have data centres locally. If you offer your products and services internationally, then look for an Australian hosting company who have data centres in other countries as well as locally.
Is website hosting free?
I am sure there are some random options of free hosting but it will 100% be detrimental to the success of your website. Steer clear of companies offering free website hosting because nothing in this world is free! Website hosting is a small investment for your businesses success.
Does website hosting affect SEO?
In short, yes it can affect your SEO efforts. Page load speed and security both play a huge role in SEO and are based on your hosting.
Is web hosting the same as domain hosting?
No, they are two separate elements of a website. Hosting is where your website is stored (kind of like the land of a home) and the domain name is your address (like your street address points to your land/home). Most website hosting companies offer domain name registration as well as hosting. However, you do not need to purchase them from the same company. You can learn more about Domain Name Registration via our blog post – What is a Domain Registrar.
Which hosting is best for my WordPress site?
Selecting a dedicated WordPress hosting package is the best option for WordPress websites. The dedicated WordPress hosting options have specific functions to maintain a WordPress website.
Need help with your WordPress website?
Get in touch with us to discuss how we can help you achieve your online goals.
