1. Reliable Web Hosting (100% uptime)

One of the main reasons I rate SiteGround so highly is because their server performance and reliability have never failed me. Although this website is hosted with SiteGround, I signed up for their StartUp plan with a test website so I could unbiasedly monitor my test site’s uptime and performance.

In order to track my website’s uptime and server response time, I signed up to UptimeRobot. UptimeRobot allows you to input any number of URLs to monitor uptime, response time, and other performance metrics.

UptimeRobot checks my test site every 5 minutes, and to date, SiteGround has never left me with any downtime. I’ve used SiteGround to host multiple websites over the years, and these kinds of results come as no surprise to me.

SiteGround has always been a solid and reliable web host which is why I rate them #1 in the best web hosting for 2024.

2. SiteGround Has Quick Server Response Times

To assess my test website’s server response time, I used a variety of tools so I could show you different aspects of this measure. Server response time, in a nutshell, is how quickly a server responds to a request.

So, if someone visiting your website inputs your site’s URL, this is the time it takes for the server to respond and deliver your website’s content to them.

I used Pingdom’s Website Speed Test to see how my un-optimised website would grade. This test is important to me because this is my website without any WordPress plugins or optimisation tools installed.

I tested my website using Europe’s London, U.K. server as this is the closest one to my host’s server and the majority of my website traffic. Considering I had literally installed WordPress’s Twenty-Seventeen theme and hadn’t optimised my website in any way, I thought the results were quite good.

Both my UptimeRobot and Pingdom tests have reassured me that my faith in SiteGround certainly isn’t misguided. They are one of the best web hosts we’ve tested so far and their uptime, speed, or performance is impressive. Kissmetrics support the notion that many studies have found.

My next test was using Bitcatcha’s server speed checker test. All you have to do is enter your website’s URL and Bitcatcha will ping multiple server locations across the world and provide you with your server’s response times.

I took the results and calculated a worldwide average server response time of 132.4ms which is incredible! This is well below Google’s recommended 200ms, giving me (and you) confidence that SiteGround server really does perform well.

Next up I wanted to see the real impact that SiteGround’s SuperCacher would have on my website. Again, this is bearing in mind that I haven’t done anything to optimise my website at this stage.

I used dotcom-tools to test my website speed across 24 worldwide locations.

SuperCacher caches static content, meaning the second time you visit a web page, the content will load faster. Static content refers to content that is unlikely to change, like images, HTML, and JavaScript. If someone from the U.S. visits my website, where the server is located in the U.K., they will massively benefit from cached content to experience faster loading times.

There is a clear difference between the first visit and repeat visits on these results.

3. Multiple Data Centers Worldwide

I’ve already mentioned briefly that SiteGround offer multiple data center locations. They currently have 6 data centers in Iowa (USA), London (UK), Eemshaven (Netherlands), Frankfurt (DE), Sydney (AU), and Singapore.

When you sign up, you’ll want to think about where the majority of your site’s traffic is coming from. For example, if your visitors tend to come from the U.K., I would STRONGLY suggest choosing SiteGround’s London data center.

Being able to choose your data center is a MAJOR benefit. Your site with SiteGround will be offering high speeds and fast response times like no other.

Website performance has a HUGE effect on conversions, so if you’re running a small or high-traffic business, I highly recommend SiteGround.

Website performance has a large, measurable effect on conversion rates. Studies have consistently shown that fast page speed will result in a better conversion rate. In other words, the quicker a webpage loads, the more likely a user is to perform the targeted action on that webpage.

4. Your Website Will Be Secure

I don’t know about you, but when I’m hosting my website with a web host, I like to know that there are security measures in place to protect me! SiteGround has some pretty awesome security features that give me the confidence I need to host with them.

I’m not going to cover all of their security features in great details because it would probably bore you, but here are some key elements that I think are really useful:

• Anti-Spam: SpamAssassin is a brilliant tool to ensure that your website mailbox doesn’t get flooded with spam mail, as well as mail that could be potentially harmful (not just annoying).
• CDN service: CloudFlare is an awesome CDN provided for free to SiteGround customers. Just check it out for yourselves and be amazed!
• SiteCheck: An automatic tool that scans software to ensure your website is running as best as it can be.

5. You Can Migrate Your WordPress Website For Free

If you’re moving from one web host to another, it’s good to look out for free site migration. Why? Well, it just makes everything a lot easier! I know I wouldn’t feel comfortable transferring all my files from one server to another!

Before signing up to SiteGround I had previously heard that they offer free site migration for WordPress websites.

If you know what you’re doing then the process doesn’t require much effort at all. But for people like me, it’s nice to know your web host has your back if something goes wrong!

I spoke to SiteGround’s live chat to ask them about the migration process. As you can see they answered everything

I asked in one message and confirmed that the free site migration is available to all customers on the GrowBig and GoGeek plans.

If you have a WordPress site that you want to migrate to SiteGround, it couldn’t be simpler to move your site across. There are two methods in which you can do this:

1. Using SiteGround’s automatic migration for WordPress sites using their Migrator Plugin
2. Professional migration by a SiteGround expert

To transfer an existing site using WordPress Automigration, simply click on Migrate Website from step 2 of the Website Setup Wizard and then select WordPress Automigration.

Alternatively, if you wish for one of SiteGround’s experts to manually transfer your website, you’ll need to submit a ticket to the support engineers (which is a paid-for service) and they will do the rest.

6. Site Tools Is Beginner Friendly

SiteGround’s control panel has recently seen some updates, making it more intuitive than ever before. If you’re a beginner or you’re not that confident in your technical ability, SiteGround’s dashboard makes the process incredibly easy.

You can manage all of your websites individually using SiteGround’s control panel, meaning you can access each of their site tools separately. If you’re a collaborator for any websites (mostly used by developers), you can access these on a separate tab so as not to get confused. I know this is only a simple feature but it’s really helpful if you have a lot of websites.

It’s now easier than ever to manage all of your SiteGround services, including web hosting and domains. SiteGround’s revamped control panel makes everything easy and super obvious, meaning you shouldn’t have to contact their customer support as much (though if you do, they are great).

If you want to add any extras to your hosting or domain accounts, you can easily install extra apps using SiteGround’s marketplace. For example, if you want to add domain privacy to your existing domain, you can literally click a button and install this feature.

All-in-all, I am loving SiteGround’s new control panel updates. They’ve made everything beginner-friendly so you can manage your websites and domains all from one place, without any confusion.

7. Daily Backups Are A Life Saver

With any website, big or small, it’s so important to have a backup of your files. If I had spent a couple of hours or even days working on my website, only for something to go wrong and lose all my work, I’d be pretty gutted!

SiteGround backup every customer’s website on a daily basis. If you run your own backup and it goes wrong, or you forget to do it, you can speak to their support team to get your data recovered. Manual and automated backups are kept for 30 days once they’ve been created on SiteGround’s shared plans.

Simply log in to your SiteGround account, select Websites then choose Site Tools on the website you wish to backup. This will take you to SiteGround’s Site Tools where you can select Security from the left-hand panel, then Backups to access a list of your website’s backups.

I purchased their StartUp plan, so I get one backup each day if required. If you think you may need more than that, their GrowBig and GoGeek plans offer entire website backups with restoration options.

8. SiteGround Is Recommended By WordPress

WordPress recommends just three web hosts out of thousands, which meet the minimum WordPress requirements. Guess what? SiteGround is one of them.

There are rigorous tests that web hosts have to go through to get awarded this status, including security and speed tests, support, and lots more. This grants WordPress recommended hosts with some special recognitions including:

• 1-Click Staging: Rather than updating small sections of your website at any given time, developers can update entire websites with just one click. This gives developers the upper hand and frankly looks way more professional.
• Automatic Updates: SiteGround always updates software to ensure you’re not left in the lurch, and your website always secure. Whilst you can turn automatic updates off, I highly recommend sticking with Siteground’s auto-updates.
• WordPress Support: It’s all well and good having a web host who can help with some basic problems with your WordPress site, but if they can’t answer or fix an issue, you may be left stranded. SiteGround’s WordPress experts can help you with any problem you have, taking care of the technical side of things so you don’t have to.

9. Your Site Can Load 4x Faster

Your website needs to load faster if you want visitors to stay on your site. ThinkWithGoogle say that if your site takes 1 to 3 seconds to load, the bounce rate increases to 32%, so they recommend your website loads in less than 1 second.

SiteGround has taken this on board and has made a BIG effort to use the latest technologies to speed up your website. Not only that but they also have spent years developing their own in-house systems and technologies which no other host offers.

• SSDs: SiteGround uses SSD storage to deliver data super fast. In comparison to traditional HDDs, it’s said SSDs can be up to 30% faster.
• Google Cloud: All of SiteGround’s data centers use the Google Cloud Platform to leverage Google Cloud’s infrastructure. Websites hosted with SiteGround load faster and have the reassurance of Google’s SSD Persistent Storage, offering multiple redundancies if one of the host’s servers fail.
• CloudFlare: SiteGround utilize CloudFlare to ensure when a user visits your website, they are receiving data from the closest location to them. If your data center is located in the UK but a user from the US visits your site, they will receive fast speeds, regardless of how far away they are. Not only are your end-users happy, but you’ll also rank higher with the likes of Google!
• SuperCacher: SiteGround’s in-house developed SuperCacher offers multiple caching systems. This means your website can handle more requests and boost loading speeds by 4x faster. SuperCacherr access requested data in a quicker way to ensure you always receive the fastest speeds.

2 Things I Disliked About SiteGround

Whilst SiteGround’s features and services are pretty out of this world, no web host comes without flaws. Though I wouldn’t stake my decision on these disadvantages, they are important to make you aware of.

1. Limited Storage

This is something that other web hosts offer more of, but I’ll explain why I don’t think it really deserves to be a con in a moment.

You’ll probably notice each plan offers the following in terms of storage:

• StartUp: 10GB, suitable for 10,000 visitors per month (small non-WordPress site)
• GrowBig: 20GB, suitable for 25,000 visitors per month (medium WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal sites)
• GoGeek: 30GB, suitable for 100,000 visitors per month (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and eCommerce sites)

That’s a lot of information that probably means nothing to you, so I’ve identified what type of website would be suitable for each plan. If SiteGround labelled their plans similar to the above, they’d probably make more sense!

No, SiteGround’s plans aren’t as generous as others when it comes to storage, however, most web pages don’t exceed 3MB in size! That’s the point I was getting at to start off with. 10GB might not sound much, but you’d need a pretty hefty website to exceed that even if you tried really hard!

2. Prices Hike At Renewal

I’ve only come across a few web hosts who don’t hike their prices up at renewal.

Although new customers get to enjoy around a 67% discount on their hosting plans with SiteGround, these prices don’t last forever. When it comes to renewal, you’re going to have to dish out the full price of SiteGround’s shared hosting which starts at £11.99 per month (although this is common practise with most web hosts).

Recently, SiteGround made a pretty unpopular decision to raise their prices when they moved over to the Google Cloud Platform that I mentioned earlier. Although the price increase is frustrating, it’s clear this host is doing what they can to deliver the best service possible by using the latest and fastest technologies so you and I can enjoy faster speeds.

If you want to make the most of SiteGround’s introductory discounts, I would suggest signing up for the longest term possible. I’ve worked in this industry for a long time and I can vouch that SiteGround is worth the £2.99 per month they advertise, but if you can save for longer, why not!

SiteGround Hosting Plans:

Now that I’ve covered what I think about SiteGround, it’s time to decide whether it’s the right web host for you! If you think it is, it would only be right to assess which hosting plan suits your website’s needs.

I’ll be honest SiteGround isn’t the cheapest web hosting BUT you do get what you pay for and I can safely say that about SiteGround.

Questions I often get asked are:

• How much space do I need?
• How many websites should I have?
• Do I need multiple databases?
• What plan is right for my business?

Visit SiteGround.com (£2.99/Month)

StartUp

This is the plan that I chose for my website hosting to write this review. At a bargain price of £2.99 per month, it felt silly to miss out on! Plus, you actually get tonnes of features for your money.

This is clearly SiteGround’s cheapest plan, but again they don’t shy away from offering all of their customers something decent for their money.

GrowBig

It’s time to step things up a notch! But really, is it that big of a leap? Not in terms of price, no! SiteGround’s GrowBig plan is only £4.99.

But for the extra money, you do get quite a lot more. Firstly you can have up to 25,000 visitors on a monthly basis, an extra 10GB storage, and you’ll open the doors to SiteGround’s premium features:

• Unlimited websites (useful if you’re using sub-domains or a separate blog to your site)
• Premium speed (the SuperCacher is definitely worth the extra money)
• Premium backup (free backups if something goes wrong at the click of a button)
• Free site migration (great if you’re moving files from another web host)

GoGeek:

It’s kind of in the name this one… if you’re ready to take your website to the next level, you’ll notice the difference in price. BUT you do get a lot more for your money.

If you’re going to set up an eCommerce website, this is 100% the option I’d suggest for you. If you’re just running a small or medium website, business, or blog, it’s not worth spending the extra.

The main purpose of this plan like I said is for eCommerce users. Your website will be on a server with fewer users, so there won’t be such a battle for resources, making your website faster (much better if you have people online shopping).

Why Customers want to Switch to SiteGround:

It’s not just me that loves SiteGround. There are plenty of people all around the world who are looking to switch to SiteGround today (many of them reporting instant site speed increases).

The love for SiteGround is real! People think SiteGround’s support is brilliant, any issues (of which there are few) get resolved quickly, and they offer top-notch performance.

Final Conclusion:

After several years of using SiteGround, I’d say that SiteGround is a brilliant choice (in fact it’s one of the best web hosting providers we’ve ever tested). SiteGround will hold your hand throughout the process, making everything as easy as possible (customer service is outstanding) which makes it perfect for beginners.

They also have one of the best loading times for a shared hosting plan that I’ve come across.

Beginner bloggers can enjoy building their new website with ease with SiteGround’s fantastic website builder. You’ll have a taster of some free themes and plugins, as well as a pre-installed SSL, daily backups, and automatic updates (nice touches).

SiteGround is leading the way in terms of providing the best possible customer service (industry-leading), whilst giving you solid service and superb value for money hosting.

Here’s a quick summary of SiteGround hosting:

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• Free site transfer (not many hosting companies do this)
• Super uptime (100% this month so far)
• Fastest server response rates we’ve tested so far
• Award-winning 24/7 customer support (it’s quick and very professional)
• Free 1-click WordPress installation
• 30-day money-back guarantee
• Choice of 6 different server locations (including the UK, USA, & Asia)
• Officially recommended by WordPress.org, Drupel and Joomla

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• It’s more costly than other hosting companies

Customer SiteGround Reviews