SiteGround is one of the most recommended WordPress hosting companies. They are known for their top-notch customer support, reliable and fast hosting plans, and WordPress-optimized hosting, which includes everything you’ll need to create and grow a successful website or blog. Read our complete SiteGround review to find out if it is the right host for you.
In this detailed SiteGround review, we’ll put their promises to the test. These are the areas we will look into:
- Performance: Speed is crucial for the success of any website. How fast will your website load with SiteGround?
- Reliability: Will your website be available 24/7/365 without facing any downtime?
- Customer Support: Can you count on their customer support?
- Features: Do they offer all the features and tools you’ll need to build your website?
- Pricing: How much will it cost you? Are there any SiteGround deals that can save you money?
This is a comprehensive SiteGround review with a detailed analysis of SiteGround’s hosting service. If you don’t want to read the full hosting review, here is the quick scorecard with our verdict right below it.
SiteGround Review Summary | |
---|---|
Performance grade | A+ |
Average load time | 397 ms |
Average response time | 123 ms |
Free domain | Yes |
Free SSL | Yes |
1-click WordPress | Yes |
Support | Phone / Live Chat / Knowledge base |
Start with SiteGround |
Bottom line: We found SiteGround to be noticeably faster and extremely reliable. Their hosting plans are flexible, and their customer support is one of the best in the industry.
That’s why we’ve chosen to recommend SiteGround as one of the best WordPress hosting companies.
Now, let’s dive into our detailed SiteGround review so that you can see how we reached that conclusion and decide for yourself.
About SiteGround
Siteground was founded in 2004 and has grown into one of the most well-known hosting companies.
SiteGround is a holding of companies registered in the USA, UK, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Spain, with data centers on three continents. Today, the company has over 500 employees and hosts over 2,000,000 domains.
![SiteGround website SiteGround website](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/siteground-website-1.png)
Pros and Cons of SiteGround
Each hosting company has its pros and cons. Some advantages can overshadow the disadvantages, but some cons can be a total deal-breaker for your needs.
Before making a decision, you may want to review these SiteGround pros and cons.
Pros
Here are some advantages that make SiteGround one of the top-rated hosting companies in the world:
- Super fast servers: All SiteGround servers are highly optimized for speed. They use the Google Cloud platform, which is one of the fastest platforms on the market.
- Top Notch Customer Support: Their customer support is amazing, to say the least. They offer 24/7 phone support, live chat, and ticket-based support.
- Free CDN and SSL They offer an instant setup of Cloudflare’s free CDN and free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt.
- Multiple Server Locations They have data centers on three continents. During signup, you can choose the location you prefer.
Cons
As we mentioned earlier, every hosting company has some downsides. The following are some disadvantages of choosing SiteGround as your host:
- Limited Storage: Their plans come with fixed storage. However, this storage is quite ample, and if you are starting, you will most likely never need extra storage.
- Higher fee for monthly billing: The hosting service gets expensive if you choose monthly billing. But if you sign up for a longer billing period, then you’ll get a more significant discount and a lower rate. They offer a 30-day money-back guarantee anyway, so it’s a good idea to choose a longer billing period when you sign up.
SiteGround Performance Tests
While price often plays a significant role when choosing a web host, you cannot compromise on performance.
This is why we decided to run our tests to review SiteGround’s performance thoroughly.
SiteGround Speed Test Results
Speed is one of the most important performance metrics to look for. A faster website offers a good user experience and boosts your SEO.
In fact, a single-second delay can cause a 7% decrease in conversions, 11% fewer page views, and a 16% decrease in customer satisfaction.
![Strangeloop performance case study Strangeloop performance case study](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/strangeloops-speed-study.jpg)
We created a WordPress-powered test site on SiteGround and filled it with dummy content for theme development with images.
After that, we used Pingdom’s website speed test tool to run our tests. These were the results we got:
![SiteGround speed test results SiteGround speed test results](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/siteground-speed-test-mar2024.png)
As you can see, our test site loaded in less than a second (397 ms, to be precise) with a performance score of 95.
This is incredible, but this website had almost no traffic, so the Pingdom test alone is insufficient.
SiteGround Stress Test Results
We used K6, a stress testing tool by Grafana Labs, to test how SiteGround servers would respond to increased traffic.
This tool gradually sends up to 50 users to see how the server would respond to increased traffic from multiple connections.
You can see the results in the chart below:
![SiteGround stress test results SiteGround stress test results](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/siteground-stress-test-mar2024.png)
The gray line is the number of active virtual users on the site, and the green line is the server response time. SiteGround performed consistently throughout the test without any hiccups.
This test shows that SiteGround is a perfect choice if you are looking for a really fast website.
One of the reasons why SiteGround performed exceptionally well in these performance tests is because of the recent innovations they’ve added.
SiteGround servers are hosted on the Google Cloud Platform. They’ve also added UltraFast PHP and created a custom WordPress plugin for optimization (SG Optimizer), which really puts them in a premium web hosting category.
SiteGround Uptime Test Results
Typically, websites hosted on shared hosting accounts slow down during top traffic hours. That’s because your site is sharing resources with other websites on that server.
Most shared hosting companies automatically kill the server process if your site is taking too many resources. This causes downtime on your website.
We tested our SiteGround site for downtime and got a 99.98% uptime result.
![SiteGround uptime test result SiteGround uptime test result](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/siteground-uptime-test-result-mar2024.png)
SiteGround Server Response Time
Your website’s content has a huge impact on page load time. For example, if you have high-resolution images on a page, then it will significantly increase the overall page load time.
This means that speed test results may not accurately reflect how fast your hosting server really is.
Instead of analyzing page load time alone, we decided to test the actual server response time as well.
To do this, we used a tool called Bitcatcha. It ignores page content and only tests the server’s response time.
Bitcatcha also gives you average loading speed from different global locations. The speed for each location is measured three separate times, and then the results are averaged.
Take a look at the results in the screenshot below.
![SiteGround response time test results SiteGround response time test results](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/siteground-response-time-mar2024.png)
As you can see, SiteGround is a great choice if your target audience is mostly located in the United States. The server responded in a fraction of a second in the United States.
It responded within less than a second for all locations.
SiteGround also allows you to change your server location. You can choose a data center closer to your target audience for even better response times in that particular region.
SiteGround Hosting Plans and Features
SiteGround offers shared hosting, WordPress hosting, cloud hosting, and dedicated hosting plans. If you are starting a new site, their shared hosting plans would be a perfect fit. However, your site will eventually grow, and you want to make sure that they have other plans that you can upgrade to.
Let’s check out SiteGround’s hosting plans and their features:
- Shared hosting: Shared hosting is recommended for new websites, bloggers, small business websites, or a startup online store. It is suitable for low-traffic websites as you will be sharing resources with other websites hosted on the server.
- WordPress hosting: This plan is the WordPress-optimized version of their shared hosting plan. It comes with SiteGround’s in-house WordPress optimizations to improve your website performance. See SiteGround WordPress hosting.
- WooCommerce hosting: This plan is a WooCommerce-optimized version of their shared hosting plan. It includes SiteGround’s optimizations, which greatly improve the performance of your online store. See SiteGround WooCommerce hosting.
- Cloud hosting: Cloud hosting plans provide a flexible upgrade to a shared hosting solution. They allow you to use resources of cloud architecture, including multi-core CPUs and bandwidth. Cloud hosting is suitable for growing websites, popular blogs, or businesses. It can also be an upgrade over VPS and traditional dedicated servers. See SiteGround Cloud hosting.
WPBeginner website is hosted on SiteGround’s Enterprise hosting infrastructure, which is an enhanced version of their Cloud platform for large sites.
Breakdown of SiteGround’s Shared Hosting Plans
SiteGround’s shared hosting options are the best way to build a new website. Their shared hosting packages are available in three levels to match different budgets:
- Startup: This plan is limited to hosting one website. It includes 10 GB disk space and is suitable for hosting a website with 10,000 monthly visitors. You’ll also get all essential features like a 1-click WordPress install, free setup, website transfer, daily backups, built-in caching (SuperCacher), free CDN, free SSL, and more.
- GrowBig: The GrowBig plan lets you host unlimited websites. It comes with 20 GB of disk space and is suitable for websites with 100,000 monthly visits. You’ll get all the features of the Startup plan, plus premium features like ultrafast PHP for even faster speed, on-demand backups, an easy staging tool, and the option to add collaborators to your sites.
- GoGeek: GoGeek plan is suitable for eCommerce websites. It includes 40 GB of storage and can handle websites with 400,000 monthly visitors. In addition to all GrowBig’s features, you’ll get access to priority support, more server resources, advanced features like one-click git repo creation, and the option to manage white-label clients on your sites.
Each Siteground plan includes faster disk storage, email accounts, support for the Cloudflare free content delivery network, and a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate.
They also include several popular WordPress plugins like WPForms, OptinMonster, and All in One SEO to help you improve your website rankings.
![SiteGround pricing SiteGround pricing](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/siteground-pricing-3.png)
SiteGround Support and Customer Service
You’ll see high praise for SiteGround’s customer support service everywhere. Their support team is remarkably good at offering quick, helpful, and knowledgeable support to their customers.
Their customer support includes 24/7 phone, live chat, and ticket-based email support. Response times for phone and live chat are almost instant, and for email-based tickets, the first response is within less than 10 minutes.
SiteGround offers an instant AI assistant for users who prefer to fix things themselves. Built on top of ChatGPT, this AI is trained to answer SiteGround customer questions.
![SiteGround AI support assistant SiteGround AI support assistant](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/siteground-ai-support.png)
The helo resource center also includes a massive collection of knowledge base articles.
This includes step-by-step tutorials and troubleshooting guides with screenshots and videos.
![SiteGround support website SiteGround support website](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/siteground-support-website.png)
Since we use SiteGround to host several of our websites, we can confidently say that their support staff is very knowledgeable.
Conclusion: Is SiteGround the Right Choice for You?
After reading our detailed SiteGround review, you might be wondering if SiteGround is the best web hosting company for your website.
If you want a fast and reliable web hosting provider with excellent customer support, SiteGround is perfect for you. They have hosting plans for every budget, and each plan offers a great set of features.
All their shared hosting plans include SSD storage, site tools, easy setup of Let’s Encrypt free SSL and Cloudflare CDN service, 1-click WordPress installer, and free migration.
Built-in security features protect your website against malware, and you can add additional protection by turning on Cloudflare CDN functionality.
If you are just starting a website for the first time, then you will certainly appreciate SiteGround’s customer support.
Ready to get started with SiteGround? Click here to choose your hosting plan today.
SiteGround Coupon
WPBeginner users get an exclusive 83% discount and free SSL with our SiteGround coupon code.
All you have to do is click on this link to purchase. The discount will be applied automatically.
Frequently Asked Questions about SiteGround Hosting
In this detailed SiteGround review, we looked at all aspects of their hosting services. The following are some of the most frequently asked questions about SiteGround by our users.
1. Where are SiteGround servers located?
SiteGround servers are located in the United States, Europe, and Singapore. You can choose the server location when signing up.
2. Why choose SiteGround for WordPress hosting?
SiteGround offers a highly optimized WordPress hosting platform. Each plan includes its own in-house security features and WordPress tweaks that boost your WordPress site speed and performance.
You can easily set up a WordPress website with their 1-click WordPress installation. You can also move existing WordPress websites using the SiteGround Migrator plugin.
3. Does SiteGround support WooCommerce?
SiteGround specializes in WordPress and WooCommerce hosting. If you are building a WooCommerce store, then you can rely on SiteGround’s optimizations for consistent performance and reliability.
They are one of the top WooCommerce hosting providers and make it super easy to start an online store without any special technical skills.
4. Does SiteGround offer a website builder?
No, SiteGround does not offer its own site builder. That’s because they want users to have the option to pick the best website builder for their needs.
This is why they allow you to easily install WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Magento, Weebly, and many other site builder platforms.
On the SiteGround platform, you can also create unlimited web pages without any restrictions.
5. Does SiteGround offer cPanel hosting?
No, SiteGround no longer offers cPanel hosting. Once cPanel raised its licensing fees, SiteGround decided to remove cPanel hosting and instead built a far superior web hosting control panel for both beginners and advanced users. This allows them to offer managed WordPress hosting-like features without the high costs.
6. Is SiteGround better than Bluehost?
SiteGround and Bluehost used to offer the same features, but with recent innovations, SiteGround has significantly improved its hosting technology.
SiteGround is better than Bluehost in terms of overall performance, technology infrastructure, and support quality. However, with all this innovation, SiteGround pricing is significantly higher.
So, when it comes to pricing, Bluehost is better than SiteGround because not only is it cheaper, but it also offers a free domain name with each account.
For more details, see our honest comparison of SiteGround vs. Bluehost vs. WP Engine.
7. How does SiteGround compare with other hosting providers?
Readers often ask us how SiteGround compares with GoDaddy, Hostinger, HostGator, GreenGeeks, DreamHost, A2 Hosting, and other web hosting services.
They all used to provide similar features and technology, but over the last year, SiteGround has really stepped up its innovation.
With all the managed WordPress hosting features, Google Cloud infrastructure, and custom performance optimization, SiteGround is now in a class of its own with its premium hosting.
8. Does SiteGround offer a free domain name?
No, SiteGround does not offer a free domain name. You can buy a domain name from another registrar and point it to your SiteGround account or buy one from SiteGround during signup at an additional cost.
9. Can I cancel my SiteGround account and get a refund?
SiteGround offers a 30-day money-back guarantee with all its shared plans. During this period, you can try out its services. If you cancel your account during this period, you are eligible for a refund. However, domain name registrations are non-refundable.
10. Which SiteGround plan is best for me?
Each SiteGround plan has different server resources. However, if you are just starting out, then their Startup plan would be perfect for that. You can upgrade at any time if you need more resources. Choose your SiteGround plan to get started.
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Carolyn says
I am so happy that I migrated my site to SiteGround. The support is excellent. I am not afraid to touch my website for fear of waiting hours or days for an answer. They are knowledgeable and courteous and available 24/7. It is the best decision I could have made!
Christian says
I have tried many services and I am very conscious of performance. Siteground not only delivers the fastest shared hosting I have seen so far (tried three other providers before (WPEngine, Mediatemple, 1and1) but also delivers support that is spectacular.
Price / value also excellent.
Fiyinfoluwa says
I’m satisfied with SiteGround’s services. Their response to queries is so swift that I find myself having to keep up with them. Support is great. I find that I don’t have to check my hosting until it is time to renew. Basically you can host with SiteGround and go to sleep!
I will gladly recommend SiteGround any day and any time.
Lene Larsen says
I just swapped to Siteground, and I have gotten only good experiences this far. Their customer service is far and beyond the best I have encountered.
Oly S says
Spoke to a pre-sales helper who was just excellent. Knew exactly what I was after, and seemed to understand all the technical details as well. It doesn’t hurt that the deal from SiteGround that my organisation is now probably going to go for seems particularly cheap as well.
Vincent Turner says
Epic epic support.. and hell, that was only pre-sales .. knowledgeable, patient.. I even enjoyed it! thanks and looking forward to being a customer.
Deanna says
What a great hosting site. I have been using SiteGround for many years. Anytime I have a question, i can chat 24/7 and I get my answers quickly. Problems solved. Never a hastle or anyone trying to sell me something. Very nice people to work with. I would recommend! Worth every penny.
Gaynor Wilson says
I love these people! I have used many hosting companies over the years including BlueHost, Hostgator, GoDaddy, and SiteGround surpass them all. Their support is fantastic!!! Triple AAA+++
John Harvey says
I always get prompt efficient help whenever I ask for help. The support people know their job.
Jack says
Ok, this is one of the best hosting that is out there. I would pay for the Customer Support alone. Always fast respons, excellent support and expertese of the team. You will not regret. Thimb’s up!!!
Behzat Rasuli says
Excellent help. They will be there whenever you need them. They will respond to your message quicker then your girlfriend. Hard to believe but yes. They are soo fast(have Geek plan and advice it) I advice every friend of mine siteground. You deserve it.
Jim Schmid says
I thought they were almost too good to be true. Outstanding support! Very fast and good chat. I only had one small problem when I selected a service to buy in error. They promptly refunded my money. If all host’s would be this good we would all be better off. Other sites may or may not be a few pennies cheaper but the first time you need help you will waste hours trying to get assistance. Do yourself a favor and go with these folks.
Kyle says
Excellent service. These guys work fast and efficient every time.
Sadiq says
Amazing support staff. They answered my question within minutes and stayed with me throughout the entire process. Siteground rules!
Amos Bwambale says
Siteground are hosting our civic education resource centre website. The support is very good at every level. Bravo
Fabio Pollicelli says
Simply the best!
PETER SEDA says
The best support ever exist in the worl hosting copanies, i have tried alot of web hosting companies but SITEGROUND is awesome, they have committment, hardworking, accountability and better transparency.
LOVE YOUuuuuuuuu SITEGROUND
gary earl says
supports the best i’ve ever had at any company. lots of goodies you can use to help optimize and speed up your site, and great great people to communicate with too. recommend them highly.
Mark says
I am super impressed by Support. I thought this kind of service was extinct. They respond immediately and seem to be infinitely patient, even with farmers!
Nice one.
Robby says
Always great service with a friendly attitude. Head and shoulders above the hosting companies I’ve used in the past. Here to stay.
Patrick Moore says
Great customer service – second to none.
Fixed several issues for me within minutes. Great support and their prices are pretty darn good, too!
Ash says
Great technical support. Extremely quick responding to tickets, providing solution, fixing problems. Very knowledgeable tech support engineers.
Always professional and courteous.
Tim Vaughn says
I am hosting my Moodle site (Course Management System) that I use for courses I teach at a Community College. Overall, I have been very happy with the Siteground Linux hosting. The few times that I have needed help, tech support was fast and courteous.
When I recently ran out of disk space, tech support (Georgi) quickly found that I had built up a bunch of uneeded tempory Moodle backup files. I was able to easily delete them using CPANEL and was back in business.
Jenny clarke says
OMG – I asked for the type of site to be changed from WordPress to Moodle – I sent an email. I wondered how long I’d have to write.
It took less than 5 minutes!!!
You guys are absolutely stunningly amazing – thank you!!
Jenny
john Welch says
Siteground is the best host and provides the best support !
Adi K says
AMAZING ! WONDERFUL SUPPORT !
I’m so happy to work with these guys, they are nice and professional and FAST.
They just restored our database, it’s great to work like SiteGround, i will recommend them any time.
Duska says
The best support ever! I am a very beginner at building websites. Having SiteGround help means confidence and success to me! They are always there and always able and willing to help right away. I can’t imagine a better customer support in any way. Dream come true for me.
Natasha says
Amazing customer support. The best and fastest I’ve ever had. Thank you SG people for all your assistance.
Neil dW says
the service assistance has been very efficient and quick. Very impressed by quick turnaround response. Very helpful team.
Chris LaBonty says
Making a decision on a hosting company is definitely one of the more difficult decisions an online entrepreneur has to make. I was with a host which can not even compare to SiteGround even though its more popular. I looked around for weeks and finally made the decision to go with SIteGround. There customer service is top notch and responds to tickets in under 10 minutes! I want to give a big shout out to Gospodin! This guy helped me fix a problem that I was stuck with for days! Every time you call in to SiteGround they answer immediately. They have so many helpful tools as well. I highly recommend them especially if you are using WordPress. I almost forgot to mention the load time is incredibly fast!
Chris LaBonty
Founder of HeadFunder – A Crowdfunding Platform
Gary Fischer says
I just transferred a small business site to SiteGround, and I will echo the other reviews in saying the support is world class. Nikolay was professional and extremely knowledgeable. He got our site transferred and up and running without a hitch. Outstanding first impression.
Iqbal Malik says
Brilliant customer service, just in the process now of changing from GrowBig to a Cloud Marketing plan. Effective, simple and great!
Kevin says
Wow! Such great help, best experience ever!
Just transferred my domain and set up WordPress with no problems. Online ‘Chat’ was just like having someone sitting next to me!
Now to start building my first website….
Gizelle says
I am looking for a new hosting company. After an online chat with SiteGround billing, I believe I will be making the change. They have everything a developer needs and offers discounts to non-profits. I have several clients who can benefit from that.
Tracy Bolsinger says
I love this company. Just switched and they are on top of everything. I don’t know much about tech and they help me all the way. When things are not working on my end, they are on the double working to help me and had me switched over in no time! Couldn’t say enough good things about this company and the level of attentiveness, workmanship and spot on service they provide! HIGHLY recommend this company for all your hosting needs!
Horacio Madariaga says
The very first time I posted a ticket I got a response from a technician in less than a minute. My WordPress problem with LightBox was solved in less than five minutes. This is what I call customer-oriented service. Keep up the good work!
Davis Akin says
number one among its peers!
Kelly Farrell says
Site Ground has super customer support. I just set up a domain with them and they answered all of my questions right away. Very happy with them!
Frank Jorissen says
VERY impressive
I just transferred one of my sites from Hostpapa to Siteground. (A Joomla site with a Magento shoppingcart) The transfer was handled FREE OF CHARGE by siteground. After providing the necessary credentials, my site and webshop where up and running again in no time. Without any hassle.
The few questions that I had where answered INSTANTLY by the OUTSTANDING tech support.
I have been hosting my sites with different hosting providers for many years and this is the first time I’m that much impressed by such a smooth transition.
Thank you Siteground!
To everyone else: take a serious look at Siteground, not only are their prices highly competitive, they’re also worth every penny.
The following days I will also transfer the sites of customers to Siteground!
Jorgen Faxholm says
My problems resolved fast and professionally. Such a difference from most of the socalled “Customer Service” departmenets of almost anyone else. Good old professionalism and understanding of a client’s impatience – – –
Adelaide says
The best online chat from a web hosting service. Someone who actually knows what they are talking about and not reading from some card like some of the so called big name web hosting services
BRUCE NICHOLSON says
Definitely the best provider out there absolutely..
Mikko says
Fantastic support! Quick, professional and effective – head and shoulders above the competition!
Sandra Sheppard says
I’ve been hosting websites with many different companies and can truly say I’ve never seen anyone who is so on the ball, especially making sure your site is safe against attacks.
Just awesome….
Nikhil says
Easily the best hosting and domain service I’ve seen. I’ve tried a few others, none of them compare, especially when it comes to ease of use and customer service.
Rudy Deuninck says
Super happy with the way Siteground approaches things.
Great support and amazing up to date technology.
I am here for the long run.
Many thanks again and wishing all Siteground staff a Merry Xmas and Happy New Year.
Kind regards
Rudy
Antoinette Greer says
They are the best service for website hosting I’ve ever seen.!!!1
Ron Blake says
Just used the live chat to help us with a small problem, service is brilliant quick and easy, our site upload and live pages seem to run faster overall, we are currently moving our other hosted web sites over to Siteground
Fantastic service,
Ahmed A says
Once again, SiteGround (Georgi) did an exceptional job assisting me moving my new redesigned simplerwebs.com site. Like always, SG and team provide the fastest response time with a professional hosting service I even seen.
Thank you SG and team!
SimplerWebs
Jeanne says
I am sooo happy to have chosen SiteGround as my hosting site.
It is fast, easy to setup, lots of helpful tools and more importantly – their Technical team. Every tickets and trouble I have, they always responded very very fast with a solution or recommendation. The guys know their stuff and i highly Recommend SiteGround as a hosting company.
Thank You All very much and please keep up the same high standards..
Jeanne
Owner of calisthenFit.com