Hosting Comparison: SiteGround |

Third analysis of the WordPress hosting comparison, in which we analyze the provider SiteGround, with its SSD StartUp plan.

Both in this analysis, and in the rest of the , we have analyzed seven basic sections:

1. contracted plan: Characteristics of it by choosing a basic plan that allows working with WordPress.
2. Recruitment process: We look at complexity, the information we receive, and payment options.
3. Information process after purchase: We have already paid and we analyze what information is received as well as if it makes life easier (or complicates it for us).
4. WordPress installation: We use the automated installer and see what they install for us and the pros and cons.
5. Tests and tests: Using different services we know the speed and security.
6. Technical support: We create different bugs and analyze the time and quality of the response.
7. Return: Some hostings have a satisfaction guarantee or similar. We value the ease or difficulty of processing.

In each of these sections we have evaluated different variables, scoring from 1 to 3, according to the following criteria:

• 1 point: It can be better
• 2 points: Correct
• 3 points: Okay

This analysis does not have any affiliate links (in fact it does not even have links) and has been done without any notice to the provider. You have simply proceeded to buy a shared domain and hosting plan and analyze it.

contracted plan

We have contracted the StartUp plan with the trial month, although if you want to try, we recommend the annual plan. By default they activate the auto-renewal, and to avoid possible suspensions of the service they pass the charge 5 days before.

It is important to note that the first year price goes up substantially on renewals.

Name StartUp Minimum period Monthly (they give away a domain but in that period they charge €12 for configuration) 3 Annual plan (without VAT) 47.40 (following years €119.40) 1 Minimum cost (without VAT) €3.95 + €12 configuration (€9.95 from the second year) 2 Management Panel CPanel 3 Uptime (online time) Guaranteed 99.9% 3 Let’s Encrypt SSL Certificate 3 Unlimited Database up to 500MB 2 Unlimited Email Accounts up to 2GB 1 Space Storage 10GB SSD 2 Monthly Transfer Not measured (10,000 visits per month max. recommended) 3 Amsterdam Data Center (closest) 1 Daily Backups 3 PHP 7.3.2 3 Extras CDN, Supercacher Level 1 3 Total 33/42

Hiring Process

A very fluid process that even allows us to install WordPress during it, a fact that is greatly appreciated, especially for non-technical users. Few hostings offer this possibility.

Hiring time 5 minutes 3 Steps in the purchase process 6 3 Does it allow an external domain? YES 3 Does it include domain? In annual plan 2 Price of .com (without VAT) €13.95 2 Registered ICANN No. (They work with Tucows) 1 Payment Options PayPal, Card, Transfer, Direct Debit 3 30-day return guarantee 3 Total 20/24

Information process after purchase

Quite clear and complete. We can be working in a few minutes, although it is a bit confusing when 4 different emails arrive: One with the receipt, one welcoming one, one from the WordPress installation and one from Tucows in English.

Email Registration Basic 2 FTP Data No 1 Process to create an email Easy 3 Invoice YES. Immediate via email 3 DNS Propagation Immediate 3 Total 12/15

In the emails we do not receive information about our FTP user, and we must look for it in the control panel, where it indicates that the password is the same as the cPanel.

Installing WordPress on SiteGroud

In the purchase process you already install WordPress, they use Softaculous that has several customization options.

Process WordPress is installed in the contracting process 3 Version 5.0.3 (the latest) 3 Customization Quite a bit, although there are two plugins that make work easier. Although you can uninstall 3 SSL Yes. With the wizard 3 Speed ​​when updating Acceptable 3 Maximum file upload size 128MB 3 Problems / Extras Many options that save us time. 3 Overall 21/21

Tests and tests

Once the demo content was installed, WordPress updated and the Twenty Nineteen theme activated, we analyzed its performance.

In the tests carried out using different tools, the site works quite smoothly even with recurring users, achieving almost all the best scores, only subtracting some points from the reception of the first byte.

GT Metrix 98% – 90% – 2.1s 2 ByteCherck First byte: 1300 ms 2 PageSpeed ​​Desktop: 98 Mobile: 100 3 Pingdom 94 points – 597ms 3 Load Impact with 24 users Response time 131ms Load 7.96s 3 Sucuri Low Risk 3 WebPageTest Notes AAAAA
Charging time 1,340s
First Byte 0.670s 3 Total 19/21

Technical support

We have generated different WordPress-specific errors on all the hosts analyzed and we have asked all of them in the same time slot.

In the case of SiteGround, it is interesting to note that it does not allow opening tickets initially, we only have the option of chat or by phone.

Error Resolution time Response Error 404 of not saving permalinks Wednesday afternoon 5 minutes Failed – After 20 minutes chatting they send us to a WordPress course 1 Error 500 (touching htaccess) Friday morning 10 minutes Success: fixed in 10 minutes and also the first error 3 Error wp-login.php Saturday morning 1 hour. The first minutes via chat Success – Precise solution and solved by them 3 Syntax error touching a plugin Sunday at 21:00 10 minutes Success – They fix it in 10 minutes 3 Total 10/12

The chat support system is comfortable, although it is obvious that the technician can be subjected to greater stress and they have not always given the precise answer, but in general it is a good service.

Return

SiteGround has a money-back guarantee and the process has been quick and easy, although we recommend contracting the annual plan directly and if you are not satisfied, do not rush the 30 days to the maximum.

Concept to be measured Result Time 10 minutes 3 Process They ask the reason 3 Positive Result 3 Total 9/9

Summary

A solid and recommended hosting, with a very comfortable WordPress installation system when contracting the hosting itself, which pleasantly surprises.

The usability of the control panel is not ideal because it mixes the intranet with CPanel and several modules of it each with its interface, and you do not have the feeling of homogeneity of a single “window”.

Overall, a highly recommended good hosting option with fast support and good server performance metrics.

Concept Points Contracted plan 33/42 Hiring process 20/24 Information process after purchase 12/15 WordPress installation 21/21 Trials and tests 19/21 Technical support 10/12 Return 9/9 Total 124/144

Note: 8.61 out of 10

If you detect any error in this analysis, or if any of this data has changed since we carried it out, you can communicate it through , and we will review it as soon as we can. Thanks for your help!