SiteGround was once one of the top rated and highly regarded web hosting providers. But, how are they now? Here in my SiteGround Review, we take an updated and in-depth look at this long time WordPress host to see if they’re still worth choosing today. What do you get? How do websites perform? Is their customer support any good now? See below.
SiteGround Pricing and Plans
Something that hasn’t changed is SiteGround’s hosting plan lineup/structure. You can opt for their StartUp plan for single site hosting or you can get their GrowBig or GoGeek hosting plans. Both of these plans offer unlimited website hosting and more premium features such as On-Demand Data Backups, WordPress Staging, and faster PHP.
Introductory prices remain low and provide tons of value compared with other hosting companies. However, be aware that renewal rates are higher. For that reason, SiteGround is more ideally suited for those looking for a managed WordPress hosting alternative that allows unlimited hosting.
SiteGround Data Centers
SiteGround now has 10 data centers around the world. Thus, you can choose the one closest to your visitors for faster site loading times. In addition, with SiteGround’s SuperCacher Technology, your website speed is even better. And, SiteGround’s in-house build CDN has over 170 locations including the United States (Los Angeles, Oregon, Dallas, Virginia, South Carolina, Iowa), England, France, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Germany, Spain, Finland, Poland, Netherlands, and Brazil.
SiteGround Hosting Features
In addition to some of the premium WordPress hosting features SiteGround has included in the past, they have now added even more items to help your website be even more successful.
SiteGround CDN
SiteGround now offers their own CDN for better page loading speed. There is both a free and premium version.
Security Optimizer Plugin
SiteGround also includes their award winning Security Optimizer Plugin. It can protect your site from brute force attacks, data leaks, and compromised logins.
Speed Optimizer Plugin
Another plugin SiteGround includes free is their Speed Optimizer. It definitely made a difference in our testing (see below).
SiteGround Site Builder
SiteGround now includes their own website builder to speed up the process of creating your sites.
Monthly Performance and Security Reports
These reports help you identify areas of performance and security that could be improved.
SiteGround User Dashboard
SiteGround used to be a cPanel hosting provider, using that as their control panel interface. These days, they now use their own customized dashboard. The Site Tools dashboard gives you quick access to WordPress Installation, Email Accounts, File Manager, and SuperCacher. Also, from here you can access your databases (PHPMyAdmin), Data Backups, Security, SSL, CDN, and Domain functionality. You can also view site information and statistics.
SiteGround Website Speed and Performance
In the past, SiteGround’s website speed and performance was up and down—sometimes good, sometimes not so good. However, in our recent testing and my personal experience using SiteGround, I’m happy to report that website speed and performance using SiteGround is outstanding.
The combination of SiteGround’s SuperCacher technology, their own CDN, and the other technological improvements they added over the years (such as their Speed Optimizer plugin) results in excellent site speed and performance. Page loading times are excellent as are core web vitals. Take a look below at some sample speed test results.
SiteGround Data Backup and Restore
SiteGround’s data backup and restore continues to be excellent and one of their best features. All of SiteGround’s hosting plans come with automatic daily backups that are kept for 30 days. That’s more than some premium managed WordPress hosts offer. And, with the GrowBig and GoGeek hosting plans, you also get on-demand data backups. You can easily restore and download your backup data from your SiteGround Site Tools dashboard.
SiteGround Website Staging
Website Staging continues to be another one of SiteGround’s excellent premium features. Available with their GrowBig and GoGeek hosting plans, website staging lets you quickly and easily make a copy of your live website. You can then safely make changes and test things out without affecting your live site. When you’re satisfied that everything is working correctly with your staging website, you can them easily move your changes back over to your live site.
In my testing, SiteGround’s website staging worked flawlessly.
SiteGround Customer Support
Customer Support has always been one of SiteGround’s strengths. Lately however, I’d been hearing some negative things about SiteGround support. But, having checked it out myself, I’m pleased to report that SiteGround’s support staff is still one of the best. The support agents are responsive, helpful, and courteous.
The only area where I would like to see a change is quicker access to the live chat support—as it used to be with SiteGround. Nowadays, you do first have to go through the AI chat before connecting to a live support person. Many times, the AI chat does a good job answering questions. And, truthfully, many hosting companies are moving to the automated chat first module. However, I would prefer a direct live chat connection.
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Conclusion – Should You Choose SiteGround?
Despite what you may have heard or read elsewhere, I’m very happy to report that SiteGround is definitely back to being one of the best options for WordPress website hosting. Their customized dashboard is very easy to use. You get great features for better security, data backups, and website staging. Website speed and performance is awesome. And, customer support is still very responsive and helpful.
For more features and better value, I would recommend going with either SiteGround’s GrowBig or GoGeek hosting plans. Unlike most web hosting providers these days, SiteGround still allows you to host unlimited WordPress websites with these plans. So, even though the renewal rates may be higher, you’re still getting more value.
