SiteGround vs WP Engine

Malicious bots and DDoS attacks can overwhelm websites and drive away visitors. Our smart AI recognizes and blocks fake traffic, so only real customers get through. We stop over 1 million attacks per day, automatically.

An SSL tells customers your website is a safe place and their data is secure with you. We set up an SSL automatically for each site launched on our platform and keep it renewed.

We back up your entire site every day automatically and keep 30 days of backup history. Made a mistake? Got hacked? Deleted something? Restore everything with one click.

On top of automatic monitoring, real human experts watch over our infrastructure around the clock, catching and resolving issues before they affect your site.

WordPress powers nearly half the web which also makes it a prime target for hackers. Our automatic security updates and multiple protection layers defend your site against the most common attacks, so you can focus on your content, not vulnerabilities.

Web hosting provides the technologies and infrastructure needed to store, manage, and deliver your website files (like code, images, and other files) to users over the internet. Your website content is like the furniture and products in a store, your domain name is the street address, and web hosting is the building itself - without it, there's nowhere for your site to exist. Web hosting includes:

Web hosting directly impacts your site's speed, uptime, and security. Slow website loading speed significantly affects your website visitors' experience, trust, and SEO rankings. Poor uptime can mean your site goes offline during critical moments - like a Black Friday sale or when a social media post drives traffic - potentially costing you sales. Weak security creates vulnerabilities that could lead to data breaches, malware infections, or site defacement, which can

The main benefit of managed web hosting is that you don’t need technical staff or expertise - the provider handles everything related to server and infrastructure management. This includes maintenance, security (SSL, malware protection, automatic updates), and performance optimizations like built-in caching. With SiteGround’s managed hosting, all technical aspects are taken care of for you. SiteGround runs on Google Cloud for speed and reliability, with multi-level ca

Yes, SiteGround's web hosting technology supports most popular CMS platforms (including WordPress and WooCommerce), as well as custom static sites and dynamic websites built with PHP, HTML, or JavaScript. WordPress users get one-click installation, automatic core updates, and staging environments for testing changes safely. SiteGround also includes integrated tools that make website creation easy for beginners and experienced users alike, i

Yes, every SiteGround web hosting plan includes: Free SSL certificates — SiteGround installs and renews SSL certificates automatically, keeping your site secure and maintaining visitor trust without manual certificate management. When your domain uses SiteGround's DNS, you get wildcard SSL certificates that cover your main domain and all subdomains. Automatic daily backups — B

Yes - every SiteGround web hosting plan includes professional/business email with unlimited accounts using your domain name at no additional cost. Create email accounts like [email protected] and manage them through Site Tools. Access your email via webmail, mail clients like Outlook, or mobile devices. Professional email addresses (like [email protected]) build credibility with customers and strengthen your brand identity in every message you send. A business e

Yes, you can migrate your website from another host to SiteGround. Your first migration is free, and our team handles the technical transfer to minimize disruption to your site. For a WordPress site, you can use the free SiteGround Migrator plugin - it transfers your content, themes, plugins, and databases through an encrypted connection without requiring technical knowledge. For other platforms or a custom site, request professional migrat

SiteGround includes performance and security optimizations like free SSL certificates, daily malware scanning, AI-powered anti-bot protection, DDoS defense, Google Cloud infrastructure, SuperCacher technology, and free CDN across 170+ locations Security: SSL certificates auto-renew, daily malware scans with free removal, AI systems blocking 99.99% of malicious traffic, DDoS protection, and proactive 24/7 monitoring that catches vulnerabilities early.

SiteGround provides 24/7 support via live chat, ticketing system, and phone. Our in-house experts, available via live chat and tickets, are extensively trained in website hosting, WordPress, WooCommerce, and website management. They assist with complex technical and website-specific issues, not just basic hosting concerns. In addition to personalized support, our comprehensive knowledge base and tutorials offer 1.8K published resources to equip you with the knowledge

SiteGround web hosting handles from 10,000 to 400,000+ monthly visits depending on your plan: StartUp supports around 10,000 visits, GrowBig handles approximately 100,000, and GoGeek manages 400,000+ monthly. SiteGround offers multiple plan tiers to match your growth, from small sites to high-traffic stores. All crucial features - including automatic backups, free SSL, CDN, and security tools - are available on every plan, so you're not locked out of core functionalit

Yes — managed hosting is worth it if your site requires reliability, security, and performance beyond what shared or DIY hosting can deliver. Unlike basic hosting, managed hosting includes ongoing updates, advanced security, daily backups, performance tuning, and expert WordPress support. While it costs more upfront, it typically lowers total cost of ownership (TCO) by reducing downtime, improving site speed, and saving internal IT resources. For enterprises, agencies, and developers, the ROI co

Shared hosting provides basic server space at low cost, while managed hosting delivers a premium, optimized environment with expert support and ongoing management. With shared hosting, many sites share the same server resources, which can limit performance and security. Managed hosting is purpose-built for WordPress, with dedicated resources, proactive monitoring, automated updates, and 24/7 expert support. It’s the difference between renting an apartment in a crowded building (shared) versus ha

Yes — most managed hosting plans include free or assisted site migrations to make switching providers seamless. At WP Engine, migrations are supported through automated tools and expert guidance to ensure your site transitions smoothly with minimal downtime. This includes migrating files, databases, and configurations. For enterprises and agencies with complex setups, custom migration support is also available to reduce risk during the move.

Managed hosting typically ranges from about $30/month for entry plans to several hundred per month for enterprise-grade solutions. Pricing reflects the level of performance, support, and features included. While the upfront cost is higher than shared hosting, managed plans reduce hidden costs like downtime, developer hours, and security incidents — delivering stronger ROI for businesses that rely on WordPress at scale.

Yes — managed hosting platforms use server-level caching, CDN integration, and optimized infrastructure to significantly improve WordPress speed and Core Web Vitals. Many sites see lower TTFB, faster LCP, and more stable performance during traffic spikes; some providers also add edge delivery for even greater consistency under global demand.

Managed hosting adds advanced security with firewalls, malware scanning, automatic patches, and backups to reduce risk compared to self-managed environments. For enterprises, leading providers also offer compliance support (SOC2, HIPAA, GDPR) and proactive monitoring that helps meet both IT governance and regulatory standards.

Managed hosting usually includes performance optimizations, automated updates, backups, staging environments, and expert WordPress support. Enterprise-level packages may also feature SLAs, advanced developer tooling, dedicated account support, and integrations that go beyond basic site hosting.

Yes — most managed hosting platforms allow developer access with tools like SSH, Git, staging sites, and CI/CD pipelines. This means teams can deploy custom code, integrate workflows, and maintain flexibility while still benefiting from a secure, fully managed hosting foundation.

Switch when your WordPress site grows in traffic, complexity, or revenue, and downtime or manual maintenance starts costing more than hosting fees. Common signals include traffic above 50k monthly visits, eCommerce checkout failures, compliance requirements, or the need to scale multiple client sites — all situations where managed hosting delivers outsized value.

Error logs are necessary for most WordPress troubleshooting. You can access the most recent 24 hours of PHP/Apache error logs in two different ways: how to access WordPress error logs.

We’ve outlined two methods for resetting your password, a traditional method and a method directly from the database: two ways to reset a WordPress password.

Here you will find a comprehensive list of WP Engine platform settings. Please reach out to our 24-hour Support team with any questions.

This article will cover how to import a database file into your WP Engine environment.

Follow this link for detailed instructions about how to update WordPress URLs.

Follow this link to learn more about how to solve problems when updating WordPress URLs.

Follow this link to learn more about understanding the WP Engine Error Logs.

Learn more about WordPress Backups and Restoring your website.

Learn more about copying to staging.

Learn more about common errors that WordPress users face and how to resolve them.

Learn how to purge your site cache in this detailed article.

Learn more about Improving Cacheability for WordPress websites.

Yes, learn more about how WP Engine works with LargeFS: Configuring Unlimited Storage with Amazon S3.

WP Engine will make the services available 99.95% of the time, excluding any excused downtime. The WP Engine SLA amends the agreement between WP Engine and customer and addresses the uptime guarantees in relation to the services we provide to you and your remedies for our failure to meet such guarantees.

We offer hosting solutions for WordPress websites and businesses of all sizes, from SMB to enterprise. We also offer eCommerce hosting and advanced solutions with customizable packages. See which hosting plan is right for your needs.

If you’re experiencing a technical issue on your website, please reach out to our 24-hour Support team and give us the opportunity to help you resolve it. Per our terms of service, account cancellations require a 30 day notice via our cancellation form.

WP Engine provides everything a WordPress website needs. Learn more about our award-winning hosting platform.

WP Engine is the most trusted enterprise platform for WordPress. Learn more about our enterprise hosting plans.

It’s free to migrate a site to WP Engine. Our automated migration plugin makes it simple.

Yes! Here’s the information needed to do a manual site migration.

It’s easy to launch a site with WP Engine, here’s how.

It’s possible to test your site on WP Engine after migrating without changing your DNS, just by editing a file on your computer.

This guide will take you through the process of exporting your database from your previous host, so that you can then migrate it to WP Engine.

Once you’ve downloaded your wp-content folder from your previous host, you can easily upload this folder or zip file to our Support Team so we can help you with this step of the manual migration process.

Learn more about transferable sites and environments.

Learn how to manage user roles on WP Engine.

The billing menu in your User Portal provides access to several plan-related functions, such as invoices, modifying billing info or changing your plan level.

Our pricing is partially based on the number of monthly visits to your site, we’ve provided as clear of guidelines as possible about which visits are considered billable.

When your number of visits exceeds your plan limit (here’s how we count visits), we charge you a small overage for each 1,000 visitors over your limit. If you are on a Startup, Professional, Growth, or Scale plan, the overage is $2 per 1,000 extra monthly visitors.

The WP Engine User Portal enables users to make many adjustments to their plans through upgrades, downgrades, and add-on features.

Follow this link to learn more about WP Engine’s Automated Migration plugin.

Yes, we recommend following this link to update plugins automatically with Smart Plugin Manager.

Follow this link to see our list of essential WordPress eCommerce plugins.

Follow this link to see the top 10 WordPress plugins on WP Engine.

Yes, follow this link to learn more about creating geographically customized content.

When hosting your WordPress site on WP Engine, you may need to connect directly to your website’s file system. On other platforms you may already be used to using FTP. At WP Engine we use SFTP which works the same, except it uses a layer of encryption for security and is restricted to a secured port. Read more about using SFTP on WP Engine.

Once you’ve downloaded your wp-content folder from your previous host, you can easily upload this folder or zip file to our Support Team so we can help you with this step of the manual migration process.

Git is a powerful development tool which enables developers or a development team to securely push code changes from their local machine to their site on WP Engine with the benefit of version control. Read more about using Git Push on WP Engine.

Here’s how to setup and connect to SSH Gateway. SSH, also known as Secure Shell, is the method of connecting from your computer to the web server where your site is hosted.

SSL/TLS certificates enable visitors to connect to your site with HTTPS, a secure protocol for exchanging information on the Internet. See more information on SSL (secure sockets layer) certificates.

Click here to learn more about adding SSL to your WP Engine site.

Yes, learn more about how to upload 3rd Party SSL Certificates.

Learn more about securing all URLs with SSL.

Learn more about obtaining free SSL Certificates with Lets Encrypt.

While we manage many parts of your website hosting, default email functionality on WP Engine is limited. Normal emails, such as password resets, will not typically have any issues sending. However, for robust email functionality, monitoring and scalability, we highly suggest utilizing a 3rd party email host.

We typically recommend using a 3rd party transactional mail provider such as Mailgun, Gmail, or Sendinblue. These services allow you to send emails from a specialized mail IP and will include a higher level of customization, such as more robust logging. See our full list of recommended email providers.

Learn more about DMARC Policies for Email Deliverability.

Learn more about sending Email Blasts on WP Engine.

Yes! With a dedicated security team specializing in WordPress behind it, our platform’s enterprise-grade technology automates threat detection to block 72M attacks daily while keeping your website vulnerabilities up to date. See more about WP Engine security protocols.

Yes, learn more about WP Engine’s enterprise-grade security.

Learn more about how to handle the WordPress update process.

Multisite for WordPress is a feature that allows you to create a “network” of subsites within a single instance of WordPress. Learn more about multisite for WordPress.

/support/what-is-wordpress-multisite/#Custom_Main_Site_DomainFollow this link to learn more about how to Add New Sites and Map a Custom Domain.

Follow this link to learn more about changing your Multisite Primary Domain.

Follow this link to learn more about Enabling Multisite on your WordPress website.