I recently migrated my WordPress blogs from SiteGround to Rocket.net. Before picking Rocket.net, I tested some WordPress hosting services touted to have a better performance, including WP Engine and Kinsta. So in this post, I will share some SiteGround alternatives that indeed have a better performance.
SiteGround used to be my favorite WordPress hosting service before I got to know Rocket.net, Kinsta, and WP Engine. I used SiteGround since about 2020 to replace a super cheap hosting from a local web hosting service. At the time, I had no serious concern about performance. What I saw when subscribing to a SiteGround plan was how many sites I could install.
Performance itself is a crucial aspect you need to look when picking a hosting service. The easiest way to test the performance of a web hosting service is by giving it a try. Some WordPress hosting services offer a money-back guarantee feature. You can take advantage of it to try a hosting you like for a month or so. Never subscribe to a yearly plan for a testing purpose!
Why I Switched Away from Siteground? 5 Reasons
Moving to a new web hosting service is not an easy job, especially if your website already have a huge number of posts. But for a better future, sometimes you should do it.
Here are the reasons why I switched from SiteGround after about four years.
1. Its CDN is Not Good Enough
A hosting service with CDN was my top priority during the search of a SiteGround replacement. I needed this feature to boost the performance of my site.
SiteGround itself has a built-in CDN feature (not enabled by default). However, after giving it a try, there was no significant performance score improvement when I tested my blog on PageSpeed Insights.
Also, its CDN has low capacity, only 10GB. If you need more capacity, it will charge an extra $7.5 per month.
2. I Need a Better Performance
Most of my WordPress projects are built with Elementor and Divi. As you know, most page builders, including Elementor and Divi, add extra CSS and JavaScript for the design purpose. The more complex the design of your website, the more CSS and JavaScript will be added. As a result, your website will be heavier to load.
Both Elementor and Divi (and other page builders) already have built-in optimization features. However, they are very basic and not enough. You need to make more advanced optimization tweaks for a better performance.
That’s the problem.
No matter how hard I tried to optimize my site, I got no signification performance improvement, until I tried Rocket.net. I got a 83% performance improvement after switching to Rocket.net, without making any optimization tweak.
3. Limited Resources
For your information, I subscribed to the GrowBig plan of SiteGround, which costed me about $30 per month. The plan offered unlimited WordPress installations, which met my requirements when I first subscribed.
While the plan said I could install unlimited websites, it offered only 20GB storaga capacity. 20GB is a huge number, actually. But there is another limitation I had to deal with: inodes. The GrowBig plan was limited to 400,000 inodes.
400,000 is a huge number, but it got me nervous every time I uploaded a new file to my website.
4. I Need to Download the Backup Files
Most managed WordPress hosting services have a schedule backup feature. SiteGround also has one, but only for restoring purpose. It doesn’t allow you to download the backup files in case you want to have copies of your site on your local storage.
As a comparison, Rocket.net, Kinsta, and WP Engine allows you to download the backup files of your website.
5. Too Many Plugins
I personally love something minimalist. When building a website with WordPress, I always avoid installing too many plugins.
When adding a new website on SiteGround, you will have two plugins installed on your website: Speed Optimizer and Security Optimizer. You need these plugins to use the optimization feature (cache) and security feature offered by SiteGround.
Rocket.net, Kinsta, and WP Engine offer better performance and security without needing to install any plugin. This is another reason why I decided to move away from SiteGround.
Top 6 Faster SiteGround Alternatives
As I mentioned earlier, I tested some hosting services during the search of a SiteGround replacement. The hosting services I tested are:
1. Rocket.net
As I said in the opening section, I use Rocket.net to replace SiteGround for my WordPress blogs. Performance is the main reason why I use Rocket.net. Also, Rocket.net is more affordable compared to other hosting services I tested during the searching of SiteGround replacement.
In general, the features that Rocket.net offers are not much different to SiteGround. It has built-in CDN, caching, scheduled backups, to file manager. The key difference is that Rocket.net has a cloud infrastructure powered by Cloudflare. Also, Rocket.net requires no plugin to use all of the features, including CDN and caching.
Rocket.net is designed specifically for WordPress. No other CMS software can be installed on the hosting service.
You can read my Rocket.net review here to learn more about its performance and features.
Key Features of Rocket.net:
- Built-in CDN and caching
- Staging environment
- Scheduled backups
- WAF
- Free migration
- Built-in file manager
- Team collaboration
Pros and Cons of Rocket.net
Pros:
- Designed specifically for WordPress
- Excellent performance
- Requires no plugin to use its features
- Built-in file manager
- Schedulled backups and manual backup
Cons:
- Lack of documentation
- No email hosting
Rocket.net Pricing:
- From $30/month
2. Kinsta
Before deciding to use Rocket.net, I made a deep test of Kinsta. Everything was great. From performance to features. I didn’t use Kinsta as Rocket.net is a bit more affordable, although I need to solve some problems myself since Rocket.net has no good enough documentation like Kinsta.
Kinsta, on the other hand, has an excellent documentation which you can read before you contact its technical support to solve a certain issue.
Same as Rocket.net, Kinsta also has en excellent performance. I have written a Kinsta review on WPPagebuilders which you can read here.
Kinsta has an intuitive control panel to make site administration super fun. You can invite your team members to join the administration job. Kinsta also uses cloud infrastructure, which is powered by Google Cloud.
Key Features of Kinsta:
- Built-in CDN and caching
- Staging environment
- Scheduled backups
- Super clean and intuitive control panel
- Team collaboration
- Image optimizer
- Free migration
- Comprehensive analytics
Pros and Cons of Kinsta
Pros:
- Intuitive control panel
- Excellent performance
- Second-to-none documentation
- Requires no plugin to use its features
- Schduled backups and manual backup
- Extra optimization feature (image optimization)
Cons:
- No file manager
- No email hosting
- Pricier
Kinsta Pricing:
- From $35/month
3. WP Engine
I also tested WP Engine during the search of SiteGround alternative. You can read my review here to learn its performance and features.
WP Engine is a popular enough name in the WordPress world. It is the owner of some popular WordPress plugins, including ACF. The hosting service of WP Engine also uses cloud infrastructure powered by Google Cloud. Standard features like CDN, caching, and schedule backups are also available in the service.
Apart from Google Cloud, WP Engine also offers AWS and Microsoft Azure. When adding a new WordPress website in WP Engine, you can pick which cloud service you want to use for your website. However, not all plans can choose them. Only Premium plan users can use AWS and Microsoft Azure.
Key Features of WP Engine:
- Built-in CDN and caching
- Staging environment
- Scheduled backups
- Team collaboration
- WAF
- Free migration via plugin
Pros and Cons of WP Engine
Pros:
- Designed specifically for WordPress
- Excellent performance
- Requires no plugin to use its features
- Schedulled backups and manual backup
Cons:
- No file manager
- No email hosting
- Requires add-ons for some basic features
WP Engine Pricing:
- From $13/month
4. Pressidium
If you are looking for a WordPress hosting service that offers free trial, Pressable maybe suits you. You can visit this page to try Pressidium.
Same as the above first three hosting services, I also tested Pressidium during the search of a SiteGround alternative for my blogs. During the test, I didn’t find the performance I expected. At least when compared to Rocket.net, Kinsta, and WP Engine. Still, the Pressidium performance score was better than SiteGround during the test.
You can read my Pressidium review here to learn the testing result as well as the features. Pressidium itself has an intuitive control panel like Kinsta to make site administration a fun job.
Key Features of Pressidium:
- Built-in CDN and caching
- Staging Environment
- Scheduled backups
- Team Collaboration
- Free migration
- WAF
Pros and Cons of Pressidium
Pros:
- Designed specifically for WordPress
- Intuitive control panel
- Requires no plugin to use its features
- Schduled backups and manual backup
Cons:
- No file manager
- No email hosting
Pressidium Pricing:
From 21/month
5. Pressable
I also tested Pressable when searching for a new hosting service to replace SiteGround. Unfortunately, I forgot to write the review. All I can remember is that I got a high enough performance score when testing a Divi page on the service. So, I put Pressable on the list too.
Pressable also offers cloud hosting infrastructure just like other services on the list. It is worth trying if you look for a cloud service other than Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, AWS, or DigitalOcean. Pressable uses the same hosting infrastructure as WordPress.com as it is owned by Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.com.
An interesting thing about Pressable is that it is bold enough to offer a 100% uptime warranty.
Key Features of Pressable:
- Built-in CDN and caching
- Staging environment
- Scheduled backups
- Team collaboration
- Free migration
- WAF
- Hack recovery assistance
Pros and Cons of Pressable
Pros:
- Designed specifically for WordPress
- Intuitive control panel
- Requires no plugin to use its features
- Schduled backups and manual backup
- More affordable plans
Cons:
- No file manager
- No email hosting (available as an add-on)
Pressable Pricing:
- From $25/month
6. Cloudways
Same as Pressable, I tested Cloudways but forgot to write the review. But I can tell you that Cloudways has a better performance than SiteGround. So, if you plan to switch from SiteGround, Cloudways is worth trying.
Cloudways itself is technically a VPS. So, you will have isolated resources for your hosting plan. From hardware to software. Managing your VPS on Cloudways is not that hard thanks to its simple control panel. It has everything you need to run WordPress websites. Being a VPS, you can install as many WordPress websites as you want, as long as the resources on your account are still sufficient.
One pitfall about Cloudways is that it has no built-in CDN. Instead, CDN is available as an add-on. Cloudways itself is owned by DigitalOcean. It offers a 3-day trial you can take advantage of. No need to enter your credit card info.
Key Features of Cloudways:
- Staging environment
- Scheduled backups
- Server-level firewall
- Isolated resources
- Team collaboration
Pros and Cons of Cloudways
Pros:
- Unlimited websites
- No plugin restrictions
- Dedicated cloud servers
- Offers trial without credit card
Cons:
- No file manager feature
- No email hosting
- Registration process is a bit complex
Cloudways Pricing:
- From 14/month for server on DigitalOcean
FYI. You can use the following promotion code to get 10% discount for three months on Cloudways (first three invoices). Code: WPBDEAL
Summary — Which Hosting Service is the Best to Replace SiteGround?
SiteGround is a good hosting service, actually. But for a certain reason, it may no longer accommodate your expectation. Especially if you use a page builder to build your websites like me.
I used it for about 4 years before migrating to Rocket.net. The main issue I always faced with my websites was the performance. No matter how hard I tried to optimize my sites, I never got a significant performance improvement until I migrated to Rocket.net.
I tried every single hosting service on the above list during the search of a SiteGround replacement. All provided a way better performance than SiteGround. So, before you make a choice which hosting you want to use, look at every detail.
One thing I can suggest. Never subscribe to a yearly plan to minimize the risk. Instead, start from a monthly plan and make a deep test. If it meets your expectation, you can upgrade your plan.
