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Best Ecommerce Hosting: Compared and Reviewed (March 2024)

Finding a decent web host is hard enough if you’re running a regular website – never mind if you’re looking for one that can power an online store. To simply your life, we took it upon ourselves to seek out the best ecommerce hosting companies out there. (Hard data inside)

Not all hosting providers are built equally, however. If you’re running an ecommerce operation, you need something safer and more robust than what you’d typically get with a regular hosting plan. That extra investment will go a long way to providing a stellar experience to your customers.

In this article, we’ll compare four of our favorite ecommerce hosting solutions.

best ecommerce hosting

We’ll cover the features these hosting companies offer for online stores, the state of their support and security systems, and their performance. We have a lot of ground to cover, so let’s jump in and find the best ecommerce hosting for small business!

The best ecommerce hosting compared (in a nutshell) 🏆

If you don’t have time to read an in-depth comparison right now, check out this summary of our results (and come back later for the full story!):

If you’re involved in the field of ecommerce, then you know how important picking the right web host can be. It’s a choice that can have a severe impact on the success of your online store.

With that in mind, we’ve selected four hosts that stood out in the results of our hosting survey [1].

  1. SiteGround (costs $2.99/month) – Best for small stores.
  2. InMotion Hosting (costs $2.29/month) – Best for mid-sized stores.
  3. A2 Hosting (costs $2.99/month) – Best all-rounder.
  4. Kinsta (costs $29.17/month) – Best specialized tools for WordPress and WooCommerce.

To get a more complete picture, we set up a simple WooCommerce store with a handful of products using each host. We used the same setup for all four ecommerce hosting solutions – including the store itself and all the other plugins we used – and tested their performance using Pingdom Tools.

 

The best ecommerce hosting for small business compared (in full) 💻

Here’s what we discovered about each host, in no particular order:

1. SiteGround (www.siteground.com)

SiteGround

Instead of offering a one-size-fits-all ecommerce plan, SiteGround offers tailored hosting for several major ecommerce platforms. These include WooCommerce (as seen above), PrestaShop, and Magento.

Ecommerce specific features

  • Web Application Firewall (WAF)
  • Free Let’s Encrypt certificates
  • Custom hosting plans for several major ecommerce platforms
  • 24/7 support
  • Fully PCI compliant (albeit only for their more expensive tier of plans)
  • Daily backup service

Support and security

During our tests, we found that SiteGround’s support team was highly knowledgeable and quick to answer any questions we had via live chat. Furthermore, they offer a nice set of security features that go well beyond what you’d expect based on their low prices.

Final thoughts on SiteGround

Much like our first pick, SiteGround offers a great ecommerce hosting experience for small business at very reasonable prices. Their support team is fantastic, and their security features are a boon for both growing ecommerce enterprises and those just starting off. That said, their ecommerce performance is pretty good, but they offer little in terms of scalability (due to a limited selection of plans).

SiteGround loading times 🔃
East Coast USA: 0.95s ⭐West Coast USA: 1.47s
Central USA: 1.35sLondon, UK: 0.40s ⭐
Paris, France: 0.48s ⭐Mumbai, India: 1.90s

2. InMotion Hosting (www.inmotionhosting.com)

InMotion

InMotion Hosting is renowned for its low prices and comprehensive feature set, and its ecommerce hosting solutions are no exception.

Ecommerce specific features

  • Dedicated IP addresses for some of their plans (those that don’t fall under the shared hosting umbrella)
  • Various SSL options
  • Supports multiple ecommerce platforms including PrestaShop, OpenCart, Magento, and WooCommerce
  • PCI compliant
  • Around-the-clock support
  • Automatic backups

Support and security

InMotion Hosting’s ecommerce Hosting plans offer a stable hosting solution on a budget. You get access to a decent set of security features and regular support options, although the host doesn’t excel in either area. However, for this price point you’ll be hard pressed to find a better alternative.

Final thoughts on InMotion Hosting

InMotion Hosting’s ecommerce Hosting plans are a decent pick for small stores and those new to the field of ecommerce. You get a good set of scalability options and blazing performance at a low price. At the end of the day, however, you’ll probably want to upgrade to their more expensive VPS plans once your store starts growing.

InMotion loading times 🔃
East Coast USA: 1.15sWest Coast USA: 1.02s
Central USA: 1.06sLondon, UK: 1.24s
Paris, France: 1.40sMumbai, India: 3.22s

3. A2 Hosting (www.a2hosting.com)

A2 Hosting

Rounding off our list, we have A2 Hosting. This web host offers ecommerce hosting for small business that support most popular platforms, such as PrestaShop, OpenCart, Magento, and WooCommerce.

Ecommerce specific features

  • Dual firewall system
  • One-click setups for most major ecommerce platforms
  • Automatic backups and server rewind functionality available for some of their plans (beyond the lowest tiers)
  • Dedicated IP addresses available for a small fee (approximately $2 per month)
  • Free SSL certificates

Support and security

When it comes to support response times, A2 Hosting outshone both our other picks. In most cases, we were able to get in touch with a support specialist in under a minute.

Security-wise, they offer a decent set of features for their price range. Their firewalls are par for the course, but their server rewind feature does come in handy since it functions like an advanced backup. Best of all, this feature is accessible right from your cPanel, which means you can use it to regain control over your site in the event you can’t access it directly.

Final thoughts on A2 Hosting

A2 Hosting offers excellent performance (especially within the US) and reliable support at low prices. It’s a great all-around pick, with a decent set of security features. They don’t have a lot of variation in terms of plans, but their offerings are sturdy enough for small to medium-sized online stores.

A2 loading times 🔃
East Coast USA: 0.70s ⭐West Coast USA: 0.94s ⭐
Central USA: 1.16sLondon, UK: 1.17s
Paris, France: 1.19sMumbai, India: 2.16s

4. Kinsta (www.kinsta.com)

Kinsta

Kinsta is a high-end WordPress hosting solution with a variety of plans for businesses of all shapes and sizes. For the purposes of this article, we’re going to take a look at Kinsta’s specialized WooCommerce hosting. Note that this hosting is only compatible with WooCommerce, so if you want to use a different ecommerce plugin or system, you’ll want to look at one of the other options on this list.

Ecommerce specific features

  • Support for WooCommerce (no other ecommerce systems)
  • Server-level caching with specialized rules to ensure that WooCommerce functions properly
  • Payment gateway performance monitoring
  • Performance monitoring tools for WooCommerce and related add-ons
  • Automated SSL certification
  • Automated daily backups

Support and security

Kinsta offers high-quality customer support with a 4.5 star rating on G2.com. I reached out a couple of times through the live chat to test this out and found that I was always connected to a knowledgeable support worker within a couple of minutes. Kinsta also has several top-notch security measures in place including automated backups and SSL certification, DDoS server protection, and more.

Final thoughts on Kinsta

With plans starting at $29.17, Kinsta is the most expensive option on this list of the best ecommerce hosting solutions, but the cost is earned through a variety of specialized WordPress and WooCommerce tools. If you want to invest in the very best web hosting available, Kinsta is a great choice.

Kinsta loading times 🔃
East Coast USA: 0.69s ⭐West Coast USA: 1.23s
Central USA: 0.62s ⭐London, UK: 1.23s
Paris, France: 1.26sMumbai, India: 2.35s

The key features of ecommerce hosting for small business

When choosing the best web hosting for your ecommerce site, you need to be a bit pickier than usual. We’re not talking strictly about performance either – some hosts simply offer more features specific to ecommerce needs.

Let’s not forget, it’s your ecommerce business that we’re talking about here … having the site down for even a relatively short period of time can be brutal on your wallet.

For instance, it’s estimated that Amazon loses $2 million for every minute of downtime!

Granted, the situation is probably not as brutal for you, but still any dollar lost due to website problems is something you shouldn’t have to deal with.

As far as we’re concerned, these are the key features you should keep an eye out for when looking for the right host:

  • PCI compliance. If your online store will accept credit card payments, it’s crucial that your host is fully compliant with PCI standards. This is a requirement. Don’t dismiss this as something you “don’t need yet.” Here’s the crucial part: “PCI applies to ALL organizations or merchants, regardless of size or number of transactions, that accepts, transmits or stores any cardholder data.”
  • Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates. SSL certificates enable you to encrypt your customer’s data for added protection, and they’re quickly becoming the standard even beyond ecommerce. Ideally, you should look for a host that facilitates the setup process for you. And if the host works with Let’s Encrypt – which is free – then even better.
  • Dedicated IP addresses: Dedicated IP addresses are reserved for non-shared hosting plans. These may be a bit more expensive, but a professional ecommerce site usually warrants the cost. Furthermore, having your own IP address ensures that you can access your site even if your domain is down, and lets you opt for a private SSL certificate.
  • Backup functionality. There are plenty of ways to set up scheduled backups for any platform, but it’s always nice when a web host takes care of that aspect for you. A comprehensive hosting plan will include regular backups and provide you with simple restore options.
  • Firewall solution. This is hardly a groundbreaking feature, but it’s still nice to know that your host has its own firewall solution set up. That way, it can protect you in case your website gets attacked by some bot network or another kind of automated DDoS attempt – meant to prevent genuine users (in this case, your customers) from accessing your online store.
  • Around-the-clock support. Downtime is the stuff of nightmares for any online store. Not only do you lose out on potential sales each time your store is unavailable, your customers may get the impression your operation isn’t professional. That’s why a good ecommerce host will take all necessary measures to minimize downtime.

Throughout this article, we’ll let you know what web hosts offer each of these features, which should help you make an informed decision. If you don’t see a particular feature listed under the host’s ecommerce specific features section, then that host doesn’t offer it. We’ll also let you know when a key feature is only available on certain plans.

That said, we recommend you don’t make your choice based solely on a list of features. After all, each web host has unique strengths that you’ll want to take into consideration when choosing the best option among ecommerce hosting for small business.

Best ecommerce hosting FAQ 🙋

What is ecommerce web hosting?

Any website hosting plan with specialized tools for ecommerce is an ecommerce web hosting plan. This may include additional security features, specialized tools and backups for WooCommerce, and other tools designed to help you run an online store.

What are the cheapest ecommerce hosting options?

InMotion is the cheapest high-quality ecommerce hosting option. The base plans offered by SiteGround and A2 Hosting are also quite affordable.

Does Shopify do hosting?

Yes, Shopify offers ecommerce hosting. However, Shopify sites aren’t as flexible as sites hosted on WordPress. Shopify is also pretty expensive, with plans starting at $24.00. You can learn more about this from our Shopify review.

Is shared hosting good for ecommerce?

Shared hosting means that your site shares server resources with a number of other websites. This is a good option for starting your ecommerce business, but if your site is successful you may outgrow the resources provided by a shared plan. When this happens you’ll need to switch to a dedicated server/VPS hosting or risk dealing with site outages and other issues. Some hosts will even suspend your account if your site routinely uses too many resources over an extended period of time.

Final thoughts on the best ecommerce hosting 💭

Your choice of ecommerce web host will have strong repercussions throughout your store’s lifetime. Your host can impact your website’s performance, its security, and the quality of support you have access to. It’s not a decision to be made lightly, but if you follow our advice you should end up on the right path.

If you’re having a hard time making up your mind and picking from these ecommerce hosting for small business, here’s a direct comparison of our performance experiments:

SiteGround loading times 🔃
East Coast USA: 0.95s ⭐West Coast USA: 1.47s
Central USA: 1.35sLondon, UK: 0.40s ⭐
Paris, France: 0.48s ⭐Mumbai, India: 1.90s
InMotion loading times 🔃
East Coast USA: 1.15sWest Coast USA: 1.02s
Central USA: 1.06sLondon, UK: 1.24s
Paris, France: 1.40sMumbai, India: 3.22s
A2 loading times 🔃
East Coast USA: 0.70s ⭐West Coast USA: 0.94s ⭐
Central USA: 1.16sLondon, UK: 1.17s
Paris, France: 1.19sMumbai, India: 2.16s
Kinsta loading times 🔃
East Coast USA: 0.69s ⭐West Coast USA: 1.23s
Central USA: 0.62s ⭐London, UK: 1.23s
Paris, France: 1.26sMumbai, India: 2.35s

As you can see, A2 Hosting stays consistently below (read: they’re faster than) all the other players, with the exception of SiteGround for Stockholm (which makes SiteGround possibly a better choice for an EU-based online store).

Before we wrap things up, let’s take one final look at the four ecommerce hosting solutions for small business we’ve covered:

  1. InMotion Hosting: A great budget option for small online stores that offers good performance.
  2. SiteGround: A solid option for modestly-sized and security-conscious stores.
  3. A2 Hosting: A great all-around option, with an excellent support system and decent scalability.
  4. Kinsta: An excellent choice for highly specialized WordPress and WooCommerce tools + great support.

Here are all the basic details of each platform again:

InMotion SiteGround A2 Hosting Kinsta
ecommerce plans start at ($ per month) $2.29 $2.99 $2.99 $29.17
Support knowledgeability and response times 3/5 5/5 5/5 5/5
Security features 4/5 5/5 3/5 4/5
Average load time from the US 1.08s 1.26s 0.93s 0.85s
Average load time from the EU 1.32s 0.44s 1.18s 1.25s
Average load time from Asia 3.22s 1.9s 2.16s 2.35s
Overall score 4/5 4.6/5 4/5 4/5

What do you look for when considering ecommerce hosting for small business? Share your criteria with us in the comments section below!

Don’t forget to join our crash course on speeding up your WordPress site. Learn more below:

 

Original text by John Hughes and Karol K. Layout and presentation by Karol K.

* This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and then purchase the product, we’ll receive a commission. No worries though, you’ll still pay the standard amount so there’s no additional cost on your part.

References
CodeinWP Editorial

2 Comments
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alexzee
July 27, 2018 5:17 pm

Great list of top 5 ecommerce hosting provider.
But what about managed hosting?

Sabina Ionescu
July 30, 2018 2:17 pm
Reply to  alexzee

Hi and thanks for checking us out! We also have a great guide on managed WordPress hosting https://www.codeinwp.com/blog/managed-wordpress-hosting/

Or start the conversation in our Facebook group for WordPress professionals. Find answers, share tips, and get help from other WordPress experts. Join now (it’s free)!

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