SiteGround Reviews

Reliable and Trustworthy Web Hosting Service

Cultivating a 99.7% happiness rate, SiteGround promises unbeatable service. They offer some excellent features that will take your hosting experience to a whole new level. That said, our SiteGround review uncovered some weaknesses too. Read on to find out where this web host shines and what can be improved. 

SiteGround Speed & Performance

SiteGround’s servers are located in London, Chicago, Amsterdam, and Singapore, promising stable network performance. Additionally, the web host has developed in-house technologies to ensure top performance. They employ SSD storage, ultra-fast PHP, and HTTP/2. SuperCacher is a SiteGround-specific feature which improves the speed of WordPress using three levels of caching. SiteGround also uses Cloudflare CDN and NGINX (an alternative to the Apache web server) to further boost the speed. SiteGround reviews reveal satisfied users who say this is one of the fastest web hosting providers they have used. 

Excellent Uptime

SiteGround guarantees network uptime of 99.9%. If they fail to keep this promise and the uptime drops to between 9.9% and 99.00%, you’ll get one month of free hosting. For every 1% of uptime lost below 99.00%, you’ll get an additional month of free hosting.

Our research suggests that SiteGround’s performance has been perfect. Users further report excellent availability of nearly 100%, which puts SiteGround among the top website host providers we’ve reviewed. 

Outstanding Security

There’s hardly a SiteGround hosting review on the web that doesn’t praise the robust security features of the web host. Besides providing free Let’s Encrypt SSL to all accounts, SiteGround proactively protects the sites from hack attacks and malicious code. With a custom Web Application Firewall, the company constantly writes new security rules to prevent vulnerabilities. SiteGround also has the Hack Alert tool for early warning of hidden malware, as well as the proprietary AI anti-bot system that blocks security threats. 

SiteGround servers are secured with redundant electrical supply via UPS, 24/7 human and video monitoring, biometric access points, and access controls.

Backups

Through our research for this SiteGround review, we’ve discovered that the company has one of the best backup systems among web hosts in this price range. Performed daily and on-demand (available only for GrowBig and GoGeek accounts for free), backups are managed individually which means you can backup just one site as opposed to all your SiteGround-hosted sites. 

You can restore old versions of your data, files, emails, or databases in one click. On-demand restores are available with higher-tier plans whereas with the entry-level plan you’ll have to contact support. SiteGround keeps the backups for 30 days for Shared hosting accounts and seven days for Cloud hosting accounts. 

Developer-Friendly Features

The SiteGround website builder of choice is Weebly. Seamlessly integrated into the platform, Weebly provides easy drag-and-drop features and responsive themes, making it easy even for non-technical users to build fully functional websites, as confirmed by SiteGround reviews. In addition to the free Weebly version, you can also upgrade to Starter, Pro, and Business versions.

Through the SiteGround cPanel you can install multiple CMS including WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla with a single click. You also get access to staging environments to test new features before getting them live. 

Thanks to the intuitive site tools, you can upload files to servers, create emails and databases, manage DNS zones, park domains, and more in seconds. Git comes preinstalled on bigger plans, along with SFTP, SSH, WP-CLI, and phpMyAdmin. 

Domain & Email Service

SiteGround reviews mention that the vendor doesn’t offer a free domain name in its plans. That said, you can easily purchase one, starting from $18/year for the most popular extensions like .com, .org, and .net. Along with your hosting account, SiteGround will provide convenient domain management. You can further create professional email addresses with your site domain at no additional cost. You can connect your email service to another service. The space limit ranges from 2GB to 6GB depending on the hosting plan. 

Automated Migration

Once you select a domain, you can migrate your existing site to SiteGround hosting. The service is free for one website but only if the total amount of content being transferred is no more than 1GB. You can initiate the migration process by submitting a form with your hosting credentials and the details needed. The service is free for one website, and if you want to migrate more, you’ll be charged $30. 

Higher-tier plans (GrowBig and up) are eligible for unlimited free site migrations. Some SiteGround reviews show that users would appreciate it if the migration were free of charge for entry-level hosting too, but the good news is there is also a DIY migration plugin — SiteGround Migrator — for moving WordPress sites. With this plugin, you can transfer as many sites as you want free of charge. The process is fairly simple; you just have to generate a token which will initiate the migration and everything goes smooth from there. 

Money-Back Guarantee

SiteGround offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on shared hosting plans. Cloud hosting plans, however, come with a 14-day money-back guarantee. As usual, domain name fees and other extras are non-refundable. Note that the refund policy applies only to new plans and not to renewed ones. 

Outstanding SiteGround Customer Service 

SiteGround hosting reviews particularly praise the vendor’s customer support. The agents respond almost immediately to phone calls and live chat, while the response time for tickets is an impressive 10 minutes. For reference against competitors, a SiteGround vs HostGator comparison, for example, points to long waiting times at the latter.

Besides providing 24/7 support chat, ticket, and live chat, the SiteGround support includes a comprehensive knowledge base, pre-recorded webinars, and tutorials which will help you understand the web host’s features and use them more efficiently. 

Pricing & Value for Money

While it may seem that SiteGround offers lower prices than the competition, the prices go way higher upon renewal. This is one of the main complaints cited in SiteGround reviews, with users going as far as claiming that they are being “deceived” by the low introductory fees. For example, a SiteGround vs InMotion comparison shows that in the long run, the latter will save you a whole lot of money. Plus, it comes with a free domain and unlimited disk space which is an added perk. That said, there are SiteGround discount rates if you sign up for 24 or 36 months. 

SiteGround Pricing & Plans

SiteGround offers shared, cloud, reseller, WordPress, and WooCommerce, as well as enterprise hosting plans which adjust to the needs of the users. Keep in mind that, considering the high renewal prices we mentioned above, SiteGround might not be ideal for small-budget projects. Read on to find out the features and pricing details of each plan.

SiteGround Web Hosting Review

All SiteGround plans come with unmetered traffic, daily backups, free CDN, email, and SSL, and unlimited databases. This is because the company hosts fewer websites on the same server. Also, the shared plans rely on servers tuned for top WordPress performance.

There are three SiteGround shared hosting plans to choose from. One thing you should have in mind though is that you’ll be charged a $14.95 setup fee if you opt for a month-to-month subscription. 

• StartUp — $6.99/month ($14.99 upon renewal) — comes with 10GB web space and is suitable for one site with up to 10,000 unique monthly visits.
• GrowBig — $9.99/month ($24.99 upon renewal) — comes with 20GB web space, supports an unlimited number of websites with up to 25,000 monthly visits, and ups StartUp with on-demand backup copies, access to staging, speed-boosting caching, and the option to add collaborators.
• GoGeek — $14.99/month ($33.99 upon renewal) — has 40GB space for an unlimited number of sites and up to 100,000 visits per month. This plan further comes with priority support, white labeling, and ultrafast PHP.

SiteGround WordPress Review

Designed for websites built on WordPress, SiteGround is one of the three WordPress-recommended web hosts. Thanks to the WordPress Starter plugin, you’ll enjoy a smooth experience. The installation is automated, and you’ll be able to create a functional website in minutes. The SiteGround WordPress hosting further includes fully managed and automated updates and security measures.

A SiteGround vs Bluehost comparison, for example, gives an edge to the former on account of its speed, performance, and overall value for money. The research for our SiteGround review showed that the hosting plans are the same as SiteGround shared plans in terms of web space, number of sites, visits, and cost, but focus on WordPress. 

SiteGround WooCommerce Hosting Review

SiteGround WooCommerce plans come with similar features to the standard web and WordPress plans, but include ecommerce-specific tools. For example, you’ll be able to accept bank transfers, cash on delivery, and PayPal but also integrate 140+ gateways like Stripe and Apple Pay. 

SiteGround reviews show that users appreciate that they can find all orders listed on the dashboard which enables easy fulfillment. Plus, there are reports about orders, in-stock goods, coupons, revenue, product, and more. You can also add plugins and extensions to improve the functionality and customer experience. 

The only potential downside is that to make your online store PCI compliant, you’ll have to upgrade to the GoGeek hosting plan. Otherwise, the parameters of the WooCommerce hosting plans again match those of the SiteGround web hosting and WordPress packages.

SiteGround Cloud Hosting Review

If you’re running a high-demand website, consider SiteGround cloud hosting plans. You’ll enjoy benefits like powerful guaranteed resources optimized for speed and efficiency, along with the full configuration and management of your account. The cloud hosting plans also support easy scaling by allowing you to add CPU and RAM at any time or use the auto-scale option which will automatically add more resources whenever your traffic spikes. Opting for cloud hosting ensures you have priority support at all times. 

Pricing-wise, there are four plans to choose from.

• Entry — $75/month — 3 CPU cores, 6GB memory, 40GB SSD space, 5TB data transfer.
• Business — $113/month — 4 CPU cores, 8GB memory, 60GB SSD space, 5TB data transfer.
• Business+ — $150/month — 5 CPU cores, 10GB memory, 80GB SSD space, 5TB transfer.
• Super Power — 226/month — 9 CPU cores, 12GB memory, 120GB SSD space, 5TB transfer. 

SiteGround Reseller Review

The SiteGround reseller plans let you generate revenue by including web hosting with your service or even start your own hosting business. You can easily build and manage sites for your clients without giving them access to their sites’ control panels. Mind you, the GrowBig plan is the best for this purpose. All sites can be managed from the Client Area and you can scale your business by upgrading to a higher plane or adding more resources. 

The SiteGround reseller hosting packages are some of the best on the market. By comparing A2 Hosting vs SiteGround for the purpose of our SiteGround review, we can confirm that the latter has more robust features. 

In terms of pricing, there are three reseller plans on offer.

• GrowBig — $9.99/month (renews at $26.99) — unlimited websites and 20GB webspace.
• GoGeek —  $14.99/ month (renews at $39.99) — 40GB web space plus priority support, white-label features, and ultrafast PHP.
• Cloud — starts from $75/month — ups GoGeek with 40+ GB web space and the possibility to customize client’s access and resources. 

Enterprise Hosting

SiteGround also offers enterprise hosting with custom infrastructure. These solutions are based on Linux Containers and provide top-class availability and scalability. SiteGround fully manages the hosting infrastructure so you can focus on your core business. 

The pricing for enterprise hosting is entirely custom. You should contact the vendor to discuss your requirements and get a quote. 

The Verdict

SiteGround reviews reveal strong uptime, solid speed, robust security features, and outstanding customer service. One thing where SiteGround fails to deliver is the pricing; their introductory fees are low but the renewal rates were the reason why many users gave up on this web host. That said, if you can commit to longer terms, you might get a more affordable price. Also, make sure to bring your own domain to avoid paying extra.