Looking for high-quality shared web hosting? You're in the right place.
In this Siteground review, I'll dissect one of the top players in the hosting game. I'll explore why Siteground stands out in the hosting industry.
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Cheefoo's Take
Best for overall shared web hosting
Over 12880 reviews from Truspilot
Price
From $2.99 / mo
Annual Discount
Yes - Save 80%
Promotion
For First Year Only
(this discount will be applied automatically)
Quick Specs Overview Table:
🚀Performance Grade | A |
⏱️Load Time | 1.89 s |
🏃♂️Response Time | 893 ms |
📈Uptime | 99.9% |
💬Support | 24/7 Chat, Phone, Ticketing |
🧩Types | Shared, Cloud |
📦️Plan | StartUp, GrowBig, GoGeek, Cloud |
💲Pricing | Starts at $2.99/month (Intro Rate) |
💽Data Transfer | Unmetered |
📊Monthly Visits | 10k to 400k |
🔒SSL | Free Let's Encrypt SSL |
📀Storage Space | 10GB to 40GB |
🏷️Coupons |
Pricing:
Pricing at Siteground starts at $2.99 per month for the initial 12 months, but it's important to note that the regular price after the first year is significantly higher, around five times the initial rate.
Despite this increase, Siteground does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee for all shared hosting plans, providing a level of assurance for new customers.
What Others Say about Siteground:
Here, I've gathered both the good and not-so-good things people have to say about Siteground, giving you a balanced, no-nonsense view of their performance.
Siteground's hosting services have garnered attention and feedback from trusted sources like Trustpilot and G2. Below, you'll find summaries of their overall reviews.
The Good Stuff
Siteground often receives high praise for its knowledgeable and friendly support staff, who are patient, professional, and provide excellent assistance. The hosting is notably fast, and the user-friendly interface makes it easy to use. Customers appreciate the quick responses and helpfulness of Siteground's support team.
The Not So Good Stuff
Siteground is often criticized for its inflexible refund policy, high renewal costs, and lack of optimization guidance. Users find it challenging to start live chats for support, report a lack of service post-plan cancellation, and express dissatisfaction with the site migration tool's usefulness.
What Separates Siteground from the Rest:
When it comes to web hosting, Siteground doesn't just follow the pack; it stands out. Here, I'll delve into the unique features that make Siteground a standout choice.
Cache Plugin:
Siteground's proprietary cache plugin turbocharges your website's speed. This means your pages load faster, keeping visitors engaged and improving your search engine rankings.
SG Optimizer menu at WordPress
SG Optimizer caching settings
SG Optimizer CSS & JS settings
Email Services:
Siteground offers bundled robust email services with accurate spam filters, ensuring that your email communication is not just reliable but also secure. Say goodbye to the hassle of dealing with spam.
Google Infrastructure:
Hosting your site on Google Cloud's robust infrastructure ensures rock-solid reliability and performance. You're on the same platform trusted by one of the world's tech giants, and that speaks volumes about the quality of hosting you'll receive.
Customer Support:
One of Siteground's hallmarks is its customer support. With a reputation for lightning-fast response times and knowledgeable staff, you can rest assured that any issues will be resolved swiftly.
Siteground Performance
4.4 out of 5
Performance is the lifeblood of your website. It's what keeps your visitors engaged, impacts your search engine rankings, and ultimately determines the success of your online presence.
In this section, I'll dive into several key performance metrics to give you a comprehensive view of how Siteground fares. I used a post with 1400+ words, 13 images, with a page size of 2.1MB for the tests below.
Overall Performance: This metric is a holistic evaluation of how well your website performs in real-world conditions. It considers factors like server response times, network latency, and the efficiency of the hosting infrastructure.
Loading Speed: Speed matters. Slow-loading pages can frustrate visitors and harm your SEO efforts. We'll examine how Siteground's hosting impacts your website's loading times, ensuring your site is fast and responsive.
Core Vital Metrics: Google's Core Web Vitals, including metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), are crucial for user experience and search rankings. I'll analyze how Siteground helps you meet these vital metrics.
Uptime: Uptime is the measure of how often your website is available to visitors. Siteground boasts an impressive uptime record, and we'll provide the stats to prove it.
Time to First Byte (TTFB): TTFB is the time it takes for a browser to receive the first byte of data from the server. A quick TTFB is essential for fast-loading pages. I'll assess how Siteground performs in this critical area from 40 locations.
With these insights, you'll have a clear picture of Siteground's performance capabilities and how they can benefit your website.
How Easy to Setup or Migrate:
4.5 out of 5
The ease of setting up your website or migrating an existing one to a new hosting provider can greatly impact your experience. Siteground recognizes this and strives to simplify the process, ensuring a hassle-free transition.
Choose a Domain: Your domain is your online identity. Siteground allows you to either register a new domain or seamlessly connect an existing one. This initial step lays the foundation for your online presence.
Setup Site: Here, you have options. You can use the Siteground Migrator Plugin to effortlessly transfer your website from another host to Siteground. Alternatively, if you prefer a hands-off approach, Siteground offers a paid migration service for $30. If you're tech-savvy, manual migration is also an option. During this step, you can also set up your WordPress or WooCommerce installation, tailoring your site to your needs.
Add Extras: Enhance your website's security with Siteground's Site Scanner service. It offers daily malware scanning and immediate threat notifications. You can enjoy 30 days of this service for free, with the option to renew for the first year at a discounted rate of $29.88/year (excluding GST).
Siteground streamlines the setup and migration process, ensuring that you can get your website up and running with ease.
Siteground Support
4.3 out of 5
When issues arise, you need prompt, knowledgeable assistance to get your website back on track. Siteground takes support seriously, offering a wealth of self-help documents to empower users. Sometimes, you need direct assistance, and that's where their support team steps in.
Self-Help Documents: Siteground provides an extensive library of self-help documents, covering a wide range of topics. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced webmaster, these resources can be invaluable for troubleshooting, setup, and optimizing your hosting experience.
Are They Knowledgeable or Need to Escalate: Not all issues can be resolved with a first-line response. Some require deeper technical expertise.
I've noticed that picking the right category for your questions is pretty crucial. If not, you might end up with some generic responses or self-help articles. Especially with optimization queries, they tend to suggest best practices and direct you back to your theme developer. Siteground does charge a fee if you want them to optimize things for you.
How Fast to Get Response: When you have an issue, response time matters. In this test, we evaluate how quickly Siteground's support team reacts to your new queries.
On average, the support took 16.1 seconds to connect and respond to any new chat. This is provided they are not overwhelmed with too many support requests. However, on two occasions, I waited for more than 7 minutes without any connection.
Response Time | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
38.38 s | 20 Aug 23 | 9.50 pm |
17.38 s | 27 Aug 23 | 3.30 am |
11.1 s | 28 Aug 23 | 12.32 am |
7.51 s | 28 Aug 23 | 12.51 am |
6.12 s | 28 Aug 23 | 1 am |
Siteground Security
4.6 out of 5
Security is the bedrock of a reliable website. It's the digital moat protecting your online presence from potential threats. Siteground recognizes the paramount importance of security and offers a robust set of features to safeguard your website.
Block Traffic: Sometimes, you might notice suspicious activity originating from specific countries or IP addresses. Siteground allows you to block traffic from these sources, adding an extra layer of defense against potential threats.
Backup Retention: Siteground's backup system ensures your data is safe. It retains backups for 30 days, automatically creating new backups. You can also manually create backups and easily restore your database, files, or emails by selecting the desired date.
Site Scanner: The Site Scanner service provides daily malware scanning and immediate threat notifications. It's a proactive defense against malicious attacks, ensuring your website remains secure.
All-in-One Siteground Security Plugin: This plugin offers comprehensive protection against a range of threats, including brute-force attacks, common hacks, and data leaks. With just a few clicks, you can fortify your website's defenses.
Quick Overview on Company:
Founded in 2004, Siteground, led by CEO Tenko Nikolov and co-founder Ivo Tzenov, has spent over 19 years at the forefront of web hosting. As of 2023, it boasts 3 offices in Bulgaria (Sofia, Plovdiv, and Stara Zagora) and 11 data center locations worldwide.
These data centers are strategically placed in the USA (Iowa, Virginia, Texas, and California), Europe (the Netherlands, France - Paris, Spain - Madrid, Germany - Frankfurt, and the UK - London), and even in Asia (Singapore and Australia).
With a team of over 500 employees, including many with over a decade of service, Siteground has earned its reputation as a 4-time Stevie Award Winner for Customer Service Excellence. Hosting over 2.8 million domains, Siteground is a global IT leader with a strong commitment to service quality.
Is Siteground Suitable for You?
Considering a hosting service that aligns with your needs is crucial for a successful online presence. If you're seeking a hosting solution that offers convenience, performance, and reliable support, look no further.
Choose Siteground if you:
Siteground is not suitable if you:
Best Siteground Alternatives:
When seeking the best WordPress web hosting, consider these top alternatives to Siteground:
WPX
Offers rapid hosting with own cloud cache. While without trial price, its performance and customer service justify the investment.
Hostinger
Fast TTFB, affordable pricing, and generous storage space make it a top choice for hosting your website.
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FAQ
Yes, Siteground allows you to upgrade or downgrade your hosting plan to better suit your needs.
Siteground offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for its shared hosting plans. To initiate a refund, you can contact their support team.
While Siteground offers automated backups, it's prudent to maintain your own backups, especially after significant changes or before updating plugins and themes.
Siteground's pricing reflects the quality of its services, including top-notch performance, security features, and customer support. The initial low-cost offer often increases after the first year, aligning with these quality services.