SiteGround Review 2023 – Is It Still as Good as It Used To Be?

SiteGround’s advanced plans offer a lot of powerful features, and the proprietary control panel is one of the best I’ve seen. While the user experience is excellent, my tests show that the performance is not as good as it used to be. Still, SiteGround’s managed WordPress hosting plans could be a good choice for a basic website.

OVERVIEW

FEATURES

Greetings, everyone! Welcome to an in-depth review of SiteGround‘s hosting services. If you’ve been curious about SiteGround‘s offerings, its hosting options, reliability, performance, and more, you’re in the right place. In this thorough review, we’ll dive into all these aspects and aim to provide you with concise yet informative insights, so you can make an informed decision without spending excessive time researching. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into it. And, if you’re interested, don’t forget to check out the special SiteGround discount link in the description below.

The Basic Plan Is Really Basic, but the Other Two Are Great

Let’s Begin with the Core Features. SiteGround offers three distinct plans, with the initial one being StartUp, designed for a single website. The other two plans provide the flexibility of hosting unlimited websites. For my evaluation, I opted for the StartUp plan, equipped with 10GB of SSD storage and sufficient bandwidth to accommodate approximately 10,000 visitors each month.

As you ascend to the advanced tiers, you’ll encounter increased storage and bandwidth allocations, accompanied by access to an array of advanced functionalities. A recurring theme that emerges in this segment is the comparative lack of features within the basic plan that were once emblematic of SiteGround‘s excellence. Notably, the advanced plans remedy this, though they do come at a higher cost.

Moving forward. Each of the hosting plans is underpinned by the advanced NGINX web server technology, a potent and contemporary choice that places SiteGround in a league above many of its more conventional competitors.

SiteGround has recently taken a different approach by moving away from the widely used cPanel control panel in favor of their proprietary panel called Site Tools. How does this impact you? Primarily, you won’t have access to the Softaculous auto-installer along with its extensive collection of one-click scripts for numerous content management systems (CMS). Instead, SiteGround provides its own App Manager, which facilitates the installation of 18 different CMS options. Should your preferred app not be among these, manual installation will be required.

Naturally, popular platforms like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal are fully supported, but some more advanced choices such as the Laravel and Symfony frameworks necessitate manual installation (Laravel is pre-installed on all servers by default). For WordPress enthusiasts, however, there’s little to worry about.

Even for WordPress users, though, there are some changes. While Softaculous allowed easy deployment of a staging version of your site for testing purposes, SiteGround’s Site Tools permits the creation of a staging version as well, but this feature is disabled in the basic plan.

In terms of security tools, the essentials like a web application firewall (WAF) and a proprietary monitoring system are bundled with all plans as standard. For those seeking a higher level of security, more advanced security measures are available at an additional cost.

It’s probably no surprise by now that Git, a widely-used development tool included by most cPanel hosts, is absent from SiteGround’s basic plan.

However, as long as your requirements remain relatively straightforward, SiteGround still delivers effectively. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it performs exceptionally well. The hitch is that it used to be an all-inclusive service, and a reduction in offerings is often viewed as a concerning signal.

On the bright side, SSL certificates remain a feature across all plans. These simple yet crucial additions ensure your visitors’ data is secure, so make sure to activate this feature. SiteGround‘s SSL manager streamlines the process, and my certificate received an impressive A score from Qualys. All in all, this is fantastic news.

Automatic System Backups

In the realm of hosting services, backups emerge as a paramount factor owing to the ever-present potential for unforeseen mishaps. SiteGround takes a proactive stance by implementing automatic system-wide backups on a daily cadence, preserving each instance for a substantial duration of 30 days. Surprisingly, this feature is a rarity within the basic plans of numerous other hosts, and in some cases, it’s conspicuously absent.

Nevertheless, it’s important to highlight that the convenience of on-demand backups, a fundamental provision offered by all competing hosting platforms, is confined solely to SiteGround‘s advanced plans.

SuperCacher Performance Booster

Caching is an absolute game-changer. Essentially, your web server crafts duplicates of your website’s pages, which means it doesn’t have to painstakingly reconstruct every page anew for each individual visitor. Instead, it swiftly dispatches these cached versions to visitors. The result? A significantly lighter load on your server, equipping you to accommodate a larger influx of visitors at a notably accelerated pace.

SiteGround does indeed provide caching functionality; however, its potency is curtailed within the confines of the basic plan. While you’ll encounter some rudimentary caching features, the full-fledged benefits of caching are unlocked exclusively through an upgrade to one of SiteGround’s advanced plans.

Automatic Website Migration

If your website currently resides with another hosting provider, SiteGround extends the convenience of automatic migration through its panel. The procedure is relatively straightforward: just install a designated plugin on your existing website and input the resultant token within the SiteGround panel.

This automated approach is well-suited for uncomplicated websites. However, should your website encompass intricate elements (multiple plugins, custom integrations, specialized fields, etc.), potential issues might arise.

For those seeking greater control, manual migration options exist, spanning FTP, File Manager, or MySQL. Alternatively, SiteGround presents the possibility of a “professional migration” at an added cost, where their experts orchestrate the entire migration process on your behalf. While this alternative holds its appeal, it’s worth noting that many other web hosts offer similar migration services free of charge.

SiteGround’s Control Panel Is a True Joy to Use

I might have been a tad critical of SiteGround’s feature offerings, but such sentiments arise when valuable features are confined within premium plans. However, the narrative shifts when discussing SiteGround’s user experience, which, except for the initial signup process, ranks among the finest I’ve encountered.

In contrast to the common stumbling blocks often found in self-designed control panels, SiteGround’s Site Tools exhibits a seamless, polished, visually captivating, and contemporary design. Frequently used actions are readily available, while other options are thoughtfully organized within a sidebar.

Alright, let’s delve into the process step by step.

Choosing Your Plan

SiteGround markets Web Hosting, WordPress Hosting, and WooCommerce Hosting, yet all three options are essentially identical.

SiteGround demonstrates remarkable transparency when outlining the distinctions between these plan tiers. While the offerings of the basic plan might not satisfy me entirely, I must commend the host for their candor. Now, it’s simply a matter of selecting your preference and navigating to the signup page.

Update: SiteGround now offers support in English, Spanish, Italian, and German. Upon selecting your preferred language, the system will automatically suggest a server location, though you can modify this choice later on.

PERFORMANCE

SiteGround’s Uptime Is Great

The demands of your site visitors are straightforward – they want your website to load lightning fast, every time. However, these expectations aren’t unique to your site; your competitors face the same challenge. The one who excels in this aspect wins the hearts of the visitors.

SiteGround, having recently adopted the Google Cloud Platform, now boasts data center locations across the US, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Asia, and Australia. Impressively, these data centers prioritize environmental sustainability.

Yet, with SiteGround’s premium pricing, I had anticipated superior performance that would outshine most other hosting providers. My surprise was evident after months of comprehensive speed tests, revealing SiteGround’s performance to be good.

Yes, the uptime was commendable, but that alone falls short. Hosts like Hostinger (1.56s average), Kinsta (1.2s average), A2 Hosting (1.3s average), and several others stand as notably faster alternatives. Continue reading to delve into the specifics of my tests and their implications, or skip ahead to explore the support section.

For my evaluations, I constructed a landing page with HD images, text, effects, and a subscriber option – an approximation of a typical website. These results offer insights into what you can anticipate, far more than tests conducted on minimal theme installations devoid of content.

 

SITEGROUND REVIEW

For a basic website, the excellent user experience could make it worth the money – especially if this is your first time hosting a website.