You can host a WordPress website for €3 per month. You can also host one for €50 per month. What’s the difference? Is expensive hosting just a scam, or is cheap hosting a false economy?
The answer depends entirely on what your website means to your business.
Understanding the Hosting Spectrum
Shared Hosting (€3-10/month)
Your website shares a server with hundreds — sometimes thousands — of other websites. Everyone shares the same CPU, RAM, disk space, and IP address.
Think of it like a crowded hostel dorm. You get a bed, but you share everything with strangers. When the party next door gets rowdy, everyone suffers.
Managed WordPress Hosting (€15-50/month)
Servers specifically optimised for WordPress. Fewer sites per server, WordPress-specific caching, security, and support from WordPress specialists.
Like a private hotel room. You have your own space, and the staff understand exactly what you need.
VPS/Dedicated (€50-200+/month)
Your own virtual or physical server. Complete control, dedicated resources, but you manage everything yourself.
Like owning your own house. Maximum control, but you’re responsible for maintenance.
What Shared Hosting Actually Means
The Overselling Problem
Shared hosts advertise “unlimited” bandwidth and storage because they oversell capacity. They gamble that most sites won’t use their allocation simultaneously.
When sites do spike, everyone suffers. Your site slows down because someone else’s website went viral.
Performance Inconsistency
Your site’s speed varies based on:
- What other sites on your server are doing
- Server load at that moment
- Whether a neighbour is being attacked
- Resource allocation decisions by the host
Monday at 3am might be blazingly fast. Tuesday at noon might be painfully slow.
Security Risks
On shared hosting, one compromised site can potentially affect others. Poor isolation means malware can spread. Your site’s security partly depends on your neighbours’ security practices.
Support Limitations
Shared hosting support typically knows cPanel and server basics. They don’t know WordPress specifically. When your site breaks, you’re often on your own.
Hidden Limitations
That “unlimited” hosting comes with fair use policies that limit:
- Database connections
- Server processes
- CPU seconds
- Memory usage
- I/O operations
Hit these limits and your site slows or gets suspended.
What Managed WordPress Hosting Provides
WordPress-Optimised Servers
Managed hosts configure their servers specifically for WordPress:
- PHP optimised for WordPress requirements
- Server-level caching (not just plugins)
- Memory allocation suited for WordPress
- Database tuning for WordPress patterns
The result: faster performance without plugin configuration.
Included Security
Security features typically included:
- Automatic malware scanning
- Web Application Firewall (WAF)
- Automatic security updates
- DDoS protection
- SSL certificates
You don’t need to buy separate security plugins or services.
Automatic Updates
Core WordPress, themes, and plugins stay updated automatically. Updates are tested before deployment, with rollback capability if problems occur.
Staging Environments
Make changes on a copy of your site first. Test thoroughly. Then push to production with confidence.
WordPress-Specific Support
Support staff who know WordPress:
- They understand plugin conflicts
- They can help with WordPress errors
- They know performance optimisation
- They speak your language
No more generic “have you tried clearing cache?” responses.
Regular Backups
Daily automatic backups stored off-server, with easy one-click restoration. Often including 30+ days of backup history.
Better Neighbours
Fewer sites per server means more resources for you. Sites are typically screened, reducing problematic neighbours.
The Cost Comparison
Let’s compare real costs over a year:
Shared Hosting (€5/month = €60/year)
Plus you’ll likely need:
- Security plugin: €80-150/year
- Backup solution: €50-100/year
- CDN: €0-50/year
- SSL certificate: €0-50/year
- Your time for updates: 2-4 hours/month
Total cost: €190-410/year plus your time
Managed WordPress Hosting (€25/month = €300/year)
Typically includes:
- Security features: Included
- Backups: Included
- CDN: Often included
- SSL: Included
- Updates: Handled for you
Total cost: €300/year with minimal time investment
When you factor in everything, managed hosting often costs similar — or less — than cheap hosting done properly. And you get your time back.
When Shared Hosting Is Fine
Shared hosting isn’t inherently bad. It’s appropriate for:
Personal Projects
Your hobby blog that gets 50 visitors a month doesn’t need enterprise hosting.
Testing and Learning
Learning WordPress? Start cheap while you’re experimenting.
Microsites with No Stakes
A temporary campaign site or a simple landing page with no business-critical function.
Very Tight Budgets
Sometimes €5/month is genuinely all you can afford. Something is better than nothing.
When Managed Hosting Is Essential
Business Websites
If your website represents your business — if customers find you through it, if it reflects your brand — cheap hosting undermines everything.
A 3-second load time versus a 1-second load time can mean 20% fewer conversions. That’s real money.
E-commerce Sites
WooCommerce sites need more resources and tighter security than shared hosting provides. Slow checkout = abandoned carts. Security breach = disaster.
Lead Generation Sites
If your site generates leads or bookings, every minute of downtime costs money. Every slow page load loses potential customers.
Sites You Don’t Want to Babysit
If you want to focus on your business rather than your website, managed hosting removes the maintenance burden.
Sites with Compliance Requirements
GDPR, PCI-DSS, or industry-specific requirements are easier to meet with proper hosting infrastructure.
What to Look for in Managed Hosting
Not all managed hosts are equal. Evaluate:
Server Technology
- LiteSpeed or Nginx — Faster than Apache
- SSD/NVMe storage — Faster than traditional drives
- PHP 8.x — Latest version support
- HTTP/3 — Modern protocol support
Server Location
For Irish businesses serving Irish customers:
- Irish data centres ideal
- UK acceptable
- US/Asia significantly slower
Support Quality
- Response time guarantees
- WordPress specialists (not just general hosting)
- Multiple contact methods
- 24/7 availability for critical issues
Included Features
- Daily backups with retention
- Staging environments
- CDN integration
- SSL certificates
- Malware scanning and removal
- Update management
Reliability
- Uptime guarantees (99.9% minimum)
- Infrastructure redundancy
- Proof of track record
The SparkHost Position
We only offer managed WordPress hosting because we believe it’s what Irish businesses actually need.
Our approach:
Essential Plan (€15/month)
- LiteSpeed hosting optimised for WordPress
- Daily backups, 7-day retention
- Free SSL
- Cloudflare CDN
- Security scanning
- Email support
Starter Plan (€25/month)
- Everything in Essential, plus:
- 14-day backup retention
- Redis object caching
- Priority support
Managed Plan (€45/month)
- Everything in Starter, plus:
- Proactive updates and testing
- 30-day backup retention
- Patchstack security
- Phone support
- Quarterly reviews
We’re not competing with €3/month hosts. We’re providing hosting that lets Irish businesses succeed online. And when you’re ready to switch, our free WordPress migration service handles everything.
Making Your Decision
Stay on Shared If:
- Your website is a hobby or learning project
- You have significant technical skills and time
- Budget is the absolute primary constraint
- The site has no business impact
Move to Managed If:
- Your website represents your business
- You want reliable, consistent performance
- Security and uptime matter
- You prefer to focus on business, not website maintenance
- You’ve outgrown shared hosting’s limitations
Questions to Ask Providers
When evaluating managed hosts:
- Where are your servers located?
- What caching technology do you use?
- How do you handle WordPress updates?
- What’s included vs extra cost?
- What’s your average support response time?
- Can I speak to support before signing up?
- What happens if my site gets hacked?
- How do migrations work?
Good hosts answer these confidently. Evasive answers are a red flag.
The Bottom Line
Hosting is infrastructure. Like any infrastructure, you can go cheap or you can go reliable.
For businesses where the website matters, managed WordPress hosting provides better performance, security, and peace of mind at a reasonable price. The €15-50/month investment typically pays for itself in saved time and avoided problems.
The cheapest hosting often ends up being the most expensive in the long run.