WordPress web hosting is a huge business. The good part about this is there are a lot of options to choose from, starting even from USD $1 per month. However, there are SO many factors in setting up your website infrastructure that there is no “one-size-fits-all” answer. Trust me, I know. Try searching Google for “best WordPress website hosting” – good luck sifting through the 103 MILLION results.
Pixl is not a web hosting company so we can offer unbiased solutions for your benefit. I will update with more details when I am able, but for now allow me to cut straight to our recommendations:
1. For Malaysian businesses: Entry-level hosting with ServerFreak
ServerFreak is, to us, the best Malaysian web hosting company. Their tech support is the best we’ve encountered, and the CEO is a great guy who takes care of his staff. They are a fully Malaysian homegrown company and they do a great job for the price they offer.
I recommend their WP Starter plan for basic websites that do not have much updating and not much traffic. Click here to sign up for your own account.
Once you’ve bought a hosting plan, please provide us with your ServerFreak account information, and we will proceed with the necessaries.
2. For non-Malaysian businesses: Entry-level hosting with Namecheap
Namecheap has been around for a long time and provides good web hosting for affordable prices. We have not personally used Namecheap’s hosting services but general feedback from the WP developer community is positive.
I recommend their EasyWP Starter plan for basic sites that don’t have much traffic. Click here for more information.
3. For websites that want to go serious: Custom VPS setup with Pixl
There are a TON of cheap hosting options out there, as everyone is trying to get customers in the door, in order to sell you more expensive plans later on when you scale up. If you intend to use your website actively to gain more business, or if you run a complicated site (e.g. eCommerce platforms), you will eventually have to upgrade your plan, and that will get very expensive in the long run.
Another thing to note is, there are other components of website infrastructure – DNS, SSL, plugins, backups, anti-malware scans, etc – which affect site speed and security. Nobody talks about these as it is complicated and customers usually want to be told their site is fast and secure with no additional cost. There’s no such thing as a free lunch unfortunately.
In our years of experience and R&D, we have developed a custom setup that is blazingly fast, incredibly secure, and offers significantly better value for your money. We recommend this for serious businesses only – this involves a setup fee but will save you money after the second year. Please get in touch with us for more information.
I hope this post helps you decide on your first web hosting plan. If you’re a client, feel free to ask me directly regarding stuff I didn’t cover here, as there is a LOT of information out there, and a LOT of options, each saying they are the best. I can talk for hours regarding hosting… haha.
Have a great day.
Michael Kwan
Founder & CEO, Pixl
