Looking to create an e-commerce website with WooCommerce? If so, the very first thing you need to prepare is the hosting. To save you time in conducting the research, we have curated the best web hosting services to run your WooCommerce-powered online store.
In general, choosing a web hosting for WooCommerce is no different to choosing a web hosting for WordPress. However, since WooCommerce transactions require emails (to send confirmations, notifications, and so on), you need to make sure that your hosting doesn’t disable the send_mail function on the PHP configuration. Unfortunately, some cheap shared hosting services do.
If you use a fast WordPress hosting like Kinsta, you don’t need to worry about it as Kinsta — and all managed WordPress hosting services we will mention below — already enable the send_mail function on the PHP configuration. In addition to the send_mail function, you also need to make sure that the PHP memory limit is at least 256 MB to make sure your WooCommerce site runs smoothly without any issue.
Here are the system requirements that WooCommerce demands:
- PHP version: 7.4 or greater
- PHP memory limit: 256 MB or greater
- Send_mail function is enabled
- Database: MySQL version 5.6 or greater OR MariaDB version 10.1 or greater
Here are some recommended web hosting services for WooCoomerce.
Best Hosting Services for WooCommerce
— 1. Pressable
The first web hosting service we recommend to running a WooCommerce-powered e-commerce website is Pressable. The main reason is that it is owned by Automattic, the company behind WooCommerce itself.
Pressable is a managed WordPress hosting service. When adding a new website on your account, you will be presented with two options: whether you want to install WordPress only or the one with WooCommerce. If you pick the second option, you don’t need to install the WooCommerce plugin yourself.
The hosting configuration of Pressable is more than enough to run WooCommerce and other plugins. If you plan to use Divi to build your e-commerce store, we suggest you use Divi Hosting. Pressable is one of the Elegant Themes’ partners for its Divi Hosting program.
Here are some key details about Pressable hosting service:
- Web server: Nginx
- Database: MariaDB
- PHP version: 8.0, 8.1, 8.2
- PHP memory limit: 512 MB
— 2. Kinsta
Looking for a WordPress hosting powered by Google Cloud? Kinsta is a great option, then. Kinsta adopts Google Cloud for its main hosting infrastructure. Also, it adopts Cloudflare — the most popular CDN service — for its CDN and caching features.
Same as Pressable above, the default hosting configuration of Kinsta is also more than enough to run WooCommerce and other e-commerce plugins — including Easy Digital Downloads. Kinsta offers 256 MB of default PHP memory limit. The main advantage of Kinsta is that is has a very intuitive, streamlined custom-built control panel designed to make it easy for you to control the features.
Kinsta is a perfect option if you have a big concern on site speed. When testing the page speed score of a website hosted on Kinsta using PageSpeed Insight, chances are you will get minimum score of 90.
Here are some key details about Kinsta:
- Web server: Nginx
- Database: MariaDB
- PHP version: 8.0, 8.1, 8.2
- PHP memory limit: 256 MB
Nexcess is also a great WordPress hosting to run a WooCommerce-powered online store thanks to its excellent PHP configuration. The service offers a default PHP memory limit of 2 GB, with more PHP workers. The lowest plan even comes with 10 PHP workers. Nexcess comes with email hosting service in case it matters to you. Other standard features like CDN, free SSL, and scheduled backups are available. The CDN of Nexcess itself is powered by Cloudflare.
Here are some key details about Nexcess:
- Web server: Apache
- Database: MariaDB
- PHP version: 5.6, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2
- PHP memory limit: 2 GB
— 4. Rocket.net
Same as Pressidium above, the hosting service offered by Rocket.net also designed exclusively for WordPress. It has great server configuration to run WooCommerce as well as other WooCommerce Builder you plan to use. Whether it is Divi, Elementor, or even JetWooBuilder. Rocket.net offers the default PHP memory limit of 1 GB. Your WooCommerce will run on PHP 8.
CDN is one of the built-in features offered by Rocket.net. This feature is powered by Cloudflare Enterprise. You can control it, as well as other features, via the custom-built control panel which has an intuitive interface. The control panel also comes with built-in analytics feature to monitor the use of CDN as well as other resources.
Here are some details offered by Rocket.net hosting service:
- Web server: Apache
- Database: MySQL
- PHP version: 5.6, 7.0, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 8.0, 8.1
- PHP memory limit: 1 GB
— 5. Pressidium
Pressidium is another managed WordPress hosting we recommend if you want to build WooCommerce-based e-commerce website. It also comes with a built-in CDN and caching feature just like Kinsta and Pressable. Most importantly, its default PHP configuration is safe to run an e-commerce plugin like WooCommerce. Pressidium offers 256 MB of PHP memory limit, with the maximum file upload is 100 MB. Pressidium also offers a streamlined custom control panel that you can use to control the features.
The hosting environment of Pressidium is built exclusively for WordPress. No other applications can be installed. Also, the resources for your account are isolated so that you can run marketing campaigns without worrying about traffic surge.
Here are some key details about Pressidium:
- Web server: Apache
- Database: MariaDB
- PHP version: 7.4.x and 8.0
- PHP memory limit: 256 MB
— 6. SiteGround
Chances are you already familiar with SiteGround. It is one of the most popular brands in the WordPress ecosystem. SiteGround also offers managed WordPress hosting just like the three hosting services mentioned above. Same as Kinsta, SiteGround also adopts Google Cloud for its hosting infrastructure.
SiteGround also comes with a built-in CDN feature although it is not enabled by default. You can use SiteGround if you want to run multiple WordPress websites on a single account at a lower price.
Here are some key details about SiteGround:
- Web server: Apache
- Database: MySQL
- PHP version: 7.3, 7,4, 8,0, 8,1, 8,2, 8,4
- PHP memory limit: 768 MB
— 7. DreamPress
If you are looking for a web hosting service that offers a 100% up time guarantee, DreamPress is worth trying. DreamPress itself is a managed WordPress hosting service from DreamHost, another well-known hosting company in the WordPress hosting company.
The DreamPress hosting service is designed to run a single website only. You can’t add more WordPress websites to your account, no matter the plan you subscribed to. DreamPress is especially a great option if you want to use Jetpack as your CDN service as the DreamPress service is integrated with Jetpack.
Here are some key details about DreamPress:
- Web server: Nginx
- Database: MySQL
- PHP version: 8.0, 8,1, 8,2
- PHP memory limit: 256 MB
— 8. Cloudways
Cloudways offers managed hosting services for two popular PHP-based e-commerce applications: Magento and WooCommerce. It is a better suited option if you want to run multiple websites on a single account as it allows you to install unlimited applications on a single account. In Cloudways, you can select a cloud platform you like. When subscribing to a certain plan, you will be asked to use the following cloud platforms for your hosting account:
- DigitalOcean (the owner of Cloudways)
- Vultr
- Linode
- AWS
- Google Cloud
Same as other services above, Cloudways also offers CDN (available as an add-on), cache, staging environment, and scheduled backups. Cloudways is also a great option for WooCommerce as its PHP configuration meets the minimum requirement demanded by WooCommerce.
Here are some key details about Cloudways:
- Web server: Nginx
- Database: MySQL
- PHP version: 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2
- PHP memory limit: 256 MB
You can use the following promotion code to get 10% discount for three months on Cloudways (first three invoices). Code: WPBDEAL
The Bottom Line
WooCommerce is the best plugin to create an e-commerce website in WordPress. You can use it to sell whether tangible products or intangible products. A crucial thing to note if you want to run a WooCommerce-powered e-commerce website is that your hosting service doesn’t disable the send_mail function on its PHP configuration as WooCommerce needs it to send emails related to transactions such as confirmations, notifications, and so on. You need to make sure it especially if you use a cheap shared hosting service.
Another PHP configuration you need to notice is the memory limit. The minimum PHP memory limit — according to the WooCommerce official system requirements page — is 256 MB. You can manually increase the PHP memory limit by adding the following line to the wp-config.php file:
define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M' );
You can tailor the maximum PHP memory limit according to your need by replacing the number on the line above. However, your web hosting service might have a maximum number of PHP memory limit you can set to. So, be careful about it.
All hosting services listed above have PHP memory limit of at least 256 MB. Also, none of them disable the send_mail function on their PHP configuration. Simply put, they can run WooCommerce without any issue.