Are you starting your first WordPress website and need a cheap domain name and hosting with fast, reliable servers and great customer support? Namecheap is the best option out there as far as these features go.
Picking the best host for your first website might seem very overwhelming because of how many options there are.
That’s why I’ve looked around on Reddit, read various reviews, and compiled a list of the best web hosting providers for WordPress.
One of the hosts on that list is Namecheap. There are many reasons to go with Namecheap especially if you’re just starting and creating your first or second website.
TL;DR
In short, Namecheap is best for freelancers, beginners, and WordPress bloggers starting their first or second websites. It offers the best prices for shared hosting plans compared to other providers, 24/7 customer support via live chat, a free SSL certificate, free domain protection & domain name with every plan, easy WordPress installation, and a simple-to-use interface for beginners.
PROS:
Cheap pricing compared to other hosting providers (cheapest plan starts at $1.98/month and renews at $4.48/month after 1 year)
Free domain name with every hosting plan
How-to YouTube videos about how to set up various Namecheap features for your website
30-day money-back guarantee
Frequent discounts and promotions
Easy WordPress setup
99.99% server uptime
24/7 customer support via live chat
Easy-to-use interface
Free CDN (content delivery network)
Free website migration
Free domain protection
Free domain email
Great security & free SSL certificate
CONS:
❌ Most data centers only in the US and the UK
❌ High renewal prices
❌ No auto backups for the cheapest shared hosting plan
❌ No support via phone
Who is Namecheap suited for?
Namecheap is best for WordPress bloggers and beginners starting their first or second website. It offers a fast WordPress setup, reliable servers, and 24/7 live support that makes it easy to get going with your first website without having to know all the technical details.
Their 30-day money-back guarantee ensures that you get time to test out all of its features and if you’re not happy with what Namecheap has to offer you can get your money back within 30 days.
However, if you’re not a beginner and your website requires dedicated resources then you might want to look elsewhere.
Namecheap Reddit review?
Reddit is no doubt the best place to find reviews about everything.
When trying to pick a host for my website is looked all around Reddit and browsed various subreddits to find which web hosting is the best.
Here’s what I found about Namecheap on Reddit:
Stellar vs. Stellar Plus vs. Stellar Business Shred hosting plans
Here’s an overview of Namecheaps shared hosting plans and their best features:
Stellar is the cheapest plan. It costs $1.98/month and renews at $4.48/month. This plan includes a free domain name, the ability to host up to 3 websites, and 20 GB of SSD storage. if you’re a beginner looking to host your first WordPress website this plan is for you.
If you choose to pay every 2 years then the Stellar plan will cost $1.58/month for the first 2 years and renew at the same rate.
Stellar Plus is an upgrade to the Stellar plan. It costs $2.98/month and renews at $6.68/month after the first year. In addition to all of the Stellar features, it includes unmetered SSD storage, the ability to host unlimited websites, and auto website backups.
If you choose to pay every 2 years instead of 1 then the Stellar Plus plan will cost $2.28/month for the first 2 years and renew at the same rate.
Stellar Business is best for small businesses. It costs $4.98/month and renews at $9.48/month after the first year. This plan includes 50 GB of SSD storage, unlimited websites, auto backups, and cloud storage.
If you choose to pay every 2 years then the Stellar Business plan will cost $4.48/month for the first 2 years and renew at the same rate.
If you’re just starting out with your first website I would recommend going with the cheapest Stellar plan. In the future, if your website starts demanding more resources you can always upgrade to a more expensive plan with more features.
Namecheap top features
Here are the best features that make Namecheap stand out among other hosting providers:
1. Fast 24/7 live support
I had to chat with Namecheap’s support a few times and each time the response time was nearly instantaneous. Their support team replied within 5 seconds of me sending a message and helped me fix my issue with no trouble. I found their 27/7 live chat support to be insightful and eager to help.
2. Cheapest Hosting prices
Namecheap offers one of the lowest shared hosting prices compared to other hosting providers on the market. Its cheapest plan starts at $1.58/month for the first 2 years which is the lowest I’ve seen when comparing the best hosting providers for WordPress.
3. Fastest server speed for WordPress hosting
Namecheap guarantees a 99.9% uptime for their shared hosting and WordPress hosting plans. Their servers are fast and reliable to ensure the best experience even for websites with extremely high traffic.
4. Easy WordPress setup With EasyWP
Namecheap has a service called EasyWP designed specifically for WordPress bloggers. EasyWP is essentially just Namecheap’s shared hosting but tuned for WordPress. It offers WordPress installation in under 90 seconds, easy plan scalability as your blog’s visitors grow and fast server speeds with a 99,9% uptime guarantee.
5. Free website migration
If you already have a website with a different host, Namecheap offers free website migration to transfer your website over to them free of charge. In order to migrate your website you’ll have to provide your current hosting account credentials to Namecheap’s support so they can directly perform the migration.
Other hosting providers such as Hostinger offer website migration by requiring your WordPress login credentials. If you’re tech-savvy you can also perform the migration yourself.
Namecheap guarantees that they’ll keep your account credentials safe. However, just to be sure your accounts are secure, you can always change your other hosting or WordPress account’s password after the site migration process is complete.
6. Free domain privacy
Some hosting providers such as Bluehost don’t offer domain privacy for free. But with Namecheap, you get free domain protection with every shared hosting plan for free. Domain protection hides your personal information from public databases that anyone can access.
7. User-Friendly interface
Namecheap has a user-friendly interface for managing domains, hosting, and other services. Unlike some other hosting providers, they make it easy to check your domain and hosting renewal dates and see the products that you’ve purchased all in one place.
Cons Of Namecheap?
Here are Namecheaps most notable drawbacks:
1. No phone support
Namecheap has amazing customer support via live chat but there’s no phone support.
Having no phone support might mean that more complicated issues with your website will be harder to resolve because most often chatting for a long period is slower than talking on the phone.
2. Few Server Locations
Namecheap’s data centers are mainly located in the U.S. and U.K. Namechap has an additional datacenter in Amsterdam but you’ll have to pay an extra $1/month for your website to be able to use the U.K’s or Amsterdam’s data centers.
This is not a problem if your website’s audience mainly comes from the U.S. or the U.K. but it might cause slightly higher delay if your traffic is from elsewhere.
Namecheap recommends choosing a server location which is closer to your potential audience. So, if you are going to host a website for European audience, the UK-based or European datacenter would be better.
What's the best hosting for WordPress
It’s hard to choose the best hosting provider for your website because of how many different options there are. I browsed Reddit and looked at a list of key criteria spanning from user experience, renewal rates, hidden fees, free benefits, server speed, and customer reviews, and put together a list of the best hosting providers for WordPress.
Here’s a quick overview of my top pics for the best WordPress hosting:
namecheap Vs. Bluehost
When it comes to WordPress hosting the main difference between Namecheap and Bluehost is price. Bluehost is a lot more expensive while offering the same amount of features as Namecheap. With Bluehost you have to pay for domain protection and an SSL certificate separately, their renewal rates are higher and there is no option to get a prolonged hosting plan to reduce the cost.
If you’re looking for affordable hosting Namecheap is the better choice.
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Is Namecheap right for you?
All in all, Namecheap is the best hosting solution for freelancers, beginners, and WordPress bloggers. It offers the cheapest hosting prices for shared hosting plans on the market, 24/7 customer support via live chat, free domain protections, a free SSL certificate as well as a free domain name with every plan, easy WordPress installation, and a simple user interface for beginners.
In the end, the critical factor is you.
When it comes to price, customer support and server speeds every hosting platform is slightly different. Namecheap has the best pricing and a great feature set for most people looking to host their first or second website.
So pick the best one for you and happy hosting!