Some WordPress users skip the research phase and go straight to the largest hosts, while others dig further and find niche providers. But there’s one host that rarely gets mentioned in either of those camps, so let’s right that wrong with our A2 Hosting review for WordPress!
When it comes to speed and customer service, A2 Hosting has become somewhat of a household name despite its rather low profile. A word of caution, though: unless you’ve tried the remedy for yourself, it’s advisable to treat statements made by web hosts with a healthy dose of skepticism.
We wanted to check how well A2 Hosting worked with WordPress and if its promised speed and support were any good, so we put it through its paces. The time has come to begin our study of A2 Hosting for WordPress.
Table of Contents
A2 Hosting review for WordPress
If you’re using WordPress, you should have significantly greater expectations of any web host you consider using.
Since WordPress has such a large user base, it’s only fair that hosting companies tailor their services to accommodate its fans.
- WordPress installations: WordPress installations on A2 Hosting are speed- and security-optimized. Because of this, you may stop worrying about your site’s performance and concentrate on expanding it.
- Fast loading sites: A2 Hosting is mostly known for its lightning-fast speeds. Sites that load quickly keep visitors from leaving and are therefore beneficial. To learn more about performance, keep reading.
We have a good beginning to work with! Let’s check out A2Hosting’s assistance options next.
A2Hosting Support options
We were eager to put A2 Hosting’s customer service to the test because of the positive feedback we’d heard about it. We spent some time reviewing their materials before getting started. They have around 40 WordPress-related pages in their wiki, covering topics like Google Analytics and command-line administration.
Next, we tried out one of A2 Hosting’s live chat support agents (they also accept emails and phone calls). Twenty seconds after we clicked the Live Chat button, we were connected with a representative.
The call went swimmingly, and the agent provided some solid recommendations for essential WordPress plugins, just what we needed to evaluate their level of detail orientation.
Pros
① Super Sonic Speed
② Premium Support
③ Reasonable Pricing
Cons
① Domain Not Included
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A2Hosting Performance
One of the most important factors to think about when picking a web server is its raw performance. A2 Hosting’s primary features that boost efficiency are as follows:
- Solid State Drives (SDDs): They include solid-state drives (SSDs) with all of their WordPress packages, making page loads significantly quicker.
- Turbo feature: They promise a significant decrease in load times with their premium (and more costly) plan’s proprietary Turbo feature.
A2 Hosting also provides these extras, along with three data center locations to choose from:
- Singapore
- Michigan
- Amsterdam
However, it’s important to note that every web host says they have the most cutting-edge speeds and technology, so you shouldn’t take their word for it. Let’s do our own sanity checks and see how A2 Hosting stacks up.
Page speed tests Pingdom
In our evaluation, we used a completely vanilla WordPress installation. Then, to acquire more precise data, we evaluated the speed at which our site loaded using four separate Pingdom servers in various countries:
- Melbourne: 1.24 seconds
- New York: 680 ms
- Stockholm:855 ms
- London: 1.201 seconds
After a shaky start in the Australian test, we found our footing. If our server can withstand the load, these are quite good results.
Page speed tests with GTMetrix
We used a basic WordPress site that had not been changed after it was set up. Then, to get more accurate results, we used four different GTMetrix servers in different places to test how quickly our site loaded:
- Sedney: 1.50 seconds
- Texas: 572 ms
- Vancouver: 875 ms
- London: 1.4 seconds
We were hoping after seeing how Texas did on the last test, but these response times really surprised us!
Loading a website in less than 0.572 seconds is a big deal, and it’s even more impressive when the website is busy. When it comes to speed, it’s safe to say that A2 Hosting comes through.
A2 Hosting Pricing
A2 Hosting provides three WordPress-specific shared hosting packages:
- STARTUP (starting at $2.99 per month): While this plan only allows for one website and five databases, it does come with unlimited space and transfer. Users who don’t need access to several sites would benefit greatly from this.
- DRIVE (starting at $5.99 per month) : Supports infinity databases and sites. Unlimited storage and transfer caps available with this one. The ideal choice for power users with several websites.
- TURBO BOOST (starting at $6.99 per month) : The Turbo plan from A2 Hosting includes all the same features as the Swift plan but also includes Turbo technology. Users that care about every millisecond of load time should use this.
You may recall that even without access to their Turbo settings, A2 Hosting’s websites run quickly enough. Since we weren’t able to put that functionality through its paces, we can only advise staying with the Lite or Swift plans for the time being, depending on how many websites you need to host on A2 Hosting.
A2 Hosting pros and cons
Time is running out on this A2 Hosting review for WordPress, so let’s quickly go over the highlights, both positive and negative.
Pros
- Extremely quick accelerations. Simply put, this is one of the quickest web hosts we’ve ever used.
- Complete resources for learning how to use WordPress.
- The support staff is helpful and quick to respond, plus they are experts in WordPress.
- Help in website moving, free of charge.
Cons
- The cost of their basic shared hosting plan is more than that of some competitors. However, there are discounts available if you prepay for multiple months.
A2Hosting Conclusion
The significance of selecting a reliable web host cannot be overstated. After all, poor service and inadequate support from the incorrect one can quickly doom your website.
However, in our A2 Hosting in-depth review for WordPress, we did not discover any of these issues. They are an outstanding option for WordPress users because of their low rates and fast speeds.
No matter how fantastic we think a host is, you should always do your own research depending on your specific needs.
In light of this, if you’re still on the fence about which web host to choose, you might find it helpful to read over some of our earlier evaluations.
