5 Best Australian Web Hosts for Your WordPress Site
If you’re based in Australia, you have a lot to boast to about: natural wonders like the Great Barrier Reef, beautiful beaches such as Bondi Beach, and even tourist hotspots like the Sydney Opera House.
But one thing Australia is not known for is high-quality web hosting.
But don’t worry, there are a few Australian web host options that can help you stay connected with the rest of the world and grow your business.
Today we’re going to share with you the benefits of using Australian web hosting services, things to consider when choosing a web host, and some of the best Australian web hosting providers in the market today.
Benefits of Australian Hosting for WordPress Websites
It’s easy to be lured away by non-Australian based web hosting providers these days, even if you’ve always relied on an Australian web hosting company. They entice you with lower costs, promise faster speeds, and claim their customer support is number one.
That said, there are plenty of reasons why you should stick with a legitimate Australian hosting company:
- Websites hosted on local servers are going to have faster load times
- Purchasing a hosting plan using your own currency prevents overpaying for services
- Less downtime for local servers (with overseas servers there’s more time for latency and network connection failure)
- Local web host IPs will help your site rank in local search results
- Never have to worry about opposite time zones
What to Look for in a Web Hosting Company
Before we take a look at the best Australian web hosts to use, let’s check out some core features to look for:
- One-click WordPress installation and easy to use cPanel (or similar)
- WordPress core, theme, and plugin updates
- Routine site backups and easy site restoration
- Built-in speed optimization and caching solutions
- Support availability and quality
- PHP7 support
- Resource limitations
Now that you know what to look for in a high-quality web host, let’s take a look at some of the best in the market for Australian websites.
Best Australian Web Hosts
1. VentraIP
VentraIP is the largest privately owned web host and domain name registrar in Australia. They have a Melbourne-based technical support team that is available for customers 24/7 via phone or eTicket, so you never have to worry about differing time zones or overseas calling.
They offer several different types of hosting – shared, reseller, fully managed, self-managed, and transfer hosting – so no matter how big your business gets, you’re hosting will scale with you.
Pros:
- Free SSL certificates that automatically install in cPanel
- Hourly site backups and easy site restores
- Built-in caching specially designed for WordPress websites
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Server and website security protection, complete with built-in firewalls
- Free website migrations
- Sydney based datacenter
VentraIP has three affordable shared hosting plans, which is perfect for small to medium sized websites. Their cheapest plan starts at $8.95/month AUD.
2. Zuver
Zuver is the sister company of VentraIP. They offer fast, secure, and self-managed WordPress hosting to those that need limited technical support (and are more DIY). In addition, they offer cPanel hosting that you customize based on your needs and budget.
Every Zuver customer has access to 24/7 technical support since their customer service team is also based in Melbourne, Australia. No to mention, they give website owners an easy way to stage and clone their sites, manage WordPress updates from one location, boost SEO efforts with built-in SEO tools, and even get advice on how to secure their site from outside attack with the security advisor.
Pros:
- Basic email hosting services
- Free SSL certificates
- Hourly site backups to a secure cloud server
- Multi-layer security, hardware firewall, and DDoS protection
- Free site migrations
Zuver WordPress hosting plans start at $19/month and customizable cPanel hosting starts as low as $4/month.
3. WP Hosting
WP Hosting provides rock solid hosting for your WordPress website. They have Australian data centers and networks to combat latency, and are certified WordPress experts, unlike many web hosting companies. Their customer support is available via live chat, email, and ticket (plus via phone for more expensive hosting plans).
In addition, WP Hosting is compatible with high-quality CDN services like CloudFlare and MaxCDN, so even if you have an international brand, your can deliver site content instantly to users.
Pros:
- 24/7 monitoring of network infrastructure and servers
- Free site migrations with zero downtime
- Always on DDoS protection and malware scanning
- Nightly file and database backups with one-click restoration
- No-click WordPress install, their bots do all the work for you
- High performance hosting for WooCommerce stores
- PHP7 support
WordPress hosting plans at WP Hosting start at $19/month.
4. Digital Pacific
Digital Pacific is an Australian web host that specializes in WordPress hosting. Hosting plans come with the easy to use cPanel that guides you through the WordPress installation process using the one-click software installer Softaculous.
You’ll be alerted whenever your WordPress site needs updating, right in the hosting dashboard, so you never miss a thing. And best of all, you’ll never have to worry about your carbon footprint since Digital Pacific offers green hosting to all its customers.
Pros:
- Email hosting
- Australian servers
- Daily site backups
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Unlimited FTP access
- 24/7 phone and email support
- Free shared hosting setup
- No contracts
Digital Pacific WordPress hosting plans start as low as $6.90/month.
5. WP Engine
WP Engine is a well-known global web hosting brand that offers robust hosting plans for websites of all sizes. The great thing is, however, that WP Engine lets you choose the data center you want your website’s files stored on, and Sydney Australia happens to be one of the options.
On top of that, customers using WP Engine have access to 35+ StudioPress themes, free global CDN services and automated SSL certificates, PHP7.3, and built-in page performance tools.
Pros:
- 24/7 live chat support that answers within minutes
- WordPress multisite support
- Automated site migrations
- Staging and clone sites (complete with billing transfer)
- Managed security measures
- Daily offsite backups
- Geo IP support for showing content to users in a certain location
The cheapest hosting plan WP Engine offers start at $35/month and comes with a 60-day risk free trial.
And there you have it! 5 of the best Australian web hosts in the market to help your Australian based business stay up and running for site visitors at all times.
For help with designing your WordPress site after signing up with the Australian web host of your choice, get in touch with us here at Keen to Design. Offering services related to web and graphic design, social media management, and marketing, we can help you build a strong online presence in no time.
