Shared hosting vs your own server: Why it’s time to take control of your WordPress hosting
Owning your hosting environment isn’t just for enterprise anymore. It’s fast, affordable, scalable and the difference between mediocre and mission-ready.
Shared hosting might be holding you back
For many businesses, shared hosting is the default choice, cheap, easy to set up, and “good enough” for basic websites. But if you’re running a serious WordPress site, especially one built with tools like Elementor, WooCommerce, or Gravity Forms, shared hosting can cause more problems than it solves.
From speed issues to unexplained downtime and plugin conflicts, we’ve seen it all. And at WPCTO, we now recommend own hosting environments for nearly all of our clients, because the benefits far outweigh the cost.
| Feature | Shared Hosting | Own Hosting (WPCTO-recommended) |
|---|---|---|
| Server Resources | Shared with 100s of sites | Dedicated / resource-isolated |
| Speed & Performance | Often throttled | Tuned for your stack |
| Downtime Risk | High (other users affect you) | Low (you’re in control) |
| Plugin Compatibility | May block advanced tools | Full compatibility |
| Custom Configuration | Limited / restricted | Full access & control |
| SSL, Caching, PHP Tuning | Often locked behind paywalls | Included & configurable |
| Security | Shared risk | Isolated and hardened |
| Ideal For | Micro-sites, basic blogs | Business-critical, high-traffic, eCommerce |
| Cost | £5–15/month | From £20/month (VPS / managed) |
| Support | Generic | WPCTO-hosted & managed |
Why having your own server just makes sense
✅ 1. Mitigate downtime and uutages
When you’re on shared hosting, your site shares resources (RAM, CPU, bandwidth) with dozens or even hundreds of other sites.
If someone else’s site gets hammered, your site goes down with it.
Owning your own server means:
You control the uptime
You’re not affected by noisy neighbours
You can scale your server to match demand
✅ 2. Improved security and isolation
With your own server:
No unknown websites sharing your environment
Tighter control over access, users, and software
Easier to implement firewalls, malware scanning, and rate-limiting
It’s a no-brainer for agencies, charities, and stores handling donations, personal data, or payment processing.
✅ 3. Performance gains for WordPress
WordPress thrives when it has room to breathe. Own hosting lets us:
Set up object caching
Fine-tune PHP versions and memory limits
Control the cron system
Enable advanced tools like Redis or OPcache
The cost has dropped – significantly
In the past, owning your own server meant racks of kit, a full-time sysadmin, and enterprise-level budgets.
Not anymore.
Thanks to virtual servers, cloud providers, and optimised managed environments, the cost of having your own hosting has plummeted — in many cases to the same price as bloated “premium” shared plans.
You can now have:
A fully managed VPS (Virtual Private Server)
SSD storage and daily backups
Staging environments
Real-time monitoring and support
From as little as £20–£40/month.
Own hosting = built for Your stack
We support and configure hosting environments optimised for your actual tech stack. That means:
Elementor hosting for sites using Elementor (low latency, better memory handling, less bloat)
WooCommerce optimised servers with object caching and payment timeout prevention
Gravity Forms + Stripe hardened environments (especially for SCA and high-value donations)
Security-focused environments for membership sites and charities
WPCTO can help you migrate and manage it all
We already manage hosting for hundreds of WordPress sites across charities, eCommerce brands, and growing businesses.
What we offer:
Hosting audits & performance reviews
Migration planning & zero-downtime cutovers
Optimised server provisioning based on your stack
Ongoing support, monitoring, and updates
Flexible staging, version control and rollback support
Whether you’re moving away from shared hosting or just want a second opinion, we can handle it all.
Final thoughts: Stop settling for “good enough”
If you’re serious about performance, uptime, and a site that grows with you, shared hosting simply doesn’t cut it.
Own hosting isn’t just more reliable – it’s more affordable, more scalable, and more secure. And when combined with our WordPress-specific support, you get peace of mind, faster load times, and fewer fire drills.
Ready to migrate? Want your hosting reviewed?
We’ll audit, advise, migrate, manage and support the entire environment, with no downtime and full optimisation for your site.