When considering SiteGround for your e-Commerce functions over the internet, you first need to have an understanding of what WooCommerce is and how it applies to your website. I have carefully analyzed the prospectus regarding SiteGround e-Commerce to write this review.
In my analysis, I have included:
- What WooCommerce is
- How SiteGround Works with WooCommerce
- Tutorial/How it Works
- SiteGround WooCommerce Pros and Cons
- SiteGround WordPress Hosting Vs. WooCommerce Hosting
- SiteGround WooCommerce Alternatives
Table of Contents
What is WooCommerce?
So what is WooCommerce? WooCommerce is a typical e-Commerce plugin for WordPress that allows you to conduct trade of products and or services efficiently within your website. WooCommerce is an open-source platform that is always improving and is designed for small businesses to large online enterprises.
If you are interested in creating an online storefront that will handle all the stages of your retail transactions, then you will find that many e-Commerce platforms offer dedicated services to suit all the functionalities for your site. Top e-Commerce hosts such as Spotify charge clients to run these e-Commerce plugins.
Nonetheless, you will find that WooCommerce is a free open-source plugin developed by WordPress to enable you to handle the financial aspect of your online business with no hassle. With a WordPress hosted website, you will be able to eliminate the relative fees as well as the third-party influences over your site and online business.
WooCommerce is the best plugin for your e-Commerce needs especially since the plugin integrates seamlessly with your existing WordPress site and available themes. Once added, it will be added to your site’s dashboard with information regarding the statistics and reporting of your site. You will be able to manage e-commerce tasks easily such that you can add products and/or services, as well as handle the related sales.
In this review, I will be focusing on how the SiteGround web hosting platform applies WooCommerce to their WordPress hosted sites to suit your online business needs.
SiteGround and WooCommerce
SiteGround enables you to easily set up an online store for your online business in very easy steps. SiteGround introduced WooCommerce to handle the financial aspects of your business so that you may focus on building your business.
In fact, there are hundreds of hosting plans and providers that can provide the same service. SiteGround offers a dedicated WooCommerce platform that is able to not only set up your store but also manage the store elements. Nonetheless, you will have to think about which WooCommerce hosting plan you are subscribing to as each of the hosting plans has different feature availability and functionality. The choice of hosting plan that you make should be dependent on the type of business and the online target market.
In any case. WooCommerce hosting is much better than generic hosting as you will be able to handle basic site setups, maintenance and security on your behalf. WooCommerce will typically give you access to the following features:
- You will get an automated WordPress as well WooCommerce setups such that you can get right to building your online store
- You will also get daily backups of WooCommerce site files and data such that it is always safe
- You will get access to additional security features to protect your user information from any intruders or users with malicious intent
- You will also get access to expert customer support who are well – versed in WooCommerce such that your WooCommerce problems can be fixed with ease
Again, it is important to pay close attention to the web hosting provider for your WooCommerce hosting so as to make sure that all relative features related to a good hosting are available for your online business. You can sell a variety of products using SiteGround’s WooCommerce such as digital products, physical products, services, bookings, subscriptions, and customizations.
Tutorial/how it works
You can get your online store started and running in just five easy steps:
- Get a domain name and web hosting
- Install WordPress
- Install WooCommerce Plugin
- Add your first online product
- Choose a theme for your online store
Here is a video tutorial on how to install Woocommerce on Siteground:
Get a Domain Name and Web Hosting
First off, to get a WooCommerce hosting platform, you need to have a valid Domain Name and a preferred Web hosting platform. There are typically hundreds of web hosting platforms that facilitate the seamless running of WordPress sites as well as a valid WooCommerce.
SiteGround has you covered on this as it not only can host your WordPress site, but you can also be able to register your Domain Name with the web hosting platform. Further, SiteGround has user-friendly prices that allow you to be able to handle your WordPress hosting needs.
To get started, sign up with SiteGround by clicking the ‘Sign Up’ button on SiteGround’s homepage. You will be directed to a relatively easy process of registration where you will be required to get a valid account and even get a Domain name if you do not have an already existing domain.
The domain name in which you choose should be catchy and be able to reflect the relative purpose of your website. This will help your customers to easily relate to the content on your website as well as the business prospectus of your site. After creating the Domain name and paying for the hosting fee required to host your website, you can then proceed to get your WordPress started.
Install WordPress
As I had mentioned earlier, WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that enables you to set up an online store upfront. As such, you must have WordPress installed in your account in order to be able to effectively operate your WooCommerce hosting. SiteGround has an easy WordPress setup that works with any hosting plan that you have chosen.
To install WordPress on SiteGround, you simply have to go to SiteGround’s panel and find the ‘Ínstall WordPress’ button. Here, you will find all the relevant setup details carefully planned such that you will install WordPress with minimal hassle.
Install WooCommerce Plugin
You can only install the WooCommerce plugin under your installed WordPress hosted site. After installing WordPress, navigate to the WordPress dashboard, and let all the fun begin. Under the plugins tab, you should be able to find the WooCommerce plugin. If not, you can search the word ‘WooCommerce’ and you will find the plugin. Click on ‘WooCommerce’ and then the Ínstall Now’ button.
After some seconds, the ‘Install Now’ button will change to the ‘Activate’ button which will then re-direct you into the setup wizard. The setup wizard does everything for you and all you have to do is confirm the details of the setup as well as the relative terms and conditions for using the plugin.
Once the setup is complete, click on the ‘Let’s Go’ button to start creating the most essential store pages. These pages could include such things as Shop, Cart, Checkout, and My Account. With these items in play, you can be able to set up the locale of your business for easy accessibility by your customers.
Set up your preferred payment methods such that you can be to access the revenue from your site as well as make the relevant payments for services rendered to your website.
Add Your First Product
Now that the setup is done, you need to add some products to your database to get your customers active. Adding a product on your dashboard is a relatively easy process. Go to the dashboard and then click on ‘Products/Add Product.’ You will be re-directed to a Classic WordPress content editing screen where you will able to edit the relevant details of your store products.
Select a Theme for Your Store
Finally, select a suitable theme for your online store such that it will be attractive to your customers as well as sell your business brand. SiteGround’s WooCommerce also has its own themes. These themes are different from the rudimentary WordPress themes applicable on your site.
Even so, the WooCommerce themes are applicable only to your online store and not to your entire WordPress hosted site. Setting up and changing your website theme would take up less than a couple of minutes, and you will be all set to run your online business effectively.
SiteGround WooCommerce Pros and Cons
WooCommerce is not all sunshine; there are various other inconveniences associated with the WooCommerce platform that makes it less than ideal for your online store. I have reviewed some of the benefits and disadvantages of WooCommerce as indicated in the table below:
Pros | Cons |
It is completely free and open-source. Therefore, this means that any individual can be able to alter WooCommerce code to suit their site needsWooCommerce is 100% customizable. Even with the availability of thousands of themes, you can still be able to customize every single detail of your preferred themeIn addition, SiteGround WooCommerce has very great flexibility that enables it to adapt to any type of online store irrespective of the market nicheBesides, SiteGround’s WooCommerce has advanced security features that are helpful in keeping your account secure. The security is regularly updated to make sure that you have the most recent security features in your websiteFurthermore, WooCommerce has a very large community that could help you solve any WooCommerce related hosting problems. There are abundant articles, documentation and online platforms from which you can access informationFinally, if you decide to have a managed WooCommerce hosting on your site, SiteGround has user-friendly prices, starting at only $6.99 per month. | You will have to pay for some of the WooCommerce extensions and plugins that are offered by third partiesWooCommerce does not offer SSL certificates or any backup tools, which means that you will have to add these feature plugins manuallySlow downloading speeds with multiple plugins. SiteGround’s WooCommerce can accommodate countless plugins in your hosted website. However, many people fail to realize that many plugins could significantly slow down your site’s loading speeds and timesWooCommerce has a demanding learning curve, especially for novice users who have not used WordPress sites beforeWooCommerce demands high maintenance and attention. You will have to manage your own web hosting, your site security, while still managing the aspects of your e-Commerce store. |
Note: Even though WooCommerce is free and open-source, there are some particular extensions that require punctual payment or even a regular payment in monthly fees. This is not to say that you cannot fully customize WooCommerce to have all the extensions and applicable plugins that you may need for your WordPress hosted site under SiteGround hosting.
Having analyzed the relative benefits and disadvantages of using SiteGround WooCommerce, I find that WooCommerce is still far much ahead of any web hosting for online stores. In fact, all the disadvantages that I have come across can easily be resolved under an ideal site management system such that your site will work seamlessly and efficiently to achieve your site goals.
SiteGround WordPress Hosting Vs. WooCommerce Hosting
WordPress hosting and WooCommerce hosting can confuse you and especially if you are not familiar with any of the web hosting providers. First off, you have to understand that WooCommerce hosting is an advanced WordPress hosting plugin that is specifically designed to control and manage online stores.
This is to say that WordPress Hosting is different from WooCommerce hosting in that, WordPress hosting services are geared towards building and managing your overall website under a specified hosting provider. WooCommerce hosting on the other hand represents the financial aspect of your website, with regards to the sale and management of your online products and/or services.
SiteGround WooCommerce Alternatives
BlueHost Vs. SiteGround for WooCommerce
Features, Performance, & Ease of Use
BlueHost is a great web hosting provider that supports WordPress hosting including the WooCommerce plugin. BlueHost offers great packaging features to all users, which makes them ideal for your WooCommerce hosting plans. After valiant research, I have created a list of all the features that BlueHost supports, regardless of the hosting plan chosen for your hosted website:
- 1 free domain – BlueHost will give you a free domain for your website such that you can be able to save up on the cost of registering the domain under another domain registrar
- Unlimited bandwidth – With BlueHost, you will have unlimited bandwidth for your WooCommerce platform. This means that you will not have to worry about additional traffic in your website
- Auto-Install – In addition, BlueHost saves you time by providing an automatic install for your WooCommerce platform
- Dedicated IP address – BlueHost offers its clients with a dedicated IP address, a feature rarely found in any of the cheaper hosting plans on other WooCommerce hosting providers
- Free SSL – BlueHost adds an extra layer of security to your WooCommerce by offering free SSL certificates that protect your site. WooCommerce in itself does not offer SSL certificates or any backup tools to supplement the features required for your hosting needs
- Marketing credits offered – With BlueHost, you can be able to get up to $100 worth of marketing credits
- Free setup call – among all their services, BlueHost has personalized customer experience where they give you one free call just to help you get started with your WooCommerce platform
- Storefront theme installed – BlueHost also installs your online storefront theme for you and helps you save on time
Pricing & Value for Money
BlueHost has relatively good pricing for their WooCommerce hosting plans. Their rates start at $6.95 per month and with a 30 – day moneyback guarantee. Under this plan, you will be able to get access to up to 100GB storage space as well as an unmetered bandwidth.
To sweeten the cake, BlueHost will also offer a free domain and an automatic WooCommerce installation just for you.
Even so, SiteGround’s WooCommerce hosting starts at a cheap price of $3.45 per month for their starter plan and stretching all the way to $11.95 per month for the higher packages. Therefore, this means that SiteGround is much cheaper and better at their WooCommerce hosting packages, considering that SiteGround offers relatively the same features.
Pros and Cons (for both SiteGround and BlueHost)
While SiteGround has cheaper prices for their WooCommerce hosting, they only offer a few basic features for hosting. They do not even offer SSL certificates or backup tools for your WooCommerce at their basic plans.
Nonetheless, BlueHost does also not also offer cheaper prices that are friendly to beginner websites or online store owners. Even though they have a 30 – day moneyback guarantee, it is almost impossible to establish the analytics of your business and make the best decision within that limited amount of time.
With SiteGround, you can be able to test the WooCommerce hosting platform at minimum costs and still get the 30 – day moneyback guarantee.
SiteGround Support Vs BlueHost Support
With respect to the customer support offered by either BlueHost or SiteGround, I would argue that BlueHost beats SiteGround’s support by a milestone. SiteGround has relatively weaker support systems with regards to WooCommerce hosting especially with the response time taken.
However, BlueHost has very responsive customer support systems specifically geared to help you achieve your hosting needs. BlueHost has a specialized WooCommerce support team that have expert knowledge regarding WooCommerce systems. More so, BlueHost even gives you a free setup call that helps you get started with your WooCommerce platform successfully. A few extra bucks for their WooCommerce hosting is definitely worth it.
Is SiteGround or BlueHost better for a small business?
I would argue that SiteGround is the best web hosting for small businesses as it offers relatively small prices for their WooCommerce hosting. BlueHost on the other hand is a bit pricier but will give you a good start with your hosting. SiteGround helps you get the basic features that you need to help you get started with your business and at relatively cheaper prices.
Are SiteGround and BlueHost the best hosting providers?
SiteGround and BlueHost could be considered among the best WooCommerce hosting providers for a variety of reasons. They both have spectacular hosting features that are ideal for both novice and expert users looking to explore the online market by establishing online storefronts for their products.
Which has Better WordPress Integration? Is SiteGround or BlueHost better for my WordPress site?
It is difficult to exactly say which one of the web hosting platforms (either BlueHost or SiteGround) is the best for your WordPress site. This is because both platforms have seamless integration of the WooCommerce plugin into your WordPress hosted site. In fact, both platforms have been recommended by WordPress for hosting their sites.
Nonetheless, I would still argue that BlueHost has paid much closer attention to the user-specific elements, making it easier to access and use WooCommerce features. If you choose BlueHost, you will the best customer attention to help you with using your platform. That is not to say that you will not be a preview to such features when using the SiteGround WooCommerce hosting platform.
To get started with BlueHost, Click here to sign up
SiteGround Vs. GoDaddy for Woocommerce
Features, Performance, & Ease of Use
GoDaddy offers WooCommerce hosting under their WordPress hosted subscriptions to help you get started and running your online store. Essentially GoDaddy will give you access to the following features to help you run your online store:
- Pre-Installed WordPress and WooCommerce – GoDaddy gives you a ready to go WooCommerce platform with simple installation steps. It will automatically set up the WooCommerce platform to get you ready to add and start selling products
- Optimized WordPress Hosting – GoDaddy also offers optimized WordPress services as they offer speed-boosting CDN and PHP 7 on a clustered server to cater for any traffic spikes in your site
- SSL certificates – GoDaddy includes SSL certificates in their WooCommerce hosting to provide extra security for your site, not to mention SEO boost for your WordPress site
- Automatic Software Update – Even further, GoDaddy has an automatic software update for all the features that are provided by the WordPress plugin. This enables free malware removal as well as hack repairs
- Marketing credits – Even further, GoDaddy WooCommerce hosting will enable you to get marketing credits worth up to $550.00 which can be applied on Google, Yelp or Bing
Pros and Cons (for both SiteGround and GoDaddy)
GoDaddy has an all-inclusive platform that makes it easy to access all the relative features that you may need for your WooCommerce hosting purposes. By so doing, it automates most of the features that support your WooCommerce store giving you the freedom to focus on building your business.
In retrospect, you will not be able to access specific features that allow customizing your site. You will find that while the basic provisions of a feature are available, you will not be able to fine-tune this feature unless you acquire another plugin that has your specification.
With SiteGround, it is easier to customize specific features and plugins that are relative to hosting your website. You will also be able to incorporate much larger site traffic and many more products on your online store than with GoDaddy’s WooCommerce hosting.
GoDaddy also includes SSL certificates that are able to add an extra layer of security for your WordPress hosted site. This feature is not available with SiteGround’s basic hosting plans and you will have to subscribe to a managed WooCommerce hosting to get access to automated security and backup tools.
Is SiteGround or GoDaddy better for a small business?
GoDaddy is no doubt the best WooCommerce hosting provider for small businesses as compared to SiteGround. With SiteGround, you are much more flexible with your hosting options as well as the specific nature of your hosting needs. You may even increase your site’s capability with increased site traffic from more visitors on your WordPress hosted site.
With GoDaddy however, you will get access to all the relative features and plugins required to run your WooCommerce platform and thus makes your online store requirements easily accessible. Even so, their prices are much costly as compared to SiteGround WooCommerce hosting, making it less cost-friendly.
All factors considered, you will find that GoDaddy is better suited for small businesses as it can be able to handle small requests quite easily by providing the basic relative features required to successfully run your WooCommerce store.
Are SiteGround and GoDaddy the best hosting providers?
While both SiteGround and GoDaddy differ in the scale and approach to WooCommerce hosting, they are both good hosting providers for WooCommerce. As the two cut through different niches with regards to their target market, the choice of hosting provider lies with you. Only you can determine the best WooCommerce hosting platform for you depending on both your business and hosting needs. Personally, I would go with SiteGround any day.
Which has Better WordPress Integration? Is SiteGround or GoDaddy better for my WordPress site?
With respect to the site responsiveness and integration, SiteGround is no doubt the winner. WordPress has highly recommended SiteGround as an appropriate WordPress hosting provider. With WooCommerce being a WordPress plugin, WooCommerce is better handled by SiteGround than with GoDaddy.
GoDaddy provides WordPress hosting capabilities but is not specialized for hosting WordPress sites as much as SiteGround. It stands to reason that their WooCommerce hosting would not be as specialized too.
My name is Nate Reiner and I am the editor here at 10Webtools. I have 8 years of experience using 50+ different web tools ranging from podcast, web hosting, email marketing, and much more. I previously managed a team offering support services to a large conglomerate that utilized tens of software solutions. I now run this blog full-time and when I am not reviewing or testing software, I enjoy riding bikes and supporting my clients achieve internet success. You can reach me directly at [email protected]