WordPress hosting plans should read like capacity, not like a fantasy RPG. WPHost publishes four: Starter $9, Pro $30, Scale $65, Business $130 — on PHP 8.4 with MySQL you provision. WordPress is PHP + MySQL. You upload a zip; there is no one-click installer. You update plugins; there are no auto plugin updates. Deploy history is file rollback, not a database backup. No email. No built-in CDN.
Who each plan is for
Starter ($9, 1 site, 2 GB) — one brochure, blog, or waitlist. You are fine updating in wp-admin. Media is resized.
Pro ($30, 3 sites, 10 GB) — you want staging and cron; you run a few properties; production is too expensive to use as a lab.
Scale ($65, 10 sites, 30 GB) — freelancers and small stables who accidentally became IT.
Business ($130, 30 sites, 100 GB, teams) — multiple humans need dashboard access without sharing passwords.
Speed-focused readers: fast WordPress hosting. Store plan curiosity: cheap WooCommerce hosting. Budget ladder: low cost WordPress hosting.
The publish path (same on every plan)
Create PHP site → upload WordPress to web root → provision MySQL → installer on HTTPS preview → backup plugin with database dumps → build → DNS → custom-domain certificate. WooCommerce may be added later without a PCI SLA from us.
Worked example: startup waitlist page
A startup picks Starter because the “site” is one waitlist page and a privacy policy. They do not need Scale theater.
They zip WordPress correctly, install, embed a form, compress the founder photo, and keep plugins few. When investors ask for a second microsite, they move to Pro for the extra site slot and staging before redesigns. Plan changes are capacity, not a spiritual upgrade.
Mixed content after you “go live”
Waitlist pages often pull logos from http:// press kits or old Notion exports. HTTPS is on; images are not. Browsers warn or block. The plan tier is irrelevant — the HTML is wrong.
Before announcing the URL, inspect the page source and network panel for http:// assets. Re-upload media to your HTTPS origin or fix embeds. WPHost does not ship a CDN; if you front with Cloudflare, still serve assets over HTTPS. Search-replace in the database only after a dump — deploy history will not undo a botched SQL replace.
What every plan deliberately skips
Softaculous. Auto plugin updates. Mailboxes. Built-in CDN. Unlimited disk. Concierge content support. Scheduled full-site backups as a host product (use a plugin; treat deploy history as file undo).
When to pick a different product
Need vendor-applied plugin patches → concierge WP host. Need only static HTML → static host. Need email on the invoice → email vendor + any web host. Need commerce SLAs → specialist. Otherwise match site count and disk to the table and ship.
Choosing without a sales call
Count sites you will actually run. Weigh whether staging would have saved last quarter’s outage. Check disk against your media habits. Ignore “400% faster” plan names elsewhere — PHP 8.4 is already on all our tiers.
FAQ
Does a higher plan make WordPress auto-update?
No. Updates remain yours on every tier.
Is Business required for HTTPS?
No. TLS is on all plans. Business is for roster and teams.
Can I put five client sites on Starter to save money?
No. Starter is one site. Buy Scale or Business instead of nested hacks.
Is deploy history included on Starter?
File deploy history is part of the hosting model; it still is not a MySQL backup. Install a real backup plugin on every plan.