For most small business websites, managed WordPress hosting is the best all-around choice because it gives you strong performance with less technical upkeep.
If your site runs on WordPress (which is common for Orlando service businesses), managed hosting is usually the sweet spot: the host handles routine WordPress updates, server-level caching, malware scanning, and simple restores, so you spend less time chasing weird errors and more time getting calls and form fills; that’s exactly what we build into our WordPress hosting for small businesses.
Shared hosting can still work when your website is truly simple (a few pages, light traffic, no online payments, no membership logins), but it’s also where we see the most slowdowns and surprise outages because many sites share the same server resources and one noisy neighbor can drag everyone down.
Hosting types compared
| Hosting type | Best for | What you like | Watch-outs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared hosting | Basic brochure sites with low demand | Lowest cost, simple setup | Speed and stability can swing, backups and security are often DIY |
| Managed WordPress hosting | Most local lead-gen WordPress sites | Fast WordPress tuning, easier updates, straightforward restores | Costs more than shared, and some plugins or server tweaks may be limited |
| VPS hosting | Growing sites, custom plugins, heavier workloads | More isolated resources, more control | Needs a sysadmin mindset (or a managed VPS plan) to keep it healthy |
| Cloud hosting | Spiky traffic, ecommerce promos, busy seasons | Extra capacity when demand jumps, solid resilience | Pricing can move with usage, setup varies by provider |
| Dedicated server | High-traffic, complex apps, strict control needs | All resources are yours | Usually overkill for small business sites, higher ongoing management |
Florida-specific reality: storm season runs June through November, so you want off-site backups that are easy to restore and a host that can recover fast when something breaks, whether it’s a plugin update or a regional outage; the goal is less downtime, not more server tinkering.
Hosting also shows up in rankings and conversions because slow sites lose impatient visitors, so it’s smart to pick a plan that can deliver fast pages on mobile and handle traffic from ads without choking; if you want the plain-English version of why this matters, read how website speed affects SEO.
Whatever hosting type you choose, run HTTPS from day one (it’s table stakes for trust and modern browsers), and keep an eye on certificate renewals and mixed-content warnings; if you’re curious how this ties into visibility, see does HTTPS affect SEO?.
When you’re comparing hosts, here’s what we tell owners to check before buying:
- Backup frequency and restore process (how many clicks, how fast, and what’s included).
- Security basics: firewall/WAF, malware scanning, and login protection for WordPress admin users.
- Performance basics: server-level caching, modern PHP support, and a CDN option if your audience is spread out.
- Support quality: can you reach a human who can fix WordPress issues, not just reset passwords.
- Staging site option (so updates get tested before they hit your live site).
- Email separation: many businesses do better keeping business email on a dedicated email service instead of bundling it with cheap hosting.
If you’re already planning a rebuild or a platform change, it’s worth picking hosting and site structure together so you don’t pay twice for fixes later; that’s baked into how we handle web design for small businesses.
If you tell us what your site runs on (WordPress, Shopify, Wix, custom), whether you take payments or appointments, and how you get traffic (Google, ads, referrals), we can point you to the hosting type that fits and explain what you’ll gain from switching.
