How to Choose the Best Magento 2 Hosting Provider
A good Magento hosting solution reduces the risk of performance issues. There are fewer security issues and downtime.
Your site should stay fast even on high-traffic events such as Black Friday.
Un-optimized Magento hosting can lead to losses in revenue and cause nerves with time-consuming fixings of server issues. You can instead focus on growing your business with a good Magento 2 Hosting Provider.
In short words, a Magento 2 hosting provider is essential for a successful ecommerce business.
In this article, we guide you on how to find the best Magento 2 hosting provider.
How to Find the Right Magento 2 Hosting Provider
1. Magento 2 Hosting Requirements
Ensure that the hosting company offers the basic Magento 2 hosting requirements.
Operating System
Magento 2 supports Linux distributions (Linux x86-64). These OS can be:
- RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
- Ubuntu
- Debian
Magento is not supported on Microsoft Windows and macOS.
Web Servers
- Apache 2.4
- NGINX 1.x (Recommended. Check out Apache vs. NGINX)
Database
- MySQL 5.7, 8.0
- MariaDB 10.4
Memory Requirements
-
2GB RAM
-
PHP Version
-
PHP 7.4
SSL Requirements
- A security certificate is required for HTTPS. For a free SSL certificate, you can use Let's encrypt.
Cache Support
- Redis 5.0, 6.0
- Vanish 6.x
Access to PHP OPcache and PHP settings (like memory_limit) is also important. You have to add the right PHP extensions. Check for technologies such as Elasticsearch 7.6+ (for Magento 2.4+) and RabbitMQ 3.8
Ensure that the hosting provider has the right technology stack for Magento. Without the correct stack, your site may crash or become unresponsive.
2. Magento Specific Hosting
Magento is a robust and open-source ecommerce platform. It offers a lot of flexibility & customizing options for Magento developers. However, it is also a complex platform that requires technical expertise.
Opt for a hosting provider that works specifically with the Magento application. Get an expert support team that has Magento code-level knowledge.
The team should know the ins and outs of the Magento 2 application.
You should get fast solutions to issues. Check if the hosting provider has years of experience in Magento 2 hosting.
A specialized Magento hosting provider will offer:
- A server that meets the Magento 2 system requirements
- Magento server configuration
- An optimized Magento tech stack
- Magento application knowledge
3. Meets your Store Requirements
Analyze your business needs before choosing a hosting provider. That’s how you can ensure that your business demands are aptly met.
Examine these criteria for your online store:
- Traffic
- Business size
- Target regions
4. Support
Good support from your hosting provider involves many aspects. You should get prompt responses and Magento-level support.
Pick a hosting provider that offers 24/7 technical support. You can connect to them via live chat, email, or a ticketing system.
Look for support that offers quick response times. You must check the quality of technical support.
5. Performance & Uptime
A slow website affects user experience and consumer loyalty. The bounce rate increases to 90% when the page loading speed is delayed from 1 to 5 seconds.
In a competitive ecommerce market, you must have a fast-loading site.
The site should be able to cope with increasing visitor numbers. The hosting provider should conduct performance tuning and implement many fixes. As a result, your site can handle sudden peaks in traffic.
The performance of your Magento 2 store depends on many factors:
- Lightweight components
- Optimized software (PHP, MySQL, NGINX, etc.)
- Redis and Varnish Cache
- Server location (data centers)
- Latest hardware innovations
- Global CDN
Even milliseconds of loading time affect your conversion rates. A Deloitte study proves that 0.1% page speed improvement can led to an 8% increase in conversions.
Ensure that your hosting provider uses the latest technology. They should optimize your server for high performance.
6. Security
Magento security comes with many workloads. You have to install security patches, run scans, enable 2FA, and so on.
Since Magento is open-source, anyone can access the source code. Hackers can identify security loops. It makes it more prone to malicious attacks. A weak site can lead to data breaches.
A suitable hosting provider will prioritize Magento security. They will take care of server-side security tasks.
Some of the standard Magento security features include:
- Web Application Firewall
- DDoS protection
- SSL Certificate
- PCI Compliance
- Server monitoring
- Automated regular backups
Magento experts should look for security gaps and potential threats proactively.
7. Scalable Infrastructure
A provider must offer a flexible infrastructure. It is essential when you grow your ecommerce business.
The server should handle sudden traffic surges. You can scale globally in your target countries.
Effective scaling allows you to provision resources as per your needs. You should be able to upscale and downscale resources quickly.
Without the proper hosting server, Magento can take up a lot of resources. Opt for a Magento host that offers smooth scaling. The host should have in-depth knowledge of the infrastructure.
Check if your hosting provider has AutoScaling plans. It allows automatic scaling of web hosting servers. You get high performance at a lower cost.
8. Managed Services
Managed Magento hosting helps you save time and effort. The hosting provider will handle the server-side maintenance. They will install and configure the server and take care of all the backend tasks.
Some of the features of managed Magento hosting include:
- Server setup for Magento
- Server-side installations & patches
- Managed backups
- Migration services
- Development Environment
- 24/7 Expert Support
- Security
- Monitoring
Ideally, these services come with packaged benefits and support. You may get add ons & Magento specific tools such as:
- Logging management
- Web Application Firewall
- Code Deploy
9. Hosting Costs
The pricing of Magento hosting depends on your business needs. You have to consider the type of server (like dedicated servers, cloud hosting, etc.), store size, and so on.
Make sure you’re getting good value from the hosting provider. Inexpensive hosting can lead to more losses in the long run. With limited services, you may end up looking for external support.
High-end pricing will offer too many services. You may not need them if you have an SMB. Those are useful only for large-scale businesses.
To choose the correct pricing plans, match the hosting services with your store requirements.
Conclusion
Many components have to come together for a successful Magento 2 hosting. This article has covered all the essential elements that a Magento 2 hosting provider should offer.
Go for well-rounded Magento hosting plans that offer all the necessary services you need.
We recommend asking a possible provider about your Magento 2 hosting requirements. High-end providers usually provide a free test of their service.
The right hosting provider will assist you in every step.
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