Pressable vs WestHost: guide for 2024

Pressable vs WestHost: Final verdict

Looking over Pressable vs. Westhost, both services offer solid web hosting solutions tailored to different needs, but Pressable excels in performance and features, especially for WordPress-focused users.

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  Pressable (Overall grade: 8.4)
  
  provides a stellar experience for WordPress and WooCommerce users with its 100% uptime guarantee, exceptional speed driven by highly performant CPUs, and a global network of data centers. Its intuitive dashboard, free Global CDN, automated scaling, and comprehensive security measures make it an ideal choice for high-traffic websites and agencies. Notable strengths include superior developer tools, proactive security, and reliable customer support, although the pricing may seem steep to some users. Pressable’s lack of shared, cloud, VPS, or dedicated hosting limits its flexibility for broader hosting needs.
• 
  Westhost (Overall grade: 7.8)
  
  offers a variety of hosting types including shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting, making it a versatile option for a wider audience. Its affordable plans, comprehensive email services, and additional features such as unlimited free SSL certificates and a site builder are attractive to budget-conscious users. While it has robust security measures and reliable performance with an emphasis on redundancy, the absence of an explicit uptime guarantee and mixed reviews about customer support response times can be seen as drawbacks. Westhost’s traditional cPanel interface may not appeal to users seeking modern, streamlined management.

Hosting types offered

Both platforms provide a variety of hosting types, each designed to meet the different needs of users.

Although both offer a variety of hosting plans tailored to different needs, in
certain cases, one platform may prove to be more suitable.

Detailed comparison

🏆 Winner: Pressable: Offering unmatched uptime and availability for WordPress websites.

Pressable boasts a 100% uptime guarantee backed by a service-level agreement, which ensures your website stays online without fail. The hosting provider’s geo-redundant automatic failover and redundant data centers further enhance stability and reliability, making Pressable stand out. Furthermore, with 24/7/365 monitoring and proactive alerts, your site is continuously watched to prevent any interruptions.

WestHost, although reliable, doesn’t offer an explicit uptime guarantee. A one-month monitoring period reflected a strong performance, yet the lack of an explicit uptime commitment might be a drawback. The hosting service does focus on redundancy and security, yet the overall performance metrics rated average, with a notable load time of 5.2 seconds rated C (75%) by GTmetrix.

🏆 Winner
Pressable: Optimized for blazing-fast WordPress performance, exceptional uptime, and scalability.

Both Pressable and Westhost offer solid hosting solutions with unique strengths, but Pressable pulls ahead when it comes to performance and features. Pressable’s lightning-fast speed is driven by highly performant CPUs and a global network of 28+ data centers. Their CDN is included for free, enhancing site load times further. Pressable also excels in handling traffic spikes with its custom resource management system. While Westhost offers commendable speed with SSD-based VPS hosting, its CDN is only available in higher-tier plans. Westhost also has a global network of data centers but fewer compared to Pressable.

Website Speed

Pressable leads in website speed with impressive static performance test response times of 5.2 milliseconds and P95 performance test times of 12 milliseconds. Their highly frequent CPUs and real-time scaling capabilities ensure swift load times even during traffic surges. Westhost offers fast VPS hosting through SSD drives and gigabit ports, but specific response times aren’t provided, and CDN is only offered in certain plans, making Pressable the quicker option.

Scalability

Pressable offers automatic scaling to handle high-traffic periods seamlessly and has flexible plans that adjust to resource needs. It’s built on Automattic’s WP Cloud, which is optimized for WordPress scalability. Westhost provides various VPS packages with fixed resources, requiring manual upgrades for scaling, and they also offer dedicated servers. The cost varies depending on the chosen VPS plan, ranging from $8.00 to $128.00 per month.

🏆 Winner Pressable: Offers comprehensive security features for WordPress hosting.

Both Pressable and Westhost have notable differences in their approaches to technical and operational
security, as well as in their compliance with regulations.

Technical security measures:

Pressable and Westhost both offer robust security measures, but Pressable stands out with its proactive defense mechanisms. Pressable regularly scans for malware, employs a state-of-the-art web application firewall (WAF), and provides free hack recovery assistance. Westhost also offers built-in protection against fraud, viruses, and spam, along with SiteLock for the first year. Although Westhost supports a wider range of PHP versions (from 5.3 to 8.2), Pressable ensures the use of current PHP versions, which is crucial for maintaining security and performance.

Operational security measures:

Pressable provides free Jetpack Security Daily with all hosting plans, which includes malware scanning, automated site backups, and brute force attack protection. Daily automated backups and managed WordPress core updates further enhance security. Westhost guarantees 99.9% uptime and offers managed security clean-up services for a flat fee of $150 per application. While Westhost includes SSH and FTPS access, Pressable offers SFTP access and a global CDN to minimize latency and enhance security.

Compliance and certifications:

Pressable and Westhost both emphasize GDPR compliance, although Pressable’s compliance details are not elaborated. Westhost has received ‘Privacy Shield’ certification under the EU – U.S. Privacy Shield framework, ensuring adherence to GDPR standards. Neither provider specifies PCI compliance in the information given.

🏆 Winner
Westhost: Offering a blend of affordability and feature-rich services, Westhost comes out on top.

Pressable and Westhost both present robust solutions to meet various hosting needs, but they cater to slightly different user profiles. For users prioritizing ease of use and dedicated WordPress management, Pressable is a standout choice. It boasts features like an intuitive dashboard, one-click cloning, free Global CDN, regular backups, and automatic scaling. These make managing multiple websites straightforward and ensures security through SSL certificates and proactive malware scanning. It’s ideal for WordPress users seeking enhanced convenience and comprehensive support. Additionally, developer tools such as free staging environments, GitHub integration, and a clean interface for managing WordPress sites are noteworthy attractions.

On the other hand, Westhost appeals to budget-conscious users with a starting price of just $1/month. It offers unlimited FTP users, domain mapping, and access to over 80 free applications including popular ones like WordPress, Drupal, and phpbb. The hosting provider also includes StackCP for easy application installation and DNS management. Westhost provides a 99.9% uptime guarantee and a 30-day money-back promise, adding value for users looking for a reliable hosting solution without breaking the bank. Free domain names with annual plans and unlimited free automatic SSL certificates further enhance its attractiveness.

Both providers support a range of users from beginners to experts with user-friendly website builders and WordPress staging areas. However, in terms of developer tools, both Pressable and Westhost offer robust options including SSH access, support for multiple programming languages, and Git for version control, thus appealing to developers looking for advanced capabilities.

Email services:

Email services at Westhost provide more flexibility. Users can set up personalized mailboxes with a webmail interface and enjoy fraud, virus, and spam protection. While Pressable lacks email hosting, Westhost offers comprehensive email solutions suitable for both regular email use and email campaigns. This makes Westhost a better choice for users who need robust email services integrated with their hosting plan.

🏆 Winner Pressable:Pressable offers a range of plans that cater to both small and high-traffic websites with customizable enterprise options.

Evaluating the pricing of plans among various hosting providers can be complex due to their differing pricing and renewal strategies. Additionally, certain plans require annual commitments, which adds to the difficulty of making comparisons. The prices listed are based on monthly commitments; plans requiring annual commitments are indicated. Additionally, although some providers offer identical plans for WordPress and shared hosting, we have created separate tables for each to enhance clarity.

Pressable offers a specialized focus on WordPress hosting with plans starting at $40.00 per month, which includes features like Jetpack Security, professional email, and 24/7 support. They have scaled options for high traffic and enterprise needs with custom pricing. Westhost, on the other hand, provides more varied plans, starting at $3.75 per month for web hosting, and includes extras like free domains, unmetered bandwidth, and a CDN. Both providers also offer VPS plans with competitive pricing and features. Pressable offers distinct advantages for WordPress-centric users requiring high reliability and performance under traffic spikes, while Westhost’s lower-tier plans are cost-effective solutions for broader general usage and multiple site management.

Enterprise plans

Pressable’s enterprise plans are customizable in terms of WordPress installs, vCPUs, storage, and PHP workers, ensuring tailored scalability for demanding needs. Westhost does not appear to have explicit enterprise plans, focusing instead on various shared, VPS, and web hosting plans. Pressable offers more specific options for large-scale, high-traffic websites needing personalized configurations.

🏆 Winner Pressable: A managed hosting solution with an intuitive user interface and superior support.

Pressable offers a sleek, modern management dashboard tailored for WordPress and WooCommerce websites. The user-friendly interface is designed to simplify the process of creating and managing websites, even for users with limited technical expertise. Features such as one-click site cloning and straightforward domain management contribute to an accessible experience for all users. Additionally, the dashboard provides easy SFTP access and the capability to manage multiple websites, making it a versatile tool for developers and business owners alike.

Westhost, on the other hand, provides a standard cPanel for website management. cPanel has long been favored in the hosting industry for its rich feature set and familiarity, catering well to users with varying levels of technical knowledge. Westhost also includes a website builder, making it easy for users with no technical background to get started quickly. While the cPanel is packed with features, its traditional interface may come across as less streamlined compared to Pressable’s modern dashboard.

Regarding migration tools, both Pressable and Westhost offer efficient solutions. Pressable stands out with its Automated Migration plugin, allowing users to migrate sites with minimal hassle. This service is offered for free and is suitable for both beginners and experienced developers. In contrast, Westhost provides a Migration Center as part of its knowledge base, which includes guides for manual migration. Although effective, this may require a higher level of user involvement compared to Pressable’s automated process.

Pressable’s help center is extensive and organized, featuring a well-structured knowledge base with categories ranging from getting started to troubleshooting. It offers 24/7 expert support from certified WordPress engineers directly through its dashboard. Westhost similarly provides a comprehensive help center covering a wide range of topics in web hosting, email hosting, and more. It also offers 24/7 support through live chat and a ticketing system. Both platforms ensure users have access to the resources they need, but Pressable’s specialized focus on WordPress support gives it an edge.

The platforms provide extensive knowledge bases filled with guides, how-to articles, and instructional content. WestHost offers a wide range of resources alongside 24/7 chat and phone support. Pressable also boasts a detailed help center with an intuitive search function and around-the-clock support via live chat, phone, and ticketing, ensuring comprehensive user support.

🏆 Winner
Pressable: A hosting provider that excels in user management and developer tools.

When comparing the user management features of Pressable and WestHost, Pressable provides a more comprehensive range of tools for managing user roles and permissions. Pressable’s collaborator access and control panel offer granular controls, allowing administrators to grant or revoke access to specific areas or functionalities. Additionally, Pressable’s advanced settings and Git integrations facilitate a smoother workflow for developers. WestHost, on the other hand, focuses more on basic user setups with E-mail and FTP user accounts but lacks the extensive role management and developer-centric tools provided by Pressable.

Pressable’s user management interface is streamlined and offers a robust control panel where users can access site listings, change PHP versions, and handle site-specific settings easily. The dashboard allows for password resets, conversion between staging and live environments, and offers tools for handling backups and security. WestHost’s Site Manager provides a simpler interface focusing on adding, deleting, and editing user accounts. It allows you to set passwords, enable email and FTP access, and manage account quotas, but it doesn’t offer some of the advanced capabilities found in Pressable’s interface.

In terms of access control measures, Pressable stands out with daily backups, malware scanning, threat monitoring, and firewalls, ensuring high security. The platform supports developer tools like SSH, WP-CLI, and Git Integration, making it highly effective for managing growing projects and teams. Conversely, WestHost provides more basic access control measures focused on FTP directory access and email management. While competent for smaller teams, it lacks the advanced security and scalability features that Pressable offers, making it less suitable for larger, more complex user management needs.

Pressable user roles table:

🏆 Winner Pressable: Premier WordPress support with free migrations and dedicated Slack channel.

When comparing the customer support offerings of Pressable and WestHost, Pressable stands out with a 98% or better customer satisfaction rating and rapid response and resolution times. The support team consists of certified WordPress engineers who provide 24/7 online assistance, including performance monitoring, security monitoring, and hack recovery assistance. Add-ons like a dedicated Slack channel enhance the support experience for advanced users.

WestHost offers a variety of support options, including phone support and a 24/7 live chat. Their support team is US-based and handles a wide array of issues from account management to WordPress support. However, customer reviews are mixed, citing delays and inconsistent responses. Their 30-day money-back guarantee is a solid feature, but the lack of free hosting or trials may deter some users.

Pressable vs WestHost: User feedback

Pressable consistently receives high praise for its exceptional customer support and fast response times, making migrations and technical issues seamless for users. The platform is highly regarded for its robust WordPress-specific features, such as managed updates and security enhancements, which significantly reduce the risk of hacks and downtime. While users applaud the ease of use and fast performance, some mention the pricing as a bit steep but justified by the value and quality provided. A few reviewers noted minor difficulties with access to core files and the staging environment, yet the overall sentiment is overwhelmingly positive.

Users find WestHost to be a reliable hosting provider with minimal downtime and high-quality support. The competitive pricing is appreciated, but many users express frustration with the outdated documentation and the need for customer support intervention for tasks like updating SSL certificates. While the service itself is smooth and hassle-free, the administrative interface and outdated guides significantly detract from the overall user experience.

Pressable vs WestHost: FAQ