WPX Hosting vs WestHost: guide for 2024

WPX Hosting vs WestHost: Final verdict

Looking over WPX Hosting vs. WestHost, it’s clear why both hosts are so popular. They have both hosted millions of
websites that run on WordPress for decades, building up a loyal customer base.

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  WPX Hosting (Overall grade: 8.3)
  
  is an impressive choice for those needing high performance and reliable hosting, especially for WordPress and WooCommerce websites. Its standout features include excellent speed and uptime, largely due to its custom CDN and proactive performance optimizations. The platform offers a rapid response time from its support team, averaging just 30 seconds on live chat and resolving issues within 15 minutes. Security measures are robust, with daily malware scans, DDoS protection, and free SSL certificates ensuring peace of mind for users. However, the lack of certain advanced features like a specific website builder and SSH access may be a limitation for some users. Nevertheless, WPX Hosting excels in providing fast, secure, and user-friendly service, making it a top pick for high-traffic websites, eCommerce platforms, and users who require dependable support.
• 
  WestHost (Overall grade: 7.8)
  
  offers an appealingly budget-friendly option, ideal for individual users or smaller projects looking for reliability without breaking the bank. It boasts a varied range of hosting types, including shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting, which cater to a wider array of needs compared to WPX. Key strengths include free domain registration with annual plans and unlimited SSL certificates. WestHost also presents a strong array of programming language support and easy integration with popular CMSs. However, while it has solid security measures, its speed performance is notably lower, and the support response isn’t as quick or comprehensive as WPX. Additionally, the administrative interface and outdated documentation can be frustrating, detracting from an otherwise smooth service experience. For users looking for affordable pricing with decent features, WestHost remains a considerable option, albeit with some trade-offs in performance and support efficiency.

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 WPX Hosting: Exceptional performance and reliability make WPX Hosting the top choice.

WPX Hosting stands out with a 99.95% uptime guarantee, ensuring minimal downtime throughout the year. Users benefit from 24/7 support and rapid response times, with an average support response of 30 seconds on live chat and case resolutions within 15 minutes. Performance tests with high traffic volumes showed excellent results, maintaining quick response times under load. The free site fixes and daily backups provide additional peace of mind for website owners.

On the other hand, WestHost lacks an explicit uptime guarantee, though they recorded a one-month uptime of 100%. Their service level agreement of 99.995% and global data center distribution highlight their commitment to reliability. Nevertheless, their speed performance lags behind, with GTmetrix ratings showing average load times. Despite strong security measures, their overall offering doesn’t match WPX Hosting’s high standards.

🏆 Winner
WPX Hosting: Superior speed and unmatched support for WordPress hosting.

When comparing the general performance of WPX Hosting and Westhost, several factors stand out. WPX Hosting employs custom XDN technology and high-speed custom CDN with 37 endpoints, ensuring rapid load times and exceptional site performance. With solid state drives (SSDs) in both platforms, load times are quick and reliable. WPX Hosting also offers comprehensive CPU and RAM support to handle high traffic and usage spikes efficiently. In contrast, Westhost offers an intelligently designed infrastructure with global data centers and SSDs, but the details on their CDN are mostly tied to their higher-tier plans, which may incur additional costs.

Website Speed

WPX Hosting excels in website speed through free site speed optimization and daily malware scans, contributing to a swift and secure user experience. The custom CDN plays a significant role in delivering fast load times consistently. Westhost, while leveraging SSDs and offering a CDN in higher-tier plans, may not match the pre-optimized speed features provided by WPX Hosting.

Scalability

WPX Hosting offers a straightforward plan-based scaling model, where users need to upgrade plans to access more resources. While details on elastic scaling or dedicated servers are not specified, the transparent pricing makes it easy to budget for increased capacity. Westhost also follows a plan-based upgrade path for scalability but does not provide specifics on automatic scaling or dedicated servers, leaving some questions about the ease and cost of scaling.

🏆 Winner WPX Hosting: Provides extensive security features and proactive monitoring.

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

Technical security measures:

WPX Hosting excels with free SSL certificates, advanced brute-force defense, DDoS protection, daily malware scans, and a Web Application Firewall (WAF). They also offer daily backups stored for 28 days and a custom XDN with hybrid DDoS protection. Westhost, on the other hand, provides unlimited free SSL certificates, SiteLock for malware protection, and built-in fraud, virus, and spam protection. They also offer FTPS and SSH access. While both hosts support multiple PHP versions, WPX Hosting includes additional layers of automated updates for enhanced security.

Operational security measures:

WPX Hosting emphasizes proactive monitoring and updates, recommending strong passwords and two-factor authentication. They conduct daily backups and offer free malware removal. Their fixed-for-you guarantee ensures quick issue resolution. Westhost provides regular backups, raw access logs, and site statistics to monitor performance and security. They also offer managed security clean-up services for a fee. WPX’s approach of continuous vigilance gives it an edge in operational security measures over Westhost’s more reactive services.

Compliance and certifications:

WPX Hosting complies with GDPR standards and offers WHOIS privacy protection but is not PCI compliant. Westhost is GDPR compliant under the EU – U.S. Privacy Shield framework, though PCI compliance is not specified. WPX provides more detailed communication on GDPR compliance, whereas Westhost leaves compliance largely up to the user’s discretion.

🏆 Winner: WPX Hosting: Advanced features and superior support make WPX Hosting the ideal choice for a premium hosting experience.

WPX Hosting and WestHost both present strong hosting options for different types of users, but their approaches and feature sets have distinct distinctions. WPX Hosting is known for its speed and performance, with impressive uptime and a custom CDN, ensuring your site loads quickly and reliably. It includes powerful security measures, like daily malware scans and free SSL certificates, and provides extensive support with very fast response times. WPX also offers excellent development tools, including a staging area and automated updates. However, it lacks a specified website builder and SSH access, though it supports unlimited FTP/SFTP users.

WestHost is attractive for those on a budget, with plans starting from just $1/month. It features unlimited FTP users, SSH access, and a user-friendly control panel (StackCP) that includes over 80 free applications. Free domain registration with annual plans, unlimited SSL certificates, and various one-click apps also make WestHost an appealing option for smaller projects or those just starting. WestHost includes website statistics, raw access logs, and easy integration with major CMSs like WordPress and Drupal. While it offers a wide scope of programming language support, such as Python and Perl, its backup options and support speed don’t quite match those of WPX.

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 WPX Hosting 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:

WPX Hosting and WestHost both offer robust email services with unlimited mailboxes. WPX Hosting includes advanced email spam filtering and 24/7 support for email-related issues. WestHost provides personalized mailboxes with a webmail interface and includes fraud, virus, and spam protection. Both providers support basic transactional emails and allow users to set up their own email campaigns, though neither mentions integrations with third-party services like Google Workspace. For comprehensive email needs, WPX’s offering might be stronger due to its enhanced security features.

🏆 Winner WPX Hosting: WPX Hosting offers top-tier features and high performance for WordPress and WooCommerce websites.

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.

WPX Hosting offers comprehensive plans tailored for both WordPress and WooCommerce with multiple options to fit varying needs, highlighting features like free malware removal, site speed optimization, and staging areas. Westhost provides affordable web hosting plans with free domain and unlimited subdomains, making it a budget-friendly choice. The price points of Westhost are significantly lower, but WPX Hosting excels in providing higher end features like advanced support, speed optimization, and higher resource allocation, giving more value for enterprises looking for premium hosting solutions.

Enterprise plans

WPX Hosting’s Elite Plan and Hyperstore Plan stand out with extensive website handling capacity and optimized resources for demanding business operations. These plans include advanced support and optimization features, making them ideal for enterprises with complex needs. Westhost’s Premier plan offers unlimited websites and significant storage, and while it lacks the dedicated WooCommerce-specific optimization of WPX Hosting, it remains a cost-effective option with its unmetered bandwidth and high capacity features. For businesses requiring high performance and extensive support, WPX Hosting provides superior value.

🏆 Winner
WPX Hosting: Efficient and user-friendly with exceptional support and features.

WPX Hosting uses a custom control panel specifically designed to be both fast and responsive, which can be highly beneficial for users with varying levels of technical knowledge. The WPX control panel provides a clear and straightforward interface with options to manage services, account details, support tickets, and migrations. For users who might be less tech-savvy, this intuitive layout simplifies the process of managing a website. On the other hand, Westhost opts for the more traditional cPanel, which is known for its comprehensive toolsets and wide acceptance among experienced users. While cPanel provides extensive functionality, it might be slightly overwhelming for beginners compared to WPX’s custom panel. Both control panels are efficient, but WPX’s streamlined, user-first approach makes it easier for non-technical users.

WPX Hosting on the other hand, offers a dual interface that combines a custom dashboard with full cPanel access, catering to both beginners and technically advanced users. The platform includes a comprehensive help center filled with a wide variety of guides and tutorials, aimed at assisting users in managing and optimizing their websites effectively.

Both WPX and Westhost provide migration services, but WPX stands out with its free, full-service migration within 24 hours. WPX allows you to submit a migration request from their control panel, and they handle the entire process for you, ensuring a smooth transition. Conversely, Westhost also offers migration tools and includes a migration center with detailed guidance, but it’s less clear whether the service is free or if it requires additional fees. WPX’s hassle-free and prompt migration service gives it a slight edge in this aspect.

When it comes to help center resources, both providers offer comprehensive knowledge bases. WPX’s knowledge base includes detailed articles and step-by-step guides on various topics, accessible directly from their custom control panel. The average case resolution time of 15 minutes highlights its highly responsive 24/7 support via chat or ticket. Westhost, meanwhile, supplies an extensive knowledge base covering a wider array of topics from domains to dedicated servers. They too offer 24/7 support through live chat and ticketing. Though both excel in offering support and resources, WPX’s faster response times and highly accessible knowledge base make it more user-friendly.

🏆 Winner WestHost: Simple and flexible user management with extended capabilities for e-mail and FTP users.

Both WPX Hosting and WestHost offer a variety of features for managing user roles and permissions. WPX Hosting provides options to create and manage database users and FTP users, which ensures seamless control over data access and file transfers. The platform allows for multi-user access, making it possible for multiple individuals to manage the same hosting account, thus enhancing collaborative efforts. In comparison, WestHost allows the creation of specialized user accounts with either e-mail or FTP access, offering more flexibility in defining and tailoring user roles and permissions to specific needs. Users can further customize these roles by setting quotas and defining home directories.

The user interfaces and tools provided by each host take different approaches to user management. WPX Hosting users navigate through a clean and straightforward dashboard to manage database and FTP users, with options to generate passwords and retrieve forgotten ones easily. WestHost utilizes its Site Manager to present users with a cohesive dashboard for creating and managing accounts, providing an intuitive user interface and a step-by-step video tutorial. The interface allows for easy navigation and quick access to different settings, which can be adjusted to each user’s requirements.

Assessing access control measures, WPX Hosting offers robust database management and user authentication controls, which are crucial for maintaining data integrity and security. WPX’s support for multi-user access facilitates the efficient handling of a larger team by providing each member with necessary access. WestHost shows strength with its ability to set e-mail and FTP access on a per-user basis, with the added advantage of setting FTP quotas and directory permissions. This customization ensures scalable management as user numbers grow, enabling effective access control and streamlined user account maintenance.

WPX Hosting User Roles Table:

WestHost User Roles Table:

🏆 Winner WPX Hosting: WPX Hosting excels in multiple support areas with fast response times and a wealth of additional services such as free migration and malware removal.

WPX Hosting and WestHost offer solid customer support options, with WPX Hosting featuring a 30-second average response time for live chat and a comprehensive 15-minute average case resolution time. WPX Hosting provides free migration services and offers proactive clean-ups and DDoS protection. Its customer reviews are highly favorable, boasting a Trustpilot score of 4.9/5.

WestHost, while offering 24/7 live chat support and a variety of contact methods including phone and email, receives mixed reviews. Some customers have experienced long delays and inconsistent answers, though others commend particular agents for their helpfulness. WestHost includes a 30-day money-back guarantee but lacks a free hosting trial period.

WPX Hosting vs WestHost: User feedback

WPX Hosting consistently receives praise for its extremely fast and helpful customer support, often resolving issues within seconds via live chat. Users also appreciate the hosting speed, ease of use, and included features like their custom-built CDN. However, some users experienced limitations and performance issues with larger, high-traffic websites and have cited a lack of advanced features such as SSH access and more robust email security. On the whole, while the support and speed are lauded, a few users found the service lacking for more critical or large-scale requirements.

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.

WPX Hosting vs WestHost: FAQ