WordPress vs. iPage (2024)

PJ Fancher

By: PJ Fancher

PJ Fancher

PJ is a professional web developer with more than 20 years of experience. His background began with writing small web applications using Perl, PHP, and MySQL in 1998. He has well-rounded experience with all aspects of web development, from server and database configuration to scripting, styling, design, and SEO.

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Editor: Lillian Castro

Lillian Castro

Lillian brings more than 30 years of editing and journalism experience to our team. She has written and edited for major news organizations, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Times, and she previously served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Florida. Today, she edits HostingAdvice content for clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement.

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Sean Garrity PJ Fancher Hosting Expert
“We tested iPage & WordPress — The winner is iPage!”

Web hosting has come a long way since computer mainframes, where on-premise servers took some serious cash and square footage. The evolution of hosting has increased access and affordability — two major perks for your average website owner. InMotion for WordPress and iPage are two shining examples of low-cost, high-value packages. InMotion’s managed hosting plans, complete with ultrafast SSDs and a WordPress-specific site builder, are excellent choices for running your WP site. For site owners looking for flexibility, a ton of features, and some of the industry’s lowest prices, iPage may be the right fit. Read our comparison to see how we chose the winner.

Overall Rating
4.9/5.0 ★★★★★
Visit iPage »
Overall Rating
4.7/5.0 ★★★★★
Visit WordPress »

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Overall Hosting Comparison

Best Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.9/5.0

With an excellent price-versus-performance tradeoff, iPage has plans starting at around $2 a month. The hosting company's shared offerings are hard to compete with, especially for folks that are new to web hosting and just need a simple site.

Aimed primarily at first-time site owners, iPage puts together an impressively deep feature set. Offering strong, custom site builder options, iPage brings what-you-see-is-what-you-get simplicity to the site-building experience.

If ecommerce platforms are your thing, an online store builder is also included. Don’t have a domain yet? Register one for free with iPage. Once you have a new site, what do you do with it? To kick-start promotion for your site, iPage gives you $200 of marketing credits to get you started on Google and Bing, giving your online presence the exposure that any site needs.

Additionally, iPage offers a full security suite to keep your site running without worry. Daily malware scans, spam scans, and constant network monitoring are just some of the features. Full technical support is also part of the package by way of email or 24/7 phone support with a promise to answer calls in two minutes or less.

From site-building tools and a free domain to a jump-start on your marketing efforts, iPage has put together a very impressive package for their price and they should absolutely be considered for first-time users.

  • Great hosting packages for first-timers
  • Drag-and-drop site builder included
  • FREE domain name registration and email accounts
  • 24/7 support via phone, chat, and email tickets
  • 38% OFF for HostingAdvice readers
  • Get started on iPage now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
Unlimited
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)

Best Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.7/5.0

WordPress, the best blogging platform and content management system in the world, powers the online presence of brands such as Disney, Sony, and Spotify.

Rookie website owners can turn toward WordPress.com for a limited version of the browser-based publishing system that lets them stretch their website design wings. But many of the top hosting providers make the software even easier to access by offering single-click installations for WordPress (which can also be downloaded from WordPress.org).

As a WordPress hosting front-runner, InMotion Hosting will preinstall the platform for you at checkout. Once the platform is successfully set up, site owners can begin browsing the theme marketplace, and preview site content before publishing to the web.

Find the perfect theme, incorporate any plugins you'd like to extend your site's functionality, and begin drafting your first post! Whether you're building a blog or an online store — hosting on a shared server or your very own VPS — you can have a new WordPress site online in less than an hour.

It only has to take a few minutes, but we're no strangers to perfectionism. You'll have the support of the open-source community in your corner, as the WordPress core code is actively maintained by a team of all-star contributing developers. And just about any question you could imagine having has probably been asked and answered somewhere on the web.

Whether you're looking for shared, cloud-based, or dedicated server WordPress hosting, we recommend InMotion. Throughout our review of the WordPress platform, we'll use InMotion's pricing, storage allowances, uptime rates, and support standards to illustrate the ease and excellence of building a website with WordPress and a WP-friendly host.

Money Back Guarantee
90 days
Disk Space
100 GB SSD - Unlimited SSD
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)

Cheap Hosting Comparison

Cheap Rating

★★★★★ 4.7/5.0

Whether you're a first-time website owner or a web veteran, iPage’s excellent hosting services and a fantastic list of extras make the brand one of the best values in web hosting.

Unlimited disk space, scalable bandwidth, and emails are just a part of what makes iPage’s shared hosting plan a great deal. The company offers very good suites of extras focusing on web hosting necessities like security, marketing, and support.

If you don’t yet have a site, iPage includes a free domain and website builder to get you rolling quickly. We especially love the web hosting company's inclusion of ecommerce templates and online shopping carts for the same low price.

Support is one factor that’s very important to us, as it should be to you. For iPage customer support, the hosting company has phone, email, and chat available 24/7.

For the DIY crowd, the company also has an extensive list of tutorials and helpful documents.

One of the very best budget web hosts out there, iPage offers great hosting features and server performance for a low price. If you are searching for a cheap, reliable web host, iPage should definitely be near the top of your list.

  • Easy setup and superb reliability since 1998
  • FREE domain and Google marketing included
  • Unlimited bandwidth, storage, and emails
  • FREE site builder and shopping cart
  • Get more than 38% off today (was $7.99/month)
  • Get started on iPage now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
Unlimited
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)

Cheap Rating

★★★★★ 4.6/5.0

WordPress hosting is incredibly cost-competitive. The software itself is free, and most shared hosts offer WordPress packages in the $2- to $5-per-month ballpark.

It's easy to get started, as hosts will often offer single-click installations for WordPress, and then you can begin browsing the thousands of themes available in the Appearance section of the WordPress dashboard. Customize to your heart's desire, click "Publish," and voila! You've got yourself a self-hosted WordPress website.

Whether you're looking to build an online presence for your brick-and-mortar or a blog for your interior design musings, WordPress is the ideal space in which to spread your website-building wings.

The additional free resources you'll have at your fingertips include plugins (add-on software that extends the functionality of the WordPress platform), ecommerce tools, and features to optimize your website for online search.

By partnering with a cheap shared hosting provider, you'll get more than shared space on a server. To remain cost-competitive, most hosts include additional freebies such as a complimentary domain name registration, unlimited storage and email, and a few hundred dollars' worth of paid search marketing credits.

InMotion Hosting does all of the above, which is one of the many reasons we recommend the host as a true value offering in WordPress hosting. Get started today and enjoy free SSD storage, one-click installations for other WordPress-compatible tools, and business-class hardware at an ultra-affordable monthly rate.

  • #1 site-building software is FREE
  • Install in 1 click with top hosts
  • FREE themes to customize your WordPress site
  • Works for eCommerce, blogging, galleries, and personal sites
  • Trusted by millions of website owners
  • Get started on WordPress with InMotion Hosting.
Money Back Guarantee
90 days
Disk Space
100 GB SSD - Unlimited SSD
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)

Dedicated Hosting Comparison

Dedicated Rating

N/A

iPage does not currently offer this type of hosting. We would not recommend choosing this host for this hosting category.

Dedicated Rating

★★★★★ 4.9/5.0

If you're a mid-sized to large-scale online business, or if security and compliance are of utmost concern, you may be considering a dedicated server for your hosting needs.

Dedicated resources come at a premium, but leading WordPress host InMotion makes it worth your while. Should you opt for one of InMotion's dedicated hosting plans for WordPress, the team will download and install the software for you.

Begin writing your site from scratch or get a jumpstart on design with a professional-looking theme. Either way, the end result will be blazing-fast page load speeds backed by an always-on uptime guarantee (99.999%). InMotion Hosting dedicated servers feature SSD storage, rebootless kernel updates, full root access, and around-the-clock server monitoring.

Plans include plenty of RAM, IP addresses, storage, and processing power, so your WordPress site is equipped to scale alongside your business.

WordPress is a robust, comprehensive platform for designing, deploying, and maintaining an exquisite and performant online presence, and it has a loyal community of contributing developers and avid users to show for it. Follow the forums, confide in the WordPress Codex, and spend some time getting to know the nuances of this incredible interface. You won't be disappointed.

  • Robust blogging platform meets resource-capable dedicated servers
  • Ideal for fast-growing sites and enterprise
  • InMotion guarantees 99.99% uptime for your WordPress site
  • 1-click software installation for WordPress
  • FREE SSD storage
  • Get started on WordPress with InMotion Hosting.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
1 TB SSD - 3.2 TB SSD
Domain Name
New or Transfer

VPS Hosting Comparison

VPS Rating

N/A

iPage does not currently offer this type of hosting. We would not recommend choosing this host for this hosting category.

VPS Rating

★★★★★ 4.9/5.0

Virtual private servers yield the utmost flexibility at a cost-effective price point. Some of the most performant and popular websites in the world are powered by VPS hosting, and the same can be said of the WordPress platform.

From the New York Post and Fortune.com to Spotify and Beyonce.com, millions of websites run on WordPress. HostingAdvice is backed by a virtual server and managed via the WordPress platform. It's a match made in hosting heaven.

For your VPS and cloud hosting needs, we recommend InMotion Hosting for WordPress. The company touts enterprise-grade hardware, and solid-state drives come standard, accelerating performance with up to 20x faster page loads.

With your choice of datacenter locations, East or West Coast, InMotion delivers all the flexibility, performance, and security the VPS niche can offer. Once your virtual server is provisioned and WordPress is installed, you can choose to write your HTML from scratch or take a head start with one of thousands of themes.

Extend your site's functionality with plugins for ecommerce, page caching, comment moderation, and other essentials for a modern web presence. Backed by an active, open-source developer community, the WordPress interface is easy to befriend, and just about any question you have about bugs or updates has probably been answered in the Codex or community forums.

  • Instantly provision your VPS and install WordPress with 1 click
  • SSD speed gives your WordPress site a performance boost
  • WordPress is trusted as the #1 site builder platform
  • InMotion is trusted as the #1 WordPress VPS host
  • Tons of support available via your host and online forums
  • Get started on WordPress with InMotion Hosting.
Money Back Guarantee
90 days
Disk Space
90 GB SSD - 360 GB SSD
Domain Name
New or Transfer

WordPress Hosting Comparison

WordPress Rating

★★★★★ 4.7/5.0

For those looking for an affordable and simple-to-navigate host for their WordPress site, definitely consider iPage. The iPage offer gives you a nice list of extras and provides a great alternative to shared hosting.

While not as robust and fast as more expensive options, iPage offers a great value in WordPress hosting. The company's platform has been designed to make page load speeds 2.5 times faster, with unlimited disk space, email accounts, and bandwidth.

Other niceties include a free domain name and SSL certificate. For those without a site design, iPage includes a number of curated WordPress themes for you to choose from. Each theme is tested for performance and usability.

In addition, the company includes many pre-installed plugins such as W3 Total Cache and Jetpack. Finally, SiteLock keeps your site secure and free of malware. 24/7 phone support is included on all packages in case you ever run into any issues.

One of our favorite low-budget web hosts out there, iPage offers great hosting features and server performance for a low price. If you are searching for a cheap, reliable web host, iPage should definitely fall towards the top of your list.

  • Unlimited storage and email accounts
  • FREE WordPress themes and plugins included
  • Expert WP support and automatic malware removal
  • Enhanced security via SiteLock and custom firewall
  • W3 Total Cache plugin pre-installed
  • Get started on iPage now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
Unlimited
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)

WordPress Rating

★★★★★ 5.0/5.0

Good news, website owners: The software that powers upward of 40% of websites is free and open for public enjoyment and customization. WordPress is ready for download at WordPress.org, and the team is actively maintaining its core code.

As long as you stay current with your WP software versions and install plugins with caution, the site-building possibilities and benefits of WordPress are seemingly endless.

It should come as no surprise that many of the web's most trusted hosts have zeroed in on the popularity of WordPress, offering single-click installations for the software and WordPress-specific optimizations for performance, security, and support.

Once you get up and running with a WordPress host, you can choose from thousands of free and paid themes — premade website templates that expedite your site design process, allowing you to skip to the content and customization.

For a what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) experience, we recommend installing BoldGrid, a site builder tool that layers on top of the WordPress platform to create a drag-and-drop site builder environment. InMotion will install BoldGrid for you at checkout as well, making WordPress setup a non-issue.

Incorporating additional plugins, apps, and scripts extends the robust functionality of the WordPress interface. From calendar widgets to page caching for performance, there's essentially a plugin for every WordPress need.

Integrating payment processing tools, such as Shopify and PayPal, converts your traditional site into a transaction-ready virtual marketplace. Cultivate a following with commenting apps, like Disqus, and link your social media accounts.

What's more, WordPress hosts often throw in free paid search advertising credits to help you kickstart your marketing efforts. WordPress remains the most popular platform for building a beautiful online presence from scratch. It's relied on by hosting novices and seasoned developers alike, and we're confident the software, matched with InMotion Hosting hardware, will deliver everything you need to establish and grow your next website.

Money Back Guarantee
90 days
Disk Space
100 GB SSD - Unlimited SSD
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)

Site Builder Hosting Comparison

Website Builder Rating

★★★★★ 4.9/5.0

Do you want your website built today? If you answered "yes," you should look no further than iPage. In fact, it's possible for you to be online before you even finish reading this article.

Thanks to iPage's user-friendly interface, instant provisioning, and free domain name, you can have a live, attractive website in mere minutes. For those that have been around the web for a while, you may remember when it took a day to get your server online; thankfully those days are gone.

Your site is live the second you complete your order with iPage. A domain name is also included, so the ordeal of purchasing a domain name, setting name servers, and waiting for them to propagate is also extinct.

Once that's completed, you are taken to the incredibly user-friendly interface, where you can begin your site creation process.

Powered by their own proprietary builder, iPage makes it easy to have a professional-looking site created in minutes. It all starts with your choice of template — with hundreds of options available.

From there, you can customize color schemes, fonts, and sizes, and add your own pictures and videos. Adding forms for comments, RSVPs, or business contacts is just as simple. Before you know it, you have an attractive, functional website.

From the ease of use to the speed at which you are able to get a site live, iPage leaves us with little doubt as to why we've ranked the company near the top of our list of web hosts with site builder functionality.

An already incredible value, the company's 30-day money-back guarantee means that you can feel at ease knowing that iPage stands behind its product, and the team is confident you will be happy with their service.

  • Choice of Weebly or WebsiteBuilder by iPage
  • Mobile-optimized and easy-to-use setup wizards
  • 100s of professionally designed themes
  • FREE online store, shopping cart, and blogging
  • Get 38% off your first month
  • Get started on iPage now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
Unlimited
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)

Website Builder Rating

★★★★★ 4.8/5.0

While WordPress is technically blogging software, it's been called a website builder, a content management system, and even an ecommerce platform — basically, a website-building multitool.

Because it's open-sourced, the core code can be adapted to meet virtually any website need, and the wealth of plugins and WP-friendly apps built by third-party developers makes this platform a go-to for website owners around the world.

For added site-building functionality, we recommend downloading and installing BoldGrid, which functions on top of the WP interface to act as a drag-and-drop content management system. This is especially useful for first-time site owners or nervous hosting newbies.

Basically, BoldGrid takes away the one dig against WordPress, its semi-steep learning curve, by transforming the backend environment into a what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) website editor.

Best of all, both WordPress and BoldGrid are 100% free, and the InMotion Hosting team will set up the platforms for you at checkout. Once WordPress is installed and configured, you can begin designing one of two ways: Upload your own HTML files and style sheets and continue customizing in the backend, or choose from a library of thousands of premade website themes.

Paired with the abundance of plugins for extensibility, the WordPress interface brings utmost flexibility from a site construction and customization point of view.

  • Intuitive, drag-and-drop site builder BoldGrid sits atop WordPress
  • Developed and supported by the InMotion Hosting team
  • Responsive themes so your WP site looks good on any device
  • FREE to download WordPress software
  • SEO-friendly end result
  • Get started on BoldGrid for WordPress now.
Money Back Guarantee
90 days
Disk Space
100 GB SSD - Unlimited SSD
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)
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iPage vs. WordPress - Our Conclusion

Sean Garrity PJ Fancher Hosting Expert
“We tested iPage & WordPress — The winner is iPage!”

Whether searching for the best content management system for your cooking blog, or an excellent cost-for-performance plan, WordPress and iPage are fantastic choices. We put a great deal of consideration into these reviews to choose our overall winner. But just because we’ve named a top pick doesn’t mean you can’t opt for either competitor. After all, these web service providers appeal to different types of customers.

Overall Rating
4.9/5.0 ★★★★★
Visit iPage »
Overall Rating
4.7/5.0 ★★★★★
Visit WordPress »

About The Author

PJ Fancher is a professional web developer with more than 20 years of experience. His background began with writing small web applications using Perl, PHP, and MySQL in 1998. He has well-rounded experience with all aspects of web development, from server and database configuration to scripting, styling, design, and SEO. Today he brings his passion for web development to the team at Digital Brands Inc., helping to develop unique, high-quality, highly-optimized websites. He is ready to share his extensive knowledge and experience with the world of web hosting.
Sean Garrity