best hosting for webshop: which to choose in 2025?

# best hosting for webshop: which to choose in 2025? A fast, reliable webshop is essential for online sales. Slow loading times directly lead to lost sales - studies show that 40% of visitors leave if a page takes longer than 3 seconds to load. Your choice of hosting largely determines the speed, security and scalability of your online store. But which hosting is really best for your webshop? In this guide we compare the best options for 2025. ## why does a webshop need different hosting? A webshop places higher demands on hosting than a regular website: **Higher traffic peaks** - think of Black Friday, Christmas or other sales where the number of visitors suddenly doubles or triples. **Database-intensive** - products, orders, customer data, inventory - everything is in the database. Slow queries mean slow loading times. **Security requirements** - you process sensitive customer data and payments. An SSL certificate is minimal, but more is needed. **Payment processing** - payments must be processed super fast and reliably. Downtime during checkout = lost revenue. **Always available** - an offline webshop means immediate loss of revenue. 99.9% uptime is the absolute minimum. **Fast loading times** - every second of delay costs conversion. Amazon loses 1% revenue with 100ms delay. ## WooCommerce vs Magento vs Shopify: which platform? Before choosing hosting, you need to know which webshop platform you're going to use. ### WooCommerce - for WordPress users **Advantages:** - free plugin for WordPress - extremely flexible through thousands of plugins - full control over your shop - relatively easy to use - many developers available **Disadvantages:** - can become slow with many products (10,000+) - requires regular maintenance and updates - security is your own responsibility **Hosting requirements:** optimized WordPress hosting, minimum 2GB RAM, SSD storage, PHP 8.0+ **Suitable for:** small to medium webshops (up to 5,000 products), physical stores going online, service providers with webshop component ### Magento - for large webshops **Advantages:** - built for large catalogs (100,000+ products) - enterprise-level functionality - very scalable - powerful marketing tools **Disadvantages:** - complex setup and management - requires good technical knowledge or developer - expensive hosting needed (no shared hosting) - resource-intensive **Hosting requirements:** VPS or dedicated server, minimum 4GB RAM (preferably 8GB+), lots of CPU power, Redis/Varnish caching **Suitable for:** large webshops with many products, B2B platforms, webshops with complex logic ### Shopify - hosted solution **Advantages:** - all-in-one solution - no worries about hosting, updates, security - very reliable and fast - easy to start **Disadvantages:** - monthly costs (from €29/month) - less flexible than WooCommerce - transaction fees if not using Shopify Payments - vendor lock-in **Hosting:** fully managed by Shopify (no separate hosting needed) **Suitable for:** starters who want to begin quickly, webshops without technical knowledge, international shops **For this guide we focus on WooCommerce and Magento hosting**, as you need an external hosting party for these. ## performance requirements for webshop hosting What makes hosting suitable for webshops? ### speed: the most important factor **SSD storage** - no HDDs. SSDs are 10-20x faster for database queries. **Caching** - Redis or Memcached for object caching, Varnish for page caching. **CDN integration** - content delivery network for fast images worldwide. **PHP 8.0+** - newer PHP versions are significantly faster. **HTTP/2 or HTTP/3** - modern protocols that load pages faster. ### security: protect your customers **SSL certificate** - free Let's Encrypt minimum, but preferably premium SSL for webshops. **Web Application Firewall (WAF)** - protection against hacks and DDoS attacks. **Daily backups** - keep minimum 30 days, preferably real-time backups. **PCI-DSS compliance** - if you process credit card data (but better use payment providers like Mollie/Stripe). **Malware scanning** - automatic check for malware and hacks. ### scalability: grow with your success **Resources** - minimum 2GB RAM, upgrade to 4-8GB when growing. **Auto-scaling** - some cloud providers automatically scale during traffic peaks. **Database optimization** - possibility for dedicated database servers when growing. ## top 5 webshop hosting providers for 2025 ### 1. Vimexx - best for WooCommerce **Why Vimexx?** Vimexx specializes in WordPress and WooCommerce hosting with specific optimizations for webshops. **Performance:** - NVMe SSD storage (even faster than regular SSD) - LiteSpeed webserver with LSCache - free CDN (Cloudflare) - Redis object caching - PHP 8.2 support **Packages and prices:** - **WooCommerce Starter** - €9.95/month - up to 1,000 products - **WooCommerce Pro** - €19.95/month - up to 5,000 products - **WooCommerce Enterprise** - €39.95/month - unlimited products **Included:** free domain, SSL certificate, daily backups, premium support **For whom:** small to medium WooCommerce shops that value speed and support Check [Vimexx WooCommerce hosting](/nl/woocommerce-hosting) for more details. ### 2. TransIP - best price/quality **Why TransIP?** Dutch provider with solid performance at competitive prices. No specific webshop hosting, but their VPS packages work excellently. **Performance:** - SSD storage - choice of multiple datacenters - Snapshots for quick backups - DDoS protection **Packages and prices:** - **BladeVPS X1** - €7.50/month - 1GB RAM, 50GB SSD - small webshop - **BladeVPS X4** - €15/month - 4GB RAM, 80GB SSD - medium shop - **BladeVPS X8** - €30/month - 8GB RAM, 160GB SSD - large shop **Tip:** TransIP VPS requires technical knowledge to set up. Use managed hosting if you have no experience with servers. **For whom:** tech-savvy entrepreneurs, webshops with developers, those who want flexibility and control ### 3. Antagonist - best for developers **Why Antagonist?** No-nonsense provider aimed at developers and power users. No frills, but powerful servers. **Performance:** - fast SSD storage - modern hardware - root access on VPS - free SSL via Let's Encrypt **Packages and prices:** - **Webhosting Pro** - €6.95/month - small WooCommerce shop - **VPS Start** - €10/month - 2GB RAM - medium shop - **VPS Plus** - €20/month - 4GB RAM - larger shop **For whom:** developers, webshops with own system administrator, those who want control and flexibility ### 4. Cloudways - best for scalability **Why Cloudways?** Managed cloud hosting that automatically scales. Choice of DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud. **Performance:** - choice of premium cloud providers - auto-scaling during traffic peaks - built-in CDN (Cloudflare Enterprise) - Redis + Varnish caching - dedicated firewalls **Packages and prices:** - **DigitalOcean 2GB** - €12/month - starter webshop - **DigitalOcean 4GB** - €24/month - growing shop - **AWS/Google Cloud** - from €36/month - enterprise shops **Payment:** per hour, no contracts (handy with uncertain growth) **For whom:** fast-growing webshops, international shops, webshops with variable traffic ### 5. Hostnet - best for beginners **Why Hostnet?** Budget-friendly hosting with good WordPress/WooCommerce support and Dutch support. **Performance:** - SSD storage - WordPress optimized - free SSL - daily backups **Packages and prices:** - **WordPress Hosting** - €4.95/month - up to 500 products - **WordPress Pro** - €9.95/month - up to 2,000 products - **Business Hosting** - €14.95/month - up to 5,000 products **For whom:** starting webshops, small businesses, limited budget See all options on our [hosting comparison](/nl/vergelijk). ## webshop hosting comparison table | Provider | Starting price | RAM | Products | Best for | Support | |----------|---------------|-----|----------|----------|---------| | **Vimexx** | €9.95/month | 2GB+ | Up to 5,000 | Performance | Premium | | **TransIP VPS** | €7.50/month | 1-8GB | Unlimited | Flexibility | Standard | | **Antagonist** | €6.95/month | 1-4GB | Up to 3,000 | Developers | Tech support | | **Cloudways** | €12/month | 2-8GB | Unlimited | Growth | 24/7 chat | | **Hostnet** | €4.95/month | Shared | Up to 500 | Budget | Dutch | ## what does webshop hosting really cost? Don't just calculate with hosting costs, but with total costs: **Basic hosting:** €5-€40/month depending on package **Plus:** - domain: €8-€15/year - premium SSL (optional): €30-€100/year - CDN (if not included): €0-€20/month - backup solution: €0-€10/month (often free included) - email hosting: €0-€5/month per account **For WooCommerce:** - premium theme: €30-€100 one-time - essential plugins: €0-€200/year - maintenance/updates: €0-€50/month (DIY or outsource) **For Magento:** - developer costs: €500-€5,000 for setup - monthly maintenance: €100-€500/month - extensions: €100-€1,000/year **Total for small WooCommerce shop:** €15-€50/month all inclusive **Total for medium shop:** €50-€150/month **Total for large Magento shop:** €300-€1,000+/month ## step by step: choosing webshop hosting ### step 1: determine your platform Are you going to use WooCommerce, Magento, or Shopify? This determines your hosting choice. ### step 2: estimate your traffic and products - **Small:** 0-500 visitors/day, up to 500 products → shared or basic WordPress hosting - **Medium:** 500-5,000 visitors/day, up to 5,000 products → optimized WooCommerce hosting or small VPS - **Large:** 5,000+ visitors/day, 5,000+ products → VPS or cloud hosting ### step 3: determine your budget Realistic budget for good webshop hosting: €10-€30/month for small to medium shops. ### step 4: check specific requirements - own server needed? → VPS - automatic scaling? → Cloudways - no technical knowledge? → managed WooCommerce hosting - international? → CDN required ### step 5: test performance Most providers offer 30-day money-back guarantee. Test: - loading times (use GTmetrix or Google PageSpeed) - checkout speed - uptime (monitor with UptimeRobot) - support response time ## frequently asked questions about webshop hosting **Can I start with cheap shared hosting?** For a small webshop with few products and little traffic this is possible, but don't expect much speed. As soon as you start selling seriously, upgrade to specialized WooCommerce hosting or VPS. **How important is hosting for conversion?** Very important. Every second of extra loading time costs 7% conversion. A shop that loads in 2 seconds converts significantly better than a shop of 4 seconds. Investing in good hosting pays back directly in more sales. **What if my webshop suddenly goes viral?** Make sure your hosting supports auto-scaling (Cloudways) or can upgrade quickly (TransIP VPS). Without this, your website can crash just when it's busy. Many providers also offer temporary resource boosts for example Black Friday. **Should I choose managed or unmanaged hosting?** Managed if you have no technical knowledge or don't want to spend time on server management. Unmanaged (VPS) is cheaper but requires you to do security updates yourself, set up caching, etc. For most webshop owners, managed is the better choice. **What about PCI compliance for payments?** If you use payment providers like Mollie, Stripe, or PayPal (recommended!), they process the payments and you don't need to be PCI compliant yourself. Never process credit card data yourself without PCI certification. ## optimization tips for webshop performance Good hosting is the foundation, but there's more: **Optimize images** - use WebP format, compress everything, lazy loading for below-the-fold images. **Use caching** - full page cache for product pages, object cache for database queries. **Minimize plugins** - each plugin costs performance. Keep it to 10-15 essential plugins. **Use CDN** - especially important if you have customers outside the Netherlands. **Database optimization** - regularly clean up old orders, revisions, and transients. **Lazy load reviews and comments** - only load these when visitors scroll. **Preload critical resources** - fonts, CSS, important JS load first. ## red flags: NOT this hosting for webshops Avoid providers that: - don't offer SSL certificate (or it costs extra) - don't have daily backups - don't use SSD storage (HDD is too slow) - offer uptime guarantee below 99.5% - don't have good support (you can't miss it with problems) - have foreign servers without CDN (slow loading times in NL) ## migration: moving to better webshop hosting Current hosting not good enough? **For WooCommerce:** 1. make complete backup (database + files) 2. setup new hosting with WordPress 3. import backup on new server 4. test extensively (checkout, payments, emails) 5. update DNS to new hosting 6. monitor first days extra Most providers offer free migration service. Vimexx, TransIP and Cloudways all do this. **Also check:** our [transfer wizard](/nl/verhuiswizard) for step-by-step guidance. ## get started with your webshop hosting The right hosting can make the difference between a successful webshop and a frustrating experience for you and your customers. Invest from the start in reliable, fast hosting - it saves you a lot of headaches and lost revenue later. **Our recommendations:** - **Just starting?** Start with Vimexx WooCommerce Starter (€9.95/month) or Hostnet WordPress (€4.95/month) - **Growing shop?** Upgrade to Vimexx Pro or TransIP VPS X4 - **Large shop/fast growing?** Choose Cloudways for automatic scaling - **Tech-savvy with budget?** Antagonist or TransIP VPS for best price/quality Compare all options and current prices on our [hosting comparison](/nl/vergelijk), or check specifically our [WooCommerce hosting page](/nl/hosting-voor-webshops) for specialized webshop packages.