As a web agency with a LOT of hosting accounts (we have countless side-projects and like to experiment), we’ve got a pretty good idea of what defines a great web host. The quality of your web hosting provider can have a massive impact on the potential success of your online store.

Let’s take website speed for example, did you know that a 1 second delay means page views decrease by 11%, that means over 1/10 of visitors will just turn away for every second your site is still loading… this is why a decent web host is vital!

These are our top e-commerce hosting providers for the UK, true quality hosting without breaking the bank.

Side-note: Our #1 has a temporary 69% discount running! Grab it while it lasts!

A few of the better-known brands/sites that link to our content:

We know our stuff, a small sample of our many testimonials:

Tom is passionate and quickly understands his clients' needs. I've really appreciated his willingness to share knowledge and skill me up in how to use my brand new website. Thanks Tom!
Sally Mac
Tables of Content
MangoMatter made it so easy to design our current website. Tom was personally involved from first consultation to completion, and he is still readily available for any tweaks that may be necessary!
Demitrios Lecatsas
Fresh Hair
We chose Tom to design our website because we liked the style of other websites he had designed. The entire process was stress-free. Tom was so helpful and none of our multiple requests were too much trouble. Tom is a pleasure to work with. We love the website he’s made for us, it’s so easy to use and looks fantastic.
Carl Olive
Spring!
Our experience with Mango Matter was fantastic! Tom is very easy to work with, positive, efficient and obviously brilliant at what he does. Highly recommended.
Lucy Reeves
Means Whereby
We engaged Tom to develop our new company web site and were delighted with the outcome. He was able not only to deliver our brief but to provide some excellent ideas that we would never have thought of. Best of all, Tom is generous with his time and continues to be available to provide advice and support.
Neil Mackenzie
Enventive
What an easy and smooth experience it has been working with MangoMatter! Tom understood exactly what we were after, and we are extremely impressed with the final product. I would not hesitate to choose MangoMatter again in the future.
Tyson King
Director / Plumbrite Solutions
Tom from MangoMatter has been extremely helpful, professional and great support for establishing my Website, he is a wealth of knowledge and very efficient. I have no hesitation in recommending MangoMatter and have already done so.
Michelle Watson
iFix

We’ve done the analysis, web hosting reviews & comparisons so you don’t have to, resulting in a list of the best e-commerce web hosting companies for the UK.  The table below gives you a high-level overview of – in our opinion – the top 5 e-commerce hosts, sorted by rating, detailing the cost/mo, & how much disk space they offer. We also took our top 3 and reviewed them separately just below the table.

Best UK Web Hosting for E-commerce: Our Top 5 – January 2019

Web Hosting CompanyOverall RatingPrice/mo.Servers world-wideFeaturesWebsite
siteground2Grab Your Discount£2.95 (Temporary 67% discount, down from £8.95)
  • UK based servers + a global network
  • Lightning fast
  • Affordable (charges in GBP)
  • 30-day money-back guarantee!
  • Fast expert support
  • Officially recommended by WordPress = winner!
SiteGround ReviewGrab Your Discount
GreengeeksLogoVisit Site USD $3.95
  • Green hosting
  • servers in Europe
  • Unlimited disk space
GreenGeeks ReviewVisit Site
A2HostingLogoVisit Site USD $3.92
  • Cheap
  • Unlimited Disk Space!
A2 Hosting ReviewVisit Site
tsohostlogoVisit Site £2.99
  • High performance
  • UK based
TSOhost ReviewVisit Site
wpengineVisit Site USD $35
  • WordPress hosting perfected
  • Higher price tag
WP Engine ReviewVisit Site

It’s not easy finding a decent web host that’s actually affordable, and unless you’re an Excel wizard, it can get a bit overwhelming comparing all the different hosting features (like cost vs bandwidth, disk space, usability, support, reviews, etc.). To put your mind at ease, there are actually great e-commerce hosting providers out there for the UK that don’t charge absurd hosting prices, but still have the performance to run almost any ecommerce site you want.

We’ve reviewed our top 3 in a bit more detail below. We’ve used the following criteria to sort the top web hosts: Ease of Use, Support, and Performance / Power. Enjoy!

Tom D. S. – Hosting Expert

E-commerce Web Hosting Comparison: Our Top 3 Detailed

1. SiteGround

This is our all-time favourite hosting company for e-commerce sites. They’re affordable, have lightning-fast servers in London, and most importantly, the support is very very responsive (average response time is about 10 minutes).

SiteGround also comes highly recommended by WordPress (very few hosting companies can claim this! They can, of course, tackle any CMS you throw at them), this is an absolute no-brainer! Oh, + they have a 30-day money back guarantee!

SiteGrounds’ plans also come with a host of cool features like an incredibly efficient security system, automated back-ups, and free SSL (very important for e-commerce sites)

They have 3 hosting plans, their most affordable plan starts at only £2.75/mo (69% off the usual price)! 

Get Started Today & Grab The 69% discount!

siteground2

  Winner

Ease of Use

97%

Support

95%

Performance / Power

95%

2. GreenGeeks

Price: $3.95
Disk Space: Unlimited
Support: Phone, Live Chat, Tickets

GreenGeeks is one of the companies you just know is doing everything right, they’ve seen a massive growth since they went live in 2008. The reasons for their success is pretty clear once you start working with them, it’s combination of global reach (multiple data centres around the world), awesome performance, great and pretty speedy support, and last but not least, they’re putting their energy consumption back 3 times into the grid through wind energy, which is quite amazing!

As far as specific features go, they offer unlimited disk space on even their most basic plan, have 24/7 support, and just like SiteGround, a 30-day money back guarantee if you’re not satisfied! A solid #2 on our list!

Their cheapest plan starts at only USD $3.95/month (Exclusive MangoMatter Discount – down from $9.95)

Get Started With GreenGeeks

Ease of Use

94%

Support

95%

Performance / Power

90%

3. A2 Hosting

A2 Hosting is very similar to SiteGround, both in performance and features (just a tad more expensive), they also have a variety of pretty darn fast servers around the world (incl. London). For e-commerce, we like them as they offer turbo-charged servers for increased speed and they’re pretty flexible with their server resources, allowing for decent sized stores to run silky smooth.

They also offer 3 hosting packages, their cheapest plan starts at only USD $3.92/mo (was originally $7.99/mo).

Get Started With A2 Hosting

Ease of Use

87%

Support

94%

Performance / Power

93%

ecommerce UK research

UK E-Commerce Hosting: The Details

E-commerce hosting is a type of web hosting that is designated specifically to host e-commerce websites for businesses or entrepreneurs. That is, websites that operate as online shops, equipped to facilitate the online transaction of goods and services. We also created host comparisons for e-commerce hosting Australia and e-commerce hosting for Canada.

Due to the sensitive nature of the data shared through these transactions, there are a number of features and functions associated with this type of UK web hosting platform that differentiates it from other types of web hosting.

What Makes E-Commerce Hosting Different from Normal Web Hosting for the UK

Compared to the type of hosting plan needed for a general website or blog, e-commerce hosting differs from “normal” web hosting in several ways.

Features

First of all, e-commerce hosting involves a variety of functions and tools necessary for businesses to facilitate online transactions.

While e-commerce hosting still includes the consideration of general aspects of site-building such as basic features of web design, features specific to this hosting platform include:

●       Online catalogs

●       Inventory management

●       Payment processing capabilities

●       Shopping cart functions

●       and a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate

The features offered within e-commerce hosting plans enable site owners to adequately set up their e-commerce site and subsequently manage and conduct the process of their business transactions.

While general websites have no need for features such as payment processing, they are indispensable to businesses and entrepreneurs intending to host an online shop.

Cost

The cost of e-commerce hosting may vary depending on the specific provider you choose for your hosting plan, as well as the features the they offer.

Typically, a good-quality e-commerce hosting plan will run from $20 – $250 plus a month. Hosting a custom e-commerce system, however, can run that cost up even higher, starting at $300 with room to climb.

Web hosting plans without e-commerce capabilities, on the other hand, can be purchased for as little as $4 a month and go up from there based on the type of web hosting platform (e.g. VPS, shared, dedicated, etc). While there are also some free web hosting options, this is generally not recommended for businesses.

What to Look for When Searching for a UK E-Commerce Host

There are several factors you should consider when searching for an e-commerce web host provider. The most important considerations should concern the specific needs of your business, as some features offered by providers may or may not be necessary to fulfil your purpose.

Detailed below are brief explanations of the different types of web hosting, as well as key things to look for when browsing e-commerce hosting providers.

Hosting Types

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is a type of web hosting that is popular among businesses, particularly those on a budget as these plans tend to be more budget-friendly.

On a shared hosting plan, your website is hosted on a server that is shared with other websites. The actual number of websites you are sharing your server, as well as what you can expect as far as site performance goes, depends on the provider. Websites hosted on a shared server may be open to security threats, and web performance may also be dependent on how many resources are being claimed or used by other sites on your same server.

Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting involves sharing a server with other websites, similar to VPS hosting, and operates across several interconnected web servers. There are three main categories of cloud hosting: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), and Platform-as-a-Service (Paas).

Benefits of cloud hosting include being able to use either a Linux or Windows operating system (OS), as well as the flexibility that’s afforded through the scalability of cloud hosting. That is, cloud solutions are priced based on use, only requiring businesses to pay for the resources they are actually utilizing.

VPS Hosting

Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting is similar to both dedicated and shared hosting, as it offers some of the control and resources offered within dedicated hosting plans, but within a shared hosting environment. That is, a VPS hosting operates through several different virtual operating systems on one physical server.

With a VPS hosting plan, you still share some resources with other websites, but you have the benefit of having your operating system (OS). Two different types of VPS plans may be offered by providers: self-managed VPS, and managed VPS. The former provides the site owner with control over the server, as well as the responsibility of handling all technical aspects. With a managed VPS plan, the hosting company handles the technical aspects.

Dedicated hosting

Dedicated hosting is one of the more expensive types of hosting. With dedicated hosting, web hosts lease and have full control over their own server. Dedicated hosting plans feature high site performance, control over customization, and virtually 100% uptime.

WordPress hosting

WordPress hosting is a type of web hosting optimized specifically to support sites that operate through the custom management system (CMS), WordPress.

Server Location and Speed

Server location matters, especially with e-commerce sites. Consider that the further you or your target market is from the geographic location of the server, the slower your website will run. When it comes to e-commerce, delays in loading times can be highly detrimental, causing your business to lose sales.

In order to keep have your site feature adequate loading times and decrease delay, it is best to keep your servers geographically close to your intended target audience.

Support

It is ideal to choose a host provider that offers easy access to a support team. If your site crashes, or some other feature appears to be malfunctioning, it is important to have an attentive support team on standby to be able to quickly address and rectify the issue.

Disk Space

Having an adequate allotment of disk space is another important consideration when choosing a hosting plan.

Although it can vary from business to business, your e-commerce website will need adequate disk space for your individual product pages. Product pages that feature high-quality graphics, especially, take up more space than websites such as blogs, which tend to be more text-heavy with less space needed for graphics and other media.

The allotment of disk space you receive through your hosting plan also accounts for video and audio files, databases, email account, and any installed scripts and programs.

Some plans offer unlimited disk space, which may be the best option for larger websites. Businesses planning to operate smaller e-commerce sites with less web pages and content, however, may not necessarily need to stretch their dollars for an unlimited package.

SSL

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a technology that provides a secure, encrypted internet connection between a server and internet browsers – i.e. your customers. This enables the private transmission of sensitive data, such as payment processing information.

Websites that are protected by SSL will feature a green address bar or lock symbol located to the left of the address bar. The URL will also begin with https:// rather than the standard http://

Data protection is essential to the success and reputation of an e-commerce site, which makes SSL widely considered a necessary feature these days rather than optional. Due to the sophistication of the encrypted technology, possessing an SSL certificate allows for your site to establish trust and confidence with your customers.

Uptime

Last is the consideration of choosing a hosting plan that features optimal uptime.  Almost every web host provider offers 99-100% uptime to their customers; however, even that 1% can be crucial.

Unless your website is undergoing scheduled maintenance, you should aim for a plan that will allow your site to be accessible virtually 100% of the time.

And that’s it, it might seem overwhelming to cover all the points, but just take it one step at a time. Maybe even create a spreadsheet and log all the specs for the best web hosting providers in the UK, so you’ve got an easy overview.

OR

Pick a host from our top 5

MangoMatter Reviews

Personally, I have very limited knowledge in regards to creating a website, however I am very particular about how I envisaged the page to be. Tom has been so accomodating and patient throughout the entire process, and the page turned out exactly how I had pictured. I have had countless comments from patients and colleagues alike about how impressive the page is, thanks Tom!
Dr Alex Bornsztejn
As a new start-up company we were first drawn to Mango Matter through their website. With limited understanding of web design, Tom navigated us through the entire development of setting up the website to final completion with ease. The process was always transparent and seemless and Tom’s approach was always positive to change and new ideas. We are extremely proud our website and have no hesitation in recommending or referring Mango Matter as a web designer.
Kylie Timms
Location One
I'm so grateful to have found and chosen Tom from Mango Matter to develop our new website. The process has been smooth sailing and easy! Who'd have thought! Tom was great to work with... hassle free, relaxed, professional, flexible and responsive. We are very happy with the end result and recommend Tom's services to anyone wanting their website development to be a dream ride.
Jennifer West
Humans Being At Work
Tom from MangoMatter has been extremely helpful, professional and great support for establishing my Website, he is a wealth of knowledge and very efficient. I have no hesitation in recommending MangoMatter and have already done so.
Michelle Watson
iFix
I recently started my own company and of course, knew I needed to have a website that was different to my competitors. I had no hesitation in hiring Tom from MangoMatter for the job as I had seen the quality of his previous work. Additionally, he had been recommended to me by people who had used, and continue to use, his service. Tom works collaboratively with you in bringing together your ideas to create your own individualised website. He provides high quality work in a friendly and approachable manner. I value working with a company like MangoMatter who are experts in what they do and above all else value the individual needs of their clients.
Allira Rogers
Fine Tuning Consultancy
MangoMatter's website designs are excellent. That's why I chose this website designer above lots of others I looked at. The designs are simple yet elegant in their layout. Unlike so many other sites that are cluttered and hard to navigate around. MangoMatter designs are easy to use with content very accessible. I highly recommend this service for both its conceptual sophistication and logical usability.
Geoff Dean
Violence Prevention Consulting
MangoMatter created a book review site for The Children's Book Council, a not for profit that promotes Australian children's books. Tom was helpful and engaged from the initial idea to the finished product. He gave us some very good suggestions and helped us along the way. He provided excellent training so we could manage the site ourselves and his ongoing tech assistance has been invaluable. We would highly recommend MangoMatter.
Tina Cavanough
CBCA Reading Time
What an easy and smooth experience it has been working with MangoMatter! Tom understood exactly what we were after, and we are extremely impressed with the final product. I would not hesitate to choose MangoMatter again in the future.
Tyson King
Director / Plumbrite Solutions
MangoMatter has been very helpful in growing my business. I have asked him to take the role on for my small electrical business as my 'Media Manager'. He has been realistic with times and expectations. He has gone above and beyond with what I have asked him to do. He offers ideas which I (being computer illiterate) have had no insight into so that he can market and give my company the edge that it needs with the competition. Business life is always bound to throw a curve ball every once in a while but what I appreciate about Toms work ethic is that he has his finger on the pulse and lets me know what's happening (before I even do sometimes) and how to rectify if there are ever any hiccups. Its rare to find an honest businessman these days, and one that values his service above making a quick buck. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Mango Matter and have already done so to a number of other businesses.
Joshua Fleming
Director / Powered Projects
I've been using the services of Tom at MangoMatter since early 2013. Tom is an absolute gentleman to work with, friendly and helpful. Whether it be web design, seo, or general technical advice, he knows all the tricks. In fact I called him just last week with an emergency website issue (no fault of his) and he had my website up and running again within minutes, he knew exactly where to pinpoint the problem and fixed it right away. I just don't know where I could find that kind of service anywhere else! With Tom continually researching the latest methods of any web services, his knowledge in this field is always up to date. I highly recommend Tom at MangoMatter and frequently tell my clients and suppliers if you want it done right, hire the services of Tom.
Paul Wallace
BTG Entertainment
We engaged Tom to develop our new company web site and were delighted with the outcome. He was able not only to deliver our brief but to provide some excellent ideas that we would never have thought of. Best of all, Tom is generous with his time and continues to be available to provide advice and support.
Neil Mackenzie
Enventive
Our experience with Mango Matter was fantastic! Tom is very easy to work with, positive, efficient and obviously brilliant at what he does. Highly recommended.
Lucy Reeves
Means Whereby
We chose Tom to design our website because we liked the style of other websites he had designed. The entire process was stress-free. Tom was so helpful and none of our multiple requests were too much trouble. Tom is a pleasure to work with. We love the website he’s made for us, it’s so easy to use and looks fantastic.
Carl Olive
Spring!
Tom has been fantastic to work with in developing my website. I had ideas of what I wanted to include but Tom was able to transform those ideas and create a website that exceeded my own expectations. His design was crisp, simple, and clear. Tom’s professional guidance, experience, knowledge and flare for detail is why I would recommend him to anyone looking at developing their own website.
Aaron Dick
Carpentology Group
We recently employed Tom after being referred by a satisfied customer. Quickly and efficiently he redesigned our website which now looks professional and is extremely user friendly. Tom is a pleasure to work with and we would highly recommend him to others. We look forward to working with Tom in the future.
Madonna
Ordanga Properties
As a band we wanted our website to look simple, stylish, functional and artistic all the while maintaining a strong focus on our music. Not only has Tom achieved all of these, he has taken our vague desires and produced an amazing site that quite frankly took our breath away. Tom's ability to work back and forth with new ideas and changes has made the process of making our site easy and stress free. I would highly recommend Tom to anybody looking to work with a professional in every sense of the word.
Shannon Rogers
Teapots
When I approached Tom to help with the upgrade of our website he was only too happy to help me with it. He transformed my ideas into reality and has designed a website that is very smart, and truly says everything about us. Tom also trained me to manage the content myself so that I can update the information when required. I love our new website!
Kate Davis
Singer / Two R More
MangoMatter made it so easy to design our current website. Tom was personally involved from first consultation to completion, and he is still readily available for any tweaks that may be necessary!
Demitrios Lecatsas
Fresh Hair
We have now used MangoMatter to create two websites for us. As investment managers, we have tried many different website development firms over the years. Without a doubt, MangoMatter is the best by far and we will continue to use their services for many years to come.
Glenn Rushton
Rushton Capital Management
Tom at MangoMatter is a true professional. I couldn't be happier with my website and the service he provided me. He understood my needs and made it so simple for me to understand and operate the site. I would strongly recommend MangoMatter!
Alli Keirnan
allikeirnan.com
MangoMatter made the process of putting together a wonderfully personal website a no-fuss scenario. Friendly and flexible, nothing seemed to faze them. We are delighted to have found MangoMatter and are very happy with the finished product.
Nathan Stella
ACUS Clinic
Tom is passionate and quickly understands his clients' needs. I've really appreciated his willingness to share knowledge and skill me up in how to use my brand new website. Thanks Tom!
Sally Mac
Tables of Content
I have used Tom from Mango Matter on numerous occasions to develop web pages both internally and for clients. I have never been disappointed with the quality of work and the functionality of the sites. The best thing about using Tom, is that he responds so quickly to any questions and is able to efficiently fix any issues that arise. Tom is a delight to work with and his web knowledge is second to none.
Kate Size
Verve Group Marketing
Tom did a great job on my website. He was willing to work within my budget and had my website finished within days from our start date. Tom was easy to communicate with and if he said he was going to do something, he did it on time, which was certainly a refreshing quality after my past experiences with other website businesses. If you aren't using this guy, you need to!
David Epp
David Epp Licensed to Kill Pests
I was extremely impressed with Tom’s efficiency and professional demeanour while developing my latest website. The entire process was completed as quickly as I could provide the content. Tom was able to edit the site with me in one sitting and activate it immediately. I’m happy to recommend Tom as a person of high skill, integrity and professionalism.
Paul J. Stevenson
Traumatologist
My website is my only form of advertising so I was truly thrilled when I discovered Tom who is a perfectionist in the best sense of the word. He combines the eye of an artist with the precision of a technician and has been infinitely patient with my string of requests. For the first time in many years I’m truly proud that my site is there for the world to see.
Julie Vear
Brisbane Qi Gong
Very impressed with MangoMatter! Having gone through several clunky website designs in the past, I have been nothing but impressed with the quality of work and efficiency of service offered by Tom & MangoMatter. The overall look of the site was exactly what we were after and nothing was ever too much trouble. By far the best web design team we’ve ever used, MangoMatter are genuine experts in the field of web design and I have no hesitation in recommending them to anyone looking for a quality website.
Lauren Brown
Verve Group
Tom has taken a blog idea I had been toying with for many years and turned it into a reality, and a darn good looking reality! What I could have achieved alone would have been functional, but what I have achieved with Tom’s guidance is a product that is professional, works like clockwork and sells itself.
Megan Daley
Children's Books Daily

MangoMatter Media Pty Ltd
Fortitude Valley,
Queensland
4006
Phone: 07 3106 3330

5 stars - based on 28 Reviews

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