Best hosting for ecommerce in 2026
Ecommerce hosting is split between hosted platforms (Shopify, Squarespace) where everything is bundled, and self-hosted options (WooCommerce, Magento) where you control the stack but own the maintenance. Neither is universally better — they suit different types of businesses.
Hosted platforms
With a hosted platform, you pay a monthly subscription and get hosting, software, security, updates, and (usually) a payment gateway in one bundle. You don't touch a server.
Shopify
The most popular hosted ecommerce platform in the UK. Handles hosting, SSL, CDN and updates. Theme editor and app store are strong. Pricing starts at around £25/month (Basic), rising to £65/month (Shopify) and £344/month (Advanced).
Key tradeoff: Transaction fees (0.5–2% on top of payment processing) unless you use Shopify Payments. These add up fast on higher volumes. Very straightforward to set up; limited ability to customise deeply without developer help.
Squarespace (Commerce)
Best for stores where design matters most and the product catalogue is not huge. Commerce plans start at around £23/month. No transaction fees on Commerce plans. Significantly fewer third-party integrations than Shopify.
Key tradeoff: Excellent design control; poor inventory management and shipping options at scale.
BigCommerce
A Shopify alternative with no transaction fees at all. Better for larger catalogues. Less popular in the UK market so the app and agency ecosystem is thinner. Plans start around £29/month.
Self-hosted ecommerce
You host the software yourself, giving you complete control over data, fees and customisation — but you're responsible for security, updates and performance.
WooCommerce (on WordPress)
Free plugin, but your hosting, domain, SSL, payment gateway and extensions all cost money separately. A mid-range WooCommerce setup (good hosting + Stripe + a few extensions) runs £30–£70/month all-in — comparable to Shopify, with no transaction fees and far more flexibility.
Key tradeoff: Most flexible option available. But it will break if you don't maintain it — plugins conflict, updates need testing, security is your problem. Not a good choice if you can't commit to maintenance or pay someone who will.
Magento / Adobe Commerce (Open Source)
Built for serious retailers — large catalogues, complex pricing rules, B2B features. Requires a developer to set up and maintain. Hosting alone should be a managed VPS or cloud instance (£50–£200+/month). Not appropriate for most small stores.
Side-by-side comparison
| Shopify | Squarespace | WooCommerce | Magento OSS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost (approx) | £25–£344 | £23–£44 | £30–£70 all-in | £100+ |
| Transaction fees | Yes (unless Shopify Payments) | No (Commerce plans) | No | No |
| Setup complexity | Low | Very low | Medium | High |
| Ongoing maintenance | None (managed) | None (managed) | Your responsibility | Developer needed |
| Customisation ceiling | Medium (API/theme) | Low | Very high | Unlimited |
| Data ownership | Partial (export limited) | Partial | Full | Full |
| Best for | Most UK small–mid stores | Small/design-led stores | WP users; need flexibility | Large retailers |
What hosting does a WooCommerce store actually need?
If you go the self-hosted WooCommerce route, the hosting spec matters more than for a simple blog. Minimum recommendations:
- RAM: At least 2 GB dedicated (not shared pool) — 4 GB for stores with 500+ products
- PHP 8.x with OPcache enabled
- Redis object cache — dramatically reduces database queries on product pages
- UK data centre — latency affects conversion rates
- Daily off-site backups — included or via a plugin like UpdraftPlus to S3
- SSL — non-negotiable for any checkout; Let's Encrypt is fine
A managed VPS from Cloudways (£14–£30/month) or managed WordPress hosting from Kinsta/WP Engine is the sweet spot for a growing WooCommerce store.
How to decide
Go hosted (Shopify/Squarespace) if: you want to focus on selling, not servers; you're not technical; or you need to launch quickly.
Go WooCommerce if: you're already on WordPress; you need deep customisation; or you want to avoid transaction fees and own your data fully.
Go Magento if: you have a large product catalogue, complex B2B requirements, and a developer budget to match.
Find the right host for your store →