Why do you need two hosting places?

Because a split architecture has two halves that need opposite things. The WordPress half needs a server that runs code and a database, with backups and support when something breaks. The half your visitor sees does not need to run anything at all, it only needs to be sent quickly from a point physically near them. One hosting plan cannot be excellent at both.

Does that not double the monthly bill?

Less than it sounds. Once the storefront no longer runs on the WordPress server, the load on it drops sharply, and a more modest plan than the one you needed before is usually enough. That difference covers part of the cost of the second half, which is inexpensive anyway.

Why a local provider for the WordPress half?

Support. When something breaks on the admin side, you want to speak to someone who understands WordPress, in your language, during hours you are awake. It sounds like a small detail until the first time you need it.

What if I want you to handle all of this for me?

That is exactly what the monthly plan covers: hosting, security, backups, ongoing updates and site maintenance and management. Most of our clients never open a hosting panel, which is the point.

Which Hosting We Use, and Why Two of Them

The previous posts covered why a WooCommerce store is slow, what splitting means and when not to do it. One practical question keeps coming up: where does all of this actually live?

Why two at all

A split store has two halves, and they need opposite things from their hosting:

The WordPress half needs a server that runs code, runs a database, stores files, takes backups and lets you log in and manage. It does not need to be the fastest thing on earth, because no customer ever looks at it. It needs to be stable, backed up and supported.

The half your visitor sees does not need to run anything. It is already finished. All it needs is to be sent quickly from a point physically close to the visitor.

No single hosting plan excels at both, which is exactly why the ordinary store is stuck: it forces one server to do both jobs.

What we use

For the WordPress half: Upress. An Israeli hosting provider specialising in WordPress. The main reason for us is not technical but human: when something breaks on the admin side, we want to talk to someone who understands WordPress, in Hebrew, during hours we are awake. That sounds like a minor detail until the first time it matters.

For the fast half: Cloudflare. A network of servers spread around the world. The finished pages sit on it and the visitor receives them from the nearest point. That same network also provides the security layer and the SSL.

What it does to the monthly bill

This is the first question people ask, and rightly so. Two hosting places sound like double the money.

In practice it works out differently: once the storefront no longer runs on the WordPress server, the load on it drops sharply. The server stops serving pages to every visitor and only works when a product is edited or an order comes in. A more modest plan than the one you needed before is usually enough, and that difference covers part of the cost of the second half, which is inexpensive anyway.

If you manage your own hosting

If you run your own hosting and want to try Upress, we have a discount code:

UP05MESHU gives 5% off all plans.

Disclosure: this is an affiliate code. You get the discount and we earn a commission. We are saying it here rather than in a footnote, because we would rather you knew.

And if you would rather not deal with any of it: hosting, security, backups, updates and site maintenance and management are included in our monthly plan. Most of our clients never open a hosting panel, which is exactly the point. Full details on the pricing page.

A closing note on cheap hosting

Hosting for a couple of dollars a month is not a bargain, it is a shared server with hundreds of other sites all queueing for the same resources. On a brochure site you feel it. In a store, where every page load demands work from the server, you feel it several times over.

It is one of the reasons websites load slowly, and also one of the cheapest to fix.