WWW4 — web hosting on our own Belgian servers

Hosting for webshops: staying online, even when it gets busy

A webshop makes different demands than an ordinary website: every minute offline is a missed order, and without a valid SSL certificate your payment provider refuses to cooperate. At WWW4 the certificate is included as standard, your shop is backed up every day and we guarantee 99.99% availability in the SLA. If the shop outgrows shared hosting, you move to a managed VPS without changing provider.

Whether you work with WooCommerce, PrestaShop or Magento, the questions are the same. Does the shop stay reachable during a promotion? Does payment always work? What if something goes wrong after an update? Below you can read where it usually pinches for webshops and what hosting you put up against it.

View the plans Ask for advice

Where it usually pinches for webshops

The shop goes down at the worst moment

A newsletter goes out, an ad is running, and right then the site becomes slow or unreachable. Visitors do not wait; they buy elsewhere. A shop has to be built for peaks, not for an average day.

Payments that falter

Payment providers only work over https and send confirmations back to your shop. An expired certificate or a memory limit that is too tight leads to orders that were paid but are not registered as paid.

An update that breaks the shop

A new version of a payment module or theme can bring the ordering process to a halt. Without a recent backup you spend hours searching yourself, while the shop is closed.

What webshops need from hosting

Availability that is on paper

For a webshop, uptime is not a marketing word but revenue. We guarantee 99.99% availability in the SLA, with our own hardware in two Belgian data centers and DDoS protection at network level.

SSL without hassle

A free Let's Encrypt certificate is ready with every plan and is renewed automatically. That way an expired certificate can never be the reason your payment page shows a warning.

Room for peak traffic

A webshop loads far more per page than a business site: cart, stock, prices. Redis object caching relieves the database, and you choose the plan based on the PHP memory limit (128 to 512 MB). If you outgrow it, you move up.

A backup from yesterday, not from last month

Files and database are backed up every day and kept for fourteen days. If an update goes wrong, you restore to the state before the change.

How to get started with hosting for your webshop

From choosing a plan to going live, in four steps that make the difference between a shop that works and a shop that mostly works.

Choose your plan on memory, not on space

Webshops rarely fill their web space, but they do hit their PHP memory limit. A small shop starts on Standard; if you work with a heavy page builder or many modules, take Premium.

Have your existing shop transferred

Moving website and email is part of the service. The shop is first tested in full on the new server, including a test payment, and only then is the DNS switched.

Check certificate and payment integration

The SSL certificate is ready automatically. Then check that the callback from your payment provider arrives at the new environment, because that address is often in the provider's own settings.

Decide when you move to a VPS

As long as the shop runs smoothly on shared hosting, there is no reason to change. If you notice that peaks become structurally noticeable or you need your own server software, the managed VPS is the next step.

Frequently asked questions about hosting for webshops

Which hosting plan do I need for a webshop?

Choose on memory, not on web space. A webshop loads far more per page than an ordinary site, which makes the PHP memory limit the deciding factor. A small shop usually starts on Standard; if you work with many modules or a heavy page builder, Premium is the safer choice. Moving up is always possible.

Is an SSL certificate included with the hosting?

Yes, every plan includes a free Let's Encrypt certificate that is renewed automatically. For a webshop that is not an option but a requirement: payment providers only work over https and browsers warn about an unsecured payment page.

What happens if my shop gets many visitors during a promotion?

Redis object caching relieves the database, and the PHP memory limit of your plan determines how many simultaneous requests the shop handles smoothly. If you notice that peaks become structurally noticeable, a managed VPS with its own computing power is the next step. You do not need to change provider for that.

How often is my webshop backed up?

Files and database are backed up every day and kept for fourteen days. If an update of a module or theme goes wrong, you restore to the state of the day before. For orders that came in after the last backup, it is wise to also keep a regular export from your shop yourself.

Can I have my existing webshop transferred?

Yes, moving website and email is part of the service. The shop is first placed on the new server in full and tested, including a test payment, and only then is the DNS switched. Your current shop simply remains reachable in the meantime.

When should I move from shared hosting to a VPS?

As long as the shop runs smoothly, there is no reason to change. Signs that it is time: peaks that noticeably slow the shop down, a memory limit you hit regularly, or software you want to install on the server yourself. A managed VPS gives you your own computing power and SSH access, while we continue to do the management, monitoring and updates.

Who helps me if the shop is down?

You get the people on the line who manage the servers themselves, in Dutch, French or English. The server side is our responsibility; your shop software, theme and modules remain yours. What lies on our side, we tackle; what lies with the shop itself, we help you track down.