Are you struggling with your WooCommerce site’s hosting? Whether it’s random outages, slow load times, large Time to First Byte (TTFB), or lackluster support, poor hosting can have a serious impact on your high growth online business. After years of testing various managed WordPress hosting providers and VPS setups, I’ve finally found a solution that works for high-volume WooCommerce stores: Rocket.net. The requirements for each shop varies and I’ve only managed DTC stores with physical products. While most brands will choose Shopify, and never have to worry about hosting again, like me you may be required to use Woo or another self-hosted commerce platform. I hope my personal journey over the last number of years of research, trial, mistakes, and final destination for my Woo hosting needs is helpful. I will compare past hosting providers, and show you how Rocket.net has transformed the performance of my WooCommerce sites.
Why I Left KnownHost for Rocket.net
I manage high-volume WooCommerce stores with high traffic and order velocity. My sites rely on recurring subscriptions, affiliate programs, and wholesale operations, so uptime is critical. I was using a high-spec VPS with KnownHost, configured with Plesk Control Panel, Immunify360, and KernelCare for security and performance. The server was configured with Litespeed, and the Woo site with Litespeed Cache. But after repeated outages and generally slow server performance, I started looking for alternatives.
The tipping point was when I noticed a significant uptick in spam traffic, bots, and failed subscriptions due to downtime. For high-volume WooCommerce stores, even a few minutes of downtime can result in substantial revenue loss. Days with extended outages saw as much as a 30-50% drop in daily average revenue. It became clear that I needed a more reliable, high-performance hosting provider.
My Experience with Other Hosting Providers
Before KnownHost, I hosted with Cloudways, and before that, I tried WPEngine, FlyWheel, and Kinsta. I’ve used these providers for a range of sites, from small blogs to 8-figure WooCommerce stores. While each of these hosts initially performed well, they all eventually fell short in one area or another:
- Cloudways: Decent performance but lacked the reliability needed for DTC WooCommerce sites. While their support is typically available via live chat and quick to reply, their responses weren’t great.
- WPEngine and FlyWheel: Both had restrictive environments and expensive plans, which didn’t justify the lackluster performance. I actually straight hated their backend dash. Everything was an upsell.
- Kinsta: This was a while back, but at the time, their support and performance were underwhelming, and overpriced.
Across the board, I found these hosts to be restrictive, slow (despite claiming to have high-performing servers), and, in some cases, overpriced for what they offered. For WooCommerce stores that rely on background processes like recurring orders, these shortcomings became deal breakers. Online reviews for these hosts were at best mixed. At times, I’m dumbfounded by how they still exist and what caliber of Woo shops and WP sites they host/manage.
What Makes Rocket.net Stand Out for WooCommerce Hosting?
After extensive research, I decided to move my sites to Rocket.net. From the start, the experience was different. Rocket.net offers managed WordPress hosting optimized for WooCommerce, and their features are designed to handle the specific needs of high-volume WooCommerce stores. Just take a look at their website for a list of their critical features included in the price.
What immediately grabbed my attention was the backend/control panel. It’s fast, intuitive, and thoughtfully designed. The founder, Ben Gabler, has talked about his goal of reducing the number of clicks required to complete any task, and that philosophy is evident throughout the platform. For example, updating your site’s PHP version is neatly tucked under the “Advanced” tab for each site, alongside other key tools like WP CLI, SSH keys, and database management.
Here are some of the standout features that make Rocket.net a game-changer for WooCommerce hosting. And it’s not just about having these features but how easy and quick everything works.
- Plugin Management: Manage all your plugins directly from the control panel without dealing with WordPress’s slow plugin page.
- Backups: Daily and manual backups with easy restore options, perfect for high-traffic WooCommerce sites.
- Logs: Built-in activity and access logs that are fast and easy to scan, which is critical for diagnosing site issues. Not hard to find, not hard to understand or dig into details if needed.
- Reporting: See detailed reports on blocked bots, spam, and WAF (WordPress Firewall) activity. For WooCommerce stores, this means fewer headaches with security. Something about their firewall reporting makes me super happy.
- File Manager: Unlike the clunky file managers in cPanel, Rocket.net’s file manager is fast and glitch-free. It is honestly a nice built-in file manager when you don’t want to SFTP or SSH into a server.
Rocket.net’s Backend UI/UX: A Game-Changer
As someone who spends a lot of time in backend interfaces, I appreciate a platform with a clean, intuitive design. Rocket.net’s control panel is one of the best I’ve used in terms of UI/UX. Everything is where you expect it to be, and the overall experience is smooth.
I’ve used tons of other online platforms like Judge.me and Yotpo for reviews, and while they get the job done, their backends can feel slow and outdated. In contrast, Rocket.net feels modern, fast, and responsive. It’s a pleasure to work in, which is essential when you manage multiple WooCommerce stores and need to make quick updates. Rocket.net brings a modern SaaS experience to the hosting world. And I love it.
How Rocket.net Improved My WooCommerce Site Performance
Now, let’s talk about the numbers. I migrated five WooCommerce sites—ranging from small to enterprise-level—to Rocket.net over one weekend, and the performance improvements were immediate and significant.
Before migrating to Rocket.net, my sites experienced slow TTFB, high latency, and inconsistent performance. Here’s a comparison of one of my sites before and after moving to Rocket.net:
Site A Before Rocket.net:
Same Site on Rocket.net:
As you can see, TTFB improved dramatically, with an average of 77ms across multiple locations. The same site, without any additional optimizations, runs faster just by being on Rocket.net’s servers. WooCommerce stores, especially high-traffic ones, benefit greatly from reduced TTFB. Faster TTFB means faster page loads, which is crucial for user experience and SEO rankings. This is pretty much through their powerful server and their enterprise edge Cloudflare CDN.
Is It Just Numbers?
No. The performance improvements are tangible. After migrating, I noticed that the sites felt snappier, and the loading times were noticeably shorter. This wasn’t just something that tools like GTMetrix or Pingdom picked up—end users reported a smoother experience, and we saw fewer abandoned carts and improved conversion rates.
Final Thoughts: Why Rocket.net is a Must-Try for WooCommerce Hosting
If you’re managing a high-volume WooCommerce store and your current hosting provider isn’t meeting your performance and reliability needs, it’s time to make the switch to Rocket.net. Their platform is optimized for WooCommerce hosting, offering fast load times, excellent server uptime, and a seamless backend experience.
I’ve been through the wringer with hosting providers, and Rocket.net is the first one that’s truly delivered on its promises. From the intuitive UI to the outstanding site performance, it’s a solution designed with high-traffic WooCommerce stores in mind.
Ready to upgrade your WooCommerce hosting?
Try Rocket.net today and experience the difference for yourself. With their optimized infrastructure, your WooCommerce store will run faster, smoother, and more reliably than ever before.