WordPress.org publishes the shortest requirements page of any major application, and it is mostly about versions. What it does not say is how much server a site needs, because that depends entirely on traffic, plugins and caching. This guide takes the official requirements, checked on 1 November 2026, and adds the sizing, with the monthly cost of three WordPress configurations on MassiveGRID PaaS, built on Virtuozzo Application Platform (formerly Jelastic).
What WordPress.org requires
The requirements page asks for PHP version 8.3 or greater, MariaDB version 10.11 or greater or MySQL version 8.0 or greater, and HTTPS support. For the web server it says Apache or Nginx is recommended as the most robust and featureful, while any server that supports PHP and MySQL can also work. It adds a legacy note: WordPress still runs with PHP 7.4 and MySQL 5.5.5, but those versions have reached end of life and may expose the site to security vulnerabilities.
Those requirements set the floor for a host, and they rule out more hosting than people expect: a shared plan still on PHP 8.1 or MariaDB 10.5 is below the current recommendation. The WordPress package on the marketplace installs a current LiteSpeed web server, which serves WordPress through its own cache module, with a current MariaDB and Redis on the same node, and the platform's certificate covers HTTPS from the first minute.
WordPress Standalone on MassiveGRID PaaS: one-click install, about $19.68 a month for the Starter configuration (LiteSpeed WordPress node (web, MariaDB and Redis), 1 GiB) at $0.003372 per cloudlet-hour, before volume discounts, in New York, London, Frankfurt or Singapore. 14-day free trial, no credit card. See the sizing table.
The requirement WordPress does not state: memory and traffic
A WordPress install is tiny; a WordPress site is not. Memory goes to PHP workers, each of which holds the theme, the active plugins and the page being built, and to the database's buffer pool. A brochure site with ten plugins and full-page caching serves most visitors from cache and needs little; a WooCommerce store with fifty plugins, logged-in customers and carts bypasses the page cache on every important request and needs a lot.
Three bands cover most sites. A blog or brochure site: one node, 1 GiB, page cache on. A business site with plugins and steady traffic: 2 GiB, Redis object cache, image optimisation. A busy site or a store: 4 GiB on one node, or the cluster below when a deploy or a node failure must never take the site down. The LiteSpeed cache, which the package enables, is what lets the first two bands stay small.
Standalone or cluster
The marketplace carries two WordPress packages because the two answers to downtime are different products. The standalone kit runs LiteSpeed, MariaDB and Redis on one node that scales vertically by the cloudlet; it is the right choice for most sites, and a bigger node is a slider. The WordPress cluster puts two or more application nodes behind a load balancer with a MariaDB cluster, a Redis cache and shared storage, so that a node can be redeployed or lost without a visitor noticing; it is the right choice for stores and publishers who deploy during the day. The zero-downtime deployment post shows the cluster in use and the Black Friday post prices it against a VPS for a store's peak.
What each configuration costs per month
Cloudlets are 128 MiB RAM plus 400 MHz CPU, billed at $0.003372 per cloudlet-hour, $2.46 per cloudlet-month, with no licence fee; WordPress is GPL and LiteSpeed is included in the package.
| Configuration | Topology | Cloudlets | Per month (730 h) | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standalone Starter | One LiteSpeed node, 1 GiB | 8 | $19.68 | A blog or brochure site |
| Standalone Standard | One LiteSpeed node, 2 GiB | 16 | $39.36 | A business site with plugins |
| Standalone Production | One LiteSpeed node, 4 GiB | 32 | $78.72 | A busy site or small store |
| Cluster Starter | 2 load balancers, 2 app nodes, 2 MariaDB nodes, Redis, storage | 48 | $118.08 | Zero-downtime deploys |
| Cluster Production | 4 app nodes, 3 MariaDB nodes, Redis, storage | 144 | $354.24 | Campaign peaks and large stores |
The figures are ceilings for an always-on environment before volume discounts, and the invoice reflects the cloudlets used: a 2 GiB node whose site is cached and quiet averages well under its limit. Disk and external traffic are per gigabyte on top. Price another layout in the PaaS pricing calculator.
The checklist before you move a site
Confirm the versions. Run a site health check on the current host; a site on PHP 8.1 should be tested on 8.3 before the move, because a plugin that breaks on the newer PHP breaks on every current host. Export cleanly. Files plus a database dump, or a migration plugin's archive; the package's node has SSH and WP-CLI for the import. Attach the domain last. Build and test on the platform subdomain, then point DNS and install the Let's Encrypt add-on. Schedule backups on day one with the WordPress Backup/Restore add-on to a Backup Storage node, and test a restore once.
Agencies that run many sites will want the agency workflow post, which uses one environment per site and the platform's cloning for staging; organisations that want the site run for them rather than hosted for them should compare the managed HA WordPress hosting plan instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which PHP and database versions does WordPress require in 2026?
WordPress.org's requirements page, checked on 1 November 2026, asks for PHP 8.3 or greater and MariaDB 10.11 or greater or MySQL 8.0 or greater, with HTTPS support, and recommends Apache or Nginx. It notes that PHP 7.4 and MySQL 5.5.5 still work but have reached end of life.
How much RAM does a WordPress site need?
WordPress does not publish a figure; it depends on traffic, plugins and caching. With LiteSpeed's page cache, 1 GiB serves a blog or brochure site, 2 GiB a business site with plugins, and 4 GiB a busy site or small store, which are the three standalone configurations on MassiveGRID PaaS at $19.68, $39.36 and $78.72 a month.
When does a site need the WordPress cluster instead of one node?
When a deploy or a node failure must not take the site down: stores, publishers and sites that deploy during business hours. The cluster package runs application nodes behind a load balancer with a MariaDB cluster, Redis and shared storage, from about $118.08 a month for the Starter layout.
WordPress on current PHP and MariaDB, billed by the hour
The WordPress package on MassiveGRID PaaS installs LiteSpeed, MariaDB and Redis on one auto-scaling node in one click, from about $19.68 a month, and the WordPress cluster adds the load balancer and database cluster for sites that cannot go down. 14-day free trial, no credit card.
WordPress on PaaS