To ensure our Shared Hosting platform remains secure, stable, and consistently fast for all customers, Hipposerve applies certain sensible restrictions to WordPress plugins that are known to create excessive server load, introduce security risk, or duplicate protections already provided at the hosting level.
This policy explains which categories of plugins may be restricted on our Shared Hosting services, why those restrictions exist, and what customers can use instead. This policy forms part of our wider Terms and Conditions and Acceptable Use Policy.
Shared Hosting is a multi-tenant environment. A single poorly behaved plugin can generate disproportionate CPU, disk I/O, and database load, impacting the performance and reliability of other customers on the same server.
For this reason:
Our Shared Hosting servers include multiple layers of security controls at the hosting level. These controls are designed to protect websites without requiring heavy PHP-based scanning or constant background tasks within WordPress itself.
WordPress security plugins can be resource intensive (for example, file scans and frequent scheduled checks) and may create significant CPU and disk usage across a shared server. For this reason, security plugins may be disabled if they negatively affect performance or server stability.
wordfenceithemes-securityaiowpsall-in-one-wp-security-and-firewallWordPress-based file manager plugins expose powerful filesystem capabilities through a web interface inside WordPress. This class of plugin has historically been associated with serious security vulnerabilities and is commonly targeted by attackers.
Hipposerve provides secure file access as standard on all Shared Hosting plans, including:
Because safe file access is already provided by the platform, WordPress file manager plugins are unnecessary and present avoidable risk. They are therefore blocked on Shared Hosting.
wp-file-managerfile-manageradvanced-file-managerBackup plugins can be helpful in some environments, but on Shared Hosting they frequently trigger heavy CPU and disk I/O usage (for example, compressing large directories, generating large archives, and running long processes). When many sites do this on the same server, it can reduce performance for everyone.
Hipposerve provides backup options at the hosting level (and/or recommends external backup strategies depending on your service). For this reason, WordPress backup plugins may be disabled if they cause performance or stability issues on Shared Hosting.
wp-database-backupwp-db-backupbackupwordpressHipposerve Shared Hosting is configured to provide server-side caching where appropriate. This approach is typically faster and more reliable than PHP-based caching plugins, and is managed centrally to ensure stability in a shared environment.
Some WordPress caching plugins rely on file-based caching and aggressive cache rebuilds, which can cause spikes in CPU and disk usage, especially across multiple accounts. For this reason, caching plugins may be disabled if they cause performance or stability issues, and in most cases are not required due to the server-side caching already provided by the platform.
wp-super-cachew3-total-cachewp-fastest-cachecache-enablerWhere necessary to protect platform stability and security, Hipposerve may automatically disable certain plugins by preventing them from running on the server. In some cases, blocked plugins may be prevented from being enabled at all.
If you believe a plugin has been disabled in error, please contact support and we will review the situation. Please note that where a plugin is generating excessive load or introducing security risk, we may be unable to allow it on Shared Hosting.
We go above and beyond in ensuring you get the very best from your website and digital services
