SiteGround provides SSH access on ALL plans starting at $3.99/month—with WP-CLI pre-installed. While most shared hosts lock SSH behind expensive VPS upgrades, SiteGround quietly offers the developer tools AI agents need at entry-level pricing. If you’re a WooCommerce store owner wondering whether AI automation requires expensive hosting, this changes the math.

Why SSH Matters for AI Automation

AI agents like Claude and ChatGPT can manage your WordPress site through Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. But these connections need infrastructure access. On most shared hosts, that means upgrading to VPS plans costing $30/month or more.

SSH—Secure Shell—provides command-line access to your server. With SSH, AI agents can run WP-CLI commands to manage posts, plugins, users, and settings without clicking through the WordPress admin. They can read files, modify configurations, and execute workflows programmatically.

Without SSH, your AI tools are limited to what the WordPress REST API exposes. With SSH, they have the same access a developer would have sitting at a terminal.

What SiteGround Actually Includes

Here’s what makes SiteGround unusual among budget hosts:

• SSH on ALL plans: Even the $3.99/month StartUp plan includes SSH access
• WP-CLI pre-installed: No configuration needed—WordPress command line tools work immediately
• Key-based authentication: Required for all SSH connections (more secure than password access)
• Custom port 18765: SiteGround uses a non-standard port for additional security
• IP restriction options: You can limit SSH access to specific IP addresses

That last point matters for AI workflows. When you connect an MCP server to Claude Desktop or another AI tool, you’re authorizing access from specific infrastructure. IP restrictions add another layer of control.

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What You Can Actually Do

With SiteGround SSH on shared hosting, AI agents can:

• Manage content: Create, edit, publish posts and pages via WP-CLI
• Handle plugins: Install, update, activate, deactivate any plugin
• User management: Create users, reset passwords, modify roles
• Database operations: Search and replace, export, import via WP-CLI
• File operations: Read, write, modify theme and plugin files
• Cron management: Run scheduled tasks, check cron status
• Debug workflows: Check error logs, verify configurations

For most WooCommerce store owners, this covers 90% of what you’d ask an AI agent to do. Content publishing, product updates, plugin management, troubleshooting—all work within these capabilities.

What You Cannot Do

Shared hosting has limits. SiteGround SSH doesn’t give you:

• Root access: No system-level configuration changes
• Daemon processes: Cannot run persistent background services
• Package installation: Cannot install system software via apt or similar
• Server configuration: Cannot modify Apache/Nginx settings directly
• Node.js runtime: Cannot run Node.js applications (relevant for some MCP servers)

These limitations matter for advanced use cases. If you need to run a custom MCP server that requires Node.js, you’ll need VPS hosting. If you want to install system packages for specialized workflows, shared hosting won’t work.

But here’s the reality: most AI automation for WordPress works entirely through WP-CLI and file operations. The WordPress Abilities API (introduced in WordPress 6.9) specifically enables AI agent access via HTTP endpoints, reducing the need for system-level access.

The Security Setup

SiteGround takes SSH security seriously—which means slightly more setup than simple password access:

Step 1: Generate an SSH key pair. You’ll create a public and private key on your local machine. The public key goes to SiteGround; the private key stays on your computer.

Step 2: Add your public key in Site Tools. SiteGround’s control panel has an SSH Keys Manager where you paste your public key.

Step 3: Connect via port 18765. Your SSH client connects to your domain on port 18765 instead of the standard 22.

For AI agents, this means configuring your MCP server or automation tool with the correct SSH credentials and port. Most tools support custom ports—you just need to specify it.

Comparing the Alternatives

How does SiteGround stack up against other budget options?

Bluehost shared hosting: No meaningful SSH access. Need VPS at ~$30/month for developer tools.

HostGator shared hosting: SSH available but limited, with many restrictions on what commands work.

GoDaddy shared hosting: SSH disabled by default, limited when enabled, frequent timeout issues.

SiteGround shared hosting: Full SSH with WP-CLI at $3.99/month.

The price difference is significant. Going from $4/month to $30/month for SSH access is a 7.5x increase. For a small WooCommerce store testing AI automation, that difference matters.

When to Upgrade

SiteGround shared hosting works for AI automation until it doesn’t. Signs you’ve outgrown it:

• Need Node.js: Some MCP servers require Node.js runtime
• Need background processes: Persistent services require VPS
• Performance limits: Heavy AI workflows may hit shared hosting resource caps
• Custom server configuration: Nginx rules, custom PHP settings

SiteGround offers Cloud Hosting starting at $100/month for these use cases. But that’s a significant jump from $4/month shared hosting.

The better path for most stores: start with shared hosting to validate your AI workflows, then upgrade only when you hit specific limitations. There’s no point paying for VPS capabilities you don’t use yet.

First-Party Data: The Other Half of AI Readiness

SSH access lets AI agents interact with your WordPress site. But AI effectiveness depends on what data those agents can work with. Server-side tracking through solutions like Transmute Engine™ ensures your customer data—purchase events, conversion signals, customer identifiers—flows reliably regardless of browser restrictions.

AI-ready infrastructure has two components: hosting that allows AI agent access, and data collection that captures what those agents need to analyze.

Key Takeaways

• SiteGround SSH on all plans: $3.99/month shared hosting includes full SSH access
• WP-CLI pre-installed: No setup required for WordPress command-line automation
• Port 18765: Use custom port in SSH client configurations
• Key-based auth required: More secure but requires initial key setup
• 90% of AI workflows work: Content, plugins, users, files—all accessible
• Upgrade when needed: Start cheap, scale when you hit real limits

Start with the infrastructure you can afford. SiteGround’s SSH access at $4/month lets you test AI automation without VPS costs. Scale when your workflows demand it.