How Site Tools is organised
SiteGround splits management between the Client Area (plans, server details and resource statistics) and Site Tools, a per-site panel. The sections a course site uses most are Security, Speed, WordPress, Email and Devs.
A course or membership site is different from a brochure site in three ways that shape the order below: logged-in students should not be served cached pages, scheduled tasks such as drip releases and renewals must run on time, and the site sends a lot of email.
The week at a glance
| Day | Where | What to check | Why it matters for a course site |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Client Area > Websites > Server Details | Nameservers or A record decision | Nameservers move DNS and email to SiteGround; an A record moves only the website |
| 1 | Security > SSL Manager | Let's Encrypt installed; HTTPS Enforce on | Checkout and logins need HTTPS |
| 1 | Security > Backups | Daily backups present; take a manual backup | Restore point before you change anything |
| 2 | Speed > Caching and the Speed Optimizer plugin | Exclude checkout, cart and account URLs; enable Memcached if wanted | Logged-in users are not cached by default, but public dynamic pages may be |
| 3 | Devs > Cron Jobs | Real cron replacing WP-Cron, twice per hour | Drip content, renewals and reminder emails run on schedule |
| 4 | Email section | Mailboxes created; sending volume against hourly limit | 400 per hour on StartUp and GrowBig; each recipient counts |
| 5 | WordPress > Staging | Staging copy created (GrowBig and GoGeek only) | Test LMS and plugin updates off the live site |
| 6 | Security > Site Scanner | Decide whether to buy it | Paid add-on; daily URL checks and weekly file scans on Basic |
| 7 | Client Area > Services > Settings > Statistics > CPU Seconds | Baseline CPU usage | Logged-in traffic is uncached and uses more CPU |
Day 1: domain, HTTPS and a restore point
SiteGround's knowledge base describes two ways to point a domain. Using SiteGround's nameservers (ns1.siteground.net and ns2.siteground.net) means DNS records, including MX records, and email are managed from your SiteGround account from then on, so add any custom records in the DNS Zone Editor before switching. Changing only the A record points the website and leaves the rest of DNS and email where they are. If your email is on Google Workspace or another provider, the A-record route is less likely to disturb it.
In Security > SSL Manager, install a free Let's Encrypt certificate. SiteGround says these are valid for 90 days and renew automatically 30 days before expiry. Then turn on HTTPS Enforce from the menu beside the certificate, or enforce HTTPS in the Speed Optimizer plugin for WordPress.
Open Security > Backups. Shared hosting keeps up to 30 daily backup copies, and GrowBig and higher plans have 5 manual backup slots. Take a manual backup before any configuration change so you have a known-good point that is not tied to the daily schedule.
Days 2 and 3: caching and scheduled tasks
SiteGround's dynamic cache is a full-page NGINX cache enabled at the server level. Its Speed Optimizer documentation says content is not cached for logged-in users by default, which suits lesson pages. Public pages that change per visitor, such as checkout, cart and account pages, should be added under Exclude URLs from Caching; wildcards are supported. Memcached, an object cache for database queries, is switched on in Site Tools > Speed > Caching first and then in the plugin.
WordPress runs scheduled tasks only when someone visits, which can delay drip releases and renewal processing on a quiet night. SiteGround's tutorial replaces it with a real cron job: add define('DISABLE_WP_CRON', true); to wp-config.php, then in Devs > Cron Jobs run wp cron event run --due-now from your site folder at the Twice Per Hour interval. SiteGround's fair use page also asks for at least 30 minutes between cron runs, so do not set it more often.
Days 4 to 7: email, staging, security and resource use
SiteGround's email policy allows 400 messages an hour on StartUp and GrowBig and 800 on GoGeek, counts every recipient separately, and caps a message at 80 recipients. A cohort announcement to 500 students would exceed the hourly limit on GrowBig, so send course broadcasts from a dedicated email service and keep the hosting mailbox for transactional messages.
Staging is in WordPress > Staging on GrowBig and GoGeek. Use it to test LMS and membership plugin updates before applying them to the live site.
Site Scanner is a paid add-on. On the Basic level it checks URLs and blacklists daily, scans files weekly and keeps 30 days of reports; Premium scans files daily and adds one-click malware removal. Decide whether you need it or already have equivalent scanning.
Finally, record a CPU baseline. SiteGround shows CPU seconds and executions in Client Area > Services > Settings > Statistics. Its fair use page, last updated in 2021, lists 2,000 CPU seconds an hour and 20,000 a day on GrowBig; confirm current limits with SiteGround before relying on them.
What can wait until after launch
- Git (GoGeek) and other developer tools, unless you already deploy from a repository.
- Premium wildcard certificates; Let's Encrypt covers a single course domain.
- Logged-in user caching in Speed Optimizer, which stores a separate cache per user and can grow cache size.
- Moving existing mailboxes with the Email Migrator (up to 7 GB per account) if you are keeping email elsewhere.
- Fine-tuning front-end optimisation settings; try them on staging first and check quiz and checkout pages before applying them live.
Questions before you decide
Should I point my domain with nameservers or an A record?
Use an A record if your email or DNS lives elsewhere: SiteGround says it moves only the website. Switching to SiteGround's nameservers moves all DNS records and email management to SiteGround, so copy custom records into the DNS Zone Editor first.
Does SiteGround cache pages for logged-in students?
Not by default. SiteGround's Speed Optimizer documentation says content is not cached for logged-in users unless you turn on Logged-in Users Cache, which stores a separate cache per user. Exclude checkout and account URLs manually.
How many emails can a course site send from SiteGround?
SiteGround's email policy allows 400 messages an hour on StartUp and GrowBig and 800 on GoGeek, with each recipient counted separately and up to 80 recipients per message. Use a dedicated email service for broadcasts.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- SiteGround: point your website domain to SiteGround Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: manage SSL certificates in Site Tools Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: backup service Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: Speed Optimizer caching Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: replace WP-Cron with a real cron job Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: acceptable use of the email service Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: staging tool Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: Site Scanner Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: CPU resource usage graph explained Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: fair use of hosting resources Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: Email Migrator Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: WordPress hosting plans Accessed 30 Oct 2026
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