In many ways, you can think of web hosting companies as a landlord for your website. They provide the space and power your site needs to exist on the internet and are responsible for making sure it’s always up and running.
However, anybody that has ever rented property before will be quick to tell you that some landlords are better than others. The same can be said for web hosts.
While there are a lot of great web hosting providers out there, there are also a lot of not-so-great ones. To help you sort through the wheat and the chaff, I have put together a list of the eight best web hosting providers.
- SiteGround – Fast and secure – ideal for businesses
- Bluehost – One of the largest hosting companies – great for beginners
- Hostinger – Great all-round hosting service with a ton of features
- DreamHost – Great value for money
- HostGator – Popular provider with a lot of features
- GreenGeeks – An environmentally friendly provider
- GoDaddy – Best hosting in USA (also offers multi-lingual support)
- Ionos – Well-established hosting provider with a wide array of features
Now, let’s take a look at each of these providers in a little more detail. (Bear in mind that the best hosting provider for you will depend on your individual needs).
SiteGround
SiteGround is one of the most popular web hosting providers and for good reason. They offer a wide range of plans, all of which come with fast and secure servers. In turn, this makes them ideal for businesses that need to have a reliable website with consistent uptime. It’s also a good option for those that must comply with data security regulations (like GDPR).
SiteGround utilizes Google Cloud and SSD persistent data storage, which means that your website (and all of its data) is stored on state-of-the-art servers. This results in extremely fast loading times, even for sites with a lot of content and media.
You can also install WordPress with one click, which is especially useful for beginners. On top of this, Siteground also provides daily backups, automatic WP upgrades, a free CDN, and free SSL. All of this makes Siteground one of the best hosting providers out there.
Pros
- Fast and secure servers
- Ideal for businesses that need a reliable website
- Free CDN and SSL
Cons
- Can be more expensive than some other providers
- No free domain name
Pricing
Prices for the shared hosting plans are offered across three plans:
- StartUp – $19.99/month
- GrowBig – $29.99/month
- GoGeek – $44.99/month
However, there are big savings to be made if you are willing to sign up for a year or more. For example, on a 12-month plan, the StartUp plan only costs $2.99/month ($35.88 per year).
Bluehost
Bluehost could well be one of the most well-known web hosting providers, thanks in part to their close relationship with WordPress.org (they are one of the recommended providers). They offer a wide range of hosting plans, including shared, VPS, WordPress-specific, and even dedicated server hosting.
Thanks to its ease of use and excellent customer support, I would always recommend Bluehost to beginners, especially those that wish to install WP. On top of this, the company offers some of the cheapest hosting deals on the market and even offers a free domain name for your first year. The free SSL and site builder is a nice touch too.
Pros
- One of the largest providers with a lot of features
- Great for beginners, especially those wanting to install WordPress
- Cheap hosting deals with a free domain name
Cons
- Higher domain renewal price
- No monthly billing
Pricing
Bluehost shared hosting starts at $4.95/month, VPS hosting at $19.99/month, and dedicated servers at $79.99/month. Bluehost seems as though they are always running some kind of promotion, so it is definitely worth checking their site before you sign up.
Hostinger
Hostinger is a great all-around hosting service that offers a wide range of features at very competitive prices. In fact, many people consider Hostinger to be the best-all round hosting service for small businesses, thanks to its combination of price, features, and performance.
One of the things that I like most about Hostinger is their no-nonsense approach to pricing. You can sign up for a shared hosting plan for as little as $1.99/month (if you pay upfront for four years). This plan comes with 2 MySQL databases (which means you can have two WordPress websites on one plan).
With Hostinger, you also get free automated WordPress migration, and they also offer a wide array of added services, such as VPS hosting, email hosting, and so on.
Pros
- Competitive prices
- Two databases on one plan
- Free automated WordPress migration
Cons
- No free domain on the most basic plan
- Daily backups and CDN cost extra
Pricing
Hostinger’s shared hosting plans start at $1.99/month (if you pay for four years upfront). Here are the rates for other terms:
- 1 month – $9.99/month
- 12 months – $2.99/month
- 24 months – $2.49/month
DreamHost
DreamHost is another capable hosting provider that has been around for quite some time. While it may not be quite as robust and feature-rich as some of the other providers on this list, it does offer a good combination of features, performance, and price.
DreamHost guarantees 100% uptime and even offers compensatory credits if your site does go down. They also offer a wide range of features, such as unlimited storage and bandwidth. This freedom allows you to create a website that is truly custom to your needs without having to worry about things like storage space or bandwidth limits.
One of the only downsides of Dreamhost is the fact that all of its data centers are located in the United States. This may not be an issue for some people, but it is something to keep in mind if you are looking for a provider with data centers in other parts of the world.
Pros
- Uptime guarantee with compensatory credits
- Good combination of features and price
- Unlimited storage and bandwidth
Cons
- No free domain name
- Customer support is lacking
Pricing
Shared hosting plans with DreamHost start at $2.95/month. DreamPress (high-performance hosting designed for WordPress) starts at $16.95/month, and VPS begins at $13.75.
HostGator
HostGator is another big name in the web hosting place and offers its customers access to a wide range of tools and features.
Once again, HostGator only provides servers based in the United States, which may be a problem for those with businesses (or customers) in Europe and beyond. With that said, the company offers great uptime and is about as reliable as they come.
In addition, HostGator offers unmetered bandwidth and disk space, as well as a 45day money-back guarantee. So, if you are not happy with the service for any reason, you can always get your money back.
Pros
- Unmetered bandwidth and disk space
- 45-day money-back guarantee
- Great for beginners
- Free domain
Cons
- Only servers in the United States
- Limited VPS/dedicated service options
Pricing
With introductory offers, shared hosting plans cost the following at HostGator:
- Hatchling Plan – $2.75/month
- Baby Plan – $3.50/month
- Business Plan – $5.25/month
GreenGeeks
Looking for something a little different? GreenGeeks might be the hosting provider for you. As the name suggests, this company is all about being green. In fact, they claim to be 300% backed by renewable energy.
This nifty hosting provider isn’t just a flash in the pan, however. They offer a wide range of features that rival some of the biggest names in the business. They offer blazing-fast speeds, excellent uptimes, and a wide range of security features. You can also get a free domain and SSL certificate with your hosting plan.
With 24/7 support and a 30-day money-back guarantee, GreenGeeks is definitely the best website hosting platform if you are looking for a reliable and eco-friendly option.
Pros
- Eco-friendly
- Free domain and SSL certificate
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- 24/7 support
Cons
- No phone support
- Not as feature-rich as some of the other options
Pricing
GreenGeeks’ shared hosting plans are as follows:
- Lite – $2.95/month
- Pro – $4.95/month
- Premium – $8.95/month
These prices are for annual billing. Monthly rates are significantly higher ($10.95/month for Lite).
GoDaddy
GoDaddy is a major player in the web development space and offers everything you need to get your website up and running, from hosting to domain names and email marketing to SEO tools. As a result, it is one of the most popular hosting providers on the market.
Along with strong uptime rates and fast loading speeds, GoDaddy offers a wide range of features, including 24/7 multilingual support, Linux and Windows hosting, as well as easy app integrations.
With that said, all of this comes at a price. GoDaddy is one of the more expensive hosting providers out there. In addition, the company has been known to upsell its customers on a variety of services, which can quickly add up. You will also need to pay for your domain name since GoDaddy does not offer one for free.
Pros
- Wide range of features
- 24/7 multilingual support
- Linux and Windows hosting
- Easy app integrations
Cons
- One of the more expensive options
- Domain name not included in the price
- Heavy on the upselling
Pricing
Shared hosting plans with GoDaddy start at $10.99/month, or $83.88 if you pay annually.
Ionos
Last but not least we have Ionos, which is a German-based company that has been in operation since as far back as 1988. In fact, Ionos is now Europe’s largest hosting provider.
This company offers a wide range of services such as shared hosting, website builder plans, managed (and simple) WordPress hosting, eCommerce plans, VPS, and cloud hosting. As a result, Ionos is one of the best web hosting providers for businesses of all sizes.
One of the downsides is that Ionos can be a little tricky to wrap your head around, especially on the back end. If you are inexperienced or simply don’t have the time to learn a new interface, you might want to look elsewhere.
Ionos does offer 24/7 support, however, which can be very helpful.
Pros
- Wide range of services
- 24/7 support
- Fast and reliable
- Very affordable
Cons
- Can be tricky to use
- May not offer the best uptime in the US
Pricing
Ionos is one of the cheapest hosting providers on this list. The prices are as follows:
- Essential – $4.00/month (then $6.00/month after 12 months)
- Business – $0.50/month (then $10.00/month after 12 months)
- Expert – $8/month (then $16.00/month after 12 months)
Now that we have looked at all eight of these web hosting providers in closer detail, here is some extra information that you might find helpful in making your decision.
Uptime
Uptime is the amount of time that your website is up and running and accessible to visitors. Most hosting providers guarantee at least 99% uptime, which means that your site will only be down for an hour or less each month.
However, it is important to note that even a 99% uptime rate still means that your site could be down for up to 7.2 hours each year. If you need your website to be up and running at all times, you might want to consider using cloud hosting providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google Cloud Platform.
While this may not seem like a big deal, if your business is making money off of each visitor to your site, even a short amount of downtime can have a significant impact on your bottom line. Check your uptime statistics with UptimeRobot. It is free!
Security
Another important factor to consider is security. Your hosting provider should offer features such as malware scanning and protection, firewalls, and SSL certificates.
The latter is especially important if you are running an eCommerce website, as it will ensure that your customers’ personal and financial information is safe when they are entering it into your site.
As we have shown in this guide, some providers offer SSL as standard while others charge extra for it, so be sure to factor this into your decision.
Customer Support
Most hosting providers offer 24/7 customer support. This is important because if something goes wrong with your website, you will want to be able to contact someone as soon as possible to get it fixed.
However, not all customer support teams are created equal. Some are more responsive and helpful than others.
If you have an emergency or technical issue, there is nothing more frustrating than being on hold with a robot or waiting for a response from an unhelpful support agent.
The quality of customer support should also be a top priority for those of you that are inexperienced since they will be the ones you have to rely on to help you through any problems you might encounter.
Speed
Your hosting provider should offer fast and reliable servers so that your website can load quickly for visitors.
If your site takes too long to load, visitors will likely become impatient and click away to another site. This not only results in a loss of traffic but can also hurt your search engine ranking.
Google has stated that site speed is a factor in their ranking algorithm, so it is important to choose a provider that can offer fast loading times.
Domain names
If you don’t already have a domain name, your hosting provider can help you register one. However, some providers will charge you for this while others include it for free. While this may not be a dealbreaker for you, it’s definitely something to keep in mind.
Space and bandwidth
Depending on the size of your website and the amount of traffic you get, you will need more or less space and bandwidth.
Most hosting providers offer multiple tiers of service with different amounts of space and bandwidth so that you can choose the one that best suits your needs.
Be sure to pick a provider that can offer you the right amount of space and bandwidth for your website, as well as the ability to upgrade to a higher tier if necessary.
Integrations
These days, there are a ton of different software applications that you can use to run your website, from content management systems (CMS) like WordPress and Drupal to eCommerce platforms like Magento and Shopify.
Before you choose a hosting provider, make sure that they offer integrations with the software you want to use. This will make it much easier to set up and manage your website.
Final thoughts
As you can see, there are a lot of factors to consider when choosing a web hosting provider. The best website hosting provider for one person may not be the best for another, so it’s important to choose one that meets your specific needs.
For example, if you are running an eCommerce website, you will need to choose a provider that offers SSL certificates and good security features. You may also want to opt for a plan with higher bandwidth if you are expecting a lot of traffic.
On the other hand, if you are just running a simple website or blog, you may not need all of the bells and whistles that come with more expensive plans.
The most important thing is to take the time to do your research and choose a provider that can offer you the features you need at a price you can afford.
Happy hosting!
