Need a new web hosting service for your company website or personal blog? We’ve tested the best providers on the market
Choosing the best web hosting provider is an important part of your journey towards building and growing an online presence for your business or for yourself. We’ve provided detailed summaries for each web hosting provider and highlighted their respective strengths and features, things that may be important for your choice, plus information on pricing and why each particular web host may be an ideal fit for you. As of December 2021, we have reviewed (and are continuously re-reviewing) more than 160 web hosting providers, a number that includes best website builders (as well as static site generators and landing page creators). So, in short, we know exactly what the absolute top website hosting companies are made of. No one has reviewed more web hosting providers than us online. We also have a detailed explanation of how we thoroughly test each web hosting provider. If you are short on time, below are the top three web hosting providers. Scroll further down to read more about why we chose them. Web hosting is the generic name given to the business of, well, hosting a website for organizations or individuals. Truth is that it can be done by individuals (e.g. I host a website from home) or by businesses. But that’s just the beginning: selecting a truly reliable, affordable, scalable web hosting provider is a daunting and overwhelming task, as there are so many options out there. Many packages include a wealth of features that you may or may not place value upon, including a mailing list, a control panel, the ability to create online stores easily, simple web building tools, and varying levels of support (either over the phone or live chat). Whether you’re looking to build a website for yourself, a website for your small business now or for the future, or a simple online store, or you just want to save money by moving to a cheaper web hosting provider, we’ve got you covered. Choosing a host is very much a case of ‘horses for courses’ – it’s a question of getting the best and most appropriate solution that you can afford. There’s no need to hamstring yourself financially, though. If you’re just starting out, or you’re a relatively small business and you know your way around a server, you might like to consider a Virtual Private Server (VPS), for example – these provide the flexibility of a dedicated server, but at a reduced cost. At the very top of the web hosting provider scoreboard is Bluehost. Arguably one of the largest website hosting providers in the world, Bluehost powers over two million websites globally. From WordPress hosting, to managed hosting and WooCommerce, Bluehost has its hypothetical hands in plenty of hosting pots, all while delivering services at a top-quality standard. For basic shared hosting, Bluehost cheapest plan goes for $2.75 per month (on a three-year contract), and its WordPress plans start at $2.00 per month, which includes one website and 50GB of SSD storage (although, that’s a discounted introductory rate). For the money, you get automated setup for WordPress, not to mention other popular apps via a Mojo Marketplace-powered system. There’s also a cPanel-based area to allow expert users to tweak things. Bluehost now also has its own website builder that features drag and drop editing, live editing, mobile editing, and stock image repository. It also includes over 300 templates, full WordPress access and custom CSS. Generally, Bluehost offers good customer support, as well as a free site migration tool, and the end result is a mix of user-friendly aspects alongside a good amount of power. Bluehost also offers a professional service to get your website started and it ranked in second place in our best website design services buyers guide. HostGator has been around since 2002 and has, over the years, grown to now cater to thousands of customers in the hosting department. The web hosting provider is the best when it comes to shared hosting services because it is reliable, the price is affordable and the company boasts of 99.9% uptime. HostGator offers three specific shared hosting plans, starting with the Hatchling subscription, which comes with unmetered bandwidth, free WordPress/cPanel website transfer and a free SSL certificate. The allocations are generous and should easily accommodate the requirements of a single domain. HostGator’s cheapest shared hosting plan is $2.75 per month if you sign up for 36 months. Hostgator’s Hatchling plan is usually $2.43 per month, its Baby plan is $2.98 per month, and its business plan is $4.48 per month. Aside from shared hosting, HostGator has a remarkable range of hosting services, from domains to dedicated servers. HostGator also provides WordPress hosting and, like Bluehost, has its very own website builder service too, which is not uncommon for web hosting companies to have these days. Some of the additional benefits HostGator has up its sleeves include a 45-day money-back guarantee, free transfers for new accounts within the first month after you’ve signed up,24/7/365 live chat support, and a free domain for a year. If you are looking for a web hosting service provider that will give you more for your money, then there’s lots that HostGator checks off the list. Hostinger has the top spot when it comes to cloud and premium shared hosting because of its speed, power and affordability. For its cloud offering, there are three plans available, Cloud Startup, Cloud Professional, and Cloud Enterprise, all of which offer 300 websites and unlimited bandwidth for your account. The Cloud Startup plan comes with 200GB of SSD storage,3GB of RAM, and 2 CPU cores. The Cloud Professional plan increases these to 250GB storage,6GB RAM, and 4 CPU cores, the Cloud Enterprise plan extends these further to 300GB storage,12GB RAM, and 6CPU cores. All plans come with a free SSL certificate and domain name. All plans come with a free SSL certificate, free domain, daily backups, host up to 300 websites, as well as a Google Ads credit. Pricing depends on how long you commit to the service. For the Cloud Startup plan, it costs $29 on a month to month basis. However, if you commit for a year, the monthly cost falls to $12.99 a month. For a two-year contract, it drops to $10.99 a month, and for a four-year contract, it falls to only $9.99 a month. For TechRadar readers only, Hostinger’s Cloud Lite Hosting plan is $1.79 per month for the first three months and its Premium Shared Hosting plan is just $1.79 per month for the first 12 months. Hostinger encourages you to get more cloud hosting power as your website expands. It is also one of the biggest providers of free web hosting via its 000webhosting brand, and has amassed over 30 million users, and offers some of the lowest prices thanks to low running costs and overheads. Hostinger gives their users a convenient choice of technology – cPanel or hPanel, its own customized control panel. A more intuitive hPpanel allows a better and more comfortable control of performance and features. In regards to your website’s security, Hostinger uses server security tool BitNinja to guard all its servers against cyberattacks. On top of that, the company boasts that it uses integrated custom security software that is regularly updated. InMotion Hosting is a popular web host that has been in business for over 15 years, with an impressive array of plans on offer including reseller hosting. InMotion takes the lead in the reseller hosting department because its reseller plans come with a free WHMCS license, which allows for the automated setup and billing of clients. This is great for anyone who wants to take a stab at becoming a web hosting provider. Web hosting services offer reseller schemes that allow you to buy a block of resources – disk space or bandwidth for example – to divide and sell it however you like. InMotion’s Beginner reseller plan comes with 80GB of storage,800GB of bandwidth, and can host up to 25 accounts, and costs $21.
