We've tested the best web hosting options around today
If you're setting up a website, you will need a capable and reliable web hosting service. It's as simple as that.
Web
hosting services are the foundation on which all websites are built. No
matter whether you're Google, a medium-sized business or a local
florist, if you want an online presence then you're going to want the
best web hosting for your needs - and that's where this guide comes in
handy.
As well as explaining what website hosting actually is and
the steps you should take before choosing yours, we'll give you a
definitive list of the best web hosting you can get - whether you're a
newbie producing your first website for a growing audience or a seasoned
veteran researching providers.
Your web hosting service will give
you the tools to help you build the best website possible for your
online business or hobby and make it accessible on the internet. The
most comprehensive providers will offer a whole range of services:
dedicated servers and management, website creator wizards, companion
email addresses, hosting for WordPress-built sites and more.
The best web hosting provider right now overall is Bluehost
- we love its wide and useful set of features (not to mention its
affordable price points) and it really excels when it comes to WordPress
hosting in particular. InMotion Hosting is another super all-rounder on the market and is able to service individuals and businesses of all sizes.
In
short, you've come to the best resource on the web for choosing the
best web hosting service. We have you covered with impartial
recommendations and expert advice for cheap hosting, shared hosting,
website builders and WordPress hosting providers.
Best web hosting services 2020 at a glance:
Bluehost
InMotion Hosting
HostGator
Hostinger
GoDaddy
Tsohost
Wix
SiteGround
Hostwinds
Weebly
Web hosting: our must-know tips before you get started
We
reviewed (and re-reviewed) more than 100 web hosting providers - free
and paid - so know what makes the best website hosts. From our
experience, we believe that these are the five most important things to
remember when selecting yours: You almost always get what you paid for If your website is primarily a hobby on the side then that
shouldn't matter. However, as an essential business tool, it is often
false economy to go for the cheapest deal (or a free one) on offer. Beware of pricing tricks The overwhelming majority of web hosting vendors offer low
prices at the beginning of their contracts but then jack up the pricing
after the introductory period ends. That can be 24, 36 or even 60 months
after signing up. Always look for the total cost of ownership. Just how trustworthy is the provider? Just about anyone can pretend to be a real web host and just be
reselling someone else’s products. So, look to see how long they’ve
been around, do they have a contact address, who owns them, are they
making realistic promises on the website etc. Google is your friend. Know your limits How comfortable are you with creating your own website? Do you
need external help to understand the numerous ramifications (including
legal and commercial ones) that publishing one entails? Consider website builders You don't need web hosting to get online and website builders
offer an interesting and compelling alternative. However you cannot
migrate your content easily if you want to leave because of their
proprietary nature.
For more hints and tips, you can scroll towards the bottom of this page for a full web hosting FAQ.
Bluehost has also been rated the top web host by WordPress.org. Image Credit: Bluehost (Image credit: Bluehost)
Taking top honours in our best web hosting charts, Bluehost
is a company based in Utah which is owned by web giant Endurance
International Group (EIG). It offers basic shared hosting from $2.95
monthly (on a three-year contract), with WordPress plans starting at $20
per month (although that’s also 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.
Furthermore,
Bluehost provides a Weebly-based website builder. This is a basic
browser-based affair that lets you create a website of up to six pages,
and there are no extras like site templates included. But still, it’s
better than nothing, and more functionality is in the pipeline – plus
you get this builder with the basic account.
There’s also good
customer support on offer, and the end result is a mix of user-friendly
aspects alongside a good amount of power and potential tweaking for more
advanced users.
Cheapest Bluehost Shared Plan | $7.99 $2.75 p/m | 65% off A fantastic bargain for TechRadar visitors, Bluehost has cut
the price of its Shared Plan (regularly $7.99 p/m) down to a mere $2.75
per month for the first term only. You get $175 in offers 24/7 support
plus free domain and site builder and 30-day money-back guarantee. Not
bad, considering Bluehost is #1!View Deal
What is web hosting?
Web
hosting is the generic name given to the business of, well, hosting a
website for organisations or individuals. But that's just the beginning:
selecting a truly reliable, affordable, scalable web hosting provider
is a daunting and overwhelming task as there's so many choices around.
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 website builder tools and varying
levels of support (either on 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, a simple online store or just want to
save money, moving to a cheaper web hosting provider, we've got you
covered.
Hosting is very much a horses for courses thing - 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 - they provide the flexibility of a
dedicated server but at a reduced cost.
The
hosting services your business can choose from will usually mean making
a decision whether a shared, dedicated or cloud based server is right
for your business.
Very small businesses will usually opt for a
shared or managed service as these are sometimes called. Costs are low,
but your business will be sharing its server with several other
enterprises. You can always move up to a virtual private network (or
VPS) if needed.
A dedicated server as its name suggests is just
one server reserved for your business. Dedicated servers are not as
expensive as they once were and can make economic sense if you want your
business to have its own server platform and not have to worry about
other businesses on a shared server impacting your online business if
they have problems.
It is important to look closely at the service
level (SLA) that will be attached to your dedicated server. Look for
any additional costs such as maintenance, or other 'extras' that are not
covered in the rental cost.
And lastly, try and buy server space
that you can expand into. You don't want to find after a few months that
you have outgrown your server and need to move to a new one.
Lastly
as the cloud has made a major impact right across the business
environment, business web hosting has also been touched by the cloud and
now offers an alternative to the traditional hosting methods. The power
of cloud hosting is the flexibility it offers. In effect your business
can buy just the space and hosting services it needs now and expand at
anytime with no disruption to business.
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