Planning to create a website? Look no further! These extensively evaluated and highly acclaimed hosting services offer an array of robust features and unwavering dependability, catering to both personal and business needs.
Web hosting holds immense importance for business owners and digital creators. In this digital age, it’s not an area where you can afford to compromise. With people increasingly relying on the internet to find services, products, and content, having a reliable and accessible website is crucial for your business. Even a simple webpage displaying your business hours and contact information can enhance your venture’s credibility in this interconnected world. Naturally, when creating a website for your business, blog, or personal project, choosing the right hosting service is essential. The services recommended below cover a wide range of website types, ensuring your needs are met. One notable option is Bluehost, a recipient of the PCMag Business Choice award and highly recommended by readers. However, it’s worth exploring the other highlighted services as well.
Here are the Best Web Hosting Deals This Week*:
- Hostinger (Opens in a new window) – $2.78 Per Month for Premium Plan + 3 Months Free with code PCMAGDEAL
- WP Engine (Opens in a new window) – $20 Per Month for Startup Plan + 4-Month Free with code PCMAG20
- HostGator (Opens in a new window) – $2.56 Per Month + Free Domain Registration
- GoDaddy (Opens in a new window) – $5.99 Per Month for Economy Plan
- NameHero (Opens in a new window) – $2.42 Per Month + 30-Day Money Back Guarantee *Deals are selected by our commerce team
Best for a Lengthy Money-Back Guarantee: If you prefer a deeper analysis, here are our top tested picks:
- HostGator Web Hosting
- Best for Shared Hosting
- Rating: 4.5 Outstanding
- Why We Picked It: HostGator offers a wide selection of hosting packages, including feature-rich options like WordPress, VPS, dedicated, and cloud servers. It also provides a great website builder called Gator. Additionally, HostGator allows you to choose a Windows-based server, which sets it apart from other providers.
- Who It’s For: Small and midsize businesses looking to quickly build Linux- or Windows-based websites with room to grow. HostGator’s shared hosting packages offer unlimited disk space, monthly data transfers, databases, and email addresses across the board.
- Pros: Numerous feature-rich hosting plans, excellent shared hosting offerings, suitable for novice webmasters, useful site-building software and e-commerce tools, helpful 24/7 customer service, outstanding uptime.
- Cons: Not all plans have a Windows Server option.
- Bluehost Web Hosting
- Best for Building WordPress Sites
- Rating: 4.0 Excellent
- Why We Picked It: Bluehost strikes a balance between pricing and features, catering to both hobbyists and business professionals. It offers great uptime, WordPress-enhancing tools, e-commerce add-ons, and overall flexibility. The user-friendly website builder with drag-and-drop simplicity adds to its appeal.
- Who It’s For: As WordPress powers a significant portion of the internet (over 40%), Bluehost excels in WordPress hosting. It provides plans for building nearly any type of website, along with custom tools that simplify the process.
- Pros: Dependable uptime, excellent WordPress hosting plans, useful WordPress site-building software, terrific customer service, easy-to-use interface, free site migration.
- Cons: Lacks cloud hosting, no monthly shared hosting plans, absence of Windows-based servers.
- InMotion Web Hosting
- Best for a Lengthy Money-Back Guarantee
- Rating: 4.0 Excellent
- Why We Picked It: InMotion is a top-tier web hosting provider offering reasonably priced shared, dedicated, VPS, and cloud hosting plans. It covers a wide range of hosting needs, including WordPress-specific plans and reselling options.
- Who It’s For: InMotion appeals to diverse hosting requirements and offers an excellent 90-day money-back guarantee for shared hosting plans, allowing ample time for testing.
- Pros: Excellent uptime, various hosting types, unlimited email with all plans, unlimited data transfers with Shared and WordPress plans, lengthy money-back guarantee, user-friendly website-building software.
- Cons: Lacks Windows servers, not all plans have month-to-month payment options.
Remember, selecting the right web hosting service can significantly impact the success of your online presence. Choose wisely to ensure a reliable and efficient website experience for your visitors.
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DreamHost Web Hosting:
- Best for Cloud Hosting
- Rating: 4.0 Excellent
- Why We Picked It: DreamHost stands out as one of the best services for delivering dependable, Linux-powered servers. It offers valuable website-building tools and competitively priced hosting plans for various needs, including shared, VPS, and WordPress-specific servers. The affordability and flexibility of DreamHost’s cloud-based servers earned it an Editors’ Choice nod.
- Who It’s For: DreamHost is an excellent choice for those new to website building, with user-friendly tools and highly competitive rates for cloud-based hosting. It also provides a feature-packed toolset, including site-building software and unlimited data transfers across the board.
- Pros: Strong security features, extensive domain-management tools, excellent cloud hosting offerings, unlimited monthly data transfers, generous shared hosting money-back guarantee, useful WordPress staging feature.
- Cons: No email with Shared Starter plan, lacks Windows-based servers, no telephone support.
A2 Web Hosting:
- Best for Stellar Customer Service
- Rating: 4.0 Excellent
- Why We Picked It: A2 Hosting offers robust hosting packages, excellent uptime, and exceptional WordPress plans. It also boasts an incredibly helpful customer service team that promptly addresses customer problems and questions. A2 Hosting is a PCMag co-Editors’ Choice winner for its WordPress plans.
- Who It’s For: A2 Hosting is an excellent choice for those specifically interested in WordPress hosting and comfortable with Linux-based servers. It offers highly optimized environments for WordPress, as well as managed options with 24-hour support and supervision.
- Pros: Robust hosting packages, particularly for WordPress, excellent customer service, great uptime, good money-back refund plan.
- Cons: No Windows server options, relatively expensive.
AccuWeb Hosting:
- Best for Dedicated Hosting
- Rating: 4.0 Excellent
- Why We Picked It: AccuWeb Hosting offers fantastic web hosting plans and helpful customer service. It particularly excels in dedicated hosting, earning the company an Editors’ Choice award. AccuWeb Hosting stands out by providing both Linux and Windows server options, offering more flexibility for website foundations.
- Who It’s For: Companies in need of high-powered dedicated hosting will find AccuWeb Hosting to be an excellent choice. The dedicated plans, while more expensive than shared, VPS, WordPress, or cloud options, offer unparalleled storage and data transfer capabilities. AccuWeb Hosting is ideal for enterprise-level business hosting.
- Pros: Stellar uptime, excellent dedicated hosting plans, choice of Linux or Windows servers, helpful customer service.
- Cons: Lacks unlimited email with Windows accounts, no month-to-month shared hosting plans.
Liquid Web Hosting:
- Best for Managed Hosting
- Rating: 4.0 Excellent
- Why We Picked It: Liquid Web Hosting offers a wide range of hosting packages, including cloud, dedicated, VPS, WordPress, and reseller servers. While it lacks a low-cost, shared hosting tier, it excels in providing managed, enterprise-class service. Liquid Web Hosting delivers exceptional care and attention to customers’ web hosting needs.
- Who It’s For: Liquid Web Hosting is an excellent choice for larger businesses in need of premium hosting. With powerful hosting options, impeccable around-the-clock support, and white-glove treatment, Liquid Web Hosting is well-suited for businesses seeking reliable and high-performance hosting solutions.
- Pros: Robust dedicated, VPS, cloud, and reseller packages, powerful server specs, terrific customer service, excellent uptime.
- Cons: Lacks shared hosting plans, expensive with limited refund options.
Hostwinds Web Hosting:
- Best for Reseller and VPS Hosting
- Rating: 4.0 Excellent
- Why We Picked It: Hostwinds Web Hosting excels in VPS hosting, making it an excellent choice for users who outgrow shared hosting and need more advanced solutions. It also offers strong reseller hosting plans for individuals looking to start their own hosting businesses.
- Who It’s For: Hostwinds Web Hosting is an appealing choice for a wide range of clients, from small businesses to larger enterprises. With attractively priced and robust services, it is particularly suitable for those looking to migrate their websites to beefier VPS servers or for those interested in selling hosting services.
- Pros: Terrific uptime, excellent reseller and VPS hosting plans, good customer service, Minecraft server hosting.
- Cons: Not all plans have a Windows server option, short money-back guarantee window.
WP Engine Web Hosting:
- Best for WordPress Hosting
- Rating: 4.0 Excellent
- Why We Picked It: WP Engine specializes in offering powerful and valuable WordPress hosting options. It also provides other great plans, flexibility in cloud-based platforms, and reliable service. WP Engine is a strong contender for managed WordPress hosting with plenty of power.
- Who It’s For: If you plan on building a WordPress-powered site, WP Engine is worth considering. The web host covers most WordPress-related needs and offers options for easily scaling server specifications. It does not provide domain registration or email services directly but supports integration with third-party providers.
- Pros: Terrific uptime, outstanding customer service, daily backups, real-time threat detection, useful staging area, choice of Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud Platform for cloud hosting, custom plans available.
- Cons: Email isn’t included with hosting plans, doesn’t sell domains.
Hostinger Web Hosting:
- Best for Customized Server Packages
- Rating: 4.0 Excellent
- Why We Picked It: Hostinger is a versatile web host that combines excellent uptime, great customer service, and a mix of traditional and cloud-based hosting. It offers customizable packages, including the ability to create private video game servers for games like CS: GO or Minecraft.
- Who It’s For: Hostinger appeals to gamers who want to create their own private servers, but it also serves non-gamers with attractively priced and feature-rich hosting options. Hostinger constantly adds new features and improves accessibility to make its hosting options easier to use.
- Pros: High-quality and low-cost plans, helpful customer service, terrific uptime, optional Minecraft servers, includes the company’s Zyro website builder.
- Cons: Lacks dedicated web hosting, not every plan has a Windows option, lacks phone support, base shared hosting plan offers just one email account.
Ionos by 1&1 Web Hosting:
- Best for Large-Scale Cloud Hosting
- Rating: 4.0 Excellent
- Why We Picked It: Ionos by 1&1 is a powerhouse when it comes to scale. It offers well-rounded packages, including shared, VPS, WordPress, and dedicated servers. Its cloud hosting plans are particularly feature-rich, earning it an Editors’ Choice pick in that subcategory.
- Who It’s For: Ionos by 1&1 is ideal for enterprises looking to establish an online presence. Its reliable and powerful cloud-based services allow for easy scalability of server specifications as your company grows.
- Pros: Dependable uptime, excellent cloud hosting packages, Linux- or Windows-based servers, easy-to-use website creation tools.
- Cons: Lacks reseller hosting plans, relatively sparse email options.
Remember to consider your specific needs and requirements when selecting a web hosting service. The features, pricing, and support options vary, so choose the one that aligns best with your goals and budget.
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Think of the websites sharing your server as roommates. You may have your own bedroom, but you still have to deal with them in the common areas. In web hosting, shared hosting means multiple sites share the same server’s resources. This can cause issues when one site experiences a surge in traffic, affecting the performance of neighboring sites or even crashing the server.
VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting is similar to shared hosting but provides more isolation. It’s like renting your own apartment in a larger building. While you may still be affected by a neighboring apartment, it’s less likely to cause problems for your site. VPS hosting is more expensive, typically ranging from $20 to $60 per month.
Dedicated hosting is powerful and expensive. It’s for sites that require a significant amount of server resources. With dedicated hosting, your website is the only one on the server, like owning your own home. This grants your site full access to the server’s power but comes at a higher cost. Dedicated hosting often requires you to handle backend technical issues, similar to how homeowners handle maintenance.
Managed hosting is an option offered by many dedicated hosting services. It means the web host acts as your IT department, handling server maintenance and upkeep for you. Managed hosting adds some cost but is convenient if you don’t want to handle technical aspects.
WordPress hosting is specifically designed for websites built on the WordPress content management system (CMS). You can set up a self-hosted site, where you transfer the WordPress CMS to a server or sign up for a web host’s optimized WordPress plan. The host takes care of backend tasks like plugin updates and backups. Alternatively, you can host your site on WordPress.com, where the hosting is handled for you, but customization options are more limited.
When selecting a web host, consider dedicated servers, advanced cloud platforms, custom server builds, and 24/7 customer support. If you’re selling products, look for a host that offers SSL certificates to secure customer data. Starting with shared hosting is often a good choice, and you can upgrade to VPS or dedicated hosting as your site grows. Be aware of refund policies and read the fine print to ensure the hosting plan includes the features you need, such as a site builder.
Customer support is crucial, so look for a host that offers 24/7 support through phone or chat. Linux is the default server operating system, but some hosts offer Windows Server hosting for specific requirements. Most hosts provide a graphical interface or control panel for easier server administration.
Consider your needs, do your research, and select a web host that aligns with your goals and requirements.