If you plan to start a website for any reason, you’ll need a web host. Web hosting platforms are what will allow your website to be visible to the public and there are many great options available on the market.
High speed, reliability, and great customer service are what you want when looking for a web host provider.
Just think about the customer experience for anybody who visits your website. Visitors are looking for a few key things:
- A website that works (web host responsibility)
- A website that is fast (web host responsibility)
- Easy navigation
- Aesthetically pleasing
As you may have guessed, web hosts are directly responsible for two of the four items that visitors care about, which means you definitely want a good web host.
There are many great web hosts on the market and searching through all of them can be overwhelming. This list contains 11 of the best web hosting platforms.
Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links where I may receive a small commission at no cost to you if you decide to purchase a web hosting plan using a link on this page. These are all tools I fully recommend when hosting a website.
1. Bluehost
Best overall web hosting platform due to cost and features
With all of the features offered at such a low price, Bluehost is the perfect web host for any website you plan on building.
Bluehost already powers over 2 million websites and continues to be the #1 web host recommended by WordPress, one of the most popular web building platforms in the world. In fact, over 30% of the web is powered by Bluehost!
Features:
Shared Hosting – Perfect for smaller-scale websites such as blogs and small businesses. Shared hosting means that multiple websites use the same server which helps to keeps costs down. The only downside about shared hosting is that performance may be a bit lower if other websites on the server see high volumes of traffic. Luckily, many websites rarely see the amount of traffic to slow your website down.
Dedicated Hosting – Larger-scale websites are recommended to use dedicated hosting because it is faster and more secure than traditional shared hosting. Rather than sharing server space with others, Bluehost will provide a server all to yourself. If you plan on using a lot of data on your website or see large spikes of traffic then you may want to consider upgrading to a dedicated server.
Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting – VPS hosting acts as a bridge between shared and dedicated hosting. VPS hosting is part of a shared server but Bluehost will separate out the resources equally amongst websites on the server and allocate a consistent amount of RAM and CPU. With VPS you have higher speed and great security at good prices.
WordPress Integration – Bluehost has been the #1 recommended host by WordPress since 2005 and for good reason. Upon selecting Bluehost for your WordPress website, Bluehost will automatically install the latest version of WordPress and keep it updated. With Bluehost automatic WordPress updates, you don’t have to worry about your website as much and can be more hands-off to focus on other aspects such as content creation.
WooCommerce Integration – If eCommerce is your goal, then consider using Bluehost for their integration capabilities with WooCommerce. WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that allows you to easily set up and customize an eCommerce store for free. Think of Shopify but cheaper and more customizable. Bluehost will automatically install WooCommerce on your website and provide free SSL to make all transactions secure.
24/7 Support – Regardless of the time, you can always reach out to Bluehost if you need support. They offer 24/7 support for everything. Honestly, you probably won’t need support because Bluehost makes everything so easy and there are many great tutorials available directly on their website.
Blue Sky Support – Bluehost offers customized support and development services for you with their Blue Sky services. Websites can be complicated because there are many features that require customized coding and support. Bluehost will personally build these for you in their Blue Sky program and offer expert support.
Marketing Services – Digital marketing is incredibly important in our growing digital society and Bluehost is here to help. Bluehost offers SEO management that helps build organic traffic by focusing on link building and relevant keywords. On the flip side, Bluehost experts can create paid advertising campaigns and manage your budget to drive instant traffic.
Website Migration – Bluehost can help migrate shared hosting websites. If you already have a web host and want to start using Bluehost, consider this feature as you don’t want to have any downtime during migration.
Key Benefits:
- All-in-one web host that integrates with the best platforms on the market such as WordPress and WooCommerce
- One of the cheapest web host providers considering all the great features that come included.
- Top-notch security and reliability
- 24/7 support and advance support options with Blue Sky
Pricing:
Bluehost is definitely one of the cheapest hosting options available making it a great solution for anybody on a budget. Shared hosting begins at $3.95 per month for the basic package all the way up to $13.95 per month for the Pro package.
How To Get Started:
- Go to Bluehost.com and select “Get Started”
- Choose the plan that best suits your needs
- Select a domain name
- Enter account information
- Click submit!
You can also check the availability of a domain name by using the search tool below from Bluehost.
Try Bluehost
2. SiteGround
Best web host for support and performance
SiteGround is a very underrated web hosting platform and it deserves to be near the top. It is a very reliable hosting platform that comes with the absolute best customer service.
Over two million domains are powred by SiteGround and people are beginning to take notice of just how great SiteGround is.
Features:
Shared Hosting – The web host standard that keeps prices fair all around the board. SiteGround is arguably the best on this list when it comes to site speed and uptime. SiteGround uses the fastest SSD drives and has partnered with Cloudflare to provide a free CDN service to all customers to make sites load even faster.
Cloud Hosting – SiteGround’s powerful cloud hosting service is ideal for businesses and individuals who expect a lot of visitors. Users can easily upgrade their RAM and CPU with the click of a button to scale-up performance for expected traffic spikes.
Customer Service – Without a doubt, SiteGround offers the best customer service and support on this list. Support is offered 24/7 and phones are answered very quickly. If you decide to submit a ticket, you can expect a response in about 15 minutes. To top everything off, SiteGround solves 90% of issues on the first contact.
WordPress Hosting – SiteGround offers automatic WordPress updates along with a free migration plugin that takes out the hassle of everything. Of course, you can always get a professional migration from their team of experts too.
WooCommerce Hosting – WooCommerce can be automatically installed on your WordPress site by SiteGround so you can start operating your store instantly. It can admittedly be overwhelming when starting out and luckily SiteGround is a very user-friendly web host platform.
Key Benefits:
- Data servers on four continents increase speed and decrease latency. Not to mention the data centers use 100% renewable energy
- 99.99% uptime with a speed of 673 ms making SiteGround extremely reliable and fast
- Unwavering customer support to solve any issue
Pricing:
SiteGround is admittedly pricier than some options on this list but the reliability and support you receive a worth it. The StartUp plan begins at $6.99/month and the GoGeek plan starts at $14.99 per month.
Try SiteGround
3. Hostinger
Cheapest shared hosting
Hostinger is in fact the cheapest web host on this list and comes packed with an abundance of features. Regardless if you are a blogger just getting off the ground or a thriving business, Hostinger is a great solution for you.
Established in 2004, Hostinger is a rapidly expanding web host provider with over 29 million users in 178 countries.
Features:
Beautiful User Interface – Hostinger has an amazing user interface. It is simple, modern, and easy to navigate. This is really great when navigating the cPanel because features are very easy to find.
Shared Hosting – Beginning at just $0.99 per month, you can use Hostinger’s basic shared hosting package. It comes equipped with one email, 100 GB of bandwidth, and a guaranteed uptime of 99.9%. Ideal for beginners or those on a budget, you can’t go wrong with shared hosting from Hostinger.
Cloud Hosting – Cloud is becoming increasingly important in our digital society and Hostinger is here to offer a great solution. Their cloud hosting server begins at just $9.99 per month for 3GB of RAM and 2 CPU cores with 100 GB of SSD storage. If you plan on growing your traffic you definitely want Hostinger’s cloud hosting service.
Minecraft Hosting – If you’re a Minecraft player you’re going to love this. Hostinger offers a hosting service allowing you to control your very own server for the game of Minecraft. You can install your own mod pack and play do just about anything that comes to your mind.
Zyro Website Builder – Zyro is Hostinger’s website builder tool that lets you make awesome looking websites. You don’t need any programming knowledge to get started. Choose from many of the designer templates and start building today. Zyro is also SEO friendly as well, meaning you are already ahead of the curve for search engine ranking and organic search.
Key Benefits:
- Cheapest option
- Beautiful user interface
- Website building feature
- SEO optimization
- Good customer support
Pricing:
Hostinger has the cheapest web hosting around! Starting at just $0.99 per month, you can get their basic shared hosting plan. The basic plan has almost everything you need to get started. At just $3.99 per month, you can get the best shared hosting option.
4. DreamHost
Best host for web design
Over 1,500,000 websites hosted by DreamHost makes it one of the top platforms on the market. DreamHost is very budget-friendly and comes with all the bells and whistles you need to launch your website.
Features:
Web Design – DreamHost makes it really easy to design a website with its drag and drop builder for WordPress. No coding knowledge is required, you can select from a multitude of pre-built options. You can save thousands in development costs by using DreamHost.
Shared Hosting – DreamHost offers 50 GB of webspace for the most basic package which is a ton! The basic shared hosting package is very budget-friendly beginning at $2.59 per month. DreamHost is simply fast, secure, and cheap making it a great option for beginners.
Cloud Hosting – DreamCompute is the cloud hosting solution allowing users to customize their servers easily to scale with traffic. You have full control of your server and can launch cloud servers in 30 seconds!
Custom Built Panel – DreamHost doesn’t use cPanel like most of the other hosts on this list. The DreamHost Panel is a custom-built solution to manage your website that is easy to navigate. If you are looking to migrate your website to DreamHost, just be aware you won’t be using the cPanel.
WordPress Integration – DreamHost is a recommended host by WordPress. You will get an instant WordPress installation couple with free migration services.
Marketing Services – Digital marketing is difficult and if you don’t want to take it on yourself don’t worry. DreamHost has a team of marketers that can optimize your website for SEO and build your social media presence. Hiring a developer can cost thousands of dollars but DreamHost is here to help.
Key Benefits:
- Great web design features
- Very cheap shared hosting
- A lot of site storage space (50 GB)
- Reliable and fast
- 97-day money-back guarantee
- Great marketing services (SEO, social media)
Pricing:
DreamHost is really cheap if you decide to sign up for their 3-year plan. The basic package begins at $2.59 per month and the Shared Unlimited plan starts as low as $4.59 per month. Just the cost of one Starbucks coffee!
Try DreamHost
5. GreenGeeks
Best host for the environment
If you are concerned about the environment and want to contribute to the greater good of society then you should consider GreenGeeks. GreenGeeks is the most eco-friendly web hosting provider in the world. Their data centers are matched by 300% renewable energy.
GreenGeeks powers more than 500,000 websites and is a very reliable hosting provider. You operate an amazing website while helping the environment, it’s a win-win!
Features:
Green Initiative – GreenGeeks puts back 3x the amount of energy they use through renewable energy resources. Believe it or not, data centers account for about 2% of world emissions. 2% is about equal to the airline industry according to GreenGeeks. As data centers continue to grow in size the problem isn’t going to slow down anytime soon. Luckily companies like GreenGeeks are taking this issue head-on while providing great hosting services at the same time.
Shared Hosting – GreenGeeks certainly contends with the big players in the hosting space such as Bluehost and SiteGround. For the most basic plan, you get unlimited webspace, a free SSL certificate, unlimited email accounts, and overall great performance.
Reseller Hosting – If you work in the internet space as a developer, web designer, or some other field then you should consider reseller hosting from GreenGeeks. Reseller hosting allows you to brand this hosting service as your own if you want to offer a total package to your customers. For example, you can charge for your web development services and also sell them a domain hosting plan under your own brand from a reliable and green provider like GreenGeeks.
99.9% Guaranteed Uptime – GreenGeeks guarantees 99.9% uptime. You need a reliable hosting service to keep your visitors happy because any downtime could result in visitors running away. The last thing you want is downtime after creating a beautiful website with great content. You won’t have to worry about GreenGeeks because they are very reliable.
Key Benefits:
- Environmentally-friendly hosting
- Reliable and quick
- White-label hosting
- 24/7 support and good customer service
Pricing:
Shared hosting is very reasonable with the basic package starting at $2.95 per month. If you are growing fast then you should consider the premium package at $11.95 per month. Don’t forget you are contributing to the greater good of the environment as well!
Try GreenGeeks
