The best web hosting services give websites of all types, from blogs to business sites and ecommerce stores, a presence on the web, but the ever-growing number of providers available to choose from can pose a challenge to even the most experienced IT professionals.
By leasing a part of a provider's server resources, your site can grow and thrive, but there are a series of key factors to bear in mind when looking for web hosting. These include storage and bandwidth levels, price, security, reliability, support (both in terms of quality and response times), maintenance, and specific platform focuses (such as hosting for a WordPress site, for example).
Additionally, many of the best web hosting providers also include access to some of the best website builders as part of their hosting packages, which can provide an extra advantage and bonus for those just getting started online. It's worth remembering however to check any extra features offered, because you might not need everything that's being offered, and can save money with this knowledge.
In this guide, we aim to help those with little knowledge and those with in-depth understanding of the market to choose the best web hosting services for their needs and those of their businesses. Studying the factors mentioned above, plus the additional features offered, our aim is to help you find the information you need to make the right decision.
The top 3 best web hosting services
What are the best web hosting services?
In our view, the best web hosting service right now is Hostinger. Across its range of hosting plans, it provides excellent scalability, the best budget hosting currently available, a strong native control panel and security integrations, and a wider range of additional top tools and features.
Hostwinds is one of the top-performing hosts on the market, and offers top-notch value for money, while Bluehost's consistently strong performance and range of features across all hosting types and formats, as well as a generous 60-day money-back guarantee, mean it runs the top two close.
HostGator, InMotion Hosting, Namecheap, Liquid Web, DreamHost, GreenGeeks, and Domain.com all rank in our list too, and have been picked for their specific and particular focuses and strengths across the hosting space. Finally, we've also included the leading options for those looking for web hosting and a high-quality website builder, namely Wix and Weebly.
The best web hosting services available today
Hostinger not only provides one of the best free web hosting services via 000webhost, but also offers some of the best cloud hosting too. These are just two reasons why it's earned the trust of over 30 million users.
It relies on its own technology, and doesn't let third parties have a say in performance, feature management, or control. Customers can choose between three cloud hosting plans, three shared hosting plans, six VPS hosting plans, and two email hosting plans. It also offers cPanel, WordPress and Minecraft hosting in addition to CyberPanel VPS hosting.
Shared hosting begins at $1.39 a month (increasing to $2.99 after renewal) with its Single Shared Hosting plan, while the Premium and Business plans are $2.59 and $3.99 a month respectively. The cheapest plan covers one site with 30GB of SSD storage, and 100GB bandwidth, increasing to 100 sites, 200GB SSD storage, and unlimited bandwidth, on the Business plan.
Read our comprehensive Hostinger review to learn more about what we made of it, and why we ranked it top of this list. Also make sure to take a look at our Hostinger interview, where we spoke to CMO Daugirdas Jankus about the company's growth, its pivot to remote working, and the future of web hosting.
Hostwinds is the master of dedicated hosting, with its servers boasting powerful configuration features catering to general and high-demanding power users: for example either regular websites or heavy-duty, resource-draining gaming servers. It also provides shared hosting, business hosting, VPS hosting and cloud hosting packages, with its VPS hosting covering Linux and Windows, both managed and unmanaged.
This highly customizable provider offers several base options you can tailor to your own needs. Even its cheapest dedicated packages, suited for the most typical users, come with a four-core single processor and 8GB of RAM. Additional features include specifying the number of operating systems (i.e. standard CentOS, Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, or Windows Server), various RAID configuration options, and more.
All plans include full server management, so you can relax and not trouble yourself with any sysadmin duties, making Hostwinds suitable for less tech-savvy users. It also provides server monitoring and nightly backups, and guarantees to never throttle traffic thanks to a 1Gbps network link available to all users, regardless of what bandwidth option they’ve selected.
We had a bone to pick with Hostwinds on a couple of matters — its SSL certificate installation could be clearer, and its pricing could be less confusing — but its excellent performance and selection of plans more than make up for these. For more information on the web host, read our full Hostwinds review.
This US-based company offers affordable yet effective shared hosting, with a variety of plans and options to suit most businesses. That's why Bluehost has become one of the best web hosting services available in the market for all hosting needs.
It offers a wide range of services, including managed and unmanaged WordPress hosting; shared hosting; dedicated hosting; and VPS hosting. Whether you want a very basic, Weebly-based website builder to get your small online business up and running with minimal fuss, or something more complex with additional apps via Mojo Marketplace, Bluehost gives plenty of value for money.
We also like that there are plenty of customer support options available, on the off-chance that you need help or things go wrong. An inexpensive host that doesn’t skimp too much on features or performance, Bluehost offers the same level of consistency despite having comparatively fewer features than many other hosts.
It also has a range of potentially useful add-ons for search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising management, and managed WordPress hosting, making it a solid choice for those willing to pay a little more for good support.
Read our full Bluehost review to learn more about the platform, and why we rank it so highly.
HostGator is the web hosting service whose trump card has “budget” written all over it. Several pricing plans are available for each and every pocket and project profile, with at least two — Hatchling and Baby — offering attractive features.
These plans include unmetered bandwidth and disk space, support for file transfer protocol (FTP) and email accounts, MYSQL databases and subdomains. You will also enjoy the benefits of cPanel-based website management, and $150 of Google and Bing Ads credits.
The package comes with at least two guarantees, one relating to 99.9 percent uptime and the other a 45-day money-back guarantee. One main drawback HostGator is guilty of, in common with other budget hosting providers, is that its cheapest plan covers only one site. Its security is not great either, especially compared to the competition.
However, this is hardly a cause of alarm when the next plan in line costs only a fraction more, and even then it will hardly leave a dent in your budget. Read our HostGator review to learn more about the service.
InMotion Hosting is a veteran in the hosting business, and it's easy to see why, as it offers a long list of features, bundles and pricing plans for every user and budget. Starting with shared hosting plans, it also offers WordPress hosting as well as both VPS and dedicated packages.
Site loading performance is simply superb, and comes packaged with access to a dedicated team of professionals, who offer high-level support at any time. What separates InMotion's hosting from the crowd is its propensity to offer bonus features at no extra charge.
These include protection from DDoS attacks and malware, email spam shield, and an option for the creation of functional backups. Hosting is powered by cPanel and Softaculous platforms, which act as its seals of quality.
Finally, all of this is easily checked by any user within a 90-day guarantee period, which is more than enough time in which to make up your mind. You can also refer friends to earn a year of free web hosting. Our full InMotion Hosting review gives further details on the web host and its features.
As the ancient Latin saying goes, nomen est omen ("the name speaks for itself") and, as you could probably deduce, Namecheap focuses on providing affordable services without cutting any corners on quality.
It certainly succeeds, as you’ll see if you purchase one of its more advanced packages. The entrance-level plan, at only $2.88 a month ($1.18 a month for the two-year plan), doesn’t get you much — only 20GB of storage space and 30 email accounts. However, its price is a real bargain, and it does throw in free CDN support, one domain name, and coverage for three websites.
Increase your budget limit to $4.88 a month ($1.98 a month for the two-year plan) and you’ll get access to unrestricted SSD storage, unlimited websites, and auto-backups. At $8.88 a month ($4.80 a month for the two-year plan), you’ll receive 50GB SSD, cloud storage that guarantees zero interruptions, ultimate stability, and top-notch data protection.
As well as a 99.9% uptime guarantee and above-average speeds, Namecheap is beginner-friendly, and does its best to ease you into the platform with helpful information in its welcoming email, alongside a huge online knowledge base. Find out more in our detailed Namecheap review.
Liquid Web does an awesome job of providing various expert managed hosting services for all types of users and requirements. These range from WordPress and email hosting to WooCommerce, dedicated, VPS and cloud hosting.
Its capabilities shine in most of its plans. Take its WordPress solution as an example — you’re not only getting automated WordPress updates, but also plugin updates, first applied in an isolated environment to avoid any potential problems affecting you later, before being forwarded to your site.
Its data centers, run entirely on managed hardware and network infrastructure, allow Liquid Web to provide a wide variety of powerful features. These include a professional-level virus and spam defense system, deep system monitoring, key software installation, updates, support, and free external migrations.
Its incredibly expedient and professional customer support is the cherry on top, and while Liquid Web doesn't come cheap, good things rarely do, with this provider certainly justifying the cost. Learn more about the service and its features by reading our full Liquid Web review.
Having your own hosted email account is important, as it connects your email address and messages to your organization’s domain name, and establishes an air of professionalism. It also gives you more control over your own data, and circumvents automatic scanners for targeted advertising, which are typically used by free email providers.
Dreamhost has got you covered in all these areas, so look no further for your email hosting needs. Its services come at some very reasonable rates. The monthly option will only cost $1.99 a month per mailbox, while the annual subscription will set you back even less — just $1.67 a month per mailbox.
Dreamhost’s superior standalone email hosting comes with 25GB of storage, email syncing between desktop and mobile devices, and handy webmail software, regardless of whether you've chosen a monthly or annual subscription. Finally, to make sure all your emails are not just spam-free, but also protected against malware and viruses, its smart anti-spam filter adapts to all new threats.
It also offers the full gamut of hosting packages, ranging from shared through to VPS, managed WordPress, dedicated , and cloud hosting, at competitive prices. Find out more about our thoughts on the web host in our full DreamHost review.
GreenGeeks is proud of its dedication to eco-friendly hosting, proclaiming itself to be the "world’s #1 green energy web hosting provider". These aren’t just empty words: GreenGeeks has a 300% energy offset scheme, which means that for every amperage pulled from the grid, it invests three times that in renewable energy.
That said, its offering is bland at best, but its shared hosting does stand out. Specifically, it not only provides unlimited resources — web storage, bandwidth, databases, and email — but adds Cloudflare CDN integration, the Softaculous app installer, shared SSL, LSCache, nightly backups, and a free domain for a year.
Furthermore, it provides a user-friendly website editor, and a phone line if you need direct contact with its customer support team. The prices aren’t hefty either, with the three-year deal on its Lite packages costing you an equivalent of only $2.49 a month, after which the price increases to $10.95 a month.
This plan is the best for small websites and blogs that are just getting started, as it only covers one site. If your needs are greater, you can pick one of two other options. Starting at $4.95 a month (increasing to $15.95 a month after the initial pricing period), the Pro package will get you twice the performance.
If you opt for Premium at $8.95 a month (which renews at $25.95 a month), you’ll get four times the power, a free dedicated IP, and a free premium SSL. All the packages are covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee, and it also provides WordPress, VPS and reseller hosting to boot.
Domain.com is among the more cost-effective and reliable web hosting providers, with its shared hosting plans attracting the most attention. The Basic plan includes unlimited storage and plenty of bandwidth that you can build on, albeit for only one website. There are also WordPress hosting plans available, starting as low as $3.75 a month.
Other features include five FTP logins, ten databases, ecommerce solutions, and one Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate free of charge, with pricing starting at $3.75 a month. At $6.75 a month, you can get your hands on the Deluxe option, which covers as many sites as you want, extends the number of FTP logins to 25, and offers databases on 25 sites too.
The Ultra account removes all limitations, and is available at a monthly rate of $13.75. Unlike many competitors, Domain.com has no monthly pricing options, and only offers one-year, two-year, and three-year packages. It doesn’t have any differences in pricing based on the monthly price equivalent. Learn more by reading our detailed Domain.com review.
The best website builders with web hosting
Wix is a popular website builder that prides itself on its simple and intuitive yet quality and content-rich editor. It has several hundred meticulously designed templates, in addition to already predefined websites.
Its templates might be its most shining feature, but are hardly the only one. You’ll also get a built-in image editor filled with various filters, as well as ecommerce templates. Along with the absence of transaction fees on sales, these make Wix an excellent solution for online stores.
Although specializing in website building software, Wix offers attractive hosting plans too. Its free plan is very limited in terms of storage space and bandwidth (up to 500MB each), and imposes its branding on your website, but gives you a taste of what it can offer.
When you’re ready for something more, you can invest in one of its paid plans: Wix Connect Domain at $4.50 a month, Wix Combo at $8.50 a month, or the most popular, Wix Unlimited, at $12.50 a month.
The latter will get you unlimited bandwidth, 10GB of storage space, the $60-worth Visitor Analytics app and $60-value Site Booster app, and one free domain for a year. Wix even has a VIP option, as well as business and ecommerce premium plans for the most demanding users.
Take a look at our Wix review to learn more about the company, its services and what we made of it.
Just like other hosting providers share target audiences, Weebly wants to attract the same users as Wix, who are looking to build a website.
Weebly aims to be more intuitive, its powerful drag-and-drop builder allowing even the least experienced users to build a site. More experienced users will raise their thumbs at the sight of the vast template database, which turns website building into a Lego-like affair.
As for hosting, options start with the free version, with several restrictions its only “price tag”. You’ll be limited to 500MB of storage, and be unable to remove ads from your website. If it bothers you, you better look in the direction of the Professional plan.
Even this package offers you a glimpse of a wide range of features which Weebly hands out freely — starting from the support for building your own web store with functional coupons, customer reviews and inventory management, all the way through to organizing email marketing campaigns.
Read our Weebly review to find out more about the platform and what it offers.
What is web hosting?
Web hosting refers to the service whereby you lease server space from a provider on the internet, with all of your site's content hosted, from images to videos and text. Depending on your requirements, preferences, limitations, and budget, there are plenty of solutions to choose from.
However, not all providers are equally good, and finding the right one can be difficult and time-consuming. All provide detailed lists of features and add-ons including control panels, website editors, mailing lists, ecommerce support, scalability, testing environments, various support levels, security methods, and marketing credits.
Therefore, you’ll need to understand what you’re looking for. It all comes down to what features you need.
What are the different types of web hosting?
Depending on the size of your business and hosting needs, you’ll have to determine what type of hosting to go for. The difference is mainly in how many resources are given to your site exclusively, and how these are shared by websites across the hosting platform.
Shared hosting
A new business will do fine on a shared service, as it won’t cost much but will offer a decent service. The main downside is that server resources are shared with a number of other users, which might affect loading speeds.
If needs be, you can always upscale to a virtual private server (VPS), which mimics a dedicated server but within a shared hosting environment.
If you need resources assigned specifically to your site, then a true dedicated server is the only way to go. This removes the burden of worrying about sharing resources. One thing to consider when picking a dedicated platform is its service-level agreement (SLA), which defines the commitment you can expect from the provider.
In addition to an uptime guarantee, support hours, response times, security levels, and compensation when the guarantees weren’t fulfilled, the SLA may include other features that may not be included in the basic cost, such as daily or weekly backups.
Check whether the host offers enough scalability to keep up with your growing business needs. Who knows how much storage space, RAM, or additional servers your site will require in a few months or years? You don’t want to be stuck with an option you’ll have to replace altogether when it can no longer support you.
This more modern method has certain advantages over traditional ones, with the best cloud hosting including more flexibility and scalability, as well as being more environmentally friendly, since it doesn’t require as much infrastructure or space as on-site servers.
The best anonymous hosting solutions are designed to help you protect your privacy. Offered by many of the best web hosting services, anonymous hosting means you don't have to provide any personal or identifying information. Sign up with a pseudonym and/or email address, and pay with an anonymous payment method, to really reduce the risk of any privacy breaches.
You should be aware of whether you'll need management of your hosting too: for those with more IT experience, unmanaged hosting is ideal, while for those with less, managed hosting can take away a lot of the administrative and top-line challenges, allowing you to focus on your business.
How to choose the best web hosting service
There are several things you should pay attention to when deciding on which web host to go for, and common mistakes to avoid.
What you’re getting for the price
If you’re looking to host a hobby website or blog, you can get away with choosing cheap or even free hosting. On the other hand, large businesses require serious power, and thus a more substantial investment. Don’t compromise on what could cost you more in the long run. Even shared hosting plans, often the cheapest, can include unlimited web hosting elements such as unrestricted bandwidth, websites, or storage.
Discounts and renewals
You’ll notice that a large majority of the best web hosting services offer low-price packages in the first billing term, only to renew at a (sometimes substantially) higher price after the introductory period. Don’t be fooled: always read the fine print.
If the full price isn’t displayed clearly on the pricing page (usually crossed out above or below the discounted price), it will show up in the cart during the purchasing process. Taking advantage of an introductory discount may be a good option, especially if the low price is offered for a longer period like two, three, or four years. It all depends on how much you are willing to pay in the long run.
The provider’s credibility
Unfortunately, not everyone is honest: sometimes you’ll have scammers pretending to be web hosts try and take your hard-earned money, and either provide no service or a very poor standard. Make sure to do your due diligence by checking the provider’s contact address, owner information, launch date, reputation, and credible reviews.
Your own experience and limitations
Consider how much help you’ll need. Do you have expert knowledge or prior experience, or are you a complete beginner? Your choice should depend on how user-friendly the platform is, if it has a control panel (if you need one), as well as on the level of support offered, whether in setting up the site or the legal and commercial ramifications.
Web editors
Sometimes you can skip the web host altogether and go for a powerful website building service instead, which can also get your website online. That said, such services may have limitations, primarily in terms of advanced features like migrating websites, as well as the amount of supported bandwidth and storage space.
Which web hosting is better? Paid or free?
The short answer is paid hosting, especially if you’re running a big organization. The best free web hosting is perfectly suitable if you have a personal website or blog, but a business usually requires a more complex hosting platform, so you shouldn't cut corners here.
A paid hosting service will typically provide your website with an SSL certificate, which shows to visitors that your business is serious and trustworthy. You’ll also get more bandwidth and storage space, not to mention necessary backups.