There are thousands of web hosting service providers but choosing the best web hosting is not very easy without some research and time to try to compare.
All web host providers have different tiers of features that they offer. As you can imagine, money determines everything, but you may want one over the other for a specific platform feature, price, or ease of use.
Most people choose a web hosting provider based on introductory offers that they see from ads or commercials. However, there are thousands of options for you choose from. After looking at this article our hope is you would be able to decide on picking the best host for you or the most cost-effective host.
Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links where we may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you choose to purchase a plan from a link on this page. These are merely the products, tools, and services we recommend when it comes to running your business. You can read our full affiliate disclosure here.
Table of Contents
What is the Best Web Hosting?
The best web hosting services provide a variety of features including easy to use interfaces, reliable uptime and site speed, security, and integrations for your website.
Additionally, most hosting companies offer steep introductory discounts that make it easy to get started.
Our top picks for best web hosting:
1. Bluehost
Best Web Hosting Service Powering Over 2 Million Websites Worldwide (starting at $2.95/month)
Bluehost is our preferred hosting platform which provides a free SSL, free domain name, easy 1-click WordPress installation, FTP, and 24/7 customer support. Their plans start at $2.95/month (63% off), and they have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Here’s how to get started:
- Go to Bluehost.com and click Get Started
- Choose the plan you want ($2.95/month is cheapest)
- Either enter a new name or select one you own
- Enter your account information, account plan, and billing information
- We would uncheck the add-ons Sitelock Security and Codeguard Basic; but that is your choice.
- Click Submit and you’re ready to go!
We recommend you get started with the Basic Plan for $2.95/month, which is 63% off the regular price.
How To Save The Most:
Plan: Basic Plan at $2.95/month
Term: 36 months
Total cost at checkout: $106.20
Savings: $181.44
2. Knownhost
KnownHost is known for its support and managed servers. In operation now since 2006 they have been at this for a while. Expanding each year, Knownhost offers Shared, Cloud, VPS, and Dedicated hosting to suit any budget – all with proven best uptime on the planet!
KnownHost Shared Hosting provides a free SSL, free domain name, easy 1-click WordPress installation, FTP, free DDOS Protection, state side customer support (24/7), and free domain privacy. Their plans start at $3.47/month and they have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Here’s how to get started:
- Go to Knownhost.com
- Choose the plan you want (Shared Web Hosting at $3.47/month is cheapest) and click on See Details
- Click on Order Now
- Enter your account information, account plan, and billing information
- Click Create Account and you’re ready to go!
How To Save The Most:
Plan: Basic Shared Hosting at $3.47/month
Term: 36 months
Total cost at checkout: $124.92
Savings: $132.84
3. Hostinger
The most inexpensive route for starting out. Plans starting at $0.99 cents a month! (90% discount!)
Hostinger provides a free SSL, free domain name (on all but the least expensive plan), easy 1-click WordPress acceleration, and FTP. Their plans start at $0.99/month and they have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Here’s how to get started:
- Go to Hostinger.com and click Get Started
- Choose the plan you want – the best savings is the $0.99/month plan for 48 months.
- Enter your email and create a password.
- Choose Build Your Site or WordPress
- Edit and publish your site.
If you are looking for a powerful web host on a budget with fast loading times and a steep 90% discount, we would recommend getting started with Hostinger for $0.99/month (that’s $47.52 for four years of hosting).
How To Save The Most:
Plan: Single Shared Hosting at $0.99/month
Term: 48 months
Total cost at checkout: $47.52
Savings: $432
4. Hostgator
Hostgator has been around for nearly 20 years and is great for beginners and professionals alike. Their tools are specifically designed to scale and grow with you.
With a ton of website hosting options and plans starting at only $2.75/month, Hostgator offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee, free SSL certificates, 24/7/365 support, easy WordPress installs, and a free domain for a year. Hostgator is a great choice for those who are looking to start small and grow over time.
Here’s how to get started:
- Go to Hostgator.com and click Get Started
- Choose the plan you want – the best savings is the $2.75/month Hatchling plan for 36 months
- Click Buy Now to enter your billing information and select add-ons
- Click Checkout Now! and you’re ready to go!
If you are looking for a scalable web host with uptime guarantees, 24/7 support, and a free domain, all with a 60% discount, we would recommend getting started with Hostgator for $2.75/month.
How To Save The Most:
Plan: Hatchling Plan at $2.75/month
Term: 36 months
Total cost at checkout: $105.35
Savings: $151.37
5. Dreamhost
Dreamhost has been an industry leader in web hosting for over 20 years. Being employee-owned, they keeps focused on the unique needs of their users which include web designers, developers, bloggers and online businesses.
Once of the stand-out features of Dreamhost is that they offer a 100% uptime guarantee. Additionally, they offer a variety of other features including free SSL certificates, 24/7 support, and easy WordPress installs and migrations.
Here’s how to get started:
- Go to Dreamhost.com and click Get Started
- Select the plan you want – the best savings is the $2.59/month Shared Starter plan for 3 years
- Click Sign Up Now now to enter your billing information and select add-ons
- Click Submit Order and you’re good to go!
If you are looking for a web host with excellent 100% uptime guarantees, 24/7 support, and easy WordPress installs, we would recommend getting started with Dreamhost for $2.59/month.
How To Save The Most:
Plan: Shared Starter at $2.59/month
Term: 3 years/36 months
Add Ons: Pre-Install WordPress, WP Website Builder
Total cost at checkout: $93.24
Savings: $144.96
6. InMotion Hosting
InMotion Hosting is known for it’s fast, reliable and secure web hosting options for all your business needs. Their premium web hosting with 24/7/365 technical support, 99.99% uptime, and a risk-free money-back guarantee.
Additionally, they offer excellent security options including malware and hack protection, PCI compliance, and free SSL certificates making this an excellent choice for those seeking web hosting for an eCommerce website.
Here’s how to get started:
- Go to inmotionhosting.com and click Get Started
- Select the plan you want – the best savings is the $5.99/month Launch plan for 2 years (45% savings)
- Click Add to Cart to enter your billing information and select add-ons
- Click Continue and you’re good to go!
If you are looking for a premium web host that offers additional security features, we would recommend getting started with InMotion Hosting for $5.99/month.
How To Save The Most:
Plan: Launch at $5.99/month
Term: 2 years
Total cost at checkout: $143.76
Savings: $120.00
7. A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting is a fast hosting provider known for its page load speed and boasts itself as 20x faster than its competitors. Having a fast loading web host is important because faster sites have better SEO rankings, lower bounce rates, and higher conversion rates.
A2 Hosting offers speed-optimized WordPress installs, unlimited SSD space, free hosting migrations, automatic backups, free SSL certificates, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee all starting at 2.99/month.
Here’s how to get started:
- Go to a2hosting.com and click Get Started
- Select the plan you want – the best savings is the $2.99/month Startup plan for 3 years (72% savings)
- Click Get Startup to choose your domain, enter your billing information and select add-ons.
- Click Continue and you’re good to go!
If you are looking for a fast web host provider, we would recommend getting started with A2 Hosting for $2.99/month.
How To Save The Most:
Plan: Startup at $2.99/month
Term: 3 years
Total cost at checkout: $107.64
Savings: $216.00
8. AccuWeb
AccuWeb Hosting is based out of New Jersey and has been a power player in the web hosting industry for nearly 20 years.
They are fast, reliable, secure, and offer a wide range of different hosting options. They offer standard web hosting, cloud hosting, VPS hosting, and more. Additionally, they offer both Linux and Windows hosting.
As a certified WebMatrix Compatible Hosting company by Microsoft, they are a recommended company to use because of their ASP.NET components.
Here’s how to get started:
- Go to accuwebhosting.com and click Get Started under Web Hosting
- Select the plan you want – the most popular option is the $3.09/month Personal Web Hosting plan for 3 years.
- Click Order Now to choose your domain, enter your billing information and select add-ons.
- Click Continue and you’re good to go!
If you are looking for a web host provider that offers a variety of web hosting solutions or if you need a Windows-based hosting environment, we would recommend getting started with AccuWeb for $3.09/month.
Web Hosting FAQ
Web hosting allows businesses, organizations, and individuals of all sizes to make their websites visible on the internet. Whether they’re using a dedicated server, or sharing resources, every website is hosted on a server. The only way for a website to be visible on the internet is if it’s hosted by a web hosting service provider, also known as a web host.
The difference between a web server and a web host is that a server is a computer machine, or hardware, that stores and manages web files on a network. A web host is a service provider that provides the web server technologies required to host a website.
A domain name is similar to that of a home or business address. In order to find or visit a website, you must type the domain name (or URL) into your browser. Your computer will then connect to the server where the website is hosted, and the webpage will be delivered onto your screen.
There are six main types of web hosting, including shared, virtual private server (VPS), dedicated, cloud, managed, and colocation.
An SSL, or Secure Sockets Layer, certificate is the technology for keeping an internet connection secure and safeguarding any sensitive data that is being sent between two systems, preventing hackers and criminials from intercepting, reading and modifying any information transferred. It’s very likely you have seen an SSL certificate without knowing it! An SSL is what gives the (s) to https in a website URL and it is shown by the lock symbol within your web browser.
Web Hosting Summary
There are many options available when choosing a website hosting provider. We recommend you focus on security, reliability, speed, and technical support.
If you’re looking for the best web hosting platform, we recommend Bluehost and you can get started today for just $2.95/month (63% off).
Ultimately, whichever web host you choose you want to ensure that you can trust and rely on them to keep your website fast, secure, and easy to use allowing you to focus on growing your business without having to deal with these issues on your own.
