In today's digital world, it's an understatement to say that an online presence is vital. However, the task of getting your business online can seem overly complex and daunting. Also, choosing a web host provider where you will be hosting websites is a minefield.
A lot of questions might be popping around in your head. Do you need shared hosting, or some other type? Could you be better served by a simple website builder? How much storage do you really need? How about an SSL certificate?
In this article, we provide a detailed summary about the top web hosting sites. But we've also highlighted their respective strengths, things that might be important to your choice. Plus information to help you choose which particular web host might be right for you.
Website Hosting: Bluehost
Taking the top spot on the web hosting provider's leaderboard is Bluehost. This Utah-based company is nearly two decades old. It is owned by web giant Newfold Digital, powering more than two million websites worldwide.
It offers basic shared hosting (on a three-year contract) with wordpress plans, with a promotional introductory rate.
In addition, Bluehost provides a Weebly-based website builder. This is a basic browser-based case that allows you to create a website of up to six pages. And there are no extras like website templates included.
There is also good customer support on offer, a free website migration tool. What's more, the result is a mix of easy-to-use aspects alongside a good amount of energy. As well as potential tweaks for more advanced users.
Website Hosting: Hostgator
Also part of Newfold Digital, Hostgator offers an impressive range of hosting services. Ranging from domains to dedicated servers at very competitive prices and backed by a 99,9% uptime guarantee.
This applies to both your specialized hosting and any of your other hosting options.
Hostgator offers three specific shared hosting plans, starting with a Hatchling subscription, which comes with bandwidth, free WordPress/cPanel website download, and a free SSL certificate.
Allocations are generous and should easily accommodate the requirements of a single domain.
An upgrade from that, if needed, is the Baby plan. It offers the same list of features but for unlimited domains (ie you can host as many websites as you like).
For more demanding sites that don't yet require their own server, you can opt for the Business plan that comes with its own dedicated IP. But also, a free upgrade to The Positive SSL and a set of free SEO tools.
Additional benefits include a 45-day guarantee, not to mention free transfers to new accounts within the first month after signing up. There's a lot to like here considering the minimal impact on your wallet, if you're happy to compromise.
Hostinger
This is one of the biggest providers of free web hosting through its brand. Thanks to the latter, it has accumulated over 30 million users, and offers some of the lowest prices thanks to low running costs and overheads.
Hostinger prefers to use its own technology (for example, it has its own custom control panel rather than the ubiquitous – and sometimes controversial – cPanel), so it can deliver better performance and features at a much lower cost.
There are three cloud hosting plans available, Cloud Startup, Cloud Professional and Cloud Global, all of which offer unlimited bandwidth and up to 300 websites for your account.
The Cloud Startup plan comes with 100GB of SSD storage, 3GB of RAM and 2 CPU cores.
The Cloud Professional plan extends these to 140GB of storage, 6GB of RAM and 4 CPU cores, the Cloud Global plan further extends these to 200GB of storage, 16GB of RAM and 8CPU cores.
All plans come with a free SSL certificate. Prices depend on how long you commit to the service.
inmotion
InMotion Hosting is a popular web host that has been in business for over 15 years, with an impressive array of plans on offer, including reseller hosting.
All plans include assisted setup and migration, especially useful for those coming from other web hosts.
Plus, you won't have to worry about the server side of things, as InMotion takes care of all that for you.
For those looking to try to be a web host, InMotion's reseller plans come with a free WHMCS license, which allows for automated setup and billing for customers.
InMotion provides cPanel and Softaculous panels, and another strong point is excellent tech support in case you get stuck on anything.
The Beginner reseller plan comes with 80GB of storage, 800GB of bandwidth and can host up to 25 accounts.
Other plans raise limits and prices accordingly, and there's a 90-day money back guarantee if you're not satisfied with the service.
hostwinds
Hostwinds offers a range of dedicated server hosting with powerful configuration options for anything from general to heavy use, making them ideal for hosting everything from company websites to game servers.
There are several basic options to select from, which you can customize according to your preferences. The cheaper models have a simple quad-core processor and start with at least 8GB of RAM, making them ideal for typical users.
There is a good set of additional options available for customization, with different RAID configurations and a range of operating systems available, as well as a Windows Server option.
A 1Gbps network link means whichever bandwidth option you choose (all generous) you don't have to worry about traffic being throttled in the end.
Complete server management is provided, which will be useful for those who do not want to be burdened with Sys administrative functions, with server monitoring and nightly backups also provided as part of the service.
If there is one criticism we have, it is that a control panel like CPanel, Plesk or Exim is not provided by default, which can simplify many server operations for users; however, if you contact Hostwinds, they will be happy to advise on the best option as an add-on if you are not comfortable configuring one yourself.
Dreamhost
Dreamhost offers standalone email hosting among the range of different packages that this established web hosting service provider offers.
Dreamhost email hosting offers 25GB of storage by default, with the ability to sync emails between desktop and mobile devices. In addition, there is an ad-free webmail software platform included.
Another key feature is an intelligent anti-spam filter, which ensures filtering of spam messages, but also viruses, malware and phishing attacks. The filter is adaptable to emerging threats, ensuring you stay protected.
There are some important advantages to having your own hosted email account. The first is that it stays connected to your company's domain name, which looks much more professional than a free email account.
Plus, it also means you have complete control over your own data. So your emails will not automatically be scanned to provide advertising for you, something free email providers do very commonly.
Prices are relatively cheap, and it depends on whether you want to pay monthly or commit to annual payments.
domain.com
Domain.com is best known as a good domain provider, but their hosting plans are also worth looking at, offering powerful and reliable hosting on a stable and secure platform.
Hosting plans are generous, with even the most basic plan offering unlimited storage and scalable bandwidth. 10 databases are available, as well as XNUMX FTP accounts, and there is also a free SSL certificate.
The Deluxe plan offers 25 databases and 25 FTP accounts, while the Ultra account completely discards all restrictions.
The only point to note is that Domain.com does not offer monthly plans but only contracts for one, two or three years and does not charge extra depending on the length of the contract.
liquid web
Liquid Web is a provider that specializes in high-end managed hosting solutions for everything from email to WordPress, WooCommerce, VPS, dedicated and many other cloud products.
Most plans deliver much more than you might expect. Liquid Web doesn't automatically update WordPress, for example: it also updates its plugins in a separate, isolated environment to check for issues before submitting them live on your production site.
Liquid Web's VPS and Dedicated Server plans add even more managed hosting features covering many areas. The company has its own data centers with fully managed hardware and network infrastructure.
Key software is installed, updated and supported, there are free external migrations, virus and spam protection, and system monitoring allows for quick notification of issues.
Liquid Web will not appeal to bargain hunters, and its baseline prices may be much higher than some of its competitors.
However, what you're paying for is high quality support and high-end hardware, so you're getting what you pay for.
Wix
Wix is ​​a website building service that offers an attractive range of plans, and has some truly impressive depth when it comes to tailoring your website to best suit your needs.
The service has an easy-to-use editor that bristles with content and functionality, allowing you to tweak your site in a wide variety of ways.
And there's depth to the whole picture; so, for example, when it comes to templates, you don't just have a scattering of pre-defined sites, but over 500 of them. You will often find that you are spoiled for choice with Wix.
Other powerful features include a built-in image editor with tons of Instagram-style filters, and a number of ecommerce templates to boot (note that Wix doesn't charge transaction fees on its sales either, unlike some rivals).
Wix still has a free plan, although this limits bandwidth and storage space (up to 500MB) and branding your website.
Get closer to the Unlimited plan, which is the most popular subscription, and you get 10GB of storage plus a free domain, unlimited bandwidth (as the name suggests), plus Google Ad vouchers.
Weebly
Like Wix, Weebly is another giant in the field of website building, and gives you the option of a free plan – albeit limited to 500MB of storage.
You'll also get ads on your site, so if you want to stay free of Weebly-imposed ads, you'll need to move to the entry-level paid plan.
The starter pack has no ads or storage limits, and you also get a free domain. Also, what's really cool for anyone thinking about selling stuff online is that there's also support for a web store (although a basic one contains a maximum of 10 products).
The more robust plans give you a ton of features, allowing you to build a high-end web store with support for coupons, customer reviews, and inventory management. Plus, there's a high-end performance plan that also caters for gift cards, abandoned carts, and email campaigns.
What is the best website hosting service in 2021?
The best web hosting provider right now is Bluehost. The reasons are many, but succinctly, it provides excellent value for money, hosts over two million websites worldwide, is recommended by WordPress and offers free SSL certificate and free domain with a long money back guarantee and unlimited bandwidth on all your plans.
What is website hosting?
Web hosting is the generic name given to the business of, well, hosting a website for organizations or individuals. The truth is, this can be done by individuals (eg I host a website from home) or by companies.
But that's just the beginning: selecting a truly reliable, affordable and scalable web hosting provider is a daunting task. And therefore overwhelming, as there are so many options out there.
Many packages include a wealth of features that you may or may not place value on. That is, including a mailing list, a control panel, the ability to create online stores easily, simple web building tools. As well as different levels of support (whether by phone or live chat).
Whether you are looking to build a website for yourself, a website for your small business now or in the future, or a simple online store, or you just want to save money by switching to a cheaper web hosting provider.
Think of web hosting providers as owners and servers as properties.
Shared hosting is like renting every room in a property. Put too many sites on one server and the quality of service can drop if some become too popular or steal too many features.
VPS is a step above shared hosting. You have your own virtual private server (the equivalent of apartments). But it still shares some amenities with other tenants who live on the same block as the garden or the door.
Dedicated hosting is the equivalent of a house; an entire server just for one client. Expensive but worth it if you are ambitious. There are still limitations, however, dedicated hosting allows for more flexibility.
What are the different types of website hosting services?
In a shared hosting service, a user shares a server with other websites and web hosting accounts. Although these are cheaper, shared hosting is better suited for smaller websites that do not use a lot of bandwidth resources.
VPS (Virtual Private Servers) or cloud hosting let you scale resources as and when you need them. That is, instead of being constrained by the limitations of a physical server.
They rely on a pool of processing power, memory and storage depending on your needs. VPS usually takes a physical server. It then allocates dedicated resources, while cloud hosting takes a bunch of servers and allocates resources across them.
With a dedicated web server, you have the entire web server for your own use, with significantly faster performance at the heart of the offering. You will have to pay extra though, and you will be responsible for maintenance.
Web hosting companies generally offer three main paid levels of hosting packages. In addition to the above mentioned levels, one should also consider WordPress hosting as well as more powerful website builder software.
VPS or dedicated server: which to choose
Both virtual private and dedicated servers come with their own set of pros and cons, and making a choice can be confusing at first.
If you have a smaller or personal website that doesn't need a lot of features, you can opt for VPS. Virtual Private Servers will give you the flexibility you'll need to switch between different levels of options and payments.
Larger companies always opt for dedicated servers that offer better scalability.
Therefore, if you have a larger website or application that receives a lot of traffic, contains resource-intensive media and graphics files, you should choose a dedicated server to ensure that your website does not experience any downtime or overload.
Having your own set of dedicated resources will allow you to scale and experiment without worrying about the security threats that come with shared resources.
Ultimately, the choice depends on your unique set of requirements and budget constraints.
Na Colors Agency, we guarantee much more than just an attractive look and a modern layout for your website and blog.
Our main focus is to offer companies around the world effective solutions to generate visibility on the internet.
Our agency develops SEO strategies and brand positioning for multinational companies, large, medium and small, all projects are important to us.
