Best Web Hosting Options
There is no single best web hosting company or service, but we can recommend the best for specific situations. If you want to know how to choose the best web hosting option then check out our notes below, or if you just want to know what we think then use the links above to navigate to our specific recommendations.
We have aggregated real user reviews from all the big review sites so you can see what everyone really thinks of all the popular hosting companies...you'll be surprised by some of the results.
All The Web Hosts Ranked by Rating
We've crawled the web to aggregated ratings from all these hosting companies, ranked here based on the average rating from all reviews we could find. This list serves as an overall view of all the hosting companies we've looked at, but not all hosts are the same. Some specialize in shared hosting, some specialize in cloud hosting, while others focus purely on hosting WordPress sites. To help you find the best host for you needs we've grouped them together and made specific recommendations for the best web hosting in different categories. Use the page navigation to find the hosts most relevant to your requirements.
Best Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is the low cost entry level hosting used by most bloggers and small business websites. Typically it costs less than $10/mth and is great for websites getting hundreds or even up to 1-2k visitors per day. Much more than that though and you ought to be looking at more expensive hosting plans.
Editor's Pick
SiteGround is our pick for the best shared web hosting based on our personal experience with their service over many years. SiteGround offers rock solid reliability, good performance and their support team are genuinely knowledgeable and helpful. This perspective is backed up by the overwhelming positive reviews and ratings of SiteGround across the web.
Combined Web Rating
SiteGround are not the cheapest shared hosting offering, and if there is any negative comments from customers it is usually related their surprise at increased costs when their contract first renews. That is to say that SiteGround does often offer cheap introductory prices, but the monthly rate reverts to the normal on renewal. As long as you are expecting that it is no big deal. The little bit extra you pay for SiteGround will seem very worth it when you inevitably need support and their team is on hand to help.
Shared Hosting Alternatives
SiteGround are not the only good shared hosting company. We think the following are all good options too. We have used all of these hosts at different times and they all offer a robust service. We don't list pricing here because pricing changes constantly, so we recommend you check them all out, and see which one suits you best.
| Shared Hosting | Overall Rating | Review Count | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| DreamHost | 5,657 | Visit Site | |
| Hostinger | 27,789 | Visit Site | |
| GreenGeeks | 1,677 | Visit Site | |
| Hostgator | 12,821 | Visit Site | |
| A2 Hosting | 3,366 | Visit Site | |
| Bluehost | 26,505 | Visit Site |
Best VPS Hosting
Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting is the next step up from shared hosting. It is still shared in the sense that you are still sharing a physical server with other web sites, but you will be sharing with relatively few sites which each get a certain amount of resources on the server, eg. a certain amount of processing power and storage. The other distinguishing feature of VPS hosting is that you also get lower level access to the server configuration, hence the name Virtual Private Server. You are sharing a server but it works as if it is your own private server.
Editor's Pick
When we need a VPS we use A2 because they are fanatical about site speed and server performance and also do a great job of supporting their customers. This commitment to the success of their customers is reflected in their consistently high ratings from reviews around the web.
Combined Web Rating
A2 Hosting offers a great range of VPS hosting options including managed and unmanaged VPS servers. Unmanaged are cheaper and intended for those customers with the internal resources to effectively configure and manage their own server configuration. The managed VPS service is a little more expensive, but it is ideal for customers without their own network admins to manage the server configuration and security. With the managed offering you get peace of mind knowing that A2's own system administrators are monitoring and managing the performance and security of your server.
Alternative VPS Hosting Companies
| VPS Hosting | Overall Rating | Review Count | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Siteground | 16,665 | Visit Site | |
| DreamHost | 5,657 | Visit Site | |
| Hostinger | 27,789 | Visit Site | |
| GoDaddy | 96,931 | Visit Site | |
| Hostgator | 12,821 | Visit Site |
Best Dedicated Hosting
If you are in the market for dedicated hosting you most likely run a successful site already that gets many thousands of visitors a day. Either that or you are building a web application for which you need to total control over the hosting environment. Shared hosts give you no control over the server level configuration, or even what version of operating system or scripting languages are running. A dedicated server is quite literally a dedicated physical server sitting in a server farm which is yours to configure and run as you see fit.
Most dedicated server providers offer both bare metal servers or managed servers. A bare metal server will be the cheapest and gives you total control, but it also comes with total responsibility for security and performance. Unless you have the skills in house to set up and secure a server you may be better to look for a managed server, which will be a little more expensive but comes with the benefit of support for setup, configuration and perhaps most importantly, security.
Editor's Pick
FastComet specialize in cloud and dedicated server hosting. We think they are the best option for businesses and that all the benefits of a dedicated web server. FastComet's reviews speak for themselves, with a high average rating based on customer reviews from around the web.
Combined Web Rating
Specifically, FastComet offers managed dedicated servers which means they take care of all the technical stuff like provisioning and configuring the server to your requirements and hardening it for security. This is ideal for businesses that need the flexibility and dedicated resources of their own server, but don't have the technical chops in house to manage that effectively, or maybe you do have the chops but want to outsource that for efficiency. Staying on top of security with constant scans and patches can be quite tedious so the managed server offering ensures that this is in the hands of a team that does this round the clock and are incented to stay on top of it all.
Dedicated Hosting Alternatives
| Dedicated Hosting | Overall Rating | Review Count | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linode | 6,373 | Visit Site | |
| Hostinger | 27,789 | Visit Site | |
| InterServer | 1,783 | Visit Site | |
| Hostgator | 12,821 | Visit Site | |
| A2 Hosting | 3,366 | Visit Site | |
| Bluehost | 26,505 | Visit Site |
Best Cheap Hosting
The cheapest hosting you can find is inevitably some kind of shared hosting plan, but we've split this out as a separate recommendation because amongst the many shared hosting companies there are a few that really do deliver incredible value, and so can legitimately be categorized as the best cheap hosting options. Going for the cheapest hosting option will rarely be the right option for a business or for a site that is in some way mission critical, but if you are starting out as a blogger, need a site for development purposes, or otherwise just need to launch a low cost website, then this is for you...
Editor's Pick
Hostinger is an Eastern European based company that has developed a reputation for very aggressive pricing (from $1.39/mth), making them a favorite with bloggers and solo web publishers who need to keep costs down. The most impressive thing is that they are able to back this up with solid and reliable technical performance too, and this is reflected in their good reputation and consistently high ratings in reviews around the web.
Combined Web Rating
While we recommend Hostinger as the best cheap host, based on their very low cost shared hosting plans, they do offer a complete range of hosting services. This means you can start out on one of their cheap plans and scale this up as you site is more successful. Specifically, they do offer slightly more expensive managed WordPress hosting plans, VPS, scalable cloud hosting, and special plans for agencies that want to manage hosting on behalf of their clients. Heck, they even offer Minecraft hosting in case you are into that!
Cheap Hosting Alternatives
| Cheap Hosting | Overall Rating | Review Count | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| GoDaddy | 96,931 | Visit Site | |
| Hostgator | 12,821 | Visit Site | |
| Web.com | 8,283 | Visit Site | |
| Bluehost | 26,505 | Visit Site | |
| iPage | 1,137 | Visit Site |
Web Hosting FAQs
What Is Web Hosting and How Does It Work?
Web hosting is a service that provides users with a secure location on the internet to store their online content. This content typically comes in the form of the text, code, videos, and images that make up a website.
It's nearly impossible to place a website online without first attaching the site to a web hosting service. Most web hosting providers offer a suite of extra features that are designed to enhance a website. These features include offsite storage, security backups, customer support, and even traffic analysis. Web hosting can occur locally through a server or personal computer. However, hosting is typically available from a third-party provider that's considered to be cloud-based. Web hosting is available as a free or paid service.
What's the Difference Between Web Hosting and a Domain Name?
Web hosting and domain name are two terms that are integral for bringing a website online. However, they are two distinct services. A domain name is a website address that users enter into an address bar at the top of a web browser like Firefox or Chrome. Web hosting is the location that your website and content is stored.
In order for users to get to your website and for your site to appear on search results, you must have a domain name. These names typically begin with http or https. While it's possible to purchase a web hosting service and a domain name from different companies, most hosting providers include a domain name as a feature of their hosting packages. In most cases, domain names will need to be renewed every year.
What Is Shared Web Hosting?
Shared web hosting is a service that allows two or more websites to be housed on the same server. In the majority of situations, you won't know which websites you're sharing the server with. When two or more websites are sharing the same server, each website will have access to a limited amount of server resources.
If you select a shared hosting package, your hosting provider should tell you the exact amount of resources that you'll have access to while your website is housed on the server. While shared web hosting is an economical option for smaller websites, larger websites may find that they don't have enough resources to provide users with quick speeds and a hassle-free user experience. Many hosting companies allow users to upgrade to a higher-tiered hosting service, which lowers the risk of selecting shared web hosting.
What Is VPS Hosting?
Virtual private server (VPS) hosting is similar to shared hosting but provides users with more security and stability. This form of hosting makes use of virtualization technology in order to deliver dedicated resources on a single server with multiple users.
The dedicated resources available with VPS hosting are private, which means that your databases and files can be locked away from other users who have their websites on the same server. Many website owners use VPS hosting as the next step following shared hosting. When using VPS hosting, sharp upticks in traffic shouldn't worsen site performance, which means that users should have a consistent experience when visiting your website.
What Is Dedicated Hosting?
Dedicated hosting provides website owners with one or more physical servers that don't need to be shared with other site owners. As such, all of the resources contained within the server will be available to your website. When a website uses dedicated hosting, the people who visit the website should have a fantastic experience that's free from loading issues, page slowdown, and other common errors.
If you select dedicated hosting, you will have total control over the server that you purchase. This server can be optimized for enhanced security and performance. The hosting provider is tasked with providing technical support, the physical server, and any features/services that are included with the hosting package. Because dedicated hosting allows for better functionality, the maintenance requirements are typically higher when compared to shared hosting and VPS hosting.
What Is Cloud Hosting?
Cloud hosting is a service that uses virtualization technology to separate a physical server into at least two virtual machines, which are referred to as cloud servers. The main difference between cloud hosting and other hosting options is that cloud servers don't exist in a physical space. Instead, the server exists within a type of cloud computing environment over the internet.
The multiple virtual servers that make up cloud hosting are interconnected to create a single network that hosts websites of all shapes and sizes. Just like standard hosting, cloud hosting is available as public hosting or private hosting, the latter of which offers greater security. Many modern website owners have moved to cloud hosting because of the myriad benefits it provides. Because cloud hosting is comprised of multiple, interconnected servers, your website will continue to run even when one server fails. Scaling your website is also simple with cloud hosting since there are no limits in regards to computing power, bandwidth, and storage. When extra resources are needed, they can be obtained from a virtual environment.
What Is WordPress Hosting?
WordPress hosting is a type of hosting that's specifically optimized for WordPress websites. All of the tools, services, and features you obtain from a WordPress hosting provider are tailored to assist with the development and management of a WordPress website.
If you're set on creating a WordPress website, you can benefit from the features that you'll gain access to. Some of the WordPress features that are typically included with this form of hosting include automatic software updates, one-click install, and customized support that specializes in WordPress. When searching for the right WordPress hosting provider, keep in mind WordPress hosting is available with shared servers and dedicated servers alike, which gives you the ability to select the type of WordPress hosting server that best meets your needs.