Best Web Hosting Services of 2021

1.HostGator

HostGator considers its web hosting services the best for professionals. It guarantees 99.9%, which is vital for businesses. It also offers add-ons such as free SSL certificates and WordPress installs from $2.75 per month. If you want a reliable hosting solution for your web-based business read on.

HostGator offers versatile hosting solutions for beginners and pros in a well-organized drag and drop interface. Thus, whether you have $4 or $100 to spend on website hosting, you can create a premium websites in a few days and propel it to online success via the several free services on offer.

If you are only interested in website hosting, for instance, HostGator has three plans – Starter, Premium, and eCommerce – each with its pros. The Starter Plan starts at $3.84 per month and offers custom templates, a free domain, a website builder, and website analytics, to name a few. Premium plans start at $5.99/month, while eCommerce plans start at $9.22/month. However, in addition to the features of the Starter plan, you get priority support and eCommerce functionality (eCommerce only), which is a plus.

Like Bluehost and GoDaddy, HostGator also offers WordPress Hosting, VPS Hosting, and Dedicated Servers for people who want a little more “juice” for their websites or businesses. WordPress Hosting provides free migration of WordPress sites from other hosting providers for free and advanced security, starting at $5.95 per month. The standard and business plans start at $7.95 and $9.95 per month and offer add-ons such as backup (2-3GB). However, irrespective of the plan you choose, you get 2.5X fast load times for your WordPress hosted site. Moreover, you get a one-click auto-backup system and a clean control panel for managing your website.

VPS hosting offers more resources (CPU cores, higher bandwidth, storage space, RAM) and scalability, while a dedicated server will set you back $89.98-$139.99 per month. However, they deliver maximum performance, as you get world-class support, advanced management, and full system resources.

Why should you choose HostGator over other web hosting providers? First, HostGator is a beginner-friendly web hosting provider. Its drag and drop and one-click interface enables you to start a website faster without learning programming skills. Moreover, the sites on offer are professional-grade, as you have access to customizable themes and add-ons that you can use to set up SEO and a marketing campaign from within WordPress.

Second HostGator is one of the few web hosting providers that will migrate your existing website for you free. Its migration team not only shifts your site to a new server but also configures it to ensure optimal performance. You sit back and let the team do the hard work for you. Finally, you get 24/7/360 support and top-notch service from the award-winning team.

See more information at HostGator Hosting.

2. Bluehost

Bluehost is a trusted hosting partner that powers over two million websites and blogs all over the world. Founded in 1996, it is one of the oldest web hosting services around. It has a plethora of hosting plans starting at $3.95.

Do you have a small website or blog that you update occasionally? If you are shopping for affordable web hosting will quality features, check out the basic Bluehost web hosting plan. For just $3.95 per month, you get 50 GB of Solid State Drive (SSD) storage for content and files. You also get a one free domain for a year for one website, 25 subdomains, a free SSL certificate, and $200 marketing credit for boosting the visibility of the site.

The Plus plan costs $5.95 but offers a plethora of add-ons, which include unmetered SSD storage, unmetered parked domains, and 30-day access to the Office 365 mailbox from Bluehost’s servers. It is suitable for startups. The Choice Plan is the highest web hosting service in Bluehost and costs $6.95 per month. In addition to the unlimited websites, unmetered storage, and unlimited parked and subdomains found in the Plus plan, you get a CodeGuard basic backup system as well that backs up sites automatically. Thus, in the event of a hack attack, you can restore all content in seconds.

What gives Bluehost an edge over its competitors? Apart from the good rates that it offers its customers, it is a popular option among web lovers due to the numerous add-ons it provides. No matter the plan you order, for instance, you will have access to automatic WordPress installation. With the click of a button, Bluehost installs the most secure latest version.

Second, with Bluehost hosting, you do not pay for a domain name for up to a year. The company offers you one for free for a year plus free access to your emails via the Microsoft Office 365 application.

Third, you get free web updates for your WordPress site (automatic) and secure login credentials that you can switch to characters of your choice. Thus, unlike brands that offer users standard admin and password that comes with WordPress, your website and content are secure from the start.

Finally, if you have a brick and motor store that you are moving online, you will like Google My Business verification bundled with each web hosting plan. The system enables you to list your business online quickly and its location to allow visitors to locate it via Google Maps quickly.

See more information on Bluehost Hosting.

3. Dreamhost

Dreamhost delivers fast and secure website hosting services for beginners and professionals is a simple web interface. Even though Dreamhost chargers a fee for a website builder, unlike its competitors, the company offers versatile website hosting services that are within reach of all people.

Dreamhost offers several website hosting plans, with WordPress ranked among its most popular. Staring at $2.59/ month for the WordPress Basic plan, you save a significant amount on website hosting while getting top-rated services. The DreamPress Plan starts at $16.95 per months and offers versatile services, which includes on-demand backups, professional staging, and fast WordPress hosting. Finally, if you have many websites that you want to manage on one platform, the VPS for WordPress service might be for you. Starting at $27.50 per month, you can set up to five WordPress sites via its point and click interface. You also receive isolated resources that boost speed, uptime, and backend control for your websites.

If you are a beginner, the shared hosting plan from Dreamhost might be the best for you. Even though the company will host your website on a shared server with other customers, you get everything that you will need to launch a successful website. Starting at $2.59 per month, the shared starter pack offers storage space and resources for one website. You also get a free domain, unlimited traffic, an SSL certificate, and WordPress pre-installed, which is a plus. You can pay monthly, yearly, or after every three months, or add $1.67 more to get an email address for your website. The unlimited shared hosting starts at $3.95 per months and grants you unlimited emails, which makes it ideal for large businesses/corporations.

If you require VPS hosting or dedicated web hosting, Dreamhost has flexible plans that you might like. Starting at $10.00 per month, its managed VPS hosting offers you a virtual private server with managed performance and security updates. You also get your server resources that boost speed and web performance, unlimited traffic/bandwidth, and add-ons such as domain email (unlimited), SSDs, and unlimited domains. Dedicated servers start at $149.00 per month, and cloud hosting $0.0075 per hour.

Apart from its versatile hosting plans, Dreamhost is an excellent hosting provider for the following reasons. First, if you are a beginner, the web hosting service will help you to succeed online without burning a hole in your pocket or stressing you up. Its custom control panel, for instance, is easy to use. You can launch your site, update pages, and manage it on a day-to-day basis hassle-free. Moreover, because it has full-featured web hosting services, you get everything that you will need to succeed. Custom emails, for instance, will make your communications professional. You also get fast web resources and a 24/7 expert support system for your website.

See more information on Dreamhost Hosting.

4. WP Engine

Developed by Jason Cohen, WP Engine is a trusted website hosting company that focuses solely on WordPress Hosting. Its flexible framework enables you to customize your CMS to match the needs of your blog, business, or website, via a one-click interface. Therefore, unlike some proprietary hosting platforms that require you to work within a specific guideline, WP Engine opens up new online opportunities that you can exploit to improve your web presence. This award-winning system is innovative, intelligent, agile, and has many plans for beginners, medium-size businesses, and large corporations.

The startup WP Engine plan starts at $25 per year and offers 50GB bandwidth, 10GB of local storage space, and support for one blog or small website. Thus, if you are a novice or want to test out the system before upgrading to a higher plan, opt for this plan. It has all the basics required to create and manage a site. Moreover, because it has a 60-day risk free guarantee, you can test it for two months issue-free.

For a growing business, the growth and scale plans start at $95 per month and $241 per month, respectively. However, unlike the Startup Plan that offers minimal system resources and support for only one website, you get more. The growth plan includes ten sites, 200GB bandwidth, and 20GB local storage, while the scale plan has 30 websites 500GB bandwidth and 50GB local storage. The Premium, Premium 1, and Premium 2.1 offer the highest system resources but cost significantly more money at $368, $552, and $828 respectively. However, you get add-on services including 99.99% SLA, launch readiness assessment, WordPress Multisite, and white-glove onboarding.

Depending on the hosting plan you purchase, you get a plethora of add-ons that will make your life much better. The free StudioPress themes on offer, for instance, are powerful and mobile responsive. You do not have to learn CSS or HTML to create a responsive website even if you are a beginner. WP Engine also offers auto-website-migration services, which is beneficial to people with existing WordPress websites. Via its one-click interface, you can migrate your website to your new hosting plan via the auto migration plugin provided. You also get SFTP and Git connections, launch readiness assessment tests, automated backups, and a 24/7/365 support system for solving web hosting-related problems.

See more information on WP Engine Hosting.

5. SiteGround Hosting

Low-cost website hosting services are in demand in the developing world, especially among startups. SiteGround Hosting responded to this call, by offering fast and high resource plans starting at just $0.99 for three months for startup hosting. Therefore, if you have had a hard time pushing a brick and mortar business online due to lack of funds, you no longer have an excuse. You will not regret joining this bandwagon today.

What makes SiteGround Hosting worth investing in in the long term? First, the website offers a fast and technically superior website hosting platform powered by Google Cloud. It is accessible from most browsers and computers via a secure Internet connection anywhere around the world. It also guaranteed superior uptime (99.9%) and offers terrific network resources, which includes SSD storage and full management.

Compared to hard disk (HD) storage offered by some competitors, the SSD storage of SiteGround is fast and reliable. Thus, if you are migrating from one website hosting plans to SiteGround, you should expect a boost in the performance of your website in due time. It will load faster, which lowers the bounce rate and boosts the conversion of visitors to customers. The management checks websites often, and develops and implements solutions to existing problems in-house to ensure your site’s health.

With SiteGround Hosting, you are getting an eco-friendly service. For each energy consumed hosting your website, Google matches it 100% with renewable energy, which is admirable. Therefore, by hosting your website herein, you are contributing to environmental conservation indirectly. Finally, SiteGround Hosting is secure. Its team of security experts checks the server for vulnerabilities at the website level and actively rolls out security patches hat seal such loopholes. Moreover, because it has a Web Application firewall with over 300 custom rules, it prevents third-party software vulnerabilities from compromising safety.

Which are your web hosting options with SiteGround? The company offers three broad hosting plans – Web Hosting, WordPress Hosting, and WooCommerce hosting that cater to the needs of different people. The startup web-hosting plan, for instance, starts at $0.33 per month and sufficient resources for hosting one website. You get 10GB storage space, free WordPress installation, unmetered traffic, auto-updates, SSL, and SDN, to name a few. The GrowBig and GoGeek web-hosting plans start at $5.95 and $11.95 per month and offer add-ons such as dynamic caching, on-demand backup, staging, and priority support.

SiteGround Hosting makes launching and managing WordPress sites a breeze via its WordPress hosting plan. The startup plan starts at $0.33 per month and has 10GB storage, unmetered traffic, and WordPress installation via a one-click interface. You also get auto-updates, as free SSL and a free CDN at no extra charge. The GrowBig and GoGeek packages start at $5.95 and $11.95 but offer more web resources, which include 20-30GB or storage space and renewable energy match. Managed WooCommerce is suitable for selling on the Internet and starts at just $0.33 per month for startup and $5.95 and $11.95 for GrowBig and GoGeek WooCommerce web hosting plans respectively.

See more information on SiteGround Hosting.

Buying Guides for Web Hosting Services

To improve your online presence, you will need a website, a domain name for your website, and web hosting. The coding of websites is beyond the scope of this article. However, if you are looking for hosting services, we have reviewed a few attributes to look out for to get the best product:

Company

To help people to migrate their websites online, hosting providers offer people virtual space, within which they can upload content and develop their websites. Within the space, people also have access to marketing tools that they can use to attract visitors and convert traffic into sales if you have an eCommerce site. To get a good deal, choose the best company.

Which is the best web-hosting provider in the market? With tens of local and international companies engaged in this niche, choosing the best can be a challenge. However, by doing an initial search, you can narrow down on five or more brands that offer quality services before settling on the best.

First, outline your requirements. Are you shopping for web hosting for a blog, website, or eCommerce company? This will determine the type of services you should look out for when shopping for this service. Second, you should outline your budget. How much are you planning to spend on your new web hosting services? Web hosting providers tend to up-sell their visitors services that they might not need to host a successful website. By setting a budget beforehand, the risk of overspending drops significantly.

Next, narrow down on five or more brands with a reputation of offering quality services in this niche. Read online reviews. What are the thoughts of people around specific web hosting providers that you are planning to deal with? If the reports of a company are mostly negative, you should expect a negative experience as well, as a leopard rarely changes its spots. Comparison websites are also helpful, as they do the legwork for you. Once you have narrowed on 4 to 5 good brands, proceed to the next stage.

Services of Hosting

Plans

Web hosting companies offer four main types of web hosting services – website hosting, WordPress Hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated servers. Each of these services has their unique pros and cons, which we have reviewed herein to help you make the best decision. First, standard web hosting is suitable for beginners who want adequate resources or services for hosting a successful blog or website. Website hosting can be managed or unmanaged and is often the cheapest of the four plans, which is a plus.

For people looking to create a successful website in the shortest time with minimal resources, WordPress hosting is suitable. Apart from its low cost, its compatibility with the existing WordPress site has made it popular with beginners and experts alike. Thus, unlike some web hosting providers that require you to build a site from scratch, you can migrate your website via a one-click interface without losing content or its functionality. This plan can also boost the functionality of WordPress sites and has a scalable hosting infrastructure (cloud-based) that enables you to upgrade your website. However, it is costlier than basic hosting and not as flexible as VPS hosting.

If you have a large website that struggles under shared hosting, consider upgrading to a VPS hosting plan or buy a dedicated server. Even though you will have to dig deeper in your pocket, VPS and dedicated servers grants you access to more security options, software libraries, and server settings that can enhance the performance and or productivity of your site. Moreover, with dedicated hosting, you get a virtual machine in one physical server that you can configure, as you desire, to get custom results. However, the cost may be a limitation, as VPS/ dedicated servers are costly.

Storage

Even though web-hosting providers use virtual computers to enhance the visibility of your website online, you will need storage for your files and or folders. Therefore, before paying for a hosting plan, check the amount of storage on offer. While 1-2GB of space is sufficient for most blogs and websites, you will need slightly more for an eCommerce site. Media files such as videos and pictures take up a lot of space. Keep them in mind when buying a web-hosting plan for your website – the larger, the better for you.

Second, check the type of storage on offer. Solid State Drives (SSD), for instance, are reliable and efficient than hard disk drives since they lack spinning parts. However, they cost slightly more money to rent that HDD.

Bandwidth

What bandwidth does the hosting plan that you want to purchase have? The bandwidth of a website is synonymous with its speed and the quality of the data traffic that it enjoys. Thus, websites hosted in high bandwidth servers are faster and more reliable those hosted on low bandwidth servers. They are also less likely to experience downtime, which is beneficial as well. Order a plan that offers sufficient bandwidth and an affordable price, particularly if you expect web traffic to exceed 5000 visitors per month.

Website Builder

Having a website builder in your web-hosting plan is suitable, as it eases how people create websites and pages. Reputable brands such as Weebly and WIX, for instance, offer users a drag and drop interface for creating websites, which most everyday Joes can use at home. They also enable people to experiment with different designs without paying web designers. Brands such as HostGator offer a website builder at no extra charge. Some such as Dreamhost offer website builders at an additional cost per month.

Support System

While your website online, you will experience a few glitches that need backend support to resolve. Thus, it is an excellent idea to deal with a brand with a robust customer support system, accessible 24/7/365. Chat systems are easy to use. However, email/phone support systems are essential too. Website backup, SSL, and security are also critical as well. Look out for them.

Conclusion

Choosing a website-hosting platform is challenging for most people, owing to the number of companies engage in this niche. Moreover, the services and plans on offer are diverse and thus tend to confuse most people. If you are one of them, follow our guide to get a product that will serve you well.