Web hosting is the process where one company (the web host) helps another company store website pages and publish them on the internet so that anyone can view them. Web hosting is necessary because web hosts provide the server space that is required to store website data and make it available on the internet.
Web hosts charge a fee to host a website. This fee is usually paid monthly with an option to be paid annually with a discount. Many web hosts allow you to purchase a domain name directly through them.
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When you’re getting started with a web host, you may want to look for web hosts that offer file transfer protocol (FTP) support. It’s a process that allows your website’s files to be downloaded or uploaded to your website hosting account, which allows them to be visible on the internet. Also, a good idea is SSL or secure sockets layer — a security layer that allows for the authentication, encryption and decryption of data transferred over the internet — to protect your website from hackers.
To get started with a web host, you will have to choose a host with prices that are within your budget. You’ll also have to choose and register a domain name. Finally, you will have to upload your website pages to the web host so that they can be published.
What to Look for in a Web Hosting Service Provider
Affordability: Web hosting simply buys you a space where you can store your website and application. If you are only interested in finding a host for a personal or small business website, you can find very reasonable prices. Prices usually range from between $5 to $80 per month. However, hosting for enterprise-level businesses can cost several hundred dollars or thousands per month.
Bundles: Setting up a website can have technical challenges. So, someone who needs to pair something together right away may be better off choosing a bundled service. For example, a person may look for a web hosting bundle that offers web hosting, email service, SSL or one-click WordPress installation. Bundles can be great, but be careful not to overspend on a bundle that has features that you don’t need.
Security: Security is an important issue as over 30,000 websites are currently hacked every single day. Many websites are hosted in shared spaces that have a security vulnerability. Although they are cheap they are not reliable.
Usability: Having control over your web hosting and using it effectively should be seamless and easy for you. Not all hosting providers have the same interface and some can be more difficult to work with. Look for one that is highly intuitive and user-friendly. User-friendly web hosts have an extremely easy onboarding process and make it simple to choose a plan, upload your website and to complete other actions like buying a domain name.
Uptime: Your website should be up and running at least 99.8% of the time. Anything less could mean a potential loss. You should look for web hosting providers who have been commended for their uptime.
Customer support: Good customer support is crucial because if there are any issues with your site, you will need them to be resolved ASAP to prevent harming your business and its online reputation. Look for a web host with great customer service.
Best Cheap Web Hosting Solution Providers
Here are our top picks for affordable web hosting solutions providers.
1. Best for Price: GreenGeeks
Overview: GreenGeeks is one of the best cheap web hosting services available on the internet. GreenGeeks also has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. Another asset of this company is that it is extremely environmentally friendly. In fact, that’s where the “Green” in “GreenGeeks” comes from. GreenGeeks buys 3 times the amount of energy that it uses in wind energy credits, which helps to put green energy back into the economy. It also has live chat and email support open 24/7. Phone support is available during normal business hours.
Pricing: It offers shared hosting starting at $2.49 per month.
Bundles: GreenGeeks offers a wide variety of additional services that you can add in bundles. For example, it has email hosting starting at $1.67 per month, e-commerce hosting starting at $3 per month, WordPress hosting starting at $2.49 per month and many more options.
2. Best for eCommerce Hosting: Shopify
Overview: Shopify is an all-in-one e-commerce platform that offers a site builder and a web hosting service. Through Shopify, you can easily create an e-commerce store and get it hosted. You can also easily process payments through the site. If you are looking to sell products online, this is one of the very best options.
Pricing: Shopify plans start at $29 per month. This includes the use of the site builder and the hosting. Shopify is a great cheap web hosting option for ecommerce stores.
Bundles: Shopify’s entry-level plan is already a bundle that includes the use of the site builder and the hosting. However, Shopify also allows custom domain purchases for an additional $11 per year. You can also get a free domain name through Shopify if you leave “.myshopify.com” at the end of your domain name. With the $29 per month fee, you also get unlimited bandwidth, a PCI-compliant payment processor and extremely fast page load times thanks to Shopify’s global content delivery network.
3. Best for Beginners: HostGator
Overview: HostGator is designed to be extremely user-friendly, making it ideal for beginners. Even the introductory plans are named to be nonintimidating. For example, two of the basic plans are named “Hatchling Plan” and “Baby Plan.”
Pricing: The lowest-tier plan, the Hatching Plan, starts at $2.75 per month. For this price, you get hosting for 1 website, one-click WordPress installs, unmetered bandwidth, free SSL certificate, 1 free domain and free WordPress/cPanel website transfer. However, renewal fees can be significantly higher than the 1st-year fees. So, be aware of this.
Bundles: You can upgrade to a “Business Plan” to receive 1 free dedicated IP and 1 free positive SSL upgrade. The Business Plan costs $5.25 per month.
4. Best for Performance: A2 Hosting
Overview: A2 Hosting is known for being among the most reliable and best-performing hosting services on the market. All of A2’s plans include site migration, SSD and an SSL certification. Importantly, A2 plans also plug your site into the CloudFare CDN, which optimizes site speed by allowing visitors from around the world to connect to your site at the optimal server location for them. Further, A2 also has 24/7 phone support in addition to 24/7 email and live chat support.
Pricing: Plans start at $3 per month for shared hosting. However, the $3 monthly plan is only available if you pay for 3 years upfront.
Bundles: You can add dedicated servers for $99 per month, cloud hosting at $8 per month, email hosting for $3 per month and a number of different features at various prices.
5. Best for Small Businesses: Bluehost
Overview: Bluehost has 99.98% uptime guaranteed. This makes it a great option for small businesses and cheap website hosting. It also has arguably the best WordPress integration of any website hosting option. WordPress itself actually recommends Bluehost for this reason. You can integrate your WordPress site on Bluehost with 1 click. Bluehost also offers a free SSL certificate and has cPanel for site management. It also has a phone and live chat support available 24/7.
Pricing: It offers $4.95 per month for shared hosting. However, you have to enter a 3-year contract for this price point.
Bundles: Bluehost offers a managed WordPress bundle for $14.95 and a WooCommerce bundle for $12.95.
6. Best for Scaling: InMotion
Overview: InMotion is ideal for businesses that are growing fast because it has a large number of resources and features that can be easily added to accommodate rapid growth. For example, InMotion has professional website design options, a built-in website builder, PCI compliance, data backup options, a professional email address option, e-commerce web hosting, reseller web hosting solutions and much more. It also has 99.99% uptime and 24/7 technical support.
Pricing: Shared hosting starts at $2.49 per month. It has a 90-day money-back guarantee. So, you can cancel and get your money back in your first 3 months if you are unhappy.
Bundles: You can add WordPress hosting for $4.99 per month. You can also get dedicated hosting for $99.99 per month.
Which Web Hosting Should you Avoid?
GoDaddy.com
GoDaddy is the world’s largest web host, but there are many complaints about it. One of the biggest complaints about GoDaddy is that it has many hidden fees, such as an $80 expiration fee to reclaim your domain name if you accidentally let it expire. Also, GoDaddy does not provide SSL certification for free as many other web hosts do. GoDaddy also has slow server speeds. Additionally, the company has been accused of female-demeaning advertising and the CEO has been accused of animal cruelty for killing elephants.
Cheap Web Hosting can be Found
Purchasing cheap web hosting is just one step of the process. If you want to build a successful online business, you will still need to create a highly professional website and market it effectively. You will also need successful products and a team to manage everything. But, choosing a great web host could be the first step on your journey to success!
