Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Buying Guide: 10 best Web Hosting companies

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Buying Guide: 10 best Web Hosting companies

Given the nature of our connected world, a business' website could be viewed as its lifeblood. Customers are increasingly likely to find your business online, which means it's important that you find a dependable web hosting solution without breaking the bank.

Whether you're looking to set up a new website or switch operations over to a new host, you're looking at a sea of potential options. Not only do you want to find a web host that will be stable under load, but it's particularly important for businesses large and small to pick a provider with the right balance of plan options and prices.

To help you make your choice, we've put together this list of 10 of the best web hosting providers out there.

Best web hosting companies

1. SiteGround

Excellent customer service and features at a price

Shared - $9.95-$29.95/mo; Cloud - $60-$140/mo; Dedicated - $229-$429/mo

Guided setup
Feature-packed packages
Can get expensive
Extra features may not be for everyone

SiteGround is one of the top rated web hosts out there, and with good reason. Prices are a bit higher than some competitors, but are still fairly competitive. However, plans are feature-packed, and customer service is generally reported to be great.

Best web hosting companies

2. Media Temple

Expensive, but worth it for serious business needs

Shared - $20/mo; VPS - $30-$249/mo; Cloud - Starts at $199/mo; Dedicated - $2,000-$2,699/mo

Wide variety of packages
Great response times
Very expensive
No Windows-based hosting option

Like most other options on this list, you get your selection of shared, dedicated, VPS, and WordPress hosting with MediaTemple. There's something for just about everyone, with a wide array of prices to go along. Overall, Media Temple is a great option for just about anyone.

Best web hosting companies

3. DreamHost

Plenty of choice at decent prices

Shared - $10.95/mo; VPS - $15-120/mo; Dedicated - $169-$399/mo

Custom control panel
Plethora of choices
Customer support can be slow
Choice can be overwhelming

DreamHost knocks it out of the park when it comes to the sheer amount of choice with its plans. Like other web hosts, the provider offers everything from WordPress hosting and shared hosting to VPS and dedicated servers, giving you a wide variety of choice. But DreamHost provides a plethora of options within each hosting type, along with an equally large spread of prices.

Best web hosting companies

4. HostGator

One of the most reputable names in the business

Price: Shared - $8.95-$14.95/mo; VPS - $19.95-$159.95/mo; Dedicated - $174-$374/mo

Affordable
Free ad network credits
Potentially confusing control panel
Slow customer support

HostGator is a name that definitely deserves more recognition. Like most web hosting providers, HostGator offers up three main packages at competitive prices. Also like most providers, you'll get a slightly cheaper rate if you're willing to sign up for more than one year at a time.

Best web hosting companies

5. FatCow

Simple plans make this a great choice for newbies

Shared - $10.99/mo; VPS - $24.99-$99.99/mo; Dedicated - $149.99-$239.99/mo

Competitive rates
Excellent uptime
Fewer choices than some competitors
Targeted towards beginners

Don't be fooled by the cartoon cow on your screen: FatCow is another host where you can't really go wrong. The service has a great record for uptime, prices are generally in-line with the competition, and site response times are fast and fluid.

Best web hosting companies

6. iPage

A good choice for the budget-conscious beginner

Shared - $9.99/mo; VPS - $24.99-$99.99/mo; Dedicated - $149.99-$239.99/mo

Budget friendly
Reliable
Customer support complaints
Be aware of added service offers

If your main concern is a tight budget, iPage is the hosting solution for you. As you progressively move up each of iPage's tiers, you'll notice that the host's prices consistently undercut much of the competition. Alongside iPage's budget attraction comes reliable uptime, generally good website speeds, and features you'd expect from any decent web hosting service.

Best web hosting companies

7. BlueHost

Great pricing, but reliability is a concern

Excellent variety
Affordable
Uptime concerns
Slow customer support

BlueHost offers a wide variety of hosting packages that are really only limited by how much you want to spend and whether you prefer shared, VPS, or dedicated hosting. Prices are reasonable, even coming in slightly cheaper than some of its competitors on some plans.

Best web hosting companies

8. HostRocket

Decent choice, but lacks standout features

Basic - $11.98/mo; SSD Shared - $14.98-$24.98/mo; Dedicated - $119-$169/mo

Generally competitive pricing
Competent feature set
Add-on costs
No standout features

HostRocket can be a bit more expensive than some other options, but generally provides a similar suite of hosting plans and services. You'll be able to find a plan for just about everyone, and they offer all of the major features you've come to expect from a competent web host.

Best web hosting companies

9. 1&1

User-friendly setup is the name of the game with 1&1

Basic - $3.99-$14.99/mo; Performance - $69.99-$209.99/mo

Easy setup
Drag-and-drop editor
Spotty customer service
Better options out there for large sites

As far as basic web hosting is concerned, 1&1 does the job. If you're a small business interested in a no-frills, easy setup, then this option may be worth a look. 1&1's main packages are affordable, with a total of four ranging from a base rate of $3.99 to $12.99 per month. There are additional "performance" packages available as well if you're okay with spending quite a bit more.

Best web hosting companies

10. GoDaddy

Competent packages, but with questionable customer support

Basic - $6.99-$14.99/mo; VPS - $29.99-$139.99/mo; Dedicated - $129.99-$349.99

Name recognition
Competent with the basics
Reliability concerns
Many customer support complaints

Chances are when you first thought about web hosting, GoDaddy popped into your mind. The company advertises aggressively and is one of the biggest domain registrars out there. Unfortunately this doesn't necessarily make GoDaddy your best option. As a basic hosting service, GoDaddy is competent and sports all of the features you'd expect from a web host. However, users have generally reported a subpar customer service experience with fairly long wait times and unreliable uptime.













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