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Best Web Hosting For Small Business Of 2024

Contributor
Staff Reviewer

Reviewed

Updated: Mar 28, 2024, 6:56pm

Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.

Web hosting is a necessity for any website as it’s what enables a site to be live on the web. But while the decision to get web hosting is a no-brainer, choosing the right web host can be a challenge with so many to choose from—complete with industry jargon, similar yet different features, inclusions and pricing. So, we did the heavy lifting to find the absolute best web hosting for small businesses so that you can find the right service for your business quickly.

Before we jump in, you need to know what’s essential for your website. Every small business website needs a custom domain name, a secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate, a content management system (CMS) and enough storage and bandwidth to support your content and automatic backups. For this list of the best web hosting for small business owners, Forbes Advisor conducted research on the cost, uptime and functionality of dozens of providers.

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The Best Web Hosting Services For Small Business In 2024


Best for Content-Heavy Sites

HostGator

HostGator
4.4
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting price

$2.64 per month

(three-year term)

Storage and Bandwidth

Unlimited storage and unmetered bandwidth

Guarantees

Uptime guarantee and a 30-day money-back guarantee

HostGator
View Plans Arrow

On HostGator's Website

$2.64 per month

(three-year term)

Unlimited storage and unmetered bandwidth

Uptime guarantee and a 30-day money-back guarantee

Editor's Take

HostGator is best for small businesses and entrepreneurs with content-heavy sites, as it includes unlimited storage with every plan. So, no matter how many visitors your site gets or how much content your site has, you don’t have to worry about storage or bandwidth limits affecting your site’s performance. Additionally, its plans come packed with features and extras, 24/7/365 support and a 30-day money-back guarantee, making it a great value for the price.

Pricing:

Plans range in price from $2.64 per month to $5.04 per month with a 36-month contract, or $15.99 per month to $27.99 per month without a contract. On top of unlimited storage and unmetered bandwidth, all of its plans come with a free domain name the first year, a free SSL certificate, one-click WordPress installation, a 99% uptime guarantee, e-commerce tools, $500 in Google Ads match credit, cPanel access, $100 in Microsoft Advertising credit and free business email.
Pricing varies predominantly by contract length and the number of sites the plan can host. Higher-tiered plans also come with benefits such as a dedicated IP address and a free WordPress website transfer service for those who are moving hosts.Buy now – Business Plan

Learn more: Read our full HostGator review.

Who should use it:

Businesses with high-traffic or content-heavy sites that need unlimited storage and unmetered bandwidth at a low cost should consider HostGator.

Pros & Cons
  • Introductory pricing as low as $2.75 per month
  • Free domain for the first year
  • Free website builder
  • Free domain transfer service
  • Free site migration service
  • Free business email
  • $600 in advertising match credits
  • 24/7/365 support
  • Pricing jumps up upon renewal, such as from $2.64 per month to $9.99 per month
  • SEO tools only on higher-tiered plans
  • Cloud backups cost an extra $2 per month
  • Its 99% uptime guarantee isn’t as competitive as DreamHost’s 100%

Best For New Sites

Bluehost

Bluehost
4.3
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting price

$1.99 per month

(billed annually)

Storage and bandwidth

10GB storage and unmetered bandwidth

Guarantees

30-day money-back guarantee

Bluehost
Learn More Arrow

On Bluehost.com's Website

$1.99 per month

(billed annually)

10GB storage and unmetered bandwidth

30-day money-back guarantee

Editor's Take

Bluehost is one of the most popular web hosting services thanks to its affordability and ease of use. Its plans start at $1.99 per month, provide unmetered bandwidth, 10GB storage, a free domain for the first year and a couple of extras such as parked domains and subdomains. It also comes with chat support, though if you want phone support you need a Plus plan or higher.

Pricing:

Usually, web hosts provide the biggest discount when opting for the longest contract term (often 36 months) but not Bluehost. Your best deal is a 12-month term, with plans starting at $1.99 per month and going up to $7.99 per month. If you do want to pay more and go with a 36-month term, you’ll pay anywhere from $2.99 to $15.99 per month.

Learn more: Read our full Bluehost review.

Who should use it:

Businesses looking for an affordable, full-featured web hosting plan should consider Bluehost. It’s perfect for new websites, as the free domain and SSL make for an easy start.

Pros & Cons
  • Introductory pricing as low as $1.99 per month
  • Free domain for the first year
  • Includes a CDN
  • Free SSL your first year
  • Pricing jumps up upon renewal
  • No uptime guarantee
  • No phone support with its Basic plan
  • Storage limits on all plans

Best for Speed

TMDHosting

TMDHosting
4.3
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting price

$2.99 per month

(one-year term)

Storage and bandwidth

Unlimited SSD storage and unlimited bandwidth

Guarantees

Uptime guarantee and a 60-day money-back guarantee

TMDHosting
Learn More Arrow

Read Forbes' Review

$2.99 per month

(one-year term)

Unlimited SSD storage and unlimited bandwidth

Uptime guarantee and a 60-day money-back guarantee

Editor's Take

Visitors to your website are more likely to leave the page they’re on and find one that loads faster if they have to wait for it to load. TMDHosting uses premium Solid-State Drive (SSD) hardware along with three layers of caching (APC, OPCache and Varnish) to attain up to 16 times faster loading times for your website. Its plans provide military-grade security, free daily backups, a free domain, Weebly Sitebuilder and a Let’s Encrypt SSL.

Pricing:

Plans start at $9.99 per month ($2.99 per month, paid annually) and go up to $19.99 per month ($8.99 per month, paid annually).

Learn more: Read our full TMDHosting review.

Who should use it:

Businesses requiring fast speeds will appreciate TMDHosting’s three layers of caching.

Pros & Cons
  • Introductory pricing as low as $2.95 per month
  • Free domain registration
  • Free website builder
  • Business and Enterprise plans include unlimited websites hosted
  • 24/7/365 support
  • Unlimited FTP accounts on all plans
  • Domain privacy costs extra
  • It charges for Google Search Console and Google Analytics integration

Best For WordPress Beginners

DreamHost

DreamHost
4.1
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting price

$2.59 per month

(three-year term)

Storage and Bandwidth

50GB-plus of storage and unlimited traffic

Guarantees

100% uptime guarantee and a 97-day money-back guarantee

DreamHost
Learn More Arrow

On DreamHost's Website

$2.59 per month

(three-year term)

50GB-plus of storage and unlimited traffic

100% uptime guarantee and a 97-day money-back guarantee

Editor's Take

DreamHost is best for small business owners who want a user-friendly web hosting experience. Not only does it offer a modern and easy-to-navigate user interface, but it also offers features that help save beginners time and energy, such as a free domain name (eliminating the need to connect your domain to your web host), one-click WordPress installation, automatic SSL certificates and, most importantly, very fast helpful customer support that is available 24/7/365.

Pricing:

Plans vary in price from $2.59 per month to $3.95 per month with a 36-month commitment, or $4.95 to $8.95 per month without a commitment. Additionally, it also often offers promotional pricing, so you may find even lower prices. Keep in mind that, along with just about every other web host, pricing increases upon renewal. However, what’s different about DreamHost is that its pricing doesn’t increase as much as others, making it the most affordable, long-term option.

All plans include unlimited traffic, WordPress pre-installed, free SSL certificates that auto-install (eliminating the need to install manually), SSD storage for fast load times, top-rated technical support, a 100% uptime guarantee and a very long, 97-day money-back guarantee. Plans vary in price largely due to varying contract lengths, storage limits and the number of sites you can host.

Learn more: Read our full DreamHost review.

Who should use it:

DreamHost is a great choice for WordPress beginners thanks to its user-friendly interface and top-notch support, as well as for small businesses and new ventures that are in the process of building out their first website as plans come with everything you need to build, launch and maintain a site. It’s also a great choice for those who aren’t quite ready to commit to a web host, given its long-term (and unheard of) 97-day money-back guarantee.

Pros & Cons
  • One of the most competitively priced with plans starting at $2.59 per month
  • Free domain name included
  • Free SSL certificates auto-install
  • Free daily backups
  • 97-day money-back guarantee
  • 100% uptime guarantee
  • Top-rated tech support
  • Pricing increases upon renewal (e.g., from $2.59 per month to $5.99 per month)
  • Must pay for a .com domain name
  • Limited chat support hours

Best Unlimited Plans

InMotion Hosting

InMotion Hosting
4.0
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting price

$2.29 per month (three-year term)

Storage and bandwidth

100GB-plus of storage and unlimited bandwidth

Guarantees

90-day money-back guarantee

InMotion Hosting
Learn More Arrow

On InMotion Hosting's Website

$2.29 per month (three-year term)

100GB-plus of storage and unlimited bandwidth

90-day money-back guarantee

Editor's Take

InMotion Hosting’s web hosting plans are perfect for companies that need more resources than the smaller hosts can offer. With unlimited SSD storage, websites, bandwidth and email accounts, you can easily scale your company’s web presence as needed with any Launch plan or higher. The 90-day money-back guarantee also gives you time to try before you buy, making it a great choice for those who are looking for more extensive web hosting.

Pricing:

When committing for three years, plans start at $2.29 per month and go up to $11.91 per month. The only plan offering month-to-month pricing is Pro, and you’ll pay $19.99 per month for that plan. If going for the Core plan, which is InMotion’s cheapest, you’ll get a free SSL, two websites, 100GB SSD storage, unlimited bandwidth and 10 email addresses. It can also handle Python, Ruby, Node.js and Git version control.

Learn more: Read our full InMotion Hosting review.

Who should use it:

InMotion Hosting is well suited for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises. However, it’s particularly great for those looking to grow their business, as its plans offer unlimited resources and are perfect for scaling up.

Pros & Cons
  • Most plans have unlimited storage, websites, email accounts and bandwidth
  • Its cheapest plan allows for two websites
  • Free SSL certificate
  • Can handle Python, Ruby, Node.js and Git version control
  • 24/7/365 customer support
  • Free website builder with all plans
  • No uptime guarantee
  • Must have a Launch plan or higher for a free domain name

Best Free Website Migration

InterServer

InterServer
3.9
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting price

$2.50 per month

(billed annually)

Storage and bandwidth

Unlimited ultra SSD storage and unlimited data transfer

Guarantees

99.9% uptime guarantee and a 30-day money-back guarantee

InterServer
Learn More Arrow

Read Forbes' Review

$2.50 per month

(billed annually)

Unlimited ultra SSD storage and unlimited data transfer

99.9% uptime guarantee and a 30-day money-back guarantee

Editor's Take

Migrating a website can be a lengthy and difficult process. InterServer offers free website migration with all of its hosting plans, which is a huge plus. Its plans come with unlimited storage and bandwidth, along with weekly backups, Cloudflare CDN, cPanel access, a WordPress installer, free SSL certificates, unlimited email accounts, web security and more than 450 one-click app installs.

Pricing:

You’ll pay $2.50 per month for the first 12 months, then your plan renews at $80 per year. If you register your domain through InterServer, you’ll pay $7.99 for the first year ($13 per year thereafter), and for domain privacy, it’s $5 per year.

Learn more: Read our full InterServer review.

Who should use it:

InterServer is perfect for those who want free website migration with their hosting plan. It’s also ideal for digital professionals and small businesses.

Pros & Cons
  • Weekly backups
  • Free SSL certificate
  • Cloudflare CDN
  • Free website migration
  • 450-plus one-click installs
  • Domain privacy costs extra
  • Must pay for a domain name
  • Renewal price is much higher (jumps from $30 for 12 months to $84)

Best Renewal Rates

MochaHost

MochaHost
3.9
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting price

$3.18 per month

Storage and bandwidth

Unlimited storage and unmetered bandwidth

Guarantees

100% uptime guarantee and a 30-day money-back guarantee or 180 days risk-free

MochaHost
Learn More Arrow

Read Forbes' Review

$3.18 per month

Unlimited storage and unmetered bandwidth

100% uptime guarantee and a 30-day money-back guarantee or 180 days risk-free

Editor's Take

MochaHost is a solid option for companies that need to keep their costs down. All plans come with a 100% uptime guarantee, unmetered bandwidth, a free SSL (for life), unlimited storage and a lifetime discount. This means your rates will never increase. For most plans, you can pay for premium daily backups, though basic, automatic backups are free. You can cancel your account and get your prorated premium back for any unused time, as long as it’s within 180 days of signing up. Otherwise, get all your money back if you cancel within 30 days.

Pricing:

Plans start at $3.18 per month and go up to $11.95 per month. All plans renew at about double the introductory price.

Learn more: Read our full MochaHost review.

Who should use it:

MochaHost is the perfect choice for smaller businesses and startups that want to keep their costs down and can benefit from their scalable plans.

Pros & Cons
  • Automatic backups
  • Unlimited traffic and disk space
  • 180 days risk-free
  • Free website builder on business plans and higher
  • Free migration assistance
  • Free unlimited SSL certificates for life
  • Unlimited email
  • One-click install on higher-tiered plans only
  • Domain privacy costs extra

Best Introductory Rate

Ionos

Ionos
3.9
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting price

$5 per month

(billed annually)

Storage and bandwidth

10GB of storage and unlimited traffic

Guarantees

99.9% uptime guarantee and a 30-day money-back guarantee

Ionos
Learn More Arrow

On IONOS' Website

$5 per month

(billed annually)

10GB of storage and unlimited traffic

99.9% uptime guarantee and a 30-day money-back guarantee

Editor's Take

IONOS is ideal for companies looking to save money in the short term—such as startups that expect to make more money later on. It offers an introductory rate of just $1 per month, with a 12-month contract. It’s also great for those who need more flexibility and scalability. All plans come with unlimited traffic, a free domain for a year, free email, daily backups, 24/7 support and a free Wildcard SSL certificate.

Pricing:

The cheapest introductory plan is its Business plan, which starts at $6.50 but renews after 12 months at $12 per month. For $5 per month for 12 months, you can get its Essential plan, which renews at $6 per month. Its most expensive plan is $13 per month for 12 months, then renews at $16 per month. Its Business and Expert plans come with unlimited sites, storage and databases.

Learn more: Read our full Ionos review.

Who should use it:

IONOS is best for those who need an introductory rate to save money in the short term. Its plans are perfect for small businesses, entrepreneurs and startups.

Pros & Cons
  • Very low-cost introductory pricing with plans starting at $1 per month
  • Free domain name the first year
  • Free Wildcard SSL certificate
  • 24/7 support
  • Daily backup and recovery
  • Free email
  • Its cheapest plan doesn’t have much storage (10GB)
  • CDN only included with its most expensive plan

Best Two-in-One Web Host and Website Builder

GoDaddy

GoDaddy
3.7
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting price

$6.99 per month

(one-year term)

Storage and Bandwidth

25 GB of storage and unmetered bandwidth

Guarantees

99.9% uptime guarantee

GoDaddy
Learn More Arrow

On GoDaddy's Website

$6.99 per month

(one-year term)

25 GB of storage and unmetered bandwidth

99.9% uptime guarantee

Editor's Take

GoDaddy is best known as a domain name registrar, but it is also a leading web hosting service and website builder for small businesses. It offers one of the most user-friendly and affordable site builders on the market for those who need a site, but don’t want to invest the time to learn WordPress or the money into an all-in-one website builder. Plans include everything you need to build a site from scratch—using the WordPress editor is not required.

Pricing:

Web hosting plans range in price from $6.99 per month to $21.99 per month with a 12-month commitment. For web hosting and full access to its easy-to-use website builder, pricing increases to $10.99 per month annually for a basic business website to $20.99 per month annually for an online store that can process online payments and manage inventory and orders.

All plans come with unmetered bandwidth, as well as a free domain name (with a commitment of 12 months or more), database backups, DNS management, webmail, 24/7 support, a 99.9% uptime guarantee and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Pricing varies based on contract length, storage limit and extras, such as SSL certificates and business email from Microsoft 365.

Learn more: Read our full GoDaddy review.

Who should use it:

GoDaddy’s web hosting plans aren’t as feature-rich as the other best web hosting services. However, it offers one of the most user-friendly and affordable website builders on the market, making it the best for small businesses and solopreneurs who want to build their own professional website, but don’t have the time to commit to learning how to use WordPress.

Pros & Cons
  • Easily build a professional website
  • Free domain name included
  • Preinstalled e-commerce features
  • 24/7 DDoS monitored protection
  • One-click installation of WordPress and 150-plus apps
  • Microsoft 365 included for one year
  • 10 databases
  • 24/7 support
  • Pricing increases upon renewal
  • Must commit for a year for any free features
  • All plans have email marketing send limits per month

Best Website Monitoring

Hostwinds

Hostwinds
3.7
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting price

$5.24 per month

(for your first billing cycle, then $6.99 per month)

Storage and bandwidth

Unlimited storage and unlimited bandwidth

Guarantees

99.99% uptime guarantee

Hostwinds
Learn More Arrow

Read Forbes' Review

$5.24 per month

(for your first billing cycle, then $6.99 per month)

Unlimited storage and unlimited bandwidth

99.99% uptime guarantee

Editor's Take

Hostwinds plans come with 24/7 website monitoring, so should there be an issue with your site, a ticket will automatically be sent to a support team. This is an invaluable service for small businesses, as even a temporary site outage can result in the loss of significant sales and lead generation opportunities. Plus, there are nightly backups, so should you need to reinstall your site, you’ve got a backup handy. Plans all come with unlimited bandwidth and disk space. You’ll also get unlimited databases, cPanel access, unlimited email accounts, free SSL certificates, a website builder and free site migration.

Pricing:

Plans start at $5.24 per month for your first billing cycle, then renews at $6.99 per month. Its highest-tiered plan starts at $8.24 per month with the introductory rate and goes up to $10.99 per month upon renewal. All plans include unlimited storage and bandwidth, and so the main difference between plans is the number of websites it includes hosting for, ranging from one with the entry-level plan and increasing to unlimited with its highest-tier plan.

Learn more: Read our full Hostwinds review.

Who should use it:

Small businesses will appreciate Hostwind’s 24/7 managed support and website monitoring. It’s ideal for businesses that don’t already have an in-house IT team to handle those tasks.

Pros & Cons
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • Unlimited disk space
  • Comes with a Weebly site builder
  • Unlimited email accounts
  • 24/7 support
  • Unlimited subdomains
  • Prices increase at renewal (e.g. $5.24 to $6.99 per month)
  • Must request a refund within 72 hours, and only then it’s a prorated refund

Forbes Advisor Ratings

Company Forbes Advisor Rating Starting price Storage and bandwidth Guarantees LEARN MORE
HostGator 4.4 4.5-removebg-preview-1 $2.64 per month (three-year term) Unlimited storage and unmetered bandwidth Uptime guarantee and a 30-day money-back guarantee View Plans On HostGator's Website
TMDHosting 4.3 4.5-removebg-preview (1) $2.99 per month (one-year term) Unlimited SSD storage and unlimited bandwidth Uptime guarantee and a 60-day money-back guarantee Learn More Read Forbes' Review
Bluehost 4.3 4.5-removebg-preview-1 $1.99 per month (billed annually) 10GB storage and unmetered bandwidth 30-day money-back guarantee Learn More On Bluehost.com's Website
DreamHost 4.1 4-removebg-preview $2.59 per month (three-year term) 50GB-plus of storage and unlimited traffic 100% uptime guarantee and a 97-day money-back guarantee Learn More On DreamHost's Website
InMotion Hosting 4.0 4-removebg-preview-2 $2.29 per month (three-year term) 100GB-plus of storage and unlimited bandwidth 90-day money-back guarantee Learn More On InMotion Hosting's Website
MochaHost 3.9 4-removebg-preview $3.18 per month Unlimited storage and unmetered bandwidth 100% uptime guarantee and a 30-day money-back guarantee or 180 days risk-free Learn More Read Forbes' Review
Ionos 3.9 4-removebg-preview $5 per month (billed annually) 10GB of storage and unlimited traffic 99.9% uptime guarantee and a 30-day money-back guarantee Learn More On IONOS' Website
InterServer 3.9 4-removebg-preview $2.50 per month (billed annually) Unlimited ultra SSD storage and unlimited data transfer 99.9% uptime guarantee and a 30-day money-back guarantee Learn More Read Forbes' Review
Hostwinds 4.3 4.5-removebg-preview (1) $5.24 per month (for your first billing cycle, then $6.99 per month) Unlimited storage and unlimited bandwidth 99.99% uptime guarantee Learn More Read Forbes' Review
GoDaddy 3.7 4-removebg-preview-2 $6.99 per month (one-year term) 10 GB of storage and unmetered bandwidth 99.9% uptime guarantee Learn More On GoDaddy's Website

Methodology

We began our research and testing by looking at over 50 different providers to see which web hosting services are the best for small businesses. We looked for what is most essential for any web host to provide, as well as what is most important to a small business. For each small business hosting service, we considered:

  • Price: The price of hosting services can vary wildly based on a number of factors. However, we also considered introductory pricing versus renewal pricing. Host services are notorious for skyrocketing renewal rates, and we took that into consideration when researching the best options for small businesses.
  • Features: We looked for the features most important to small businesses, such as storage and bandwidth, ease of use, security and uptime guarantees. We also considered the extra tools that come with each hosting service, such as one-click installers for WordPress or drag-and-drop website builders.
  • Support: Reliable customer support is essential for any web hosting service. We looked at the support options available, such as live chat and phone support, as well as the speed of response and knowledge of staff.
  • Ease of use: We looked for hosting services that offer intuitive and user-friendly control panels for managing websites. We considered the ease of use when creating or editing a website, setting up email accounts and transferring domains.
  • Guarantees: Most web hosts have both an uptime guarantee and a money-back guarantee.

Each of the above criteria was weighed and then used to calculate the scores for each of the providers analyzed.


What Is a Web Host?

A web host is a business that provides the technologies and services needed for a website, including storage space, internet connectivity and security. Web hosts can also offer features such as domain registration, email hosting, SSL certificates, one-click WordPress installs, backups and DDoS monitoring. By investing in a web hosting plan, small businesses can enjoy all the benefits of having an online presence without needing to purchase and manage their own servers.

The best web hosts provide reliable hosting with great uptime, quick page loading speeds, scalability for growth and security features such as DDoS monitoring. They also typically offer tools that make it easier to build and customize a website, as well as features such as free domains, email accounts, marketing credits and more. By investing in the right web hosting provider, small businesses can save time and money in the long run.


How To Choose the Best Web Hosting Service for Your Small Business

Small businesses should take into account a few important components while choosing the best web hosting provider. Start by looking for a service that provides excellent value at fair costs. Think about storage, uptime, support options and cost-saving extras such as free domain names, SSL certificates and business email. It’s crucial to pick a provider that can expand with your company and is trustworthy, safe and scalable.

A service that gives round-the-clock assistance and the capability to resolve any issues rapidly should also be sought out. Ultimately, the best web hosting company for your small business should offer the tools and options you require for online success.

Essential Web Hosting Features

When looking for the best web hosting service provider, there are a few essential features to consider:

  • Uptime: Look for a reliable host with high uptime and page loading speeds, preferably one that guarantees 99.9% uptime.
  • Storage: Consider storage capacity, whether you need shared or dedicated hosting options to handle your website traffic.
  • Support: Check the type of customer service offered, whether it’s email, phone or live chat support.
  • Monitoring: Look for a provider that offers 24/7 monitoring, with automated backups and security features such as DDoS protection.
  • Bandwidth: Make sure that the host you choose offers sufficient bandwidth to handle your website traffic.
  • Email: Look for a provider that offers business-grade email addresses, or the ability to connect with your own domain.
  • Domains: Check to see if the host offers free domains or at least savings with a long-term agreement.
  • SSL certificate: An SSL certificate is important for website security and search engine ranking. Make sure that the host offers an SSL certificate as part of its hosting package.

Cost

The price of web hosting can vary significantly by the type of web hosting you choose (for example, a virtual private server (VPS) is more expensive than shared hosting), the resources you require and the length of time you commit to a plan. Plans offering the most value for price will typically include various features, such as unlimited email accounts, free domains and SSL certificates so that you know your website is secure.

Ease of Use

Consider a web hosting service provider with an intuitive dashboard and easy-to-use control panel. This will make it easy for you to manage your website, including creating and editing content, setting up email accounts and managing domains.

Some providers will offer a drag-and-drop website builder with customizable templates, as well as helpful resources such as tutorials and videos. This can make it easier to quickly create a website without needing extensive coding knowledge. If you have an existing website and are migrating to a new host, free migration assistance or an automated transfer process can be beneficial.

Scalability

When selecting a web hosting provider, it’s important to consider scalability. If you anticipate your website to grow over time, it’s crucial to look for a host that can provide resources as you need them. Look for plans that offer unlimited storage, bandwidth and email accounts, as well as the ability to upgrade your plan.

You should also look for a provider that makes it easy to scale your service with one click so that you can quickly access resources and increase the reach of your website.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Which hosting is best for a small business website?

HostGator: Small businesses and entrepreneurs with websites that have a lot of content should use HostGator. Every plan comes with unlimited storage, so you don’t have to worry about your content slowing things down. Its plans are full of features and extras and come with 24/7/365 customer service and a 45-day money-back guarantee.

TMDHosting: TMDHosting uses premium hardware with SSDs, caching and security to make your website up to 16 times faster. Its plans include free daily backups, a free domain, Weebly Sitebuilder and a Let’s Encrypt SSL.

Bluehost: Bluehost is a great choice for small business websites. It offers shared hosting plans with unmetered bandwidth and a free domain name for your first year. Plus, it’s easy to use.

What is the cheapest way to host a website?

There are some web hosts offering free hosting and domain names, but you shouldn’t use them as a business. This is because you’ll have the web host’s domain after yours (mycoolsite.webhostname.com). Shared hosting is your cheapest option, and we have a list of the best cheap web hosting services to consider.

Can I host my own website?

You can host your own website but for most, this doesn’t make the most sense. It will be more costly and time-consuming than using a web hosting company because you’ll need your own servers and software, as well as the know-how to maintain them. Check out the step-by-step instructions on how to make a small business website.

What's the best web hosting for WordPress?

WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems―(CMS) and many web hosts offer specialized WordPress hosting. HostGator, InMotion Hosting and DreamHost are some of the best hosts for WordPress. They all offer plans tailored to WordPress users, including optimized servers and automatic updates. Plus, they have helpful features such as a one-click installation process. Learn more about the best WordPress hosting services.


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