What is Web Hosting?
Shared and Private web hosting services make it possible for people to host their websites on the internet. By providing access to their server space a website host provides the internet connectivity that is required for a website to go live.
In that sense, selecting a web hosting service can be very straightforward. Most providers offer similar packages which include features such as mailing lists, control panels, and simple website builder tools. However, when you dig deeper you will find that these services can differ from each other significantly.
There are three main types of hosting packages available:
| Shared Hosting Service | Dedicated Physical Server | Virtual Private Servers (VPS) |
| A user shares the server with other sites and web hosting accounts. | A user has the webserver for their own use with a significantly faster performance at the core of the offering. More flexible than a shared server, the dedicated server offers complete control, including selecting the operating system that is used. | A virtual version of a dedicated server. The user has the server to themselves but it is not a physical server. |
With the majority of hosting services, the most popular and least expensive option is to sign up for a shared server. While this might not suit some larger-scale businesses, it is the option we will focus on in this article. However, the providers on this list all offer private and dedicated hosting possibilities should you require that.
Without further ado, let’s check out the 10 best value for money web hosting services currently available for your website…
Our Top Pick Web Hosting Service
- One-Click Installs
- Unmetered Bandwidth
- Free SSL Certificate
- Free Domain Included
Hostgator has a variety of plans available, all of which offer good value for money. The fact that the majority of their plans are free of restrictions means most of the software is available with even their basic option. They place very few restrictions on their software, so bandwidth, MySQL, databases, email accounts, and unlimited disk space all come included, and that’s just to mention a few features.
Their pricing options are very affordable no matter which kind of hosting you are looking for. The money you spend is also backed up by great support team and a 45-day money-back guarantee should you be unsatisfied with the service.
Hostgator’s Web Hosting Pricing Plan
Shared Web Hosting Done Right
- Unlimited Websites
- Unlimited SSD Storage
- Unmetered Bandwidth
- Free SSL Certificate
Based out of Utah, Bluehost offers the standard array of hosting options for business and personal websites. Great customization features come with the Weebly website builder that they provide as a part of their package and there is more functionality in the works.
Bluehost offers a good mixture of user-friendly functionality and server power. Their policy of making daily backups adds some added assurance, and their 24/7 phone support means you will be backed up with help around the clock.
Bluehost’s Web Hosting Pricing Plan
Fast, Secure, and User-Friendly Web Hosting for Your Online Projects
- Daily Backups
- Free SSL Certificate
- 4X Processing Power & Memory
- Unlimited Bandwidth
With over 30 million users, Lithuania based Hostinger is one of the world’s largest providers of free web hosting. They are committed to offering good value which is why they have some of the lowest prices on the market.
The basic package comes in at 80cents a month! If this is too basic however, the business package is much more comprehensive. This comes with unlimited bandwidth, MySQL databases, GIT integrations, SSH, Cloudflare DDoS protection and email accounts plus daily backups. Wow!
Hostinger’s Web Hosting Pricing Plan
Hosting For Everybody and Every Budget
- Award-winning, 24/7 support
- 1 website
- 100 GB storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
Possibly the most well-known hosting service in the US. Go Daddy has the largest list of domain names in the world with millions in its portfolio. Its cheapest web hosting package is decently priced at $2.49/Month and offers a good slew of features.
What does Go Daddy offer? Free backup and restore, business email, and an uptime guarantee of 99.9% – which is always great to have – and unlimited storage with their premium package. They represent a good option for any small business starting out in the US.
Go Daddy’s Web Hosting Pricing Plan
Fast and Secure Web Hosting
- Free SSL & HTTPS
- Unmetered Traffic
- Free Daily Backups
- Unlimited MySQL
With SiteGround’s reseller plan every user is guaranteed 10GB of disk space and cPanel site management. On top of that, the service comes included with unlimited bandwidth, email addresses, databases, and FTP accounts.
As far as costs go, Siteground is also presenting a very decent offer with prices starting at $3.50 a month over a year. In addition, you are not expected to pay upfront, SiteGround allows purchasing plans in much smaller numbers to get started.
However, be warned that SiteGround more than double the monthly cost of their service after the first year jumping from $3:50 to $11
SiteGround’s Web Hosting Pricing Plan
Web Hosting With Purpose
- Fast SSD Storage
- Free SSL Certificate
- Unlimited Email @ Your Domain
- Unlimited Traffic
DreamHost likes to make things that little bit more functional by operating their own control panel. While phone customer support isn’t available 24/7, they do offer fast response times via their live chat and web support.
This is a company that uses exceptionally fast SSDs for storage so you can rest assured your information is getting backed up in a good time. On top of this, they provide free SSL certificates, and a bizarrely odd 97-day money-back guarantee so if all hell breaks loose on the 96th day you can still send it back.
Dreamhost’s Web Hosting Pricing Plan
The Fast, Secure, and Eco-Friendly Web Hosting Platform
- Unlimited Web Space
- Unlimited Data Transfer
- Free Domain Name for 1st Year
- Free Wildcard SSL
An eco-friendly web hosting service? That’s right, the Green Geeks are a company with a commitment to the environment. This is no gimmick either, they actually purchase three times the amount of energy they use in wind energy credits. Any spare credits are then given back to the economy, meaning they are helping fuel the green energy economy.
In case you were worried, being green doesn’t make them slow either. Its low-end account provides SSH and WP-CLI access. They offer an all-SSD infrastructure, 24/7 phone support, and a 30-day money-back guarantee, free site migration, and malware detection.
Greengeeks’ Wen Hosting Pricing Plan
A Fine-Tuned Web Hosting Service
- Free & Easy Site Migration
- Easy cPanel Control Panel
- Free SSL Certificate
- Anytime Money Back Guarantee
A2 Hosting offers Linux and Windows-based servers, and all their plans come with SSD, CDN, SSL, malware scanning and automatic patching and updates.
They have put together several solid plans with a good selection of features. However, their unlimited option is not quite as unlimited as advertised. In principle it is unlimited but if you are taking up more space than is available in your area, you might be slowed down a little.
One area where A2 hosting does excel is in customer service, 24/7/365 customer support is provided for live chat, email, and by phone. So, there is always someone ready to help you.
A2 Hosting’s Web Hosting Pricing Page
A hosting Service that Puts YOU First!
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- Unlimited Disk Space
- Free SSL certificate
- Free Dedicated IP
Hostwinds range of powerful dedicated servers is perfect for everything from general to heavy-duty use, meaning they have a plan for a project of any size and scale.
Their cheapest models are ideal for most ordinary users and come equipped with some decent customization options. Their more expensive models are still competitive in price when you consider the power on offer (RAM up to 82GB).
As with all the companies on this list you need to be extra sure of which pricing plan you are signing up for. There is a multitude of plan options and almost everyone alters the price in some subtle way.
Hostwinds’ Web Hosting Pricing Plan
One Size Fits All Hosting Plan
- Unlimited domain names allowed
- Unlimited MySQL databases
- Free SSL Certificate
- Free domain for 1 year
iPage is known for its excellent pricing options. Their shared hosting service comes in at under $2 per month when you take the three-year plan.
If you are expecting a heck of a lot of traffic to your site then they might not be the service provider you are looking for as they don’t have any unlimited bandwidth options. However, for smaller-scale operations, they work just fine.
iPage’s 24/7 telephone and live chat customer support, and a 30-day guarantee, are great additions to a provider that offers amazing value for money.
iPage Web Hosting Pricing Plan
Key Takeaways
The decision is all yours, but don’t forget these important factors.
- What size and scale business are you operating?
- Do you expect a lot of traffic?
- Are you tech-savvy, or will you require a lot of support?
- Keep your eye on the ever-changing prices.
These companies offer a lot of different deals and the price changes with almost every iteration. However, that variety means you should be able to find excellent value for money on this list. Remember though that value for money is subjective and must be come from a plan that offers the features your website needs. Simply look for a company that caters best to your website’s needs.
