If you’re thinking about designing a website that will represent your business or brand, among the most important things for you to consider is choosing the right web hosting package. Web hosting is a type of service that provides websites and applications with storage space on a server that will hold all of the site or app contents. The only way to bring your website online is by attaching it to a web host.

Once you’ve signed up with a hosting provider, users will be able to access your website by entering your site URL into whatever web browser they’re using. The URL for your website is considered to be your domain name. When a user types in your site URL, the computer that they’re using will connect directly to the server that your website is hosted on. The server will then send your site data to the user’s web browser, which allows them to access your website and the content within.

No matter what type of website you want to build, having a web host is essential and is the only way that your website can go online. Even more important than having a web host, however, is the exact company you select to host your website. You should choose a web hosting package that’s reliable and provides you with extensive features. If you partner with an unreliable host, your website could have a high amount of downtime, which means that users would be unable to access your website. The following guide goes into more detail about what it takes to select a great web host for your company.

Choosing the Right Web Hosting Package

Choosing the right web hosting package is simple if you know what to look for. You’ll discover that there are many web hosting packages you can select from. To identify the right package for your business, you should ask some questions during your search. These questions include:

• How much are you willing to spend on hosting?
• How many web hosting services are there?
• How long have they been in business?
• What do the reviews and testimonials say?
• Do they offer guaranteed support?
• Do they have mobile access and security?

As you answer these questions, you’ll be able to further narrow your options until you land on your preferred hosting package. Let’s say that you’re only willing to spend $20 per month on a hosting package. In this situation, shared hosting would be a good solution. This type of hosting means that multiple websites can be kept on the same servers. The best aspect of shared hosting is that the packages are very affordable and should all be below your $20 per month limit. However, your website could experience some performance problems that create a slowdown for site visitors.

If your budget is much higher, dedicated hosting means that your website will have an entire server to itself. The cost of a dedicated server can range from $80-$250 per month on average. While you’re conducting your search, keep in mind that there are more than 330,000 web hosting companies across the world, which is why it’s recommended that you consider well-known hosting companies that have a strong reputation. By finding out how long a company has been in business, you can determine if they have the experience necessary to deliver reliable hosting.

It’s always important to look at customer reviews and testimonials before making your final decision. These reviews are usually provided by real customers, which should give you a good insight into the company’s reputation and quality of service. Make sure that the web hosting package you choose offers extensive customer support. The top providers typically offer 24/7 customer support, which means that they can respond to any issues your website has regardless of the time of day.

Finally, it’s highly recommended that you partner with a web host that offers mobile access and security, the former of which is necessary if you want to satisfy your mobile customers. Security is among the most important elements of any web hosting service. If your server isn’t secure, hackers and other cyber-criminals could gain access to the user data that’s kept on the server. This would damage your website’s reputation substantially. Once you’ve answered all of these questions, you should be ready to select a web host.

Top 5 Best Web Hosting Options

Bluehost

Bluehost is a highly reputable web hosting provider that’s known for great performance and around 99.98% uptime, which is among the highest in the industry. When you use Bluehost, you’ll find that they offer shared hosting and dedicated hosting packages. While dedicated hosting is fantastic, most websites don’t require a dedicated web server, which is why you should consider the more affordable packages.

The shared hosting packages start at $2.75 with Bluehost Basic, which gives you custom themes, 24/7 customer support, a free domain, WordPress integration, 50GB of storage, and a drag-and-drop site builder. The Plus, Choice Plus, and Pro packages offer additional features and functionality that might prove useful, which include unlimited storage and websites. Bluehost has been in business for more than two decades. While all of their packages are feature-rich, their website builder is relatively basic. It’s also important to note that the low prices only last for one year.

Hostinger

Hostinger is a web host that’s considered to be among the best hosts for small businesses. At the moment, they are home to nearly 30 million customers. Hostinger is highly popular among site owners because of its affordable pricing and comprehensive customer support. Along with gaining access to an online support base, you’ll also benefit from 24/7 customer service. They offer three shared hosting packages of single shared hosting, premium shared hosting, and business shared hosting. These packages are priced at $1.39, $2.59, and $3.99 respectively.

When you select the premium shared hosting package, you’ll be provided with features like 100GB of SSD storage, 100 websites, accommodation for 25,000 monthly visits, free SSL and domain, and unlimited bandwidth. You’ll also benefit from a 30-day money-back guarantee. When you start to build your first website, you should notice the inclusion of a one-click installer, which makes it easy for you to install all of your preferred web apps. The Zyro website builder that comes with each of these packages is comparable to the leading site builders. The main downside to using Hostinger is that customer support responses can be slow.

InMotion Hosting

InMotion Hosting is a fast and reliable web host that boasts 99.99% uptime. While they are known to be among the more expensive solutions for shared web hosting, these packages are outfitted with expansive hardware and software features for you to take advantage of. Along with knowledgeable tech support, and InMotion Hosting package will automatically provide you with numerous security features, marketing services, SSD storage, and unlimited bandwidth. Even the base package allows you to build two websites.

If you purchase a two-year subscription with InMotion Hosting, you can select the Launch or Power packages for $5.99 per month, the latter of which includes better features and functionality. The Pro package comes in at $14.99 per month but offers 100 websites, much more SSD storage, unlimited email addresses, and advanced caching. Along with the somewhat high pricing, the main issue with using InMotion Hosting is that their speeds are average when compared to the competition.

DreamHost

DreamHost is another reputable web host that offers extensive WordPress support alongside a one-click WordPress installer. This web host has been in business for more than 25 years and is notable for having practically zero downtime, which means that site visitors will almost always have access to your website. The main reasons to buy a DreamHost package include unlimited bandwidth, great performance regardless of package, and highly knowledgeable customer support.

You’ll also be given access to a free domain and SSL certificate. They offer two packages, which include the Shared Starter and Shared Unlimited packages. These packages are priced at $2.59 per month and $3.95 per month respectively. Their customer support is available through live chat, phone, and a robust ticket system. Another reason why you should buy this service is that they offer a 97-day money-back guarantee, which is around the highest in the industry. A couple of downsides to using DreamHost include limited one-click installations and not having access to free email in the base package.

SiteGround

SiteGround is a popular web host that’s known for its shared hosting. However, they also offer cloud hosting packages if you prefer. Their three shared hosting packages include the StartUp, GrowBig, and GoGeek packages, which are priced at $4.99, $7.99, and $14.99 per month respectively. While the StartUp package only allows you to create a single website, the two higher-tier packages offer to host an unlimited number of websites.

They are considered to be among the best web hosts because of the unmetered bandwidth they offer as well as the ability to choose different server locations. No matter which package you select, you’ll gain access to many great features. The base package provides site owners with a free CDN, free SSL, free email, unlimited databases, and out-of-the-box caching. The GoGeek package provides all of the aforementioned features as well as much more storage, extremely fast PHP, and priority customer support. The only downside to this service is that you don’t have access to VPS or dedicated hosting.

Whether you’re interested in purchasing a web hosting package from Bluehost or SiteGround, all of the companies mentioned above have strong reputations and are known for providing customers with feature-complete hosting packages. Once you’ve selected your preferred web host, your website will be ready to be taken online.