How to choose a web hosting provider

The web hosting world is stuffed with cryptic-sounding jargon, and it’s very hard to avoid. Even deciding which type of plan you need requires a little knowledge of technical terms (what’s a VPS, again?) But, don’t panic: this is a lot simpler than it looks at first. In reality, although it helps to learn a few hosting basics before you go shopping, you don’t have to spend any time on the technical details. If all you know about hosting is shared products are slow but cheap; VPS plans are faster and a little more expensive; and dedicated hosting is fastest but can cost huge amounts, then you’re already off to a very good start. Of course, it helps if you can go a little further than that, which is why in this guide we’ll break down the types of hosting you can get, explain who they’re for and give you a little buying advice. It won’t hurt - we promise - and by the end you’ll have a much better idea of the hosting you need, and what to look for when you’re checking out a provider.

What is shared hosting?

Shared hosting is a simple scheme where multiple websites are stored on the same web server (a type of computer.) Sign up for a shared hosting plan and your provider allocates you some space on the server. You can then access that space to install WordPress, WooCommerce or some other app, or just upload a site of your own. Buy a domain like MySite.com, set it up to point to the web space, and your site becomes available to the outside world. One benefit of shared hosting is its simplicity. You don't have to spend any time maintaining the server, because your provider does that. All you need to do is work on your own site. Sharing a web server means sharing the costs, too, and with sometimes hundreds of websites on the same server, that usually means rock-bottom prices. The big problem with shared hosting is you’re also sharing your server's system resources: CPU time, RAM, storage and network connection. There's only so much to go around, and the more sites on your server, the slower and less dependable your own website is likely to be. Shared hosting is still the best choice in many situations. If you're creating a simple blog, a site for family, a local club, anything with very light traffic where no-one will care much if the site is a little slow occasionally, the shared option is ideal. It's very easy to use, and you can get decent plans from many providers for around $2 to $4 a month. But if this is something more important, a web store, maybe a business site, then a slow or unreliable website will drive visitors away. It’s well worth upgrading to something more powerful.

VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting is a clever technology which divides a single physical server into multiple server environments. Log onto a VPS and you'll have access to what looks like the full server. This is far more complex than shared hosting, but it also gives you much more control. You can install any apps, tweak any server settings, even replace the entire operating system if you like. There will be other VPS environments on the same physical server (though not as many other accounts as with shared hosting), reducing your performance a little. But you'll have your own allocation of network bandwidth, RAM, storage and CPU time. These won't be shared with other customers, which means your site should see higher and more consistent speeds than you'll get with shared hosting. Upgrading is often very easy, too. If website traffic grows and you need additional resources - more CPU time, extra RAM, a higher bandwidth allowance - then you can typically add them to your plan in a click or two, and they'll be available almost immediately. This extra power comes at a price, but it might be much less than you think. Hostinger's cheapest shared hosting plan is $1.99 a month on the four-year plan; its cheapest VPS plan is just $2.99, again over four years. It's a very basic plan, but at $8.99 for a one-off month, it's not expensive to see if a VPS could work for you.

What is dedicated hosting?

As the name suggests, dedicated hosting is a plan where a physical server is dedicated to a single client. That means no more speed issues because you're sharing bandwidth, RAM or CPU time with other accounts: the entire system is yours alone. As you're renting the entire physical server, most providers allow you to build it with whatever hardware you need. You can typically choose your CPU, storage drives and type (cheap and high capacity HDDs, smaller but faster SSDs), operating system, bandwidth allowance and more. If you've the cash, you're often able to build some hugely powerful systems (Hostwinds' top-of-the-range dedicated server supports up to ten hard drives, for instance, if you can think of a reason to use them.) This can be expensive. Even budget providers like Namecheap charge a monthly $50-$60 for their most basic dedicated servers, and Liquid Web's top-of-the-range enterprise models might cost $500 or more (although they're aimed at huge sites which might have a million page views a month.) There's more work involved in managing a dedicated server, too. With shared hosting, if your server crashes, the provider support team should notice and fix or reboot it. But if you're running the server, all that is up to you, unless you pay even more to the provider to handle it for you (see 'What is managed hosting?') If you absolutely need top performance and complete control of your server, though, a dedicated plan is probably the way to go.

What is WordPress hosting?

WordPress is a popular free platform which makes it easy to build all kinds of websites, from a simple one-page offering, to a blog, a professional business site, even a full web store. Many web hosting providers offer WordPress plans which simplify the process of setting up your site, and often include tools to boost speeds and keep the site running more smoothly. Buy a plan and WordPress usually comes pre-installed, for example, so you won't have to set it up yourself. WP Engine throws in some stylish WordPress themes, allowing you to create a gorgeous-looking site even if you've zero design skills. And most plans make at least some effort to automatically update WordPress with new patches as they arrive, reducing your site maintenance hassles. If your WordPress needs are very simple, you may not need a specialist WordPress hosting plan. Most shared hosting plans have easy WordPress installation and a handful of other relevant features, and Hostinger's All-In-One shared hosting product gives you all kinds of valuable extras - automated updates, a WordPress site-building wizards, performance accelerators, more - from as little as $2.99 a month.

What is managed hosting?

Shared hosting accounts are generally very simple to operate, but higher end products - WordPress, VPS hosting, dedicated servers - often require running all kinds of maintenance tasks. You might need to test and update WordPress plugins, install operating system patches, spot and troubleshoot server errors, maybe reboot a server if it locks up or crashes. Buy a managed web hosting plan and some or all of these tasks will be carried out by your hosting provider's regular support team. You'll potentially save real time and hassle, and if problems do crop up, they'll be speedily addressed by the people best qualified to fix them. Sounds great-- so why would anyone do anything else? Cost, mostly. Hostwinds' 4-core 8GB RAM VPS costs $59.99 fully managed, for instance, but only $38.99 for the unmanaged DIY version, a big drop in price. One key message here is to keep this in mind when comparing WordPress, VPS or dedicated plans between hosting providers. Host A may look seriously cheap, but are you comparing a managed with an unmanaged plan? Be sure to check the small print. There's no precise definition of 'managed', either, so don't simply assume a managed plan means you'll have absolutely no maintenance to do. Every provider has its own definition of what's covered and what isn't, so check it out, make sure you understand exactly what's covered before you buy.

What is email hosting?

One of the big advantages of registering a domain is you can have your own custom email address (Steve@thebestbuilder.com is far more impressive and business-like than builder457@gmail.com.) But it's not always as easy as you might expect. You probably won't get email when you register a domain, for instance. Most hosting plans include some email support, but it may not be as powerful as you need, especially for business use. You'll often see strict limits on Inbox size, the number of accounts you can create, even the number of emails you can send a day. Email hosting is a service which allows you to send and receive emails via a custom domain. You don't have to buy email hosting from the same provider as your web hosting, and in fact you don't need web hosting at all: just register a domain, buy an email hosting plan and you're ready to start creating and using all those name@yoursite.com email accounts. Signing up for email hosting may get you a better service. The top providers give you plenty of Inbox space, support large attachments, don't hold you back with annoying usage limits and provide built-in spam, phishing and malware filters to keep you safe. This could be a feature well worth adding to your hosting line-up, and it's generally inexpensive; many email hosting plans cost around $1-$2.50 a month. But if you currently have a budget shared hosting plan, keep in mind that upgrading might get you better email features and a bunch of other goodies, too. Check your provider's hosting feature lists to find out exactly what you get.

What web hosting features do I need?

Everyone has their own individual hosting priorities, and we can't tell you exactly what you'll need and what you won't. But we can give you some general rules that will point you in the right direction. Unlimited (or unmetered) disk space and bandwidth sounds great, and all that really matters is you've enough for your site, and that may be much less than you think. Web host Kinsta reported that its clients' WordPress sites averaged only around 1GB in size, for instance. If that's you, paying for 'unlimited' space won't bring any benefits at all. Your website almost certainly needs an SSL certificate to enable secure encrypted connections with visitors, and avoid the worrying 'insecure' warnings they'll get if you're SSL-free. Most plans offer free SSL, but check the small print: occasionally SSL comes free for the first year only, and you'll have to pay after that. Many web hosting plans include a free domain name, a tempting sweetener if you don't have one already. But beware, it's typically only free for a year, and then you'll pay the provider's standard renewal fees. Dot com domain renewals don't vary much (an average $10-$20 a year), but it's a different story with others. Bluehost asks $29.99 a year to renew .co.uk domains, for instance, while Namecheap asks $9.48. If you need a domain, check renewal prices to find out the real long-term cost. Websites can break for all kinds of reasons, and if you want to keep downtime to a minimum, backups are an absolute must. Look for a plan that includes a backup service, and pay attention to frequency: weekly backups might be just about acceptable for sites that never change, but daily backups are much better. No matter how experienced you are in the web hosting world, you're sure to need support occasionally. Check out your prospective hosts' support site: does it have content on the topics you'd expect, and is this helpful and easy to read? A host should at least have 24/7 live chat support, but telephone, ticket, and email helps, too: there can't be too many ways to get in touch.

What else should I consider when picking a web host?

Three or four-year hosting plans can have appealingly low prices, but they don't always work out. If you're unhappy with a host, or your site grows and the old plan can't handle the increased traffic, you may have to buy something else early. It's safer to sign up for a year (or even less), at least initially, and perhaps choose a VPS or similar plan where it's easy to add more resources as required. Uptime (the percentage of the day that your website is available) is a key stat for any serious website. If a potential customer can't find or use your website, at best they'll think you're unprofessional, at worst they'll give up on you entirely and go elsewhere. Web hosting providers often quote uptime figures such as '99.9%', but these don't always cover the issues you might expect. Check the small print carefully for any hidden catches. Look for a Service Level Agreement (SLA), too, especially for dedicated and other high-end hosting plans. These go beyond vague website promises to guarantee uptime, support response times and other elements of the service, and describe the compensation you'll get if the target is missed. And if you're looking for more specific advice on one type of hosting in particular, chances are we've an article that can help. Get started with our guides to the Best free web hosting , Best WordPress hosting , Best VPS hosting , Best managed hosting and Best Minecraft server hosting . Each article has links to other guides and reviews where you'll find out more.

Best web hosting of 2022

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(Image credit: Future)

Wondering how to find the best web hosting provider? It's easy! All you have to do is check out 160+ hosts, analyze product ranges, compare control panels, explore their tools, build a site or two, try out support and run some in-depth uptime and speed tests.

If that sounds a little time-consuming, you'd be right, but fortunately our team of expert reviewers has done the hard work already. All you have to do is scroll down and you'll find everything you need on our twelve best web hosting providers: their strengths, weaknesses, pricing, and how they could be the best choice for your web hosting needs.

In this article we're focusing on general consumer and small business web hosting providers, but if that’s not quite what you need, we also have specialist guides on the best free web hosting, best cheap web hosting, best WordPress hosting, best email hosting, best ecommerce hosting, best dedicated server hosting, and more.

Best web hosting services - our top 3

The best web hosting services of 2022

Bluehost logo on blue background with spotlight effect

Bluehost has been rated the top web host by WordPress.org, the organization that oversees the development of the world's most popular CMS (Image credit: Bluehost)

1. Bluehost - Best web hosting overall (opens in new tab)

An exceptional WordPress web host

Specifications

Free domain: Yes

Free SSL: Yes

24/7customer support: Yes