Bluehost is a popular web hosting company with millions of sites running on its servers. This company has provided hosting at an affordable price since 2003. Bluehost continues to innovate and expand to meet the ever-changing needs of its customers.
Whether you are looking to start a small business blog or need to operate a large e-commerce site, Bluehost can handle it all. In addition to ranking Bluehost as the best overall hosting provider, I rated it at the top for virtual private server hosting, too.
Bluehost, one of the few official WordPress partners, can run just about any type of website you want, including custom-built pages, WordPress websites, WooCommerce sites, and more. If shared hosting is not sufficient for your website, Bluehost offers excellent VPS and dedicated hosting as well.
I opted for WordPress hosting and WordPress installation took just a couple of clicks. If you want to make a customized site (whether with WordPress or not) you can use Bluehost’s website builders, which allow drag-and-drop site creation.
Who is Bluehost best for?
After extensive testing and a review of everything Bluehost has to offer, I found it to be a capable hosting option for individuals, small businesses, bloggers, and others who need a reliable website. Bluehost makes it easy to create and manage a site with its diverse tools, templates, and WooCommerce options, so it’s easy for those new to running websites.
Recent upgrades to Bluehost
Bluehost is constantly innovating and upgrading its systems. For example, Bluehost started offering an advanced free site migration tool for WordPress websites and a full marketplace for great site templates.
Bluehost pricing
Bluehost has options at many price points. The basic shared hosting account starts at $4.95 per month. If you need dedicated hosting, on the other hand, you can pay up to $119.99 per month for the top-end option.
SiteGround is one of the leading companies in web hosting. It is known for offering premium shared hosting solutions to all its customers, especially those who want to use WordPress. While it does not offer dedicated hosting or virtual private server hosting, the exceptional shared hosting options will be ideal for small-to-medium businesses, individuals, and many others.
SiteGround specializes in shared and cloud hosting options, which serves many customers because the vast majority of websites do not need higher-end hosting. I’ve found SiteGround hosting options to be fast and reliable by using the best hardware and software possible. This means that customers will generally pay more than with other companies, but you do get what you pay for in this case.
SiteGround hosting includes a CDN and a free Let’s Encrypt Standard SSL certificate installed. I particularly love that most hosting packages include a CDN, which helps your website load quicker by hosting copies of your site's resources closer to where your users live.
Who is SiteGround best for?
SiteGround is an excellent hosting provider for small-to-medium businesses. If you need the additional control or power a VPS or dedicated hosting provides, then SiteGround might not be the host for you, because they don't offer these types of servers.
Recent upgrades by SiteGround
One of the things I love most about SiteGround is that it is constantly upgrading and improving its hosting services. Some key upgrades SiteGround recently performed include adding a new data center in Madrid and new site scanner tools for added security.
SiteGround pricing
Hosting starts at $2.99 per month for shared hosting and can go up as high as $400 per month for its top-of-the-line cloud hosting options. While this is not the right option for everyone, those who need a fast and reliable hosting company will love working with SiteGround.
SiteGround is one of the leading companies in web hosting. It is known for offering premium shared hosting solutions to all its customers, especially those who want to use WordPress. While it does not offer dedicated hosting or virtual private server hosting, the exceptional shared hosting options will be ideal for small-to-medium businesses, individuals, and many others.
SiteGround specializes in shared and cloud hosting options, which serves many customers because the vast majority of websites do not need higher-end hosting. I’ve found SiteGround hosting options to be fast and reliable by using the best hardware and software possible. This means that customers will generally pay more than with other companies, but you do get what you pay for in this case.
SiteGround hosting includes a CDN and a free Let’s Encrypt Standard SSL certificate installed. I particularly love that most hosting packages include a CDN, which helps your website load quicker by hosting copies of your site's resources closer to where your users live.
Who is SiteGround best for?
SiteGround is an excellent hosting provider for small-to-medium businesses. If you need the additional control or power a VPS or dedicated hosting provides, then SiteGround might not be the host for you, because they don't offer these types of servers.
Recent upgrades by SiteGround
One of the things I love most about SiteGround is that it is constantly upgrading and improving its hosting services. Some key upgrades SiteGround recently performed include adding a new data center in Madrid and new site scanner tools for added security.
SiteGround pricing
Hosting starts at $2.99 per month for shared hosting and can go up as high as $400 per month for its top-of-the-line cloud hosting options. While this is not the right option for everyone, those who need a fast and reliable hosting company will love working with SiteGround.
A2 Hosting is an excellent hosting provider that has a lot of different options available to meet the needs of just about everyone. This company is best known for offering exceptionally fast response times on its hosting, which is very important for most websites. While it is not the cheapest hosting around, it does have a good overall reputation and can more than meet the needs of most people.
In my testing, A2 Hosting stood out for its extremely fast hosting servers with an average load time of 608 ms and an average response time of 1289 ms. This speed is made possible by A2 Hosting’s top-of-the-line servers as well as the great CDN used for most hosting accounts. In addition, you will have access to the premium customer and technical support teams.
I appreciate that all the A2 Hosting packages come with top security, including a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate. Your servers will also have protection against DDoS attacks using ConfigServer and Firewall, brute force detection, Linux malware detection, and Wordfence. Free automatic backup tools keep your data safe.
Who is A2 Hosting best for?
A2 Hosting is an excellent option for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and e-commerce sites.
Recent upgrades by A2 Hosting
While A2 Hosting is a solid platform today, I’m a little concerned that this company is not actively engaged in many upgrades or improvements, at least not publicly. It keeps existing systems up to date through regular upgrades, but that is really the bare minimum for a hosting company. I do like that it added support for Magento and some other systems, but I would really like to see a bigger focus on new software packages and enhancements to existing products.
A2 Hosting pricing
Pricing at A2 Hosting ranks in the middle of its competitors: entry-level hosting starts at $2.99 per month, but only if you sign up for three years at a time. The highest-priced hosting package is the managed dedicated server with Turbo, and that will run you up to $505.99 per month (again, with the three-year commitment).
DreamHost is a highly rated hosting provider that has a lot to offer anyone who wants to run a website. While it offers excellent VPS hosting and dedicated servers, DreamHost is best known for exceptional shared hosting solutions. The shared hosting is so good that we listed it as the best shared hosting provider in the industry.
There are many reasons to use DreamHost, including unlimited bandwidth and storage, which helps to make your hosting experience worry-free.
DreamHost puts its customers first – I was offered an impressive 97-day money-back guarantee on all its hosting accounts.
Who is DreamHost best for?
While anyone can use DreamHost, we primarily recommend it for bloggers, small businesses, and entrepreneurs who are going to be running a site on WordPress.
Recent upgrades by Dreamhost
Recently, DreamHost upgraded its control panel to add more control over DNS, which is important for many users.
Dreamhost pricing
DreamHost’s prices are balanced between cost and quality. You can sign up for a shared hosting account that will only cost you $2.59 per month. If you need something more advanced, you can go all the way up to premium dedicated hosting, which will run you $279 per month.
DreamHost is a highly rated hosting provider that has a lot to offer anyone who wants to run a website. While it offers excellent VPS hosting and dedicated servers, DreamHost is best known for exceptional shared hosting solutions. The shared hosting is so good that we listed it as the best shared hosting provider in the industry.
There are many reasons to use DreamHost, including unlimited bandwidth and storage, which helps to make your hosting experience worry-free.
DreamHost puts its customers first – I was offered an impressive 97-day money-back guarantee on all its hosting accounts.
Who is DreamHost best for?
While anyone can use DreamHost, we primarily recommend it for bloggers, small businesses, and entrepreneurs who are going to be running a site on WordPress.
Recent upgrades by Dreamhost
Recently, DreamHost upgraded its control panel to add more control over DNS, which is important for many users.
Dreamhost pricing
DreamHost’s prices are balanced between cost and quality. You can sign up for a shared hosting account that will only cost you $2.59 per month. If you need something more advanced, you can go all the way up to premium dedicated hosting, which will run you $279 per month.
InMotion is widely considered a high-end hosting provider that focuses on giving customers exceptional services at a somewhat higher price than its competition. This company uses premium hardware throughout its data center and configures all servers to run fast while maintaining minimal downtime. If your website is a critical component of your business, the slightly higher prices from InMotion may be money well spent.
I chose InMotion Hosting as the most reliable hosting provider because it consistently has exceptional uptime on all its servers. Running multiple tests using both my own internal experience as well as third-party testing tools, I never had any issues.
This is all on top of InMotion’s 99.9% uptime guarantee. The company offers much more than just a stable hosting environment. It also has very responsive servers at all levels. Whether you are looking for a shared hosting environment, VPS hosting, or even dedicated servers, you will find plenty of options at InMotion.
Who is InMotion Hosting best for?
InMotion is a strong fit for small businesses, entrepreneurs, bloggers with popular sites, and e-commerce websites that want a very fast and reliable hosting experience.
Recent upgrades by InMotion Hosting
Recently, InMotion started offering customers access to the full suite of Google Workspace applications for $6 per month per seat. These apps include Gmail, Drive, and Meet.
InMotion Hosting pricing
You’ll pay a little more with InMotion than you would with discount providers like DreamHost or Hostinger. For this extra monthly expense, you will get improved uptime, fast servers, and constant performance improvements. The entry-level shared hosting option with InMotion is just $2.29 per month, but after the initial three-year contract, that goes up to $8.99 per month. If you opt for shorter payment periods, you will pay even higher rates.
InMotion is widely considered a high-end hosting provider that focuses on giving customers exceptional services at a somewhat higher price than its competition. This company uses premium hardware throughout its data center and configures all servers to run fast while maintaining minimal downtime. If your website is a critical component of your business, the slightly higher prices from InMotion may be money well spent.
I chose InMotion Hosting as the most reliable hosting provider because it consistently has exceptional uptime on all its servers. Running multiple tests using both my own internal experience as well as third-party testing tools, I never had any issues.
This is all on top of InMotion’s 99.9% uptime guarantee. The company offers much more than just a stable hosting environment. It also has very responsive servers at all levels. Whether you are looking for a shared hosting environment, VPS hosting, or even dedicated servers, you will find plenty of options at InMotion.
Who is InMotion Hosting best for?
InMotion is a strong fit for small businesses, entrepreneurs, bloggers with popular sites, and e-commerce websites that want a very fast and reliable hosting experience.
Recent upgrades by InMotion Hosting
Recently, InMotion started offering customers access to the full suite of Google Workspace applications for $6 per month per seat. These apps include Gmail, Drive, and Meet.
InMotion Hosting pricing
You’ll pay a little more with InMotion than you would with discount providers like DreamHost or Hostinger. For this extra monthly expense, you will get improved uptime, fast servers, and constant performance improvements. The entry-level shared hosting option with InMotion is just $2.29 per month, but after the initial three-year contract, that goes up to $8.99 per month. If you opt for shorter payment periods, you will pay even higher rates.
Nexcess is a popular web hosting company owned and operated by Liquid Web, which runs various web hosting-related websites and has a great reputation for providing excellent services throughout the industry. Specifically, Nexcess is known for the managed services offered. If you want great hosting that is virtually worry-free, this may be the perfect option for you.
Nexcess is owned and operated by Liquid Web, which has a quality reputation as a web host. You can choose from several hosting options, including those that are configured specifically for an online store. I found customer support to be extensive: whether you are using WooCommerce or another content management system, you will get the premium support that you need to make running your digital platform fast and easy.
In addition to managing the back end of your e-commerce platform for you, Nexcess will provide visitors to your site with fast response times and a stable environment. This means your online store will always be up and ready no matter when people want to shop. For e-commerce business owners, this is absolutely essential.
Nexcess specializes in helping people with e-commerce pages. I love that it has technical experts on staff who know how to use all the different e-commerce platforms including WooCommerce, Magento, StoreBuilder, and many others.
Who is Nexcess best for?
Whether you are just starting a new online store, or you have a popular e-commerce site that needs a hosting upgrade, Nexcess is an excellent option to consider.
Recent upgrades by Nexcess
Recently, Nexcess upgraded its systems to provide full integration with HubSpot. It also upgraded the WooCommerce suite to help provide better testing for busy sites. The constant attention to providing quality systems today and long into the future is one more reason I love Nexcess for any e-commerce site.
Nexcess pricing
If you are looking for cheap or mid-range hosting prices, Nexcess is not for you. With the extra work that Nexcess has to put into each customer’s account, it is not surprising that the monthly costs are higher than other companies. Still, if you’re looking for quality managed hosting over unmanaged options, Nexcess is an excellent company to work with and beats other web hosting services. The WordPress hosting plan starts at $9.50 per month, while WP Engine’s WordPress hosting starts at $20 per month.
If you want to run a WordPress-based site, but you don’t want to deal with any of the technical aspects, WP Engine is perfect for you. This company specializes in WordPress hosting and can get your site up and running without any trouble. In addition, since it offers managed hosting, you won’t have to worry about data backup, updating systems, or even troubleshooting problems, which is why I rank WP Engine among the best hosting options around.
WP Engine specializes in managed WordPress hosting and offers hassle-free hosting because it offers the best systems and support for this type of site.
The downside of using WP Engine is that it costs much more than the competition. In general, you will be able to find basic shared hosting for less than $5 per month, compared to $20 per month to start with from WP Engine. You are paying for the premium support, experience, and overall hosting quality.
I consider WP Engine the best managed WordPress hosting, finding its support options and service superior for WordPress sites. While WP Engine will only be the right option for some, it is the best for those needing this type of hosting.
Who is WP Engine best for?
If you want hassle-free premium hosting and are planning to use WordPress, WP Engine is a clear choice.
Recent upgrades by WP Engine
To ensure it stays on top, WP Engine optimized its servers for improved speed and reliability and added several new free features to its hosting services. Also, WP Engine added the Flywheel Growth Suite for when you’re ready to scale your small business.
WP Engine pricing
WP Engine is not cheap, so you can expect to pay several times more money for your hosting than you would with another provider. Its entry-level managed WordPress hosting plan starts at $20 per month (compared to Nexcess at $9.50 per month), and goes up from there. You get what you pay for, though, so if you want a worry-free hosting company, this is likely your best option.
After choosing your web host, you’ll need to register your domain name with the host. Many web hosts combine both steps, but with others, you’ll need to configure the service to use your company’s chosen URL.
If your company already has a website with a different host, you’ll need to transfer the website files over to the new host. All hosting providers have instructions for how to do this, and it’s usually quick and painless.
If you don’t already have a website, then the only thing left to do is to build one! “Website builders” are the tools used for this and there are many options available. Too many, in fact, so head over to our Best Website Builders of 2023 page for a list of the best options and the pros and cons of each.
Small-Business Web Hosting Expert
Michael Levanduski is an IT professional with over 20 years of experience in the industry. He regularly advises businesses on a range of topics, including web hosting, content management and data security. He lives in West Michigan with his family where he enjoys camping, hiking, and of course, writing. Michael’s expertise has been shared on a variety of websites, including Hostadvice.com, Neweggbusiness.com and Gogetspace.com.
