Why it’s best: It’s built on Google’s cloud infrastructure and includes daily backups as well as free SSL (secure sockets layer) certificates for every domain on a cloud plan.
There are several players in the cloud web hosting space touting a variety of functions and services. We assessed hosts on three essentials: technical resources, features, and support.
Technical resources: The best contenders will offer technical resources — such as CPU power, RAM, and storage — that can meet the needs of your site.
Features: Ideally, a cloud web-hosting service will include components to help customers get their websites up and running quickly and securely, such as a free SSL certificate and free one-year domain registration.
Support: You don’t want to wait to speak to someone about resolving a hosting issue. The best providers will have 24/7 support available to customers.
What Is Cloud Web Hosting?
Cloud web hosting means that the website is run from multiple separate physical servers, often referred to as clustered servers. These servers may be physically in one data center or spread out across multiple locations.
You can interact with your website using a standard cPanel to update the site, make changes, and much more, all from one interface, just like any other web hosting service.
How To Choose a Cloud Web Host
Like all types of web hosting, there are various features that you want to look for when shopping for the right service. Many of the features will be the same as you would look for on any other type of web hosting, but there are some unique factors to consider for cloud web hosting:
Physical location of servers: Since your site is physically on more than one server, you want to know where they are located. Is the cluster of servers in just one physical data center or multiple data centers? Geographically speaking, how close is the server cluster to people who will visit your site?
Dedicated resource specs: Look closely at the system specs that are provided with a cloud hosting package. Specifically, look at CPU cores, RAM, disk space, bandwidth availability, and network uptime. These items are important whether you are shopping for cloud web hosting or any other type of hosting solution.
Real-time resource management: One benefit of cloud web hosting is that you can often adjust your system resources on the fly with no reset needed. If you start getting a lot more traffic than before, for example, just contact your hosting company and upgrade to a more robust cloud hosting package.
Improved reliability: One of the best things about cloud web hosting is that it is extremely reliable. Since your files are on multiple servers, your site can remain up even if one (or more) server goes offline due to hardware failure.
Keep in mind that every cloud hosting package will be unique based on the features and specs that the hosting company wants to provide. This is why it is so important to look closely at what it is they are offering and the price. Taking the time to find the best cloud web hosting company that serves your region will ensure you get the best experience possible, assuming you want this type of hosting.
Offers a choice of five cloud providers, including AWS and Google Cloud.
Starting price
$12 per month
Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting solution that delivers around-the-clock monitoring, automated backups, and regular security fixes. Customers can choose from five cloud providers, including AWS and Google Cloud.
Cloudways offers 24/7 live chat and ticketing support as part of its packages, along with alerts for operational aspects, such as performance and security. Businesses needing quicker response times, dedicated support, or deeper technical skills can upgrade to an Advanced or Premium support plan.
Pros and cons of Cloudways
Pros
Very stable and fast VPS (virtual private server) hosting
Easy VPS hosting management
Relatively low prices starting at $12 a month
No initial pre-payments or price increases
Loads of server locations to choose from
Cons
More expensive than the original provider’s prices
Basic security tool
Email hosting comes at an extra cost
No domain registration option
What customers are saying about Cloudways
Cloudways is a managed cloud services provider offering fast speeds as well as great customer service and pricing. The setup can be a bit hard, and there is no cPanel.
It’s built on Google’s cloud infrastructure and includes daily backups as well as free SSL (secure sockets layer) certificates for every domain on a cloud plan.
Starting price
$100 per month
SiteGround has more than 15 years of experience delivering web hosting solutions. It offers web and reseller hosting services, and products created for WooCommerce and WordPress.
The company’s managed cloud hosting platform is designed for customers whose sites are no longer well-served by shared hosting. It’s built on Google’s cloud infrastructure and includes daily backups as well as free SSL certificates for every domain on a cloud plan.
Pros and cons of SiteGround
Pros
Very fast page load times
Servers on 4 continents
Innovative speed-boosting tech
Free daily backups
Strong in-house security tools
Cons
No mid-tier scalability option
Complex pricing structure
Free domain not included
What customers are saying about SiteGround:
SiteGround is a reliable web hosting company with fast speeds, a user-friendly interface, and solid customer service. Some customers are not thrilled with the price increase and back-end support.
Combines great simplicity and functionality to help beginners and professionals alike.
Starting price
$9.99 per month
With customers numbering in the millions, Hostinger’s products can be found in more than 170 countries. The company was founded in 2004, and the Hostinger brand launched in 2011. The company has a suite of solutions, including cPanel and CyberPanel hosting options.
Hostinger’s cloud hosting platform comes in three configurations, all of which offer email, an SSL certificate, a free domain (one year only), and a content delivery network free of charge. Chat support is available 24/7, and a knowledge base, blog, and tutorials can be found online.
Pros and cons of Hostinger
Pros
Cheapest prices for shared hosting
Servers on 4 continents
LiteSpeed web servers with built-in cache engine
Free weekly or daily backups
Free website builder included
Cons
Control panel can be slow
Customer support team takes a while to respond
What customers are saying about Hostinger:
Hostinger is one of the best hosting companies for people who are starting out with a website and seeking low prices. The customer service and mail server could use some improvements, though.
The company offers three cloud hosting plans, each of which includes 100 GB of block storage.
Starting price
$4.50 per month
DreamHost believes people should have the final say when it comes to how their data is going to be used. Its software is open source, and the company supplies its customers with a control panel that makes managing their websites easy.
The company offers three cloud hosting plans, each of which includes 100 GB of block storage. While online resources are provided, additional support can be accessed 24/7 through the DreamHost help bot or via live chat from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. PST.
Pros and cons of DreamHost
Pros
Affordable and feature-rich plans
Good performance testing results
Easy website setup process
Free domain, SSL, domain privacy, and daily backups
Cons
Malware removal tool is paid
Live chat is not 24/7
What customers are saying about DreamHost:
A reliable and affordable hosting provider, Dreamhost offers great customer service and a variety of plans. It is easy to use, though there are some complaints that the speed and webmail could be improved.
Three standard plans that offer up to 20 times faster page loading.
Starting price
$39.99 per month
A2 Hosting is a private company founded in 2001. Its platform offers several hosting services, including dedicated and reseller options.
The firm’s contender in this category is its cloud VPS product. There are three standard VPS plans available, each leveraging A2 Hosting’s turbo servers, which can provide up to 20 times faster page loads. RAM and storage range from 1 GB to 4 GB, while bandwidth is unlimited. Customer support is available via 24/7 live chat, phone, or ticketing.
Pros and cons of A2 Hosting
Pros
Robust hosting packages, particularly WordPress
Excellent customer service
Terrific uptime
Good money-back refund plan
Cons
No Windows server options
Relatively expensive
What customers are saying about A2 Hosting:
A2 is a reliable, affordable hosting company that has fast speeds. The customer service is generally responsive but could use more updated tutorials and documentation.
Comes with scalable storage options, load balancers, and firewalls.
Starting price
$4 per month
Founded in 1995, Kamatera delivers cloud infrastructure products as well as managed services. All its solutions are backed by 24/7 technical support via phone or a ticketing system.
Kamatera Express offers clients a quick and easy way to spin up servers. Businesses can choose from three packages, each with 1 CPU core, 1 GB of RAM, 20 GB of SSD storage, and 5 TB of bandwidth, differentiated by increasing processor speeds. Clients can also opt for a customized setup. Other available components include load balancers, firewalls, and scalable storage.
Pros and cons of Kamatera
Pros
Affordable
99.95% uptime
24/7, 365 customer service
Cons
Needs familiarity with the hosting environment
What customers are saying about Kamatera:
“My first month has proven to be a very welcome surprise, both with performance and phone and ticket support. I will be migrating all of my professional work to Kamatera,” one user writes.
Using cloud technologies to manage a website has several advantages. It is worth the extra money to make sure your site functions effectively at all times if it is used for marketing, generating sales, increasing brand recognition, and other crucial parts of your organization. With this in mind, it’s worth investing in cloud hosting to get these extra perks.
What is the difference between cloud hosting and cloud server?
Cloud hosting plans offer scalable server resource allocation based on hardware virtualization, in contrast to cloud server plans, which have a fixed amount of RAM, CPU, and SSD/HDD storage. Cloud hosting plans guarantee better security and performance.
How does cloud hosting work?
Applications and websites are accessible through cloud hosting employing cloud resources. Solutions are not placed on a single server, in contrast to traditional hosting. Instead, the application or website is hosted by a network of interconnected virtual and physical cloud servers, providing more flexibility and scalability.
What are the prices for cloud hosting?
Most web hosting companies offer at least three different service levels, with the prices starting somewhere under $10 per month and going up from there. Cloud hosting can be customized to meet the needs of any site. So, if you find a web hosting company that you trust but do not see the specific cloud hosting configuration you need, it is worth it to reach out to them directly to get a quote for a custom cloud hosting system configuration.