9 Best Domain Hosting Services (2024)

Best Domain Hosting

Serving as a gateway to a vibrant online world of information, the best domain hosting services roll out the red carpet to your site’s readers and potential customers.

Whether you’re setting up your first website or managing a portfolio of domain names, finding the right registrar and hosting provider can save loads of time and headaches. While many services offer similar features or free registrations, you’ll want to find a plan that is optimized for your specific needs.

Your domain can determine your search engine rankings and your success as a brand in general. It all starts with a domain, but it really begins with a domain host — so let’s go over the best in the business.

Best Web Hosting With Domain Name Registration

First, let’s look at what makes a good domain name host; a free domain is a great start. The typical domain hosting customer also looks for other freebies such as unlimited email hosting and a website builder, which are common in many of the best web hosting services.

When we reviewed the best domain hosting companies, we expected providers to bring value, ample resources, and a hassle-free site-building and management experience.

Our top-recommended domain host checks all of the above boxes:

1. Hostinger.com

Hostinger review

Monthly Starting Price $2.24

  • Lowest domain prices in the industry
  • FREE registration on most plans
  • Host up to 100 domains on most plans
  • Domain privacy protection safeguards your info
  • 99.9% uptime guarantee and automatic backups
  • Get started on Hostinger now.
DOMAIN
RATING
★★★★★ 5.0 Our Review»
Hostinger: Our Expert’s Review

Laura Bernheim (HostingAdvice.com): Don’t be turned off by Hostinger’s remarkably low prices. The company’s insanely low pricing model extends to domain name services, as well as its premium support and impressive list of features. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 100 GB SSD – 200 GB NVMe FREE (1 year) 3 minutes

I can’t get enough of Hostinger’s sleek, intuitive hPanel interface for managing websites. It’s a smart solution for beginners because it makes domain name transfers between Hostinger accounts a piece of cake. Hostinger also throws in free WHOIS privacy protection — something you don’t want to pass up.

Cheap Domain Hosting

Building your first site is exciting! You want to talk themes, color schemes, and the content for your first blog post — not agonize over uptime rates and other server stats.

Your web host should make managing your domains and websites simple by providing a popular control panel and easy-to-reach customer support.

The two hosts highlighted in this section score high marks in all these categories, and all for less than $3 per month. Bluehost and IONOS, represent the global hosting providers that carry stunning value.

2. IONOS.com

1&1 IONOS review

Monthly Starting Price $1.00

  • Register domains for $1 (or FREE with hosting)
  • FREE domain privacy to protect your information
  • Easy setup with domain lock and 2GB email inbox
  • 99.9% uptime, plus daily backups and recovery
  • FREE SSL certificate for safer data transfers
  • Get started on 1&1 IONOS now.
DOMAIN
RATING
★★★★★ 4.9 Our Review»
1&1 IONOS: Our Expert’s Review

Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com): While many popular hosts reserve free domain registrations for its higher-tie plans, 1&1 IONOS gives every customer the perk — along with free domain privacy, email inbox, and SSL certificate. Trust your site with a company that hosts more than 12 million domains on its platform. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 10 GB – Unlimited FREE (1 year) 4 minutes

3. Bluehost.com

Bluehost review

Monthly Starting Price $1.99

  • FREE domain registration and site-building tools
  • Unlimited domains, emails, and bandwidth
  • Up to $200 in offers with Google, Bing, and Yahoo!
  • Top-ranked WordPress host with tons of perks
  • 24/7 customer support and online tutorials
  • Get started on Bluehost now.
DOMAIN
RATING
★★★★★ 4.7 Our Review»
Bluehost: Our Expert’s Review

Ryan Frankel (HostingAdvice.com): Bluehost offers all the freebies you need to get started with domain hosting. The company includes a free domain or transfer, plus unlimited bandwidth and storage. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 10 GB SSD – 100 GB SSD FREE (1 year) 5 minutes

Neither company cuts corners to justify its low prices. You’ll find impressively fast hardware, reliable uptime, and the full set of features you can expect with plans with much higher price tags.

After reviewing the most affordable hosts on the market and evaluating their price, support, and feature sets, we can confidently say these are the best web hosts in terms of bang for your buck.

Best Domain Hosting With Email

Your website’s domain name not only functions as the label and point of reference to direct web browsers to your site, but it can also serve as the basis for email accounts.

Whether for personal or professional use, having an email address hosted on your own custom domain bodes well for your brand identity.

Certain hosts specialize in domain and email hosting services with features such as spam filtering, auto-responders, the ability to host unlimited email accounts at a free domain, and a free control panel license for managing it all.

If this particular domain hosting niche strikes your fancy, check out the best web hosting services for domain and email hosting.

4. HostGator.com

HostGator review

Monthly Starting Price $2.29

  • Unlimited email accounts and storage
  • FREE migration, domain, and SSL certificate
  • Webmail access via Horde and Roundcube
  • FREE SpamAssassin and weekly backups
  • Seamless G Suite upgrade for more productivity
  • Get started on HostGator now.
EMAIL
RATING
★★★★★ 4.6 Our Review»
HostGator: Our Expert’s Review

Ryan Frankel (HostingAdvice.com): Woven into HostGator’s well-appointed web hosting plans is all the email power you’ll ever need. Unlimited addresses and storage, coupled with ready-to-go Horde and Roundcube webmail clients, combine with the host’s high-class infrastructure to provide reliable and secure sending environments. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 10 GB SSD – 40 GB SSD FREE (1 year) 4 minutes

5. A2Hosting.com

A2 Hosting review

Monthly Starting Price $1.75

  • FREE software for webmail, newsletters, contact forms, list management, and spam filtering
  • Unlimited inboxes, forwarding, and autoresponders
  • Secure POP3, IMAP, and SMTP messaging
  • Unlimited storage and transfer with FREE SSL
  • Get more than 87% off today (was $7.99/month)
  • Get started on A2 Hosting now.
EMAIL
RATING
★★★★★ 4.9 Our Review»
A2 Hosting: Our Expert’s Review

Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com): Combining the internet’s most popular and secure email technologies with high-speed and reliable infrastructure, A2 Hosting ensures your messages are delivered on time. As a recipient, you’ll appreciate the company’s multiple spam filtering programs, along with autoresponders and forwarding. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 100 GB SSD – Unlimited SSD New or Transfer 4 minutes

A2 Hosting runs the gamut of powerful managed hosting for your email account. The web hosting company provides a comprehensive range of compatibility to dozens of webmail clients, spam filters, and a free SSL certificate.

We also frequently recommend HostGator domain and email services as one of the best providers to grow with. The company can easily take your domain portfolio through the cloud hosting and dedicated server hosting ranks.

Best Domain Hosting for Small Business

The domain you choose matters; It can have a dramatic impact on your brand identity and business success.

The key to being an exemplary domain hosting provider is not just providing domain names but simplifying the registration and renewal process in general.

Small business owners can’t afford to mess around, so read up on experts’ tips for choosing a domain, and sign up with the hosts we recommend for online brands looking to grow:

6. GoDaddy.com

GoDaddy review

Monthly Starting Price $6.99

  • World’s largest domain registrar with 17+ million domains under management
  • FREE domain included with annual plans
  • Manage your domains via cPanel or Plesk
  • FREE email hosting at your domain
  • 99.9% website uptime guaranteed
  • Get started on GoDaddy now.
DOMAIN
RATING
★★★★★ 4.5 Our Review»
GoDaddy: Our Expert’s Review

Ryan Frankel (HostingAdvice.com): We’d be remiss not to include GoDaddy on this list of the top domain name hosting providers. Perhaps the most well-known name in the domain space, GoDaddy is widely recognized as the world’s top registration services company, and the low-cost hosting is tough to beat. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 25 GB – 100 GB FREE (1 year) 4 minutes

7. SiteGround.com

SiteGround review

Monthly Starting Price $2.99

  • Get your domain when signing up for hosting
  • Web hosting powered by Google Cloud
  • Easy domain registrations and transfers
  • Get domain privacy to protect your info
  • FREE SSL certificate and CDN performance
  • Get started on SiteGround now.
DOMAIN
RATING
★★★★ 4.1 Our Review»
SiteGround: Our Expert’s Review

Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com): Why not pair SiteGround’s impressive cloud-powered hosting technology with its legendary support teams and domain services. The all-star hosting provider has tons of special domain extensions available for you to choose from. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 10 GB SSD – 40 GB SSD New or Transfer 6 minutes

These days, most shared hosts will offer a free domain to entice entry-level customers. Not every provider, however, carries a reputation as the largest domain name registrar — supporting 83 million domains.

Yes, I’m talking about GoDaddy, a popular host with a flair for domain and email services. Get a complimentary domain registrar when you sign up for a yearlong plan.

SiteGround, our other recommended web host in this (and many other) categories, is a perfect hosting option for business owners looking to merge their shared web hosting and domain experiences.

The web hosting provider seamlessly merges domain and email services with free domain privacy protection.

Best Domain Hosting for WordPress

If you’ve already decided a WordPress site is what you want, and you just need a domain host to help you launch it, you’ve reached your section.

WordPress hosting is a powerhouse platform trusted by the likes of TechCrunch, TED Talks, and the one-and-only Beyoncé. Heck, you’ll even see the HostingAdvice domain sits comfortably on WordPress!

We thoroughly vetted the web’s most popular hosting plans for WordPress and recommend you consider the #1 host to get started. Choose your domain, download and install the WordPress software with a single click, and you’re on your way.

8. Bluehost.com

Bluehost Review

Monthly Starting Price $1.99

  • Recommended by WordPress.org since 2005
  • Automatic WordPress updates and initial install
  • FREE WordPress themes in the Bluehost Marketplace
  • 24/7 support via live chat, phone, and email
  • Get exclusive discounts on WordPress plans
  • Get started on Bluehost now.
WORDPRESS
RATING
★★★★★ 4.9 Our Review»
Bluehost: Our Expert’s Review

Ryan Frankel (HostingAdvice.com): Bluehost’s WordPress hosting packages are aimed at first-time site owners and personal bloggers. These services come at a premium compared to the standard Bluehost web hosting (basic shared hosting) plans, but the WordPress optimization and platform-specific resources are arguably worth the cost. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 10 GB SSD – 100 GB SSD FREE (1 year) 7 minutes

9. SiteGround.com

SiteGround Review

Monthly Starting Price $2.99

  • WordPress performance optimizations
  • FREE migration plugin or automated installation
  • Pre-installed Git, 3 caching levels, and FREE CDN
  • FREE WP setup wizard, staging, and auto-updates
  • Fast, 24/7 support via custom chat system
  • Get started on SiteGround now.
WORDPRESS
RATING
★★★★★ 4.9 Our Review»
SiteGround: Our Expert’s Review

Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com): Want a hassle-free, WordPress-optimized hosting service. SiteGround has thought of everything you need to get your site up and running. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 10 GB SSD – 40 GB SSD New or Transfer 6 minutes

Bluehost and SiteGround are titans of the WordPress hosting industry, with both carrying the coveted recommendation of the WordPress leadership team.

We especially appreciate the companies’ approach to managed WordPress hosting, ensuring site owners have ample access to customer support through phone, tickets, and live chat.

What Is Domain Hosting?

Domain hosting is similar to web hosting, where a server stores all your website’s files and makes them accessible on the web. The difference with domain hosting is that DNS (Domain Name System) servers connect your domain name to your website’s IP address.

This process lets your site visitors type your domain name, such as www.HostingAdvice.com, into the browser instead of an IP address, which is a long string of hard-to-remember numbers.

Most web hosts offer domain name registration when you purchase a hosting plan, which makes the process of domain hosting seamless.

What Key Features Should I Look for in a Domain Host?

These days, web hosts offer so many features and perks that it’s hard to keep things straight. From free email accounts to one-click installs and free domain names, separating the nice-to-haves from the must-haves is essential.

Consider these your must-have features:

  • High uptime guarantees: An uptime guarantee is an assurance from your hosting provider that your website will be online for a minimum amount of time in a given period. This is usually reflected by a percentage of 99.9%, which is the minimum industry standard. But higher uptimes are better. With fully redundant cloud infrastructure, you can get an uptime of 100%.
  • Strong security measures: Your web host should offer security features that include SSL certificates, DDoS protection, a firewall, and domain privacy protection. Domain privacy protection is essential for domain hosting. It ensures your personal information isn’t published in the WHOIS database, where anyone can see your name, phone number, and email address.
  • Scalability options: Most site owners aim to grow their online presence. Make sure your provider offers multiple tiers of shared hosting or VPS/cloud server options that let you upgrade when you outgrow your plan.
  • High-quality customer support: I cannot emphasize the importance of customer support enough. Having a host that prioritizes customer support and satisfaction is worth paying extra for. Read reviews on web hosting customer support to see which hosts go the extra mile for their customers.

Once these essentials are checked off, you can consider less critical features in your search.

How Much Should Domain Hosting Cost?

The price you pay for a domain name depends on several factors, but mainly the type of domain extension and hosting plan you choose. Most shared web hosting plans come with a free .com domain name when you purchase at least one year of service upfront.

These one-year web hosting deals can save you $10 to $20 in annual domain registration fees. IONOS, for example, gives you a free domain name when you sign up for its entry-level web hosting plan. Its pricing starts at just $1.00 per month, making domain hosting incredibly accessible to those on a tight budget.

Is Domain Hosting Better on Squarespace or GoDaddy?

Squarespace is mostly known for its site-building tools, but you can host your domain name there, too. It’s just as good as any web host/domain registrar. But, of course, there are always certain things one registrar may do better than the next — mainly pricing and add-ons.

While my personal choice for domain hosting has to be GoDaddy, you might feel differently. Here’s a comparison chart to break down each registrar’s main features:

SquarespaceGoDaddy
Starting Cost$14.00/yearFREE (1 year)
Renewal Cost$20.00/year$21.99/year
Domain Privacy ProtectionFREE$11.99/year
Duration of Domain Registration1 – 10 years1 – 10 years

Squarespace is pretty enticing with its free domain privacy protection. This service makes it so that hackers and spammers can’t access your personal information when they use domain lookup tools. However, it’s tough to compete with GoDaddy when it comes to domain names. After all, it’s the world’s most popular domain registrar, and you get your first year completely free.

Choosing the Best Domain Host for Your Next Project

I hope you found the ideal hosting provider for your next project. Whether you’re looking to sell online or share your own literary witticisms, I urge you to head on over to our domain hosting page for further guidance and information.

In the meantime, keep an eye out for one of the hottest marketing tactics in shared hosting: the free domain name registration at signup. Typically costing $10 to $15 per year, domains are a highly sought signup bonus.

Many hosts add to this value even further by offering free email accounts, unlimited storage, or a free website migration to your new host’s services.

Business website owners are no strangers to the significance of a domain name. Your hosting needs transcend the desire for a simple domain registration process and an intuitive cPanel interface for managing accounts.

Your site’s page load times need to be blazing fast and your site being persistently available is non-negotiable. Perhaps you own multiple domains. The need for speed, power, and performance doesn’t diminish with more sites under your belt.

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