Best Web Hosting For Beginners

11 Best: Web Hosting for Beginners Guide (Feb. 2024)

Written by: Sean Garrity

Sean Garrity

Sean has more than 15 years of experience researching, writing, and editing for numerous industry-specific trade publications. His goal is to keep organizations and stakeholders informed of the latest trends and technologies that can help them streamline operations and thrive online. Sean loves to chat about all things IT infrastructure and covers a range of topics in his writing, including virtualization, cloud computing, the hyperscalers, IoT and edge technologies, and digital transformation, among others.

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Edited by: Lillian Castro

Lillian Castro

Lillian brings more than 30 years of editing and journalism experience to our team. She has written and edited for major news organizations, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Times, and she previously served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Florida. Today, she edits HostingAdvice content for clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement.

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The best web hosting for beginners shows that launching a site isn’t just reserved for experienced developers. More and more people can get online in a breeze.

The number of websites rose to more than 1.8 billion in 2021 and their purposes run the gamut — from personal blogs to ecommerce giants selling the products we rely on every day.

Whether you’re looking to run a blog, a portfolio site for your résumé, or an ecommerce business, there’s a web host out there to make your dreams come true. Here, we’ll take a look at the top hosts beginners can turn toward to get their messages out to the masses.

Best Cheap Web Hosting for Beginners

In the 1990s, the internet began to take the world by storm. As someone who was in college at the time, I witnessed first-hand how the web was changing the way information could be disseminated and accessed. However, getting a site online was cost-prohibitive for most and mainly reserved for tech-savvy programmers and businesses with the capital to hire them.

Today, the story’s much different. There are a multitude of hosting plans on the market that aspiring webmasters can take advantage of to get their ideas and businesses online. However, don’t be fooled by the word “cheap.” Sure, we look at price when we rate hosting plans for those on a budget — but value is a more accurate way to view the hosts listed below.

These shared hosting providers offer a winning combination of low prices and feature-rich hosting packages perfect for any budding site owner to get an online brand off the ground. Read the full reviews in the tables below and get the complete picture of how you can choose a shared hosting plan from a web hosting company that suits your needs.

CHEAP RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • Unlimited everything, from storage to databases
  • FREE site builder & WP performance upgrades
  • FREE daily or weekly backups
  • Custom control panel and auto-installation scripts
  • SSH access & unlimited FREE SSL certificates
  • Get started on Hostinger now.
Starting Price/Mo. $2.49
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space 50 GB SSD – 200 GB SSD
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
Hostinger: Our Expert’s Review
Laura Bernheim (HostingAdvice.com):

As the shared hosting market becomes increasingly saturated, unlimited storage, bandwidth, and email accounts have become surprisingly average. Hostinger, however, extends the routine, expected metrics to greater lengths — the number of websites, databases, FTP users, subdomains, and parked domains are all unrestricted for most customers.

Go to full review »
CHEAP RATING
★★★★★ 4.8/5.0
  • FREE cPanel integration and Softaculous apps
  • Auto daily backups and web application firewall
  • Reliable and redundant cloud servers
  • FREE SSL encryption and website migration
  • 99.99% uptime guarantee
  • Get started on HostArmada now.
Starting Price/Mo. $2.49
Money Back Guarantee 45 days
Disk Space 15 GB SSD – 40 GB SSD
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
HostArmada: Our Expert’s Review
Lynn Cadet (HostingAdvice.com):

HostArmada’s cloud network spans four continents, with datacenters in Europe, the US, Asia, and Australia. Its server redundancy and website optimization features allow users to run stable and performant sites for end users across the globe while running a simplified hosting environment.

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CHEAP RATING
★★★★★ 4.8/5.0
  • 1-click install for WordPress, Drupal and 400 others
  • Unlimited email accounts, databases & bandwidth
  • 24/7 tech support for beginners and pros alike
  • 12-month or 36-month plan at $2.95 /month
  • Anytime unconditional money-back guarantee
  • Get started on ScalaHosting now.
Starting Price/Mo. $2.95
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space 10 GB SSD – 50 GB SSD
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
ScalaHosting: Our Expert’s Review
Laura Bernheim (HostingAdvice.com):

It’s tough to argue with a shared hosting service that comes with all-SSD storage and unlimited bandwidth, databases, and email accounts. ScalaHosting provides all the above and several other premium features for a very affordable price.

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Best Website Builder Hosting for Beginners

“Healthy alternatives to hamburgers” — As a lover of all things burgers and someone trying to watch his fat intake, this is invariably the first suggestion that populates whenever I put my cursor in Google’s search field. Looking through the list of results, I never seem to find the sandwich I’m looking for — not to mention a well-designed site that presents more than just cluttered lists of hamburger clickbait links.

Almost 95% of online consumers cite poor design as the main reason they don’t trust a website. So, it’s important that your online presence engages visitors in a way that keeps them coming back. But you don’t have to have a master’s degree in graphic design to construct a compelling website.

The rise of DIY site builders with website hosting included has opened up new opportunities for beginners who want to dip their toes into site ownership. These platforms are an excellent choice for your first-time web hosting service because they’re inexpensive and easy to use. Plus, they often come with oodles of free features, such as a free SSL certificate, a free domain name for one year, and unlimited bandwidth.

The three hosts below offer the best tools that allow novice website owners to build professional-grade sites without the need to code.

These providers offer tons of templates covering an array of subjects and business types, as well as intuitive web builders with drag-and-drop environments that make site creation simple. Be sure to click on the reviews in the tables below to explore the beginner-friendly site-building features available in each of the top plans.

4. Wix.com

WEBSITE BUILDER RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • No coding skills needed with drag-and-drop builder
  • 100s of templates with niche-specific designs
  • Add features via the App Market and Wix Events
  • Easily create ecommerce functionality easily
  • Great way to build small sites on a budget
  • Get started on Wix now.
Starting Price/Mo. $0.00
Money Back Guarantee 14-day FREE trial
Disk Space 2 GB – Unlimited
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
Wix: Our Expert’s Review
Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com):

Website building is where Wix shines. The thousands of templates, the intuitive editor, the industry-leading designs that cater to a variety of specific fields and use cases — all these facets represent a platform that excels at facilitating easy web design for the non-tech-savvy user.

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Best WordPress Hosting for Beginners

Even if you’re a beginning site owner, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve heard of WordPress. The open-source blogging software currently powers nearly 30% of websites and enjoys a 60% market share in the CMS space. This popularity is mainly attributed to WordPress’s ease of use and more than 52,000 plugins that have been created by developers to enable complete website customization.

If you’re one of the millions of people getting started with your first WordPress website, note that all hosts aren’t created equal when it comes to running the blogging platform. When shopping around for the most effective provider, it’s important to look at hosts that offer one-click or automatic WordPress installations, optimized plugin performance, and top-notch support, among other features.

Below are our best WordPress web hosts with ideal environments for managing a WordPress website. The bullet points in the tables provide a quick glance at some of the benefits of each WordPress hosting plan, but the full reviews will give you a comprehensive overview of just how effective these packages can be in optimizing your web presence.

WORDPRESS RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • 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.
Starting Price/Mo. $1.99
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space 10 GB SSD – 100 GB SSD
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
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.

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Best Personal Website Hosting for Beginners

While it may sound strange in today’s digital-centric landscape, fewer than 10% of people have a personal website. For individual professionals, including photographers, artists, and freelancers, a lack of web presence can make their businesses virtually invisible to prospective clients. And, for job seekers, a personal site can work wonders to help them stand out from the field of candidates trying to impress interviewers.

With the slew of effective and cheap hosts in the industry today, there’s really no excuse not to build your personal brand online. For just a few dollars per month, creatives and freelancers can showcase portfolios online, and interviewees can send links to résumés to potential employers.

The provider below is our top choice for personal website hosting. With an easy-to-use site builder and monthly premiums coming in at next to nothing, this web hosting company will put you on the fast track to meeting your online goals — whether that means better shots at employment, improved exposure to clients, or widened revenue streams. Check out the full review in the table to see all the features this web host has to offer your personal website.

CHEAP RATING
★★★★★ 4.7/5.0
  • FREE BoldGrid site builder and templates
  • FREE website, domain, and cPanel migrations
  • SSD storage makes your site load up to 20x faster
  • Security suite includes SSL and hack protection
  • Unlimited bandwidth and email accounts
  • Get started on InMotion now.
Starting Price/Mo. $2.29
Money Back Guarantee 90 days
Disk Space 100 GB SSD – Unlimited SSD
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
InMotion: Our Expert’s Review
PJ Fancher (HostingAdvice.com):

InMotion Hosting offers an excellent business-class shared hosting plan — with a price tag lower than several other budget hosts. For the IT crowd in the audience, you’ll appreciate SSH access, as well as support for PHP, Ruby, Perl, Python, WP-CLI, and other popular languages.

Go to full review »

See more hosts for personal sites »

Best Ecommerce and Business Hosting for Beginners

Nearly 80% of modern consumers will research a business online before visiting a physical store or making a purchase online. So, even if you’re solely selling products in a brick-and-mortar location, it’s imperative your business has a wide-reaching presence on the web.

And, for ecommerce businesses, the importance of reaching online audiences is an obvious top-of-mind concern. The ecommerce space is growing at a year-over-year rate of 23%. It’s not getting any easier to compete online. And, if you’re new to the art of online sales, you’re probably going to need some help getting off the ground.

The top ecommerce hosts offer marketing and SEO tools to help your business get noticed in a crowded market, and the host below leads by example. If you’re a budding online merchant, take a gander at the full review that follows. You’ll learn how this host can act as the launching pad to skyrocket your online storefront.

ECOMMERCE RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • Drag-and-drop online store builder for $1/mo
  • Quickly sell products, services, and digital goods
  • Cross-platform selling integrations with social media, Amazon, Google, and eBay
  • Built-in metrics, promos, and coupons
  • Track competitors’ Google and social media activity
  • Get started on 1&1 IONOS now.
Starting Price/Mo. $1.00
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space Unlimited SSD
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
eCommerce Hosting Plans
1&1 IONOS: Our Expert’s Review
Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com):

The online store builder from 1&1 IONOS gives entrepreneurs a full suite of selling and marketing tools at their disposal — and all for a ridiculously low price. The company’s lightning-fast architecture and tools for SEO and marketing metrics…

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Best Blog Hosting for Beginners

You may think a fly-tying blog on a professional fishing guide’s site might not do very much to grow his or her trout-seeking business — but you’d be wrong. Including a blog on your site helps it rank better in search results. In fact, depending on the quality and relevance of content, a site with a blog is 434% more likely to experience a boost in search rankings.

So, whether you’re trying to get your message heard or are looking to scale web traffic to sell products and services, employing an effective blog platform has become almost imperative in today’s web environment. While almost every web host in the industry claims to offer the cheapest and easiest means to broadcast a blog, some are more effective than others.

Below is our hosting choice for beginning bloggers. All it takes is a few dollars per month and a passion for your subject matter to get started. Read our comprehensive review linked in the table and see how this host’s plans can help make your blog the talk of the web.

BLOG RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • Recommended by WordPress since 2005
  • Automatic WordPress installation and updates
  • FREE themes and plugins in Bluehost Marketplace
  • Upgrade for managed WordPress or design help
  • FREE domain and content delivery network
  • Get started on Bluehost now.
Starting Price/Mo. $1.99
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space 10 GB SSD – 100 GB SSD
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
Blog Hosting Plans www.bluehost.com/blog
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…

Go to full review »

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Best Domain Hosting for Beginners

“Location, location, location.” While the origins of the aphorism may be in question, there is no doubt the popular slogan holds a universal truth in the real estate industry. And the same is true of the web. A domain is arguably one of the most important aspects of a business website, as it acts as the first impression that can make or break a customer’s view of an organization.

While there are some hosts in the industry that offer free hosting plans, many of them require site owners to utilize a host-specific branded subdomain. There’s a lot of competition in the online business space, which is why it’s important to employ a domain tailored to your brand.

The host below tops our list when it comes to domains. For just a couple of bucks each month, this provider will include domain registration or transfer and a free SSL certificate as part of your plan. Domains aren’t the only area where this host excels, however. Read our full review to find out why this provider may be the ideal partner to build your online real estate.

DOMAIN RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • 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.
Starting Price/Mo. $1.00
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space 10 GB – Unlimited
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
Domain Hosting Plans
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…

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Best Customer Support for Beginners

Public opinion of the hosting industry’s customer service approach has long been, let’s say, less than stellar. When problems arise, a common complaint is that issues aren’t resolved quickly enough — if at all.

Although this has been the case for many years, some hosts are catching on that improved support means more word-of-mouth referrals, which translates to happier customers and more revenue for the providers.

SiteGround is one of the hosts changing the customer-service game. The host offers 24/7 support through an omnichannel approach. Representatives are available around the clock to answer tickets, live chats, and phone calls. And, with a vast online knowledge base, video tutorials, and a webinar series, SiteGround customers are sure to have problems remedied without hesitation. Read how the host can help users at any level — from beginner to expert — manage their online properties by clicking the links in the table below.

CHEAP RATING
★★★★★ 4.6/5.0
  • FREE website transfer service to get started
  • 99.9% uptime guarantee and unlimited traffic
  • User-friendly WordPress installation
  • 24/7 support featuring custom systems
  • 4 caching options plus staging and Git
  • Get started on SiteGround now.
Starting Price/Mo. $2.99
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space 10 GB SSD – 40 GB SSD
Domain Name New or Transfer
SiteGround: Our Expert’s Review
Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com):

Providing hosting with the perfect balance of technological innovation and superior customer support, SiteGround offers a range of affordable hosting services to meet your needs. In addition to the expected cheap web hosting perks — a free website builder and unlimited bandwidth — the company specializes in custom-built tools to deliver strong and positive user experiences.

Go to full review »

See more hosts with excellent support »

Best Managed Web Hosting for Beginners

While managed hosting may be more expensive than other entry-level hosting plans, it offers a wide range of advantages that allows site owners to concentrate on what matters most to them — their business missions. Essentially, in a managed plan, the host is responsible for configuring the hardware and software that powers your site, monitoring servers, and performing updates.

Most managed hosting plans come with increased site performance (page load speeds) and higher uptime guarantees. Customer support is also a crucial component of managed plans, which can alleviate the headaches beginning site owners sometimes encounter when technical issues arise.

The host below offers the IT expertise site owners need to keep their sites operating at optimal levels. If reliability and letting the pros handle the technicalities of your site sound appealing, this is the best hosting provider for you. Click on the full review in the table to learn how running your site on a managed server can give your online business the boost it needs to thrive in today’s competitive online marketplace.

MANAGED RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • Choice of self-, semi-, or fully managed
  • Enterprise-grade Intel hardware
  • Linux or Windows operating system
  • RAID SSD storage for added speed
  • 100% network uptime
  • Get started on Liquid Web now.
Starting Price/Mo. $16.00
Disk Space 40 GB SSD – 200 GB SSD
CPU 2 – 12 cores
RAM 2 GB – 12 GB
Managed Hosting Plans www.liquidweb.com/managed
Liquid Web: Our Expert’s Review
Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com):

It’s no secret by now that Liquid Web is known for best-in-class technology and reliability that exceeds expectations. The company’s cloud VPS environments embody that reputation to its fullest — including managed WordPress and WooCommerce products.Liquid…

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Next Up: A Beginner’s Tutorial to Starting Your First Website

From an informative fishing blog to running a fully functional ecommerce site, powering your online presence is easy and cost-effective with the best hosting type to support your website’s goals.

These plans are among the most affordable in the industry, and powerful web-building tools make it simple for beginners to get started.

In addition to checking the boxes for affordability, a beginner-friendly web hosting provider should provide easily accessible support to help you navigate the daunting process of launching your website.

If you’re seeking a comprehensive guide on the first steps of mixing the perfect website recipe from scratch, check out our tutorial on site creation for beginners.

You don’t need to know how to code; you just need to be passionate about your project to take those first steps toward success.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sean has more than 15 years of experience researching, writing, and editing for numerous industry-specific trade publications. His goal is to keep organizations and stakeholders informed of the latest trends and technologies that can help them streamline operations and thrive online. Sean loves to chat about all things IT infrastructure and covers a range of topics in his writing, including virtualization, cloud computing, the hyperscalers, IoT and edge technologies, and digital transformation, among others.

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