Do I Need a Web Hosting Service? 7 FAQs for Starting a Website (Feb. 2024)

Do I Need A Web Hosting Service

Do I need a web hosting service? The tech-minded question often crashes through all the excitement when an aspiring site owner starts dreaming up a website, providing an intimidating reality check to those who don’t know the nuts and bolts of publishing a blog or portfolio online.

The short answer: Yes, you need web hosting. Unless you want to learn how to run a server from your home or office, you’ll need to sign up for some kind of hosting service — whether it’s a free drag-and-drop website builder, cheap WordPress hosting, or high-powered virtual or dedicated servers for your business.

We’ll go through a lot of follow-up questions to help match your online objectives with the type of hosting you need, but basically, if you want a website, you need some form of hosting. Read on to see what types of hosting services work best for each type of website.

1. Do You Want a Simple Personal Website or Professional Portfolio?

You don’t need to start a blog or online business to launch a website. Whether you’re looking to learn how to code, showcase a hobby, or publish a passion project, a well-designed personal website is a great way to introduce yourself to the world and connect with like-minded people who share your interests.

In addition, websites are especially important for job seekers — even if you’re not pursuing a career in web development or computer science. According to Workfolio, 56% of hiring managers are more impressed with an applicant’s website than any other personal branding tool. With roughly half of Americans searching for and applying to jobs online, a portfolio or online résumé instantly gives you more credibility and a competitive edge.

If you don’t know the first thing about starting a website from scratch, don’t worry. Rookies can find plenty of low-cost hosting plans that come with tons of high-value features and support. Around-the-clock customer service agents are available via phone, chat, and email to help you navigate the site creation process, plus keep an eye out for hundreds of free one-click software installations that help you publish a wide variety of content with ease. Here are our reviews of the top hosts for hobbyists and professionals:

Hostinger.com

Hostinger Review

Monthly Starting Price $2.49

  • 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.

CHEAP
RATING
4.9 ★★★★★ Our Review

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 »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 50 GB SSD - 200 GB SSD FREE (1 year) 3 minutes

HostArmada.com

HostArmada Review

Monthly Starting Price $2.49

  • 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.

CHEAP
RATING
4.8 ★★★★★ Our Review

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. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
45 days 15 GB SSD - 40 GB SSD FREE (1 year) 3 minutes

ScalaHosting.com

ScalaHosting Review

Monthly Starting Price $2.95

  • 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.

CHEAP
RATING
4.8 ★★★★★ Our Review

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. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 10 GB SSD - 50 GB SSD FREE (1 year) 6 minutes

See other affordable web hosts »

2. Do You Want to Start a Blog?

Although the growth of blogging has slowed in recent years, there will still be roughly 31.7 million writers posting content at least once a month. Whether you’re looking to share your life with friends and family or build a brand into a business, a successful blog can quickly establish you as an authoritative or entertaining resource for information.

On the business side, blogging represents an important way to attract and grow an audience before ideally converting that audience into customers, sales, and profits. Individuals can share travel deals, favorite products, parenting tips, or other information, while organizations typically focus more on fostering audience engagement and showcasing industry expertise. Known as content marketing, you can leverage your blog, social media, and other channels to share information and connect with your readers more closely.

When it comes to the mechanics of starting a blog, it’s not much different than building your first site. Whichever program you use to create your site likely has blogging capability. Although it’s technically classified as a content management system, WordPress is far and away the most popular option, powering more than 35% of all websites. Whichever publishing platform you prefer, these hosts will give you the tools and analytics to fine-tune your blog to be as powerful and engaging as possible:

Bluehost.com

Bluehost review

Monthly Starting Price $2.95

  • 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.

BLOG
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

Hostinger.com

Hostinger review

Monthly Starting Price $2.49

  • Feature-rich WordPress hosting for your blog
  • Runs on LiteSpeed, Google Cloud, and CloudFlare
  • Design with a FREE themes and plugins
  • 99.9% uptime guarantee
  • Enjoy 75% off when you sign up today
  • Get started on Hostinger now.

BLOG
RATING
4.7 ★★★★★ Our Review

Hostinger: Our Expert's Review

Laura Bernheim (HostingAdvice.com): As a beginner-friendly hosting provider, Hostinger brings all the blogging basics to the table. Begin with a free domain name and enjoy WordPress-optimized features and publishing tools to help your words reach wider audiences. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 100 GB SSD - 200 GB NVMe FREE (1 year) 4 minutes

IONOS.com

1&1 IONOS review

Monthly Starting Price $1.00

  • $1/mo. for 12 months — pay just $12 at checkout
  • Blazing-fast WordPress with custom updates
  • 100% SSD storage and caching from OPcache
  • Upgrade to WP Pro for dedicated resources
  • 99.98% uptime guarantee and unlimited traffic
  • Get started on 1&1 IONOS now.

BLOG
RATING
4.6 ★★★★★ Our Review

1&1 IONOS: Our Expert's Review

Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com): Not only does 1&1 IONOS invest the time to innovate faster and more secure WordPress hosting, but the company proudly allocates 5% of its resources to contributing back to the leading content management system. 1&1 IONOS is a great choice for affordable, scalable blog publishing. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 25 GB SSD - 75 GB SSD FREE (1 year) 5 minutes

See other top hosts for blogging »

3. Do You Want to Start an Online Store?

Sure, the notion of setting up an online shopping experience seems intimidating. Inventory filters, product options, buy now buttons, shopping carts, payment processing, and order tracking all sound like horribly complex and technical components to configure, but tons of ecommerce options exist that make creating an online retail store unbelievably easy.

Self-hosted platforms like Magento, PrestaShop, and WooCommerce are all responsible for millions of stores and billions of dollars in transactions. Even better, the services are built to serve both first-time entrepreneurs and larger, more established operations. They’ll simplify store creation to a drag-and-drop experience full of customizable templates and payment processing tools fully integrated into whichever hosting plan you choose. Sure, hosted ecommerce services like Shopify and Volusion work extremely well, too, but we appreciate the total brand control and flexibility store owners maintain with their own hosting account.

Image of woman shopping online

Creating an online store helps expose your brand, products, and creativity to a world of consumers.

Before you start shopping for ecommerce platforms, however, you’ll want to find a hosting plan that can help optimize your store for sales. Here’s a spot where site performance and page load speed is critical. A delay of just 100 milliseconds — the time it takes to blink — can drop your conversion rate by 7%. Once customers are dissatisfied with an online store’s performance, they’re 80% less likely to make a purchase. Security is also paramount, as is reliability and customer support.

Look for a hosting provider that gives you an above-average uptime guarantee and promises easy access to support agents who can assist you with troubleshooting any problems that may arise. The best ecommerce hosts we’ve found, which we’ve reviewed and ranked below, offer a wide array of ecommerce options tailored for profits and peace of mind. Take a look at our favorite hosts:

IONOS.com

1&1 IONOS review

Monthly Starting Price $1.00

  • 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.

ECOMMERCE
RATING
4.9 ★★★★★ Our Review

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 will make your customers’ buying experience quick and enjoyable. Go to full review »

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

Nexcess.net

Nexcess review

Monthly Starting Price $12.67

  • Code-free design tools for eCommerce stores
  • Templates for retail, food, clothing, and services
  • Custom WordPress integrations and optimizations
  • 24/7/365 support via phone, chat, and email
  • Try StoreBuilder with a 30-DAY FREE TRIAL
  • Get started on Nexcess now.

ECOMMERCE
RATING
4.8 ★★★★★ Our Review

Nexcess: Our Expert's Review

Laura Bernheim (HostingAdvice.com): Designing, deploying, and maintaining an online store is best done with a quality host. Nexcess created a one-of-a-kind site builder exclusively for optimizing online stores. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 30 GB - 100 GB New or Transfer 5 minutes

A2Hosting.com

A2 Hosting review

Monthly Starting Price $11.99

  • 20 times faster performance that boosts sales
  • 80+ software options: Magento, OpenCart, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, and others
  • Fully managed WordPress and server environments
  • Worry-free migration and 24/7 support
  • DDoS protection and layered security measures
  • Get started on A2 Hosting now.

ECOMMERCE
RATING
4.8 ★★★★★ Our Review

A2 Hosting: Our Expert's Review

Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com): For those who understand the importance of page load speed and sales, look no further than A2 Hosting. The company boasts premium storage, optimized security, and one of the most diverse portfolios of one-click software installations we’ve seen. 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

See other top hosts for ecommerce »

4. Do You Want a Custom Domain Name?

Sure, you can design and launch your site for free — but you’ll lose a ton of credibility. Drag-and-drop website builders and free hosting plans are undoubtedly the easiest on your wallet, but they often cut corners and leave out some important features. In addition to sometimes subpar infrastructure, your site will most likely be relegated to a subdomain of that hosting service (yoursite.hostname.com instead of yoursite.com).

A custom domain is a unique identity for your website or business, giving you a noticeable boost in search engine rankings, authority, and brand awareness — and it’ll cost you a pretty penny if you started with a free hosting service and need to upgrade. Fortunately, website domains won’t cost much at all when paired with a premium hosting service.

In fact, many top providers include one year of a free domain name registration when new customers sign up for a year of hosting. You’ll still need to renew your domain each year or so, but the fees will be half of what you’ll likely find elsewhere. Consider getting started with one of the hosting companies listed below, which combines top-notch site-building services, marketing tools, customer service, and affordability with a free, one-of-a-kind website domain name.

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

Bluehost.com

Bluehost review

Monthly Starting Price $2.95

  • 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

Hostinger.com

Hostinger review

Monthly Starting Price $2.49

  • 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
4.7 ★★★★★ 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 50 GB SSD - 200 GB SSD FREE (1 year) 3 minutes

See other top hosts for domain names »

5. Do You Want a Custom Email Address?

Following shortly behind the custom domain name when it comes to building credibility online, email hosting is another chance to impress visitors and potential customers with your professionalism. As with free domain registration, free email hosting is another component that is usually included in many top-tier plans — and is often overlooked.

Breaking free of Gmail, Yahoo, or (shudder) Hotmail accounts can mean big things for your personal or business brand. In fact, more than 75% of Americans view a domain-based email account as a very important indicator of whether an online business can be trusted, according to a 2016 study from the world’s leading registrar, GoDaddy.

You probably already have your domain name, or at least plan to get one. Good news: you’ve already done a good bit of the work! From there, the hosting provider you choose probably has tutorials on how to set up your inbox. Otherwise, take a look at our guide where we’ve distilled the process into just three steps. Here are the top three overall hosts for combining a website, domain, and email into one cohesive package:

Hostinger.com

Hostinger review

Monthly Starting Price $2.49

  • Easily import contacts, messages, and calendars
  • FREE domain name with annual plan
  • 1-click integrations with 50+ productivity tools
  • Collaborate with polls, shared to-do lists
  • Less than $1 per mailbox per month!
  • Get started on Hostinger now.

EMAIL
RATING
4.9 ★★★★★ Our Review

Hostinger: Our Expert's Review

Laura Bernheim (HostingAdvice.com): Showing major value, Hostinger email plans come complete with all the collaboration and productivity tools you’d expect from higher-priced hosts. We especially love the easy integrations with platforms like Twitter, Google Drive, and others. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 50 GB SSD - 200 GB SSD FREE (1 year) 3 minutes

ScalaHosting.com

ScalaHosting review

Monthly Starting Price $2.95

  • Professional business email with FREE custom domain included
  • Ample email storage from 50 to 150 GB
  • Spam protection and daily backups
  • Compatibility with POP3, IMAP, and SMTP
  • Up to unlimited emails with the cloud email plan
  • Get started on ScalaHosting now.

EMAIL
RATING
4.9 ★★★★★ Our Review

ScalaHosting: Our Expert's Review

Laura Bernheim (HostingAdvice.com): ScalaHosting’s email packages cater to businesses of all sizes. With plans ranging from 50 to unlimited email accounts, enterprises and mom-and-pop stores can use its email features for businesses. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 50 GB - Unlimited GB FREE (1 year) 6 minutes

SiteGround.com

SiteGround review

Monthly Starting Price $2.99

  • Unlimited email hosting at your domain
  • Compatible with multiple webmail and email clients
  • Secure email protocols and anti-spam solutions
  • Easy oversight via cPanel and FREE site builder
  • Ideal for business email hosting with 99.9% uptime
  • Get started on SiteGround now.

EMAIL
RATING
4.8 ★★★★★ Our Review

SiteGround: Our Expert's Review

Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com): SiteGround offers excellent email hosting services — compatible with all major webmail and email clients, including RoundCube and Outlook. Email hosting customers get unlimited email accounts at their domain, secure email protocols, and SPAM filters. 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

See other top hosts for email »

6. Do You Want to Use a Drag-and-Drop Website Builder?

Now that we’ve gone through all the different features and functionalities you envision for your website, how would you like to set about designing and building it all? For many beginners, the simplest option is WYSIWYG website builders. WYSIWYG stands for, “what you see is what you get” and entails point-and-click styling and customization.

Screenshot of website builder interface

Website builders offer a code-free, graphical way to design and customize your website.

You’ll be able to choose from hundreds of prebuilt templates, most of which will be responsive or otherwise optimized for mobile devices. From there, you can use a web-based interface to adjust your color scheme, add photos, and type in your information. Most platforms come with blogging and ecommerce options, as well. All in all, website builders represent the most hassle-free web design experience for most people, especially first-time site owners. You’ll lose a little bit of flexibility and control over your site’s appearance, but you won’t have to touch a single line of code.

As with domain registrations and email hosting, many providers include a site builder for free. Some companies have even gone as far as building their own proprietary builders while others opt to partner with a trusted site-building platform like Weebly. Spend time examining each interface and feature set to see which seems like the best fit for the vision you have in mind and how you like to work. Here are our three favorites, representing a cross-section of the available hosted and self-hosted options.

Wix.com

Wix Review

Monthly Starting Price $0.00

  • 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.

WEBSITE BUILDER
RATING
4.9 ★★★★★ Our Review

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. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
14-day FREE trial 2 GB - Unlimited FREE (1 year) 4 minutes

IONOS.com

1&1 IONOS Review

Monthly Starting Price $1.00

  • No coding skills necessary with MyWebsite Creator
  • Free domain name or transfer your existing site
  • FREE social media and marketing widgets
  • Pro templates with pre-filled text and images
  • Multilingual support and tools for SEO
  • Get started on 1&1 IONOS now.

WEBSITE BUILDER
RATING
4.8 ★★★★★ Our Review

1&1 IONOS: Our Expert's Review

Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com): If you're in need of a one-stop shop for designing and launching a website, you should be pleased to hear that 1&1 IONOS offers its own custom website building tools for both desktop and mobile devices. In addition to a free domain and email address, along with unlimited storage space, the 1&1 IONOS MyWebsite platform includes all the essentials for starting a site from scratch. Go to full review »

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

Hostinger.com

Hostinger Review

Monthly Starting Price $2.49

  • Drag-and-drop design from custom tools
  • FREE access to hundreds of specialized templates
  • Built-in ecommerce and payment processing
  • Easily switch among widescreen, desktop, tablet, and mobile previews
  • Support for 31 languages and 99.9% uptime
  • Get started on Hostinger now.

WEBSITE BUILDER
RATING
4.6 ★★★★★ Our Review

Hostinger: Our Expert's Review

Laura Bernheim (HostingAdvice.com): Whether you're taking your first foray into website hosting or are a developer looking to save some time, a strong website builder can dramatically streamline the creation process and enable users to launch a website in five minutes or less. Fortunately for customers, Hostinger has invested heavily in crafting an impressive visual editor sure to appeal to users of all levels of experience. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 50 GB SSD - 200 GB SSD FREE (1 year) 3 minutes

See other top website builders »

7. Do You Want to Create a Site Using WordPress?

If site builders feel a little too cookie-cutter, but you’re nowhere near ready to code a site from scratch, WordPress is probably your best bet. The world’s most popular content management system powers more than a third of all websites online, and more than 60% of all sites with a CMS installed. You’ll still be able to choose from thousands of professionally built themes and plugins that add a wide variety of functionality to your site.

There’s a bit more of a learning curve with WordPress, as you won’t quite have the same drag-and-drop simplicity as you would with a website builder. But the advantages of WordPress range from cost effectiveness to SEO optimization. And while the open-source platform is largely considered the industry standard, you’ll have plenty of others to explore when you sign up for web hosting.

Many hosts offer tailored WordPress-specific plans to capitalize on the brand’s popularity, but many of the same optimizations work just as well if you’d like to explore another CMS, such as Joomla or Drupal. When shopping, keep an eye out for companies that offer cPanel hosting and one-click installations. With those features, you’ll be able to hit the ground running with WordPress in seconds or have the option to try out dozens of other free and popular platforms. Take a look at our top three WordPress hosts below:

Bluehost.com

Bluehost Review

Monthly Starting Price $2.95

  • 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

SiteGround.com

SiteGround Review

Monthly Starting Price $2.99

  • Officially endorsed by WordPress.org
  • 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

Hostinger.com

Hostinger Review

Monthly Starting Price $2.49

  • 1-click WP install, PHP 7+, HTTP/2, and NGINX
  • All-in-one security protections from BitNinja
  • WordPress optimizations boost performance
  • No price markup for WordPress services
  • Daily backups and FREE SSL certificate
  • Get started on Hostinger now.

WORDPRESS
RATING
4.9 ★★★★★ Our Review

Hostinger: Our Expert's Review

Laura Bernheim (HostingAdvice.com): As much as we love WordPress, one of our biggest pet peeves is when hosting providers exploit the popularity of the world's most-used content management system by offering so-called WordPress hosting that, in reality, is exactly the same as the host's shared server plans. Fortunately, Hostinger's ultra-fast infrastructure and easy access to SSL certificates and backups sets up the company to outperform the vast majority of the violators of our admittedly made-up rule. Go to full review »

Money Back Guarantee Disk Space Domain Name Setup Time
30 days 100 GB SSD - 200 GB NVMe FREE (1 year) 4 minutes

See other top hosts for WordPress »

Find the Right Fit by Learning About the Different Types of Web Hosting

What is web hosting, anyway? Simply put, the service handles all the technical components of publishing your website online. You’re essentially renting storage space on a web host’s server, which is configured in such a way that visitors can access the information through a browser.

If you’re asking whether you need a web hosting service, chances are you’ll be well served with a shared hosting plan. The entry-level plans come with the least amount of computing resources but are supremely affordable and well-appointed for beginners and those just starting out with websites.

However, businesses and high-traffic sites will likely need to step up to the more powerful (and expensive) hosting packages to keep up with a more demanding audience. Here are the different types of plans you’ll encounter, along with descriptions that help you figure out where to start:

  • Shared hosting: Best for beginners, professionals, bloggers, and new websites. Hundreds or thousands of hosting customers share the resources of one server, meaning you won’t be able to grow very much. Businesses and online stores can start here but will likely need to move up as they gain traction.
  • Cloud hosting: Much more scalable and reliable than shared hosting, without the complex management requirements of virtual private servers. A network of many servers help run your site, enabling you to add resources with ease.
  • VPS hosting: Still more computing power, with additional control and customizations over the technology powering your site. Only a few hosting customers share the resources of one server, giving you more stability and complex systems to harness. Great for experienced developers and businesses.
  • Dedicated hosting: The pinnacle of hosting allocates an entire server to just you. Certainly the most expensive, and typically reserved for enterprise businesses with a strong reliance on data and security that have the resources and expertise to configure and maintain a server.

As with everything from clothes shopping to cooking, web hosting has seemingly endless options and flavors to tailor to your specific online needs. As you dive into your site and get more comfortable with the web hosting landscape, start exploring ways to incorporate new technologies and features. Good luck!

Advertiser Disclosure

HostingAdvice.com is a free online resource that offers valuable content and comparison services to users. To keep this resource 100% free, we receive compensation from many of the offers listed on the site. Along with key review factors, this compensation may impact how and where products appear across the site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). HostingAdvice.com does not include the entire universe of available offers. Editorial opinions expressed on the site are strictly our own and are not provided, endorsed, or approved by advertisers.

Our Editorial Review Policy

Our site is committed to publishing independent, accurate content guided by strict editorial guidelines. Before articles and reviews are published on our site, they undergo a thorough review process performed by a team of independent editors and subject-matter experts to ensure the content’s accuracy, timeliness, and impartiality. Our editorial team is separate and independent of our site’s advertisers, and the opinions they express on our site are their own. To read more about our team members and their editorial backgrounds, please visit our site’s About page.