You picked a domain name and registered it. You’re ready to get your website up and running. Not so fast – you still have to choose a hosting company.
With so many different hosting options out there, it can be a bit overwhelming to figure out which one to choose. In this article, we will go over the pros and cons of the top hosting companies as well as some others you’ve probably never heard of. Let’s start with some of the big guns.
HostGator
HostGator is probably the most well-known host in the industry. If you’ve spent any time in the digital space, you have probably seen their alligator mascot at some point or another.
Why is HostGator so popular? Because they have cheap hosting. And they boast a 99.9% uptime guarantee.
They also offer a wide range of hosting options for website owners, including:
- Cloud
- WordPress
- Web
- VPS
- Dedicated
HostGator offers 24/7/365 customer support through telephone, email or LiveChat. They’ll even help you transfer your existing site – which means fewer headaches for you.
If you’re not happy with their service, a 45-day money-back guarantee is offered.
HostGator is a great option for people who are just getting started and have a smaller website. Their affordable plans make it easy to launch your website. But some people have speed and downtime issues with bigger sites, which can be a serious problem if your income depends on your website.
Bluehost
Offering one-click WordPress installation, Bluehost is one of the most recommended hosting companies for bloggers. But even for non-WordPress users, the platform makes it pretty simple to get your website up and running.
Bluehost’s hosting packages are pretty affordable, too.
Powering more than 2 million websites around the world, this host offers:
- 24/7 support
- $150 in offers
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Like HostGator, Bluehost offers a variety of hosting options, including:
- Shared
- Dedicated
- Cloud
- VPS
- WordPress
Security options are good, too, and include spam tools like Spam Experts, SpamAssassin and CloudFlare. Website owners are given a dashboard full of apps, including Google Apps.
Page loading speeds can be slow at times, and the uptime could be better. Also, you’re forced to make a 12-month commitment when signing up.
Still, Bluehost is an affordable option. Their hosting is reliable, and they offer a wide range of options for site owners.
Liquid Hosting
Liquid Web is a pioneer in web hosting. They were established in 1997 and own 3 data centers. They have over 400 people on staff and specialize in hosting. Some companies, such as GoDaddy, primarily offer domain registration and then offer hosting as an upsell.
But most of the time these “jack of all trades” companies have terrible hosting. Servers are slow. Websites are always down. You don’t really get what you pay for.
Liquid Web does hosting – and nothing else.
The awesome thing about Liquid Web is they essentially get rid of the middle man. A lot of other hosts actually use Liquid Web’s data centers for their own hosting companies.
I have personally never used them, but they have over 30,000 clients in 150 different countries. And I have only heard good things about them. If you go on any web hosting forum or internet marketing forum, they are a highly-recommended company.
A con of working with Liquid Web is that they are a bit on the pricey side compared to other hosts. If you can afford them, they are awesome. But if you are on a budget, there are some others hosts we would recommend instead.
Here are some little-known hosts that we actually recommend over the big guys:
NameHero
NameHero is a new player on the block. Founded in 2015, the company was created by a handful of successful and experienced internet entrepreneurs. They have offices in Missouri, Wyoming and Florida. NameHero’s private cloud is based out of Liquid Web’s data center.
The only “con” we can think of with NameHero is they aren’t established. So far, they are doing an amazing job, but you never know what the future holds if they keep scaling. To counter that “con,” their private cloud is with Liquid Web, which has been around since 1997. Liquid Web is an industry leader in hosting, and they monitor their data center 24/7.
While Liquid Web is awesome, they are a bit pricier. With NameHero, you get the same level of quality at a fraction of the price.
MDD Hosting
MDD hosting was a company I came across on a web hosting forum. It was a highly suggested company to use with a ton of glowing reviews. On top of that, one of the owners was extremely helpful on the forums, giving a lot of free awesome advice.
With that in mind, I decided to give them a try for a couple of my sites. That was 4 years ago, and to this day, I am extremely pleased! There have been a couple instances in the past where I had an outdated plugin that got hacked or some random little issues. I contacted support and they were resolved almost instantly.
MDD Hosting has a very fast ticketing system. On top of the great support, their hosting is fast and has barely any downtime. The only time there is downtime is if they are doing upgrades to the servers. Upgrades are usually scheduled during times that will not interfere with your business, such as late hours.
The company has been around since 2007 and is located in Mooresville, IN. Their servers are based in the Handy Centers located in Denver, CO.
Our Top Hosting Pick
Our pick? Drumroll please…… NameHero!
NameHero offers competitive pricing, and their support and speed is much better than the big guys in our opinion. MDD comes at a close second. Both companies offer affordable pricing for what they offer.
If budget is not a concern, Liquid Web is a fantastic option. MDD Hosting and NameHero do not own their data centers (NameHero actually uses Liquid Web, as mentioned before). They have an amazing reputation and years of experience to back it up.
Our Junk List:
And please, if you decide to not use one of these listed, avoid the following companies. They have outdated systems…
- Godaddy
- Yahoo
- Atspace
- 1 and 1 hosting
- Mocha Host
Hosting is often overlooked by companies. Many wind up justing pick the first host that pops up on Google, or a company they saw in an advertisement. It is important to do some due diligence and take a look at all of your options before making a decision on hosting.
If you choose a bad host that goes down all the time, you will miss out on a lot of potential sales and customers. Use our guide here to make a choice, or feel free to browse some forums and see what people suggest. We have spent countless hours with most of the hosts listed, so we know first-hand how they are run. We have also spoken to many other webmasters who have used these hosts.
If you have any questions at all or are having trouble making a decision, don’t hesitate to reach out!
