Best Web Hosting Services For 2021
If you want to start a website in 2021, you’ll need a decent hosting provider. That’s why we put together a list of some of the best web hosting services out there for you to compare and find out what works for you.
Not only that, but this article also dives into some of the crucial components of building a strong web presence and what a solid host should offer. We’ll take a look at what you need based on your business or personal goals with a website.
Whether you want to sell online, start a blog, or even start an agency, this will answer your questions about the best web hosting services for it.
Advertiser Disclosure: We receive compensation from most of the hosting providers mentioned in this article. That does not affect our unbiased reviewing of their services.
1. Siteground: best web hosting services
Well-known for its speedy customer service, competitive prices, and reliable hosting, Siteground is easily one of the best web hosting services out there. Their service was originally recommended to us through an article on SmartBlogger about five years ago. Their starting price is $6.99/month.
Pros
-Awesome customer service
-Consistent + reliable up-times
-Simple WordPress installation
-Daily Backup
-Free CDN
-Free SSL
Cons
-Price goes up significantly after first year
-Admin dashboard can be overwhelming for beginners
-Turning on Cloudflare directly from the dashboard crashed our site
-Less technical people may take a while to figure things out starting from scratch
-Only 10,000 monthly site visitors for entry-level package
The Takeaway
Siteground is a major player in the hosting space for a few reasons. Their standout customer service combined with reliable hosting can play a huge part in getting your site where you want it to be. See our full Siteground review here.
2. Rocket.Net: best web hosting services
Rocket.net focuses exclusively on WordPress hosting and prides itself on speed, security, and reliability. Their founders are both industry veterans who have seen pretty much everything there is to see with WordPress over the years since the software debuted.
Pros
-Free SSL that you set up right away with the WP install
-Free CDN, which will make your site a lot faster
-Easy installation
-Great customer service
-Competitive pricing
-100% uptime over 7-day tests
-Monthly billing option
Cons
-Can’t buy a domain name with them
-You may need some help getting setup if you’re non-technical
-Costs slightly more than other hosts up-front (but about the same in the long-run)
-No CPanel
-No email
The Takeaway
Rocket.net can offer you solid, secure hosting at prices that are in-line with the rest of the industry when you factor in features and flexibility. Check out the full review of them here.
3. Namecheap: Best Web Hosting Services
Namecheap has been around the internet since 2000. It’s hard to believe, but that makes them over 20 years old. They pride themselves on being a great source for getting domain names and offering really inexpensive hosting options.
Pros
-Very inexpensive products, it’s in their name
-Free SSL that’s automatically installed with many hosting packages
-Free website builder
-30 day money-back guarantee
-AutoBackup
-Free migrations
Cons
-Customer service has a few issues according to their TrustPilot page
-Low cost hosting is on shared servers
-They are trying to offer many different services versus focusing on one or two core offerings
The Takeaway
Namecheap is an awesome place to host your web project if you need cheap hosting and a lot of flexibility. They are also pretty easy to get set up on for beginners.
4. Hostinger: Best Web Hosting Services
Hostinger is another one of the best web hosting services out there because they offer really competitive pricing along with a handful of perks. In addition to Namecheap, they are perfect for a web project or taking your first steps into building a blog.
Pros
-Entry-level products are pretty inexpensive
-Free SSL Offered even on their cheapest plans
-99.9% uptime guarantee
-WordPress Acceleration
-30 Day Money Back Guarantees
-Cloudflare protected nameservers
Cons
-Prices increase over 100% on renewal
-You need to pay for the website builder
-The inexpensive shared hosting is only available with lengthy time commitments (2+ years for $.99/month)
-Their cheapest possible monthly pricing is really $15 per month with no contract
The Takeaway
Outside of some things involving the way pricing is advertised, Hostinger is a solid option to set up your website with. They also offer a handful of other services, like VPS Hosting and Minecraft Hosting.
5. HostGator: best web hosting services
HostGator is another web host in the arena of robust, competitive services. They offer a few different options for hosting, including a free domain on their lowest-cost plan.
In addition to that, they also have really relaxed language on their site, like “All you gotta do is drag and drop” for their website builder description in the menu. Gotta admire how laid back that is.
Their website builder does cost money, as a heads up. Also, this is slightly concerning, but for their $3.84 per month website builder package, it says that you only get a 3-product online store. You would be a lot better off doing a basic WordPress install yourself and adding WooCommerce. That would be unlimited products (and it’s pretty easy).
The Takeaway: is it one of the best web hosting services?
HostGator can offer you some reliable WordPress hosting service and a number of other neat options at very competitive prices. I recommend going with the regular hosting service vs. buying the website builder package.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hosting
What is a web host?
A web hosting is a service that you can purchase (usually on a subscription basis) to make your website appear on the internet. There are many out there.
What is a domain name?
A domain name is the name of your website. Some web hosts offer domain names for free and some others make you purchase it. I recommend purchasing one separately.
What does it cost?
Web hosting can range from around $3.00 per month (for the bare-minimum but still decent quality) to up to hundreds of dollars.
What is SSL?
SSL stands for “Secure Sockets Layer” and is an internet security protocol. In modern day, it’s technically called “TLS,” but a lot of people refer to it as SSL still. Basically, it will make your site secure and safe to accept credit cards if you plan to sell anything.
What is a CDN?
“CDN” stands for “content delivery network,” and it can significantly speed up your website’s loading time. It’s pretty valuable when a host offers one of these for free.