Best web hosting 2024: Tested by leading industry experts
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There is a best web hosting provider for every type of website and picking the right one can make a big difference. I’ve handpicked the best web hosts for the most popular use cases based on our expert reviews and used industry leaders to compare control panels, try out tools, build a site or two, consult customer support, and run uptime and speed tests. Each review is independent and regularly updated to ensure you always have the most informed and accurate information. We do not sell page rankings.
Maybe you’re just looking for the best website builder but keep in mind that using a host like Hostinger can be just as easy to set up but be a fraction of the total cost of running a website.
Top three best web hosting providers in short
Best web hosting services of 2024
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The eleven web hosting services we’ve selected are the best in their respective categories, and while each web hosting provider offers several different types of hosting, I’ve highlighted each one based the service it excels in the most.
The best web hosting service for beginners
Buy if:
✔️ You’ve not set up a web host before: Hostinger make setting up web hosting super easy
✔️ You want a website builder: Hostinger’s website builder has great reviews
Don’t buy if:
❌ You feel pushed for time: That timer is counting down forever. There’s no need to rush.
❌ You can’t accept the renewal price: The prices will jump so be prepared
Bottom line: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
Hostinger are a really good host with great and easy to use features
With almost 20 years in the business, Lithuanian provider Hostinger has grown into a giant which offers everything from shared hosting, Minecraft hosting and an easy-to-use ecommerce-friendly website builder, to WordPress hosting, powerful VPS products, and business-oriented email hosting.
Features
Value for money is a big Hostinger plus. Even the cheapest shared hosting plans come with a free domain, free SSL, email, backups, unlimited bandwidth, malware scanning and more.
Upgrading gets you professional extras such as fast NVMe storage, dedicated IPs, a free CDN, and speed-boosting WordPress object caching, amongst others.
There are surprise bonus features everywhere. Some providers can only host your website in North America, reducing speeds if your target audience is elsewhere. Hostinger has data centers in North America, Europe and Asia, and you can choose the site you need when you sign up.
And once you’ve got your plan, Hostinger doesn’t just make it easy to install WordPress and create your first site: it now even has custom AI tools to generate text content (AI-generated images should arrive soon).
My experience
Getting started with Hostinger is easy. There’s support for paying by card, PayPal, crypto and others, and the well-designed web dashboard quickly pointed us in the right direction.
Hostinger doesn’t offer the industry-standard cPanel control panel, but its own hPanel (and a simple 1-click installer for WordPress, WooCommerce and other top apps) helps even hosting newbies get their sites up and running.
My tests found Hostinger offered a capable 99.96% uptime over six months; not perfect, but better than its 99.9% uptime guarantee, and very acceptable for many sites.
There’s no phone support, but Hostinger has 24/7 live chat, and its ticket system gave us helpful replies with some of the fastest response times I’ve seen (under two minutes in some cases).
What else you need to know
Hostinger doesn’t provide high-end dedicated hosting plans, so it’s not an ideal candidate for very demanding websites (that’s sites with hundreds of thousands of visitors a month). But overall, we found Hostinger to be a top quality web hosting provider which offers an array of capable features for a very fair price.
Why it’s best
Packed with features, the service is great for most users – so long as you don’t run demanding, high-traffic sites. If you’re unsure which service to choose, or if you’re new to web hosting in general, I’d recommend choosing Hostinger as the best overall service – it’s easy to use and understand, and it’s also really fairly priced considering what you get.
Read our full Hostinger web hosting review
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | Hostinger has some of the most competitive prices on the market | ★★★★★ |
| Ease of use | From signing up to navigating through, Hostinger is straightforward to use | ★★★★★ |
| Features | It has plenty of features in all departments, from security to technical details and more | ★★★★★ |
| Speed test | It’s not sot significantly ahead of the competition when it comes to speed but it’s pretty fast | ★★★★☆ |
The best managed WordPress hosting
Buy if:
✔️ You’re using WordPress: WP Engine are optimized for WordPress
✔️ You want someone to manage your server: If you don’t have the time or knowledge to manage your server it’s all done for you
Don’t buy if:
❌ You’re on a budget: WP Engine are one of the more expensive options
❌ You’re not using WordPress: Yes, this just an opposite of the buy if but it should be stressed. If you’re not using WordPress there really isn’t any point using this provider
Bottom line: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
One of the best hosts for WordPress and support
Deal
WP Engine currently has a 6 month free hosting offer with all annual plans (except Tiny plans).
You must use the marchmadness24 code at checkout.
Offer ends April 1st, 2024
WP Engine is a professional web host which focuses entirely on delivering the best managed WordPress hosting around (although it does have some great WooCommerce plans, too). It’s not cheap, but if you’re more interested in power than price, then WP Engine is well worth a very close look.
Features
Unlike some web hosts, WP Engine’s plans aren’t just the regular shared range with WordPress preinstalled. They’re build for WordPress from the bottom up, with customized server and caching setups, extra security features, easier setup and genuinely valuable extras.
The difference is obvious. Lesser providers may give you free themes, but they’re often basic offerings you’ll never want to use. WP Engine throws in 10 gorgeous StudioPress themes, premium products with real value.
Staging is another WP Engine benefit. Whether I changed themes, adding site features or just making a few updates, the Staging area allowed us to safely test these on a copy of my site, before we put them live.
I found valuable extras everywhere we looked. WordPress has a vast library of free plugins, for instance, and most hosts allow you to install whatever you like. But WP Engine maintains a list of dubious plugins which bring performance or security problems, and warns you about anything dodgy, potentially saving you a lot of pain later.
Testing
The WP Engine dashboard isn’t for beginners, and regular use of terms like Git, CNAME and redirect rules might confuse the not-so-technical. But it only took me a few minutes to begin to find my way around, and if you need more help, there’s a truly outstanding support site. (Some of WP Engine’s guides deliver more than I’d expect from a paid WordPress training course).
My performance tests saw WP Engine trample all over the conventional shared hosting competition, with only Liquid Web’s own managed WordPress plan delivering better. Yes, WP Engine is more expensive than many, but it spends that cash wisely on quality servers, a fast network and its pile of premium features.
Support is vital when you’re running a business-critical site. WP Engine only provides chat support with its cheapest plan, but the agents delivered speedy and expert responses to my test questions, and upgrading to a higher product gets you phone support, too.
What else you need to know
WP Engine may look expensive, but it’s also very confident you’ll be happy with the service: sign up and you’re protected by a very generous 60-day money-back guarantee.
Why it’s best
With its laser-focus on WordPress, and its useful list of plugins that may cause issues with your site, I recommend checking out WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting.
Read our full WP Engine review
For more information about WordPress hosting see our full best WordPress hosting guide
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | WP Engine is expensive and although it comes with lots of features, some could be included as part of the overall price | ★★★☆☆ |
| Ease of use | Not the easiest to use for beginners but still straightforward enough | ★★★★☆ |
| Features | Lots of great features but a lot comes at an extra cost | ★★★★☆ |
| Speed test | WP Engine performed exceptionally well in our speed test | ★★★★★ |
The best shared web hosting provider
Buy if:
✔️ You’re looking for speed: HostGator had some great speeds in my test
✔️ You’re running a business: HostGator’s tools make running a business easier
Don’t buy if:
❌ You don’t look at the renewal price: HostGator and other hosts owned by the Newfold Digital have a reputation of hiking up prices.
Bottom line: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Great host with great reviews and features
HostGator is a hugely popular Texas-based web host that has been helping its customers get online since 2002. The company has a very full range of hosting products (shared, website builder, WordPress, VPS, dedicated, reseller), and there are appealing business-friendly extras everywhere we looked.
Features
HostGator offers a decent feature set on all its products. Even its cheapest Hatchling plan includes unmetered bandwidth, unlimited email addresses, a free domain, free SSL, with a website builder thrown in.
The company piles on the business extras as you upgrade, though, including some we rarely see elsewhere. Even spending just a few dollars more on its Business shared plan adds a professional website migration service, a dedicated IP, a Positive SSL upgrade, SEO Tools, and $500 Google and $100 Microsoft ad credits.
All hosts offer their own add-on services, but can they be trusted with your business-critical site? HostGator gives you easy integration with some of the biggest names around, including CodeGuard for backups, SiteLock Security for malware scanning, and Google WorkSpace for team collaboration.
HostGator even offers various professional services to help improve online results, including web design, PPC and SEO consultations.
Testing
HostGator’s web dashboard isn’t the best designed I’ve seen, and I found it spent a little too much time trying to persuade us to buy more products.
Fortunately, the company makes up for all of that with its use of the industry-standard cPanel and its powerful site management tools. I think that’s particularly good news for businesses, because there’s no custom control panel to learn: if you’ve any previous web hosting experience, chances are you’ll feel at home right away.
HostGator no longer offers an uptime guarantee, which is disappointing: but don’t give up on the service because of that. I monitored a test HostGator site for 18 months and found even the cheapest shared account gave us a respectable 99.9% uptime. I expect HostGator’s VPS and dedicated plans would be even better.
The real HostGator highlight was its speed, though: benchmarking tool GTmetrix found my test site delivered the fastest load times out of 15 top contenders.
What else you need to know
Although HostGator doesn’t have a specialist WooCommerce product, its Website Builder has some powerful ecommerce plans which support unlimited products, selling on Facebook and Instagram, secure payments, advanced shipping and more. If you run into trouble, HostGator’s 24/7 phone and live chat support is on hand, and in my experience, the support team resolves most issues within minutes.
Why it’s best
If you’re running multiple websites and need them stored on the same web server, I recommend checking out HostGator as it offers a specific shared hosting product. Jump to our web hosting FAQs to find out more about how shared hosting works.
Read our full HostGator review
For more information about shared hosting see our full best shared hosting guide
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | HostGator is affordable but the add-ons could get pricey if you pick a cheaper plan | ★★★★☆ |
| Ease of use | We found it easy to get started and navigate through the dashboard | ★★★★☆ |
| Features | HostGator has just about ever feature you’ll need from a web host | ★★★★★ |
| Speed test | HostGator performed the best in our speed test compared to the other hosts | ★★★★★ |
The best cloud web hosting
Buy if:
✔️ You want scalability: ScalaHosting’s architecture make the provisioning of resources speedy and easy
✔️ You have a growing site: New businesses often don’t know how many resources are needed. This is where cloud hosting shines
Don’t buy if:
❌ You have a low volume of steady and stable traffic: The features provided will be wasted
Bottom line: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
Too many host use the word cloud without having any cloud benefits. ScalaHosting are cloud through-and-through
ScalaHosting is an experienced Dallas-based provider with 15 years experience in the web hosting business.
The company has plenty of budget hosting plans for simple sites and projects, but it’s made my list for its strong VPS range, which is still very affordable but has the power to handle very demanding business and other websites.
Features
ScalaHosting has eye-catching features right across its range. Signing up for shared hosting gets you unlimited emails and daily offsite backups, often premium extras elsewhere. Even the cheapest plan uses fast NVMe storage, while many competitors only use slower standard SSD.
The VPS range stands out for its extreme configurability. Other hosts might force you to choose from 3 or 4 basic products, but ScalaHosting allows you to build your own plan, using anything from 2 to 24 cores, 4 to 64GB RAM, and 50 to 2000GB storage (vastly more powerful than I’ve seen elsewhere).
Then there are the free site migrations. Some providers promise this, then give you a plugin to do it yourself; ScalaHosting carefully migrates all your sites for you, and will even migrate them elsewhere if you’re not happy and cancel your account.
Once you’re up and running, your site benefits from free SSL, speed-boosting CDN integration, real-time malware protection, and experts can choose their preferred web server (Apache, Apache with NGINX, OpenLiteSpeed and more).
Testing
ScalaHosting allows customers to manage their web space via its own custom control panel, SPanel. I usually prefer the industry-standard cPanel, but SPanel is a powerful, easy-to-use alternative, and a great web home for newbies and experts alike.
I tested ScalaHosting performance by using top benchmarking tool GTmetrix to measure download speeds. The results were fractionally below average, but far ahead of the budget competition, and well within reach of big names such as GoDaddy,
I went on to monitor my test site availability for a year, and ScalaHosting scored a very reasonable 99.94% (and that’s with the cheapest shared plan: VPS hosting should be even better).
What else you need to know
Sign up with ScalaHosting and (with most products) you’re protected by its generous Anytime Money-Back Guarantee. Not only does this give you 100% of your money back if you cancel within 30 days, but you can also get prorated refunds after that (pay for a year, you can cancel after 6 months and still be refunded for the 50% you haven’t used).
Why it’s best
Cloud hosting is a service where a website or application is hosted on a network of interconnected servers, rather than a single physical server. I’ve looked in depth at this in our guide What is cloud hosting and how do you use it? As resources are allocated to a virtual server, you only pay for what you need as you need them. if you’re looking for a cloud hosting service that scales with your business, ScalaHosting should be on your list.
Read our full Scala Hosting review
For more information about the best cloud hosting see our full best cloud hosting guide
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | It’s affordable and has full featured shared hosting plans | ★★★★☆ |
| Ease of use | Its dashboard is intuitive and the signing up process is straightforward | ★★★★☆ |
| Features | You’ll find features that cover all aspects of what you need to run a functioning site | ★★★★★ |
| Speed test | Scala Hosting wasn’t the fastest but our site performed well enough | ★★★☆☆ |
The best managed web hosting
Buy if:
✔️ Stability is a necessity: Liquid web have a reputation for fast and reliable servers that come with an SLA
Don’t buy if:
❌ You’re on a budget: Some of the plans are not the cheapest
Bottom line: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Liquid Web will be there when you need them to
Founded in 1997, Liquid Web is an expert provider of top-quality managed hosting solutions for everything from email to WordPress, WooCommerce, VPS, dedicated and assorted other cloud products.
The service isn’t aimed at consumers – it doesn’t even have a shared hosting range – but if your priority is less on price, more on speed, reliability and features, then Liquid Web has a lot to offer.
Features
Liquid Web’s VPS range looks expensive, with prices starting at $20 a month, but check the features and it’s a different story.
Some budget hosts might start their VPS range with a tiny $1 or $2 a month plan, but look at the small print and it’ll be underpowered and almost unusable. Liquid Web starts a capable 2 CPU, 2GB RAM setup which will handle most tasks at a decent speed.
Liquid Web offers access to an amazing 10Gbps network connection, 10-30x the speed I see with most hosts.
There’s no messing around by promising ‘unmetered’ bandwidth, which typically means ‘there’s a limit but I won’t tell you what it is.’ Instead, even the cheapest VPS plans include a massive 10TB bandwidth allowance.
Your host promises 99.9% uptime? Liquid Web not only offers 99.999% uptime, it has a strict Service Level Guarantee explaining how you’ll get credits if that doesn’t happen.
So, yes, Liquid Web prices may seem high, but it’s a top quality service, and I think it offers decent value for what you get.
Testing
If you haven’t got the resources or knowledge to undertake key maintenance tasks, then a managed hosting service is essential. These can be carried out by your web hosting provider – and in my experience, Liquid Web made it really easy to monitor and manage my test website. Head to our FAQs section for more information on what managed hosting is and why it matters.
Liquid Web’s dashboard design is clean and straightforward, and I found it easy to locate everything necessary to monitor and manage my website.
After installing my standard test WordPress website, in-depth monitoring throughout the review found excellent load times and 100% uptime.
What you need to know
If you run into trouble, Liquid Web has a vast knowledgebase covering everything from detailed text manuals to more user-friendly YouTube explainer videos.
Why it’s best
Liquid Web’s highlight is its customer support team, though, who you can reach 24/7 via telephone, live chat or email. Whatever route I tried, responses were fast (the company actually guarantees a first reply within 59 minutes via email, 59 seconds via live chat or phone), and I’ve always found the agents to be friendly, expert, and happy to go the extra mile to resolve my issues.
Read our full Liquid Web review
For more information about managed hosting see our full best managed hosting guide
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | Liquid Web is a bit more on the pricey side and offers most of the features as the other web hosts on the list | ★★★☆☆ |
| Ease of use | Liquid Web’s dashboard is straightforward and easy to use | ★★★★★ |
| Features | Liquid Web has sufficient features but doesn’t offer shared hosting | ★★★☆☆ |
| Speed test | Our site was fast while hosted on Liquid Web | ★★★★☆ |
The best green web host
Buy if:
✔️ You want to host a WordPress site: Optimised WordPress plans from $2.95/mo
✔️ You expect your business to grow: Simple scaling to meet increasing demands
Don’t buy if:
❌ You don’t want to pay above average prices: This isn’t the cheapest host
Bottom line: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
Loads of hosting providers are green these days. GreenGeeks are definitely the most green but they’re not far in front of InMotion Hosting and SiteGround.
GreenGeeks has an excellent range of shared and VPS hosting services that are good for the environment. Plans start at just $2.95 a month (rising to $11.95 a month after the second year). The entry level plan comes with 50GB web space, a free domain name for one year, unlimited databases and free nightly backups.
GreenGeeks are particularly good for those wanting a green hosting solution for a WordPress site as they offer managed WordPress hosting plans which can take a lot of the hassle out of running a website. All servers provided by the company respectable in terms of performance with even the lowest plans providing free caching and CDN, and unmetered bandwidth.
GreenGeeks don’t provide dedicated servers or any cloud options so for more powerful plans you might want to check out SiteGround or InMotion Hosting which also have really impressive green credentials. If you try GreenGeeks but find out they’re not powerful enough GreenGeeks offers free website migration and a 30 day money back guarantee so there is nothing to lose.
What else you need to know
GreenGeeks might not have the top end plans demanded by the most energy and resource consuming sites but what they do provide performs really well at that level. If you genuinely care about the environment and don’t have such a demanding website then you’d be hard pressed to find another hosting provider that aligns with your goals
Why it’s best
They care about the environment, they care about their customers, and they care about their products.
Read the full GreenGeeks review
For more information about the best green hosting see our full best green hosting guide
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | Plans are good value with low starting prices | ★★★★☆ |
| Ease of use | Not difficult to use and if you do have problems there’s support | ★★★★☆ |
| Features | Plenty of in-house features for security, speed, and management | ★★★★☆ |
Best dedicated servers
Buy if:
✔️ You have an established business: InMotion Hosting have experience hosting a range of medium-sized businesses
✔️ You want dedicated or managed plans: InMotion Hosting have a strong reputation in this area too
Don’t buy if:
❌ You’re on a budget: Some of the plans are not the cheapest
Bottom line: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
InMotion Hosting have a great reputation for managed hosting and dedicated hosting plus they also rate well for resellers
Since 2001 InMotion Hosting has grow to have over 170,000 customers providing a range of hosting services including shared, WordPress hosting, VPS, reseller, and dedicated. The dedicated plans start at a reasonable $35/month and offer good value for money for what you get. If you choose InMotion Hosting, you’ll benefit from free website transfer and server setup, as well as free backup storage of 10GB-1TB depending on the plan you choose.
The highlight of InMotion Hosting’s dedicated servers is their comprehensive set of security features, including, automatic updates, a custom firewall, free SSL certificates with 2048-bit encryption, and DDoS protection to better protect your internet-facing applications.
You get a backup manager as standard with all dedicated InMotion hosting plans. This off-server backup and recovery service protects your data from mishaps and disasters. InMotion’s infrastructure is connected to four Tier 1 ISPs, so your website will always be online even if a natural disaster were to occur.
InMotion Hosting’s data centers are in locked vaults protected by hand scanners and armed guards. They don’t only protect your servers though. They also do their bit for protecting the environment. InMotion Hosting has invested heavily in green cooling technology to not only make servers more efficient but also reduce costs and save the planet.
InMotion hosting does offer phone support from the Advanced plan onwards. The Aspire and Essentials plans only come with live chat and ticket support. If you need class-leading support and a lower spec plan, we recommend checking out HostGator for dedicated servers. It’s important to note that InMotion hosting plans are all Linux-only. There’s no support for Windows OS.
For more information about dedicated hosting see our full best dedicated hosting guide
What else you need to know
While most hosts offer only a 30-day money-back guarantee, InMotion Hosting gives you an amazing 90 days for most plans (including reseller): a very major plus.
Why it’s best
For companies like web design and marketing agencies, and even freelancers, the ability to sell domains and plans to clients is a must – and in my experience, the reselling packages are where InMotion Hosting really excels.
Read our full InMotion Hosting review
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | Most of InMotion Hosting’s plans are good value for money | ★★★☆☆ |
| Ease of use | It was easy to use but the layout of the dashboard could be more simplistic | ★★★★☆ |
| Features | Lots of important and vital features including in each plan | ★★★★★ |
| Speed test | InMotion Hosting was the fourth fastest in our recent speed tests | ★★★★☆ |
The best web hosting for WordPress
Buy if:
✔️ You have a WordPress site you want to manage yourself: Bluehost’s features make it easy to and manage WordPress sites by yourself
✔️ You want to create an eCommerce site: Bluehost also has a range of optimizations for eCommerce sites
Don’t buy if:
❌ You’re not expecting the prices to rise: Bluehost is part of Newfold Digital that has a reputation for hiking renewal prices
Bottom line: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A really good host if you just want to get on a host a WordPress site or eCommerce business and manage it yourself
Bluehost is one of the world’s largest web hosting providers, and has almost two decades of experience in helping users build a quality home on the web.
The company has a strong core set of hosting plans (shared, VPS, WordPress, dedicated) for all budgets, but its WooCommerce range is a particular highlight for anyone looking to build a great web store. If WordPress isn’t your thing, Bluehost have a decent website builder too.
Features
New to ecommerce? Bluehost’s WooCommerce plans include a wizard to guide you through the store creation process. You can begin adding products immediately, physical or digital, and there are no limits on the number of products you can sell.
Premium WooCommerce plugins equip your store with high-end features such as gift cards, wishlists, smart promo tools (buy one, get one free; frequently bought together), there’s even a full bookings system (rentals, courses, Airbnb stays, whatever you need).
Bluehost hasn’t forgotten the hosting basics, either, and every plan includes free SSL, daily backups and automated WordPress updates,
Although I’ve focused on ecommerce, there’s a lot to like right across the Bluehost range. The shared plans have a free CDN, malware scanning and custom WordPress themes; the VPS and dedicated plans include a cPanel license for extra ease of use, and professional email plans have up to an 80GB inbox to cope with the busiest of business lives.
Testing
Bluehost scored well for ease of use. WordPress came pre-installed with my shared hosting plan, the dashboard had useful shortcuts to common tasks, and I easily found our way around.
After creating a test WordPress website, I monitored its availability for a year. Uptime was very acceptable at 99.95%, and that was only Bluehost’s cheapest shared account: I’d expect even better with the higher plans.
Speed was outstanding, with Bluehost ranking a close second to HostGator out of 15 contenders.
Bluehost doesn’t have ticket support, maybe a concern if you’ve complex issues which can’t be fixed in one session. The live chat agents are knowledgeable and helpful, though, and Bluehost’s phone support delivered some of the most expert troubleshooting assistance I’ve seen.
What else you need to know
Bluehost plans aren’t always as configurable as I’d like. There’s no choice of data center, for instance, and the VPS and dedicated plans are relatively basic.
I’ve found the service can be more expensive than average, too, once the introductory deals expire. Check the renewal prices before you sign up, just to avoid any surprises later.
Why it’s best
There’s plenty of advanced tools like here – but that doesn’t mean it’s not great for the basics, too. Given the uptimes with my WordPress test site and the firm’s automated WordPress updates, Bluehost is a top pick if that’s where you maintain your website.
Read our full Bluehost review
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | Bluehost is affordable enough and has enough features to justify the price | ★★★★☆ |
| Ease of use | Its dashboard is intuitive and the signing up process is straightforward | ★★★★☆ |
| Features | Bluehost has it all which is testament to its reputation | ★★★★★ |
| Speed test | Bluehost performed really well in our speed and uptime tests | ★★★★☆ |
Best Web hosting for Minecraft
Buy if:
✔️ You want a host dedicated to gaming: You can get your own server and set it up for Minecraft but why bother when it’s done for you.
Don’t buy if:
❌ You want a server that can be used for multiple games: Some providers allow you to change the game you play on a server, this host does not
Bottom line: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Minecraft hosting doesn’t get easier or better
Shockbyte provides specialist servers and support for popular games like Minecraft, Ark: Survival Evolved, Rust, Arma 3, and others. As a hosting provider dedicated to gaming, it’s no surprise that they’re one of the most popular hosts for Minecraft enthusiasts.
Features
You name it, Shockbyte provide it: BungeeCord support, MCPC & MCPE compatibility, Java version switchover, 100% uptime, full FTP access, all modpacks, custom jar support, instant setup, simple server customisation, free subdomain, zero server lag, free MySQL databases, DDoS protection, automatic backups, unlimited slots, 1Ggbps port, Unlimited SSD storage, unlimited bandwidth, MC snapshot support, and the list goes on…
This top Minecraft server host seems to deliver across the board on these features too as they have an Excellent rating on Trustpilot.
Testing
We used the Dirt plan which provides 1GB of RAM and 8+ player slots. We found the server to be easy to use and we maintained a ping of 30-35ms when adding more players to the server. Adding and removing mods was easy and in general provided a very smooth gaming experience.
What else you need to know
There are some pretty scathing comments about Shockbyte’s customer support but to their credit they address one-star reviews head-on in Trustpilot and the vast majority of reviews are highly positive.
Why it’s best
Australia-based Shockbyte is one of the biggest names in Minecraft hosting and have a presence in Europe (the UK, Germany, France, and Poland), Asia (Singapore), and North America (the USA and Canada). As a dedicated gaming server provider with great reviews and a global network, they don’t come much better than this.
Read our full Best Minecraft server hosting providers buying guide
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | Generally, Shockbyte’s game hosting plans are good value for money because of the quality of features it comes with | ★★★★☆ |
| Ease of use | Lots of out-of-the-box features | ★★★★★ |
| Features | Important and vital features indluding DDoS protection supported | ★★★★★ |
| Speed test | This score is based on the last review and will be updated shortly | ★★★★☆ |
The best unlimited web hosting
Buy if:
✔️ You want a free domain: Namecheap will give you a free domain with your plan
Don’t buy if:
❌ You’re not using insane levels of bandwidth: Can you really make the most of this amount of bandwidth?
Bottom line: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Most plans are unlimited because in reality, plans are not usually bottlenecked by bandwidth
Namecheap began life more than 20 years ago as a domain registrar, but over the years it’s expanded to offer a vast range of hosting, business and other services. If you like the convenience of getting all the web-related products you need from a single provider, then Namecheap could be your perfect partner.
Features
Namecheap offers a full range of hosting plans, from budget shared products and a website builder, to managed WordPress, VPS and dedicated hosting for demanding sites, even reseller products if you’d like to set up as a hosting provider.
Prices are temptingly low, and the specs are impressive. All shared plans get a free domain (with domain privacy), at least 3 websites and 30 email accounts, and 1-click WordPress installs and more. But beware: SSL is free only in year one for shared hosting plans.
Namecheap is a capable domain registrar, with wider domain support and way more tools and extras than you’ll see with other hosts.
Looking a more trusted SSL certificate? Namecheap sells everything you need (and for some of the lowest prices around).
That’s just the start. You can also sign up for business email hosting; speed up your site with premium DNS or Namecheap’s own CDN; there are image creation tools, marketing services, Namecheap even has a VPN (no, really).
Testing
Namecheap’s account control panel confused us at first, with lists, sidebars, menus and icons everywhere I looked. But once I’d spent a few moments exploring and mastering the basics, the dashboard worked very well, giving me quick and easy access to all the most important site management areas.
Although Namecheap deserves credit for its wide range of hosting products, the high-end plans in particular don’t give you the choice of the top competition. There are only three VPS plans, for instance, and no Windows hosting.
My tests found Namecheap achieved 100% uptime over the period: great news. Speeds weren’t quite as impressive, with my site (on a shared hosting plan) managing slightly below average load times. They were still very acceptable for a budget host, though, and overall Namecheap offers good value for what you get.
What else you need to know
There’s no phone support, but we had helpful and reasonably quick responses via both live chat and ticket, and there’s a huge web knowledgebase if you’re happy to search for solutions yourself.
Why it’s best
There are big differences between unlimited vs metered vs unmetered bandwidth hosting. If you’re tired of strict storage limits on hosting accounts, good news: Namecheap has unmetered storage (no fixed limits) on some plans. While plenty of other web hosting services offer unlimited bandwidths, I found Namecheap’s prices to be fair value for money considering what’s on offer.
Read the full Namecheap review
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | Plans are good value with low starting prices | ★★★★☆ |
| Ease of use | Namecheap’s account control panel is a little cluttered | ★★★☆☆ |
| Features | Its features are sufficient but doesn’t cover every need | ★★★☆☆ |
| Speed test | Our site speed was average in our speed test | ★★★☆☆ |
What is web hosting?
Hosting a website basically means making it accessible to the world. You can host a website from your own home but it will be a pretty bad idea. First of all, you’ll be inviting the entire world into your home router, which doesn’t seem very safe. You’ll also need to keep your PC on all the time, which won’t be energy efficient. Then, if your website gets busy its unlikely your hardware will be able to cope.
The most sensible thing to do is outsource the task of hosting a site. This is where web hosts come in. They store your website on server and it’s secure, always on, and has the most up to date hardware to ensure site performance when its busy.
You can share a server, rent your own resources, or even rent a space and put your own hardware in it. There are options for everything and based on your business requirements the right type of hosting will make a big difference to cost and performance.
If you have a small site, shared hosting is fine. Anything else will be a waste of money. If you have a larger eCommerce store then a virtual private server is a better option. If your business is ultra sensitive to any downtime then cloud hosting is perfect as multiple copies of your site are stored in different locations so if a disaster occurs your site will always be online.
Then, there are more specific options like the best WordPress hosting, or best Minecraft server. These hosting options have optimizations for these specific uses to give you the best performance and value for money.
How we test the best web hosting services
Our reviewers test each web hosting service by signing up and purchasing a plan to check out what each web hosting provider offers new users, as well as how easy it is to navigate around each brand’s dashboard. We pay a great deal of attention to the support that is offered to you.
We weigh up the details of what you get, (as well as what you don’t) and rank each web hosting provider based on the quality of its features that many customers will use, and how clear the web hosting company is on what the customer is getting in every product.
Because we know it’s important to pick a web hosting company you can trust, we focus on whether each web hosting provider presents its products in an honest, clear and transparent way. In our tests, this is easy to pick up on as we compare the list of features each company claims it offers, to what we actually have access to once we begin using their service.
Lastly, our web host speed tests are generally based on the cheapest shared hosting plan available from a provider.
We then upload a basic static site to our web space, including HTML and CSS files and some images, and configure Uptime.com to check the availability and server response time of our site at five-minute intervals. This gives us a general indication of the speed and uptime you are likely going to experience when you finally make a decision on the best web hosting provider for you.
Each web hosting provider below has been selected based on it being at the top of its game for one aspect of web hosting service or another. From shared hosting to reseller hosting, we have put together the best of the best for you to find a web hosting company that suits your individual needs.
Should you need more tips on buying a web hosting service, what the different types of hosting services are, or how to choose the best web hosting service for you, scroll down to the bottom of this page for all this and more.
How to choose a web host
Everyone has their own individual hosting priorities, and we can’t tell you exactly what you’ll need and what you won’t. But we can give you some general rules that will point you in the right direction.
Unlimited (or unmetered) disk space and bandwidth sounds great, and all that really matters is you’ve enough for your site, and that may be much less than you think. Web host Kinsta reported that its clients’ WordPress sites averaged only around 1GB in size, for instance. If that’s you, paying for ‘unlimited’ space won’t bring any benefits at all.
Your website almost certainly needs an SSL certificate to enable secure encrypted connections with visitors, and avoid the worrying ‘insecure’ warnings they’ll get if you’re SSL-free. Most plans offer free SSL, but check the small print: occasionally SSL comes free for the first year only, and you’ll have to pay after that.
Many web hosting plans include a free domain name, a tempting sweetener if you don’t have one already. But beware, it’s typically only free for a year, and then you’ll pay the provider’s standard renewal fees. Dot com domain renewals don’t vary much (an average $10-$20 a year), but it’s a different story with others. If you need a domain, check renewal prices to find out the real long-term cost.
Websites can break for all kinds of reasons, and if you want to keep downtime to a minimum, backups are an absolute must. Look for a plan that includes a backup service, and pay attention to frequency: weekly backups might be just about acceptable for sites that never change, but daily backups are much better.
No matter how experienced you are in the web hosting world, you’re sure to need support occasionally. Check out your prospective hosts’ support site: does it have content on the topics you’d expect, and is this helpful and easy to read? A host should at least have 24/7 live chat support, but telephone, ticket, and email helps, too: there can’t be too many ways to get in touch.
Web hosting frequently asked questions
What is shared hosting?
Shared hosting is a simple scheme where multiple websites are stored on the same web server (a type of computer).
One benefit of shared hosting is its simplicity. You don’t have to spend any time maintaining the server, because your provider does that. All you need to do is work on your own site.
Sharing a web server means sharing the costs, too, and with sometimes hundreds of websites on the same server, that usually means rock-bottom prices.
The big problem with shared hosting is you’re also sharing your server’s system resources: CPU time, RAM, storage and network connection. There’s only so much to go around, and the more sites on your server, the slower and less dependable your own website is likely to be.
Shared hosting is still the best choice in many situations. If you’re creating a simple blog, a site for family, a local club, anything with very light traffic where no-one will care much if the site is a little slow occasionally, the shared option is ideal. It’s very easy to use, and you can get decent plans from many providers for around $2 to $4 a month.
But if this is something more important, a web store, maybe a business site, then a slow or unreliable website will drive visitors away. It’s well worth upgrading to something more powerful.
What is VPS hosting?
VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting is a clever technology which divides a single physical server into multiple server environments.
Log onto a VPS and you’ll have access to what looks like the full server. This is far more complex than shared hosting, but it also gives you much more control. You can install any apps, tweak any server settings, even replace the entire operating system if you like.
There will be other VPS environments on the same physical server (though not as many other accounts as with shared hosting), reducing your performance a little. But you’ll have your own allocation of network bandwidth, RAM, storage and CPU time. These won’t be shared with other customers, which means your site should see higher and more consistent speeds than you’ll get with shared hosting.
Upgrading is often very easy, too. If website traffic grows and you need additional resources – more CPU time, extra RAM, a higher bandwidth allowance – then you can typically add them to your plan in a click or two, and they’ll be available almost immediately.
This extra power comes at a price, but it might be much less than you think. Hostinger’s cheapest shared hosting plan is $1.99 a month on the four-year plan; its cheapest VPS plan is just $2.99, again over four years. It’s a very basic plan, but at $8.99 for a one-off month, it’s not expensive to see if a VPS could work for you.
What is dedicated hosting?
As the name suggests, dedicated hosting is a plan where a physical server is dedicated to a single client. That means no more speed issues because you’re sharing bandwidth, RAM or CPU time with other accounts: the entire system is yours alone.
As you’re renting the entire physical server, most providers allow you to build it with whatever hardware you need. You can typically choose your CPU, storage drives and type (cheap and high capacity HDDs, smaller but faster SSDs), operating system, bandwidth allowance and more.
This can be expensive. Even budget providers like Namecheap charge a monthly $50-$60 for their most basic dedicated servers, and Liquid Web’s top-of-the-range enterprise models might cost $500 or more (although they’re aimed at huge sites which might have a million page views a month).
There’s more work involved in managing a dedicated server, too. With shared hosting, if your server crashes, the provider support team should notice and fix or reboot it. But if you’re running the server, all that is up to you, unless you pay even more to the provider to handle it for you.
If you absolutely need top performance and complete control of your server, though, a dedicated plan is probably the way to go.
What is WordPress hosting?
WordPress is a popular free platform which makes it easy to build all kinds of websites, from a simple one-page offering, to a blog, a professional business site, even a full web store.
Many web hosting providers offer WordPress plans which simplify the process of setting up your site, and often include tools to boost speeds and keep the site running more smoothly.
Buy a plan and WordPress usually comes pre-installed, for example, so you won’t have to set it up yourself. WP Engine throws in some stylish WordPress themes, allowing you to create a gorgeous-looking site even if you’ve zero design skills. And most plans make at least some effort to automatically update WordPress with new patches as they arrive, reducing your site maintenance hassles.
If your WordPress needs are very simple, you may not need a specialist WordPress hosting plan. Most shared hosting plans have easy WordPress installation and a handful of other relevant features, and Hostinger’s all-in-one shared hosting product gives you all kinds of valuable extras – automated updates, a WordPress site-building wizards, performance accelerators, more – from as little as $2.99 a month.
What is managed hosting?
Shared hosting accounts are generally very simple to operate, but higher end products – WordPress, VPS hosting, dedicated servers – often require running all kinds of maintenance tasks. You might need to test and update WordPress plugins, install operating system patches, spot and troubleshoot server errors, maybe reboot a server if it locks up or crashes.
Buy a managed web hosting plan and some or all of these tasks will be carried out by your hosting provider’s regular support team. You’ll potentially save real time and hassle, and if problems do crop up, they’ll be speedily addressed by the people best qualified to fix them.
Sounds great– so why would anyone do anything else? Cost, mostly. Hostwinds’ 4-core 8GB RAM VPS costs $59.99 fully managed, for instance, but only $38.99 for the unmanaged DIY version, a big drop in price.
One key message here is to keep this in mind when comparing WordPress, VPS or dedicated plans between hosting providers. Host A may look seriously cheap, but are you comparing a managed with an unmanaged plan? Be sure to check the small print.
There’s no precise definition of ‘managed’, either, so don’t simply assume a managed plan means you’ll have absolutely no maintenance to do. Every provider has its own definition of what’s covered and what isn’t, so check it out, make sure you understand exactly what’s covered before you buy.
What is email hosting?
One of the big advantages of registering a domain is you can have your own custom email address (Steve@thebestbuilder.com is far more impressive and business-like than builder457@gmail.com).
You probably won’t get email when you register a domain, for instance. Most hosting plans include some email support, but it may not be as powerful as you need, especially for business use. You’ll often see strict limits on Inbox size, the number of accounts you can create, even the number of emails you can send a day.
Email hosting is a service which allows you to send and receive emails via a custom domain. You don’t have to buy email hosting from the same provider as your web hosting, and in fact you don’t need web hosting at all: just register a domain, buy an email hosting plan and you’re ready to start creating and using all those name@yoursite.com email accounts.
Signing up for email hosting may get you a better service. The top providers give you plenty of Inbox space, support large attachments, don’t hold you back with annoying usage limits and provide built-in spam, phishing and malware filters to keep you safe.
This could be a feature well worth adding to your hosting line-up, and it’s generally inexpensive; many email hosting plans cost around $1-$2.50 a month. But if you currently have a budget shared hosting plan, keep in mind that upgrading might get you better email features and a bunch of other goodies, too. Check your provider’s hosting feature lists to find out exactly what you get.
What else should I consider when picking a web host?
Three or four-year hosting plans can have appealingly low prices, but they don’t always work out. If you’re unhappy with a host, or your site grows and the old plan can’t handle the increased traffic, you may have to buy something else early. It’s safer to sign up for a year (or even less), at least initially, and perhaps choose a VPS or similar plan where it’s easy to add more resources as required.
Uptime (the percentage of the day that your website is available) is a key stat for any serious website. If a potential customer can’t find or use your website, at best they’ll think you’re unprofessional, at worst they’ll give up on you entirely and go elsewhere.
Web hosting providers often quote uptime figures such as ‘99.9%’, but these don’t always cover the issues you might expect. Check the small print carefully for any hidden catches.
Look for a Service Level Agreement (SLA), too, especially for dedicated and other high-end hosting plans. These go beyond vague website promises to guarantee uptime, support response times and other elements of the service, and describe the compensation you’ll get if the target is missed.
And if you’re looking for more specific advice on one type of hosting in particular, chances are we’ve an article that can help. Get started with our guides to the best free web hosting, best WordPress hosting, best VPS hosting, best managed hosting and best Minecraft server hosting. Each article has links to other guides and reviews where you’ll find out more.
Web hosting features explained
If you’re new to web hosting, some of the terms and features may sound confusing. To help you understand them, we’ve come up with a quick explainer for the most common elements in web hosting services:
Domain name. It’s the address people type in their browsers to visit your website, like techradar.com. Many hosting plans include one domain name for free for the first year of registration. Choose a .com domain to establish your credibility or .online for an affordable alternative.
SSL certificate. This feature encrypts the connection between your website and your visitors’ browsers, preventing hackers from accessing it. Hosting providers usually provide one for free from Let’s Encrypt. Some also offer a premium version as an add-on, which can provide a better warranty and level of verification.
Unmetered bandwidth. This means the hosting provider won’t monitor or cap the amount of data transferred, so there’s no need to worry about extra bandwidth usage fees once the website’s traffic grows. Each company has a different policy on unmetered resources, so make sure to read their terms and conditions beforehand.
SSD disk space. Compared to HDDs, SSDs are a much more reliable storage solution. They’re less prone to disk failures and can serve data twenty times faster, speeding up your website’s performance.
cPanel. With this control panel, new users can manage their hosting via an intuitive interface – no technical skills required. You can access different features, check out your resource usage, and configure the domain’s settings within a few clicks.
WordPress auto-installer. This feature lets you set up WordPress in a few clicks from the hosting’s control panel. That way, there’s no need to download and upload the CMS files yourself.
Website migration. Most hosting providers allow transferring an existing site from another host to their servers. Typically, you have to insert some information about the website, submit a ticket to their customer support team, and wait a few hours for the migration to initiate.
Custom HTML and CSS. The control panel should provide access to your website’s files, including HTML and CSS, via the file manager or an FTP client. Feel free to edit them to customize the site’s front end to your liking.
