Home The 10 best hosting companies for small businesses
News and Views

The 10 best hosting companies for small businesses

AFP

small businessAre you venturing into the world of setting up a business website? Not quite sure which of the hosting companies are the best for your situation? There are so many different hosting companies out there offering a wide range of services that it can be really difficult to decide on one hosting company.

There are all kinds of factors that you will need to consider like; how much you want to/can afford to pay, the amount of traffic you will expect on your website, how much content you will be creating, whether you want to manage updates yourself… the list goes on forever.

So if you are a small business owner looking for some help in this tricky decision, then it may help to know what the experts have to say about it. PCmag list and review the following for small businesses:

  • 1&1
  • DreamHost
  • HostGator
  • Hostwinds
  • A2
  • Arvixe
  • GoDaddy
  • InMotion
  • Media Temple
  • Siteground

Which one is right for you will depend on a number of factors, so there isn’t a host that is the out and out best, it just depends on what your requirements are. You might need a lot of support because you are completely new to setting up websites, so a host with the best ratings for customer support might be your priority. Or you may need unlimited monthly data transfers, or large volumes of storage. So depending on each of these requirements, you would make your choice.

Now it could take you a very long time to review every single one of these hosts to work out which one is going to work for you, so we have summarised some of the key points to make the process a bit quicker and easier for you.

1&1 – At £3.99 per month for 12 months, 1&1 ‘Plus’ plan is one of the cheaper hosting services provides unlimited storage, unlimited websites, 24/7 service. You have access to easy website creation tools but the money back guarantee period isn’t very long.

DreamHost – One of the very popular web hosts, DreamHost hosts over 1.5 million websites. Their website builder, Remixer is offered as a free trial so you can see what it is all about. They also offer managed WordPress hosting and shared hosting, which is ideal for small businesses with smaller budgets. The security features are pretty good.

HostGator – The shared hosting plan is very popular and the customer service always tends to score very highly. You also have access to a site builder to make it easy setting your website up. Works well with WordPress.

Hostwinds – The basic business plan offers unlimited bandwidth and unlimited disk space for around £7 per month. You don’t have the option of managed WordPress hosting but the all round customer service is good.

A2 – Offering 24/7 support and great Uptime levels, A2 are a good option for small businesses looking for fast hosting services. Shared hosting starts at around £3 per month.

Arvixe – The business plans have a lot more features than your standard hosting packages but they come at extra cost too. Their customer support isn’t the best, so you might not want to chance it if you are new to setting up websites.

GoDaddy – This host has really grown in the last few years, with really good customer support and pretty much any feature you will ever need. You might have seen the adverts for the really cheap plans starting from 99p, just remember that you are not going to get everything you need for a good business website under that price.

InMotion – If you want to opt for managed WordPress then InMotion are a good option. Their business package is around £7 per month and includes a free domain and unlimited disk space and bandwidth.

Media Temple – One of the lesser known companies, quite pricy but claim to be worth the extra cost.

Siteground – If you want something a bit cheaper, you can get a cheap package with Siteground. Support and customer service are both very good, so a good pick overall.

 
 

 




Featured Video

 

AFP

AFP

Have a guest column, letter to the editor, story idea or a news tip? Email editor Chris Graham at [email protected]. Subscribe to AFP podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora and YouTube. Support AFP by signing up for our newsletter and/or powering our work with a one-time or monthly contribution.

Latest News

budget CPI household housing
Local

Waynesboro: HERO attacks homelessness issue from a different angle

medicaid
Virginia

Richmond couple gets jail time for bilking Medicaid out of a million bucks

A Richmond couple is getting jail time for orchestrating a scheme to overbill Medicaid for mental health services to the tune of nearly a million dollars, and using the money to purchase luxury cars, fund a vegan restaurant and make lease payments on their residence. Erica Jackson, 39, was sentenced on Tuesday to four years...

data center virginia
Politics, Virginia

Pause to Protect coalition calls for moratorium on data center construction

A coalition of environmental groups is calling for a moratorium on new data center construction in Virginia until developers can show that they can meet specific environmental goals and standards on clean energy, water use and transparency.

newspaper online news AFP mobile phone newsfeed
Local

Thought exercise: How Waynesboro is different, if Augusta Free Press never existed

tony elliott
Football, Go 'Hoos

UVA Football: Tony Elliott filibusters his way through a 14-minute answer to a question

uva basketball nolan adekunle
Basketball, Go 'Hoos

UVA Basketball Notebook: Adekunle adjusts to U.S. game, tempo on overdrive

police court law
Local

Mennonite kidnapping trial: Valerie Hayes, co-defendant, will have separate trials