The best web hosting service is the one that has the right features for your particular needs. We looked at more than 20 web hosting providers to find which ones had the best range of plan options, security offerings and other features. No single web hosting service stands above the rest for us, but there's a handful that are a cut above the rest.
There are a lot of great reasons to start your own website. Whether you're looking to create your own blog, kick off a side hustle or build a portfolio, there's no better time than right now to build a website. It's an exciting process, too. Picking your own personal design to represent yourself is one of the many exhilarating parts of building your new website. However, there's a lot more to it than just clicking around and hitting save when you're happy.
First off, you need to have an idea for what your site should contain or be about, and you have to choose a company to house your website. The number of web Hosting services can be confusing and the choice can be hard. So we looked over the data for 22 web hosting services to make things a little easier on you.
While we didn't test the services, we did carefully examine each service's offerings and ranked them according to essential web hosting features. Here's what we looked for to determine the best web hosting services. You can also check out CNET's 11 things to know about web hosting for more information about these and other features.
- Hosting plans: We checked to see if the service offered shared, VPS and dedicated hosting plans. Inclusion of all three plan types allows customers to scale their plan up as their site grows.
- Security features: Services need to include some basic security features such as SSL certificates, DDoS protections and backups to protect your data as well as your visitors'. The best web hosts do this at no extra charge.
- Uptime of 99.9% or higher: An uptime of 99.9% or higher ensures your site won't go down for more than 20 minutes a month, so you keep losses of readers and sales to a minimum.
- Customer support: All services offer some kind of customer support. Some say they offer customer service 24/7, but they mean you can email them any time. That's a good start, but what if you have an issue that needs immediate attention? Some offer live chat which is better, and others offer phone support which is best.
The best web hosting services meet all four of those criteria. If a service falls short on one or more of those measures, you'll find it in our list of other web hosting services to consider or our list of additional web hosts we looked at.
For some important terms to know about web hosting, jump to the bottom of this article.
Note: Pricing for web hosting is a bit tricky to follow. Listed prices are generally introductory rates attached to contracts that usually last a year or more and renew at the regular rate at the end of the contract. And as with other services that use introductory rates to lure in customers, the regular rate is usually much higher -- double your intro rate, or more. These contracts are also usually paid upfront rather than month-to-month, even though companies will list them as monthly costs. Again, make sure you check the renewal price, as most services say they auto-renew contracts to ensure sites stay up at all times. Actual month-to-month plans can cost at least three times as much as longer contracts.
Best web hosting services
Sarah Tew/CNET
Pros:
- Extensive security features, including backups
- Unlimited traffic, so no need to scale up plans to handle additional traffic
- 99.99% uptime guarantee
Cons:
- Website builder costs extra
- Plan prices increase, sometimes by huge margins, over time
Our take
IONOS has the lowest starting price point of any other service on this list, but once the plan renews, the price increases drastically. IONOS also has customer support numbers for 14 countries, making it a good choice for international customers.
Hosting plans
Ionos offers shared, VPS, dedicated and managed and unmanaged WordPress hosting. The company also differentiates between hosting plans meant for smaller and larger organizations to help customers better understand what plan is best for them.
Security features
Ionos offers security features that go beyond what other web hosting services offer. All plans include SSL certificates, malware scans and DDoS protections. Some plans also help repair damage malware might cause on your website. Backups at least once every 24-hours are also standard with each plan, and each backup is held for 20 days. A full set of a customer's data is also stored in two separate data centers as a security measure, that way customers will always have access to their data, even if one data center is brought down by a cyberattack.
Uptime
Ionos has a 99.99% uptime guarantee, which is a higher guarantee than most other web hosting services. Battery-operated power supplies and backup generators help maintain power to Ionos data centers so your site and services stay online even if its data center loses power.
Customer support
Support is available any time, either by phone or chat. A directory also provides customer support numbers for customers in 14 different countries. Ionos also offers a personal consultant who will be your main point of contact if you need help with your site. A personal consultant and phone numbers for different support centers around the world gives Ionos customers more ways to get help compared to some other hosting providers.
Other features
Ionos offers a status page to alert customers when services go down or are being repaired. The page also logs the times when services go down and are brought back up, and it lets customers know of any scheduled maintenance.
Pricing
Ionos' prices start lower than most other web hosting services for similar services. However, prices rise -- shared and WordPress hosting rise by over 1,000% -- after a certain amount of time. That means Ionos is a good entry point for web hosting, but it may not be the best long-term home for your website if cost is your primary concern.
- Shared hosting starts at $0.50 a month.
- VPS hosting starts at $2 a month.
- Dedicated server hosting starts at $45 a month.
- WordPress hosting starts at $0.50 a month.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Pros:
- Offers a wide variety of plans for all needs
- Features website builder to help create your site
- Produces three times the amount of wind energy it uses
Cons:
- Phone support isn't active 24/7
- Prices of some plans are above average
Our take
GreenGeeks' promise to offset its energy needs makes this service a clear choice for climate-conscious customers. Some plans also offer unlimited storage and bandwidth. However, prices are a little high compared to other plans.
Hosting plans
GreenGeeks offers shared, VPS, dedicated, WordPress and reseller hosting plans. Each plan offers tiered options that let you scale up as your site's needs grow. Some plans are managed, but at a higher cost. Each plan also includes a website builder so you don't have to build your site from scratch.
Security features
Each plan includes a slew of security features like SSL certificates, DDoS protections, daily backups, malware cleanups and more to help protect your site.
Uptime
Like most web hosts, GreenGeeks offers a 99.9% uptime.
Customer support
GreenGeeks says it checks its servers every 10 seconds for any issues, while other services might check every 30 seconds, minute or longer. This means if your site runs into any issues, GreenGeeks might already be working on resolving it before you contact them. For more direct customer support GreenGeeks offers 24/7 chat support, but phone support is only active from 9 a.m. to midnight ET.
Other features
For every hosting account, GreenGeeks plants a tree, and GreenGeeks also creates three times the amount of energy used through renewable energy sources. Data centers contribute about 0.3% of global carbon emissions, according to the International Energy Agency, so GreenGeeks' environmental commitment makes it a web hosting option that gives back.
Pricing
GreenGeeks' pricing is average compared to other web hosting services. However, most of the lowest prices from GreenGeeks require a three-year contract paid in full upfront. Other contracts are available at an increased price per month, but must also be paid in full upfront.
- Shared hosting starts at $3 a month.
- VPS hosting starts at $40 a month.
- Dedicated server hosting starts at $169 a month.
- WordPress hosting starts at $3 a month.
- Reseller hosting starts at $20 a month.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Pros:
- 24/7 "Guru Crew" customer support by chat, email or phone
- Free site migration when coming from another service
- Servers are physically secure on site
Cons:
- Lowest prices require three-year contracts
- Some plans don't offer enough to justify higher prices
Our take
A2 Hosting offers great customer service options, as well as many different types of multi-tiered hosting plans. Plans offer a lot of features at no extra cost. The biggest downside is that the cheapest plans require a three-year contract.
Hosting plans
A2 Hosting offers shared, VPS, dedicated, WordPress, reseller and cloud hosting, including tiered options within each plan. Shared hosting, for example, offers plans labeled Startup, Drive, Turbo Boost and Turbo Max. These additional plans give customers more options to choose from to better fit their needs, and allow customers to scale their operation as needed.
Security features
Each plan comes with security features like an SSL certificate, dual firewalls, virus scanner and brute force defense. Each plan comes with a Patchman enhanced security tool, which regularly costs about $25 a month, as well as DDoS protections that can detect DDoS attacks as soon as they happen to help keep your site safe. A2 Hosting also boasts about the physical security of its servers -- in order to access them, someone needs to have two separate key cards to enter the parking lot and the server center.
Uptime
A2 Hosting has a 99.9% uptime commitment. An uptime of 99.9% means your site shouldn't be down for more than nine hours a year, which is the industry standard.
Customer support
The real distinction for A2 Hosting is its commitment to customer support. A2's "Guru Crew" is available by chat, email or phone 24/7. And if you want to figure something out without talking to anyone, A2 Hosting has a large Knowledge Base filled with information to help you develop and grow your site.
Other features
If you are looking to switch web hosting service providers, A2 Hosting offers free site migration. The average cost of a site migration in 2021 was between $300 to $400, making this a generous offer.
Pricing
A2 Hosting pricing is about average at first glance, but the lowest prices also come with a three-year contract, so to get the lowest price you are locked into this service for a long time. Some of the service's tiered plan options might not offer enough to justify the price increase, as well. The Turbo Boost and Turbo Max shared hosting, for example, are $7 and $13 per month, respectively. The plans appear to have two differences: Boost has 2GB of physical memory compared to the Max's 4GB. In addition, Max offers "5X More Resources" by using nonvolatile memory express drives, which are faster than solid-state drives. Nonvolatile memory express drives don't seem much faster than SSDs on paper, but if you're trying to sell something in real time online every second -- or millisecond -- counts.
- Shared hosting starts at $3 a month.
- Unmanaged VPS hosting starts at $5 a month.
- Managed VPS hosting starts at $40 a month.
- Unmanaged dedicated server hosting starts at $106 a month.
- Managed dedicated server hosting starts at $156 a month.
- WordPress hosting starts at $12 a month.
- Reseller hosting starts at $19 a month.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Pros:
- 90-day money back guarantee
- Many customer service options
- Free website builder
Cons:
- US servers only
- Month-to-month payment plans not available for all plans
Our take
InMotion Hosting has one of the longest money-back guarantee time frames, so even if you aren't totally satisfied with its service you can still get some cash back after a month or two. However, InMotion Hosting only has US-based servers, so it's not the best choice for anyone with an international audience.
Hosting plans
InMotion Hosting offers shared, VPS, dedicated, WordPress and reseller hosting with different tiered options for each type of hosting. InMotion Hosting also offers hourly managed hosting services. These services can be purchased for one, two or three hours for $40 to $100 per month, or outside of a plan at $75 per hour.
Security features
Each plan comes with free SSL certificates, DDoS protections and hack and malware protections. Automatic daily backups are also available for some plans.
Uptime
InMotion Hosting offers 99.99% uptime, placing InMotion Hosting above the standard in terms of uptime. Customers should expect less than an hour of downtime per year, compared to nine hours for companies that only offer 99.9% uptime.
Customer support
InMotion Hosting's customer support offers more ways for customers to contact them than many other services. Customers can contact a customer support representative by phone, chat, or email 24/7, they can file support tickets or Skype with a representative. InMotion Hosting also offers customers access to a database of instructional posts, as well as a community forum customers can look through for the answer to a question if you can't find it anywhere else.
Other features
Most web hosting services offer a 30-day money back guarantee, but all InMotion Hosting plans come with a 90-day money back guarantee. That makes InMotion a great option for anyone who's trying out a website for the first time but isn't sure if they're ready for a longer commitment.
Pricing
As with other web hosting services, the listed price is only applicable before the renewal cost. These can be confusing when comparing prices since some plans appear to cost the same despite one offering more perks. For example, the shared hosting Launch plan costs $5 a month with a three-year contract and the shared hosting Power plan costs the same for the same contract length but has more features -- seems like a no-brainer to go with the Power plan, right? However, after the contract ends, the Launch plan renews at $12 a month and the Power plan renews at $16 a month, leaving subscribers paying more for the Power plan.
- Shared hosting starts at $2.29 a month.
- VPS hosting starts at $18 a month.
- Dedicated hosting under the "Bare Metal" tab starts at $100 a month.
- WordPress hosting starts at $3.49 a month.
- Reseller hosting starts at $15.39 a month.
- Managed hosting services start at $40 a month.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Pros:
- Unmetered bandwidth and disk space
- Free site and domain transfers
- 45-day money back guarantee
Cons:
- Restoring data from backups costs extra
- Add-ons add up
Our take
HostGator makes it easy to start and maintain a website with a database of tutorials and walkthroughs. If you already have a site, you can transfer it to HostGator for no extra charge. Make sure you read the fine print when it comes to backups, though -- it left us with questions.
Hosting plans
HostGator offers shared, VPS, dedicated, WordPress and reseller hosting plans with tiered options. Each plan comes with unmetered bandwidth and disk space so you can load as much data on your site as you want. That makes it a great option for anyone with lots of video, images or animated page elements.
Security features
HostGator offers free SSL certificates, DDoS protections and automated backups. After the backups are taken, HostGator scans the files and makes sure they are free of malicious code, and if any is located the files are quarantined. However, HostGator writes that anyone with "critical business information or important data are STRONGLY encouraged to seek a third-party backup service…" (emphasis theirs). Undermining your own backup system is an odd choice.
Uptime
HostGator has an industry-standard 99.9% uptime guarantee. Shared and reseller hosting customers can request a one-month refund if their uptime doesn't meet that guarantee. However, VPS and dedicated hosting customers won't get a refund if their uptime isn't met. Instead those customers receive a prorated credit for how long the server was down.
Customer support
Customers can reach HostGator customer support representatives by chat, email or phone 24/7. A database also offers customers video tutorials, articles and guides. Not all services offer video tutorials, which could help solve an issue when it feels like talking to customer support over the phone or online isn't helping.
Other features
HostGator offers a 45-day money back guarantee, which is above average when compared to most other web hosting services. The tutorials and walkthroughs available also make it easy for first-time site managers to get started.
Price
In addition to renewal prices jumping after a plan's contract ends, add-ons can also significantly increase the price. Restoring backups, for example, costs an additional $25. So while, yes, HostGator offers automated backups, you still have to pay extra to access those backups, which makes it feel like backups are really an additional cost. This is certainly unusual.
- Shared hosting starts at $2.75 a month.
- VPS hosting starts at $24 a month.
- Dedicated hosting starts at $90 a month.
- WordPress hosting starts at $6 a month.
- Reseller hosting starts at $20 a month.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Pros:
- Some monthly plans relatively affordable compared to other providers
- Offers cyber insurance as an add-on
- Free website builder with each plan
Cons:
- Price almost doubles with renewal of some plans
- No 24/7 phone support
Our take
Namecheap is cheaper than other services on this list, but only for certain contract lengths, like month-to-month plans. Namecheap also offers cyber insurance and Namecheap Legal to help you if your site is taken down by malicious actors. But Namecheap doesn't have 24/7 phone support, which could be an issue if something goes wrong on your end and they aren't available.
Hosting plans
Namecheap offers shared, VPS, dedicated, WordPress and reseller hosting. The plans offer tiered options, and the differences in plans are spelled out and easy to follow. Features shared across plans are easy to recognize, so you don't have to read too deep into plans.
Security features
Each Namecheap plan comes with a free virus scanner, two-factor authentication and DDoS protection to help secure your data and the data of your visitors. SSL certificates are also free for one year, but then are an additional cost, starting at $6 a year. Namecheap also offers optional cyber insurance at an extra cost in case your data falls victim to a cyberattack. Cyber insurance plans start at an additional $6.50 a month and cover things like legal costs, damage repair and fines that could spring from a data breach. However, cyber insurance is currently only available in the US.
Uptime
Namecheap has a 99.9% uptime guarantee for VPS and reseller plans and 100% uptime guarantee for most shared, VPS and dedicated plans. Namecheap explicitly states one dedicated server plan has a 99.9% uptime guarantee. If uptime does drop, customers are eligible for a service refund, which could give you a month of free hosting.
Customer support
Namecheap has 24/7 online chat support, ticket filing and database of informative and instructional posts and videos. However, there's no phone support, which could make it difficult to get the help you need if something goes wrong with your site. Namecheap does have a Status Update section so you can see if others are experiencing a similar issue or not.
Other features
Namecheap offers some useful free and paid applications and services to customers. Some of the free applications include a logo maker, an online marketing tool and a graphic design tool. Paid applications and services include an online ID authentication tool and Namecheap Legal, which connects you to legal services to help tackle legal issues your business might run into.
Pricing
Some Namecheap plans are relatively affordable compared to the competition, especially monthly plans. Shared plans, for example, cost $3.88 on a month-by-month basis. Monthly plans from competitors can cost upward of $10 a month. Yearly contracts are less expensive than monthly plans, but the cost of those same plans can double in some instances upon renewal. One shared plan offers a two-year contract that costs a total of $37.88 (about $1.58 a month), but it renews at $84.88 (about $3.54 a month.) The renewal price is more, yes, but it's still less than the renewal price for most other services. Dedicated hosting month-by-month plans appear less expensive with a starting price of $56.88 for your first month. This plan then renews at $80.88 a month. Dedicated hosting plans with a one-year contract appear more expensive than the month-by-month plan, but are less expensive over that 12-month period.
- Shared hosting starts at $2.18 a month.
- VPS hosting starts at $6.88 a month.
- Dedicated hosting starts at $48.88 for the first month and renews at $53.88 a month.
- WordPress hosting starts at about $2.09 a month listed as $24.88 a year.
- Reseller hosting starts at $17.88 a month.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Pros:
- Global data centers
- Cloud hosting offers 100% hardware uptime
