Choosing the right web hosting service for your branded website
Table of Contents
Why is choosing the right web hosting for your branded website important?
Choosing the right hosting company is important to your business for the following reasons:
- Your website is the digital face of your business
- It is what people will see first if they are searching online. It is also what will shape their opinion of your business the moment they go online to vet you or to buy your service or product
What should you look for in a hosting company?
- Value
- Reliability
- Speed and Uptime
- How much maintenance you will need to do
- Customer Service and Support
- Security
- User friendliness
What are the different types of website hosting?
Shared Hosting
This is the best type of hosting for small businesses and blogs. As your site grows, you have more visits and you will need more features and greater speeds. At this point, you can upgrade your service.
The upside is:
- The low price
- The maintenance and administrative aspects that are provided by the host
- The ease of use with the provided C panel.
The downside is:
- You are sharing services with other websites and at specific times when there is a lot of activity, your website might get sluggish in terms of speed.
- You also have to be aware of security issues
- You must be aware of what is offered in your plan, for example important features such as backups
- Customer support might be not be as good as higher prices plan
Managed Hosting
In a managed hosting plan, the hosting company will take care of all the technical details, set-up, technical support, updates and monitoring. It will be more expensive than shared hosting, but price varies between companies and plans. If you are not techy or are short on time, this might be the right plan for you.
VPS Hosting
You still share a server with other websites but there are far fewer websites using that server. Most large hosting companies will offer more than one plan and you can upgrade as your needs change, for example from shared hosting to VPS hosting.
Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting is spread across multiple servers. The host can bounce your website between servers to get the best performance.
The Upside is:
- Better performance
- Scalability
The downside is:
- You will be reliant on the host’s tech support team to fix all issues
- You will need to entrust all your data to the host
- Higher pricing
There has been hacking on the cloud recently, so keep that in mind when you are promised better security.
Dedicated Hosting
A website that has a server all to themselves. If you have very high traffic, then this may be the plan for you. The downside is the high price.
Colocation Hosting
This is the practice of housing privately owned servers and networking equipment in a third-party data center. It is for companies that need to run their own server equipment. However, they will rent server rack space, internet bandwidth, and equipment from a colocation center.
Below are the the best rated hosting sites in each category. They have been specifically selected with non-techies in mind for ease of use and simple installation.
Please know that the links below are affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase hosting through my affiliate links. I have vetted these assets and think very highly of them. Your purchase allows me to run my blog and bring you free content. Thank you for using my links.
Shared Hosting
SiteGround
Pros:
- High Speed
- Ease of use
- Multiple plans
- Great Support
- Multiple server locations, globally
- Daily backups
- Endorsed by WordPress
Cons:
- There is a maximum size for each database in various plans. However, this will only be an issue for larger sites
Dream Host
Pros:
- Affordability
- High Speed
- Unlimited bandwith
- SSL certificates
Cons:
- USA only servers
- Limited hours of services for chat support
BlueHost
Pros:
- Easy to use Cpanel
- Good support
- Cloudflare is pre-integrated
- Generous storage and bandwith
- Free SSL
- Free domain
- Endorsed by WordPress
- Starting at $3.95 monthly
Cons:
- USA only servers
- To get faster loading pages, you can use Cloudflare, which is preintegrated. Just press a button to activate it.
- The entry level plans don’t have good back-up options so you will need to use a back up plugin and do backups automatically
Cloud Hosting
Kinsta
Kinsta is for WordPress only sites.
Pros:
- Great support aimed at WordPress users
- Free CDN and many global server locations
- Free SSL certificate
- Easy to use
- Good security
- Cloud platform and great speed
- Automatic daily backups
- Full page caching
Cons:
- No domain registration, so you will need to purchase your domain elsewhere.
- Doesn’t offer email accounts, so you will need to create your email elsewhere.
SiteGround.com
- Four managed hosting plans
- Free SSL
- Daily backups
- Free CDN
- Dedicated IP
- SSH/ SFTP (Secure account restricted access)
- Advanced priority support
VPS Hosting
BlueHost
Bluehost offers six different types of hosting: Shared, Shared WordPress, WooCommerce, VPS, Managed WordPress, and Dedicated. If you have a bigger site, you can get more features and better performance with the VPS plan than you can with a shared site.
- Free domain
- Free SSL certificate
- Excellent support
- One click WordPress installation
- You can upgrade easily from shared hosting if and when you need to
Best Dedicated Hosting
When do you need dedicated hosting? You might want to look into dedicated hosting when:
- You expect high levels of traffic
- Page load times need to be super fast
- You need custom programming options
- You will have a large site
DreamHost
- Lightening fast loading time
- 100% uptime guarantee
- 24/7 / 365 support
- uncapped bandwith
BlueHost
- 3 plans to choose from
- Best if you have high traffic
- Support 24/7
- Free domain name for a year
- Free SSL certificate
Managed Hosting
Kinsta offers excellent managed hosting.
If you never want to deal with the technical side of running your website then try managed hosting. You will also get great support and many included features, such as top speeds, daily backups, and security features.
Kinsta
Kinsta is for WordPress only sites. Kinsta is built on the Google Cloud platform for scalability and performance. From Kinsta:
‘Kinsta utilizes LXD managed hosts and orchestrated LXC software containers for each site. What this means is that every WordPress site is housed in its own isolated container, which has all of the software resources required to run it (Linux, Nginx, PHP, MySQL). The resources are 100% private and are not shared between anyone else or even your own sites.’
- Great support aimed at WordPress users. They will remove
- Free CDN and many global server locations
- Free SSL certificate
- Easy to use
- Good security
- Cloud platform and great speed
- Automatic daily backups
- Full page caching
- Free migrations
- Free hack fixes
Bluehost, Siteground and DreamHost offer managed hosting, as well.
What about Woo - Hosting?
WooCommerce is one of the most popular e-commerce options that make setting up your store fast and easy. You will still be using WordPress and will need a host. When you choose a dedicated Woo-commerce host, the process of managing your site gets even easier.
With WooCommerce hosting, you’ll should get:
- Automated WordPress and WooCommerce set up so you can get right to work on your store.
- Daily backups, so your data is always safe.
- Increased security so you can protect your user information.
- Support staff who are experts when it comes to WooCommerce.
SiteGround.com
Three plans, starting at $6.99 monthly. For the lowest level tier, Start-up, you’ll get:
- 1 Website
- 10 GB Web Space
- 10,000 Visits Monthly
- Unmetered Traffic
- Free WP Installation
- Free WP Migrator
- WordPress Auto-updates
- Free SSL
- Daily Backup
- Free CDN
- Free Email
- WP-CLI and SSH
- Out-of-the-box Caching
- Unlimited Databases
The higher tiered options, Grow Big and Go Geek will give you the ability to add websites, web space and monthly visits.
DreamHost
DreamHost offers three plans starting at $16.95 monthly
- 100k Monthly Visitors
- Unlimited Email
- 30GB SSD Storage
- Unmetered Bandwidth
- WooCommerce Pre-Installed
- Storefront Theme Pre-Installed
- 1-Click Staging
- SSL Certificate Pre-Installed
- On-Demand + Daily Backups
- 24/7 WordPress Support
- Jetpack Free Pre-Installed
- Free Automated WordPress Migrations
- WP Website Builder
Kinsta
Kinsta has multiple plans to choose from,starting at $30 per month.
- One-click installer. Quick and easy to launch new WooCommerce sites.
- Great support 24/7
- Scaling options
- Free and custom SSL certificates along with HTTP/2 and TLS 1.3 support.
- Automatic daily backups, optional hourly backups
- Fantastic safety and security, sites are monitored 720 times each day.
- Powered by Google Cloud
- 25 global data centers allowing you to place your ecommerce site closest to your local customers.
- Specialized WooCommerce site migrations to ensure in-sync customer and sales data.
BlueHost
Two Tiers. $12.95 monthly for the first subscription term.
- Online Store (Website + Blog)
- CodeGuard Backup Basic – 1st Year Free
The second tier, at $24.95 for the first subsciption period adds features such as:
- Online bookings and appointment scheduling
- Local and country tax management
- Subscriptions
- Product customization
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a domain?
A domain name is the name of your website and how users access your website on the Internet. In many instances, you can purchase and register your domain when you sign up for a hosting plan. If your host doesn’t offer domain registration services, you can buy your domain at Name.com, Googledomains, Namecheap.
Can I make my shared hosting faster?
Yes, there are many things you can do to make your website load faster:
- Use caching plug-ins like WP Rocket
- Optimize your images
- Limit the number of posts in your blog feed
- Limit plug ins and switch slow plugins for better ones
- Use a CDN (content delivery network)
- Update your themes and plugins regularly
Why do I need a Security Certificate?
SSL certificates are used to secure data transfers, credit card transactions, logins and other personal information. If you don’t have an SSL certificate, your website may be functional, but it will be vulnerable to hackers. Additionally, Google will warn visitors that your website is not secure. Google also ranks websites that have an SSL certificate higher than those that don’t.
Can I upgrade my plan if I need to?
Yes, you can. As your site grows, develops and attracts more visitors, you may need to upgrade your plan. When you are a small business just starting out, choose a plan that is affordable for you.
Start small and scale as you grow. Put your money and time into good design and great content. You will learn more about your audience as your business develops and you can pivot and scale according to your needs.
What does MySQL and PHP mean?
PHP is a scripting language. What you need to know is that your site should be running on the latest version for optimal speed, security and performance.
MySQL is a database management system. It’s used by WordPress to manage and store all the data on your website.
Are these hosts only for WordPress?
No, not at all. Some have page builders of their own or host other types of websites.
How much does it cost to build a site?
If you are doing it yourself and using WordPress, it can be extremely economical. You will need:
- A good host for beginners such as Bluehost, Hostgator or Siteground. Think around $7 USD per month. You can use my affiliate links to get discounts for your first subscription period.
- A domain name, which can vary in price. However, if it has not been in use before, it can cost around $14-18 (USD). Some hosts will offer a free domain name, but it will need to be renewed in the next subscription period.
- There are free themes, but if you are using a premium theme, it can cost around $60
- Plugins. Thousands of plugins are free
- SSL certificate. Good hosts will include it in the subscription fee.
- Backup plugin if you do it yourself or if you use a service, think $3 monthly
Budget around $100 per year just to be safe. If you use a page builder like Elementor, add another $50 per year. If you use Elementor chances are that you won’t need a premium theme. So you will come out even. If you want more security, you might have to pay for a good service.
What is a C-panel?
A C-panel is the control dashboard where you will easily manage your website without having to have technical knowledge. It is where you can:
- Install WordPress
- Manage your email
- Install another site
- Back up your site
- Manage your files
Security
Don’t assume that your host is providing the best security possible. Read all disclaimers thoroughly. You will want to use a WordPress Security Plugin. Look for one with:
- A firewall
- A Malware scanner
- Malware removal and site clean up