Shared web hosting means exactly what it says you share a server with other users who are running their own websites from that hardware.
Every customer gets a portion of that physical server for their own use.The main strength here is that this is a cost-effective solution, and because youre prepared to share hardware with other folks, youll naturally be playing less than the outlay for dedicated hosting.By the same token, however, youre also sharing resources with others, and that means that the performance youll get will likely be a fair bit slower (and indeed generally less consistent).That might be fine for sites which dont have a lot of traffic, but it could be a problem if your bandwidth needs are greater, or reliable and consistent performance is a priority for your website.So, obviously bear all that in mind, but if you do want to go the shared hosting route in an effort to make some serious savings, which are the best providers to plump for Read on and find out.1.
InMotion HostingFeature-packed hosting from a professional firmExcellent performanceGreat tech support90-day money-back guaranteeDont fret that this popular web hosts plans are marketed as business products, because theyre applicable to individual users as well as companies.
Theres a good range of choice here, and shared hosting starts from just $2.95 (2.10) per month.Whats also good to see here is that InMotion incorporates features into its plans which other providers charge extra for like hack and DDoS protection, a system of basic backups, and a WordPress-based website builder.Another strong suit here is the way that this web host provides full details of all its services at-a-glance on the website, and makes it easy to compare features, and make your decision when taking the plunge with a subscription.You also get cPanel and Softaculous-powered hosting, a sterling level of technical support, and in our testing, we found this provider delivered some impressive performance levels when it came to site loading speeds.
All in all, there are lots of reasons to go with InMotion, and a 90-day money-back guarantee doesnt hurt, either.2.
11A user-friendly web host with plenty to offerWallet-friendly hostingEasy-to-useSSL included across-the-board11 is a big web hosting player, vying with GoDaddy for world domination, and is the biggest player in Europe.
Located in Germany, it offers a bewildering array of services with prices starting from as little as 99p per month excluding VAT (although that rises to 4.99 after the first year).On top of that, this host provides some smart freebies (a free domain and unlimited storage for example, with SSL certificates included across all plans), free web design software (NetObjects Fusion 2013), 24/7 phone and email support, a graphics archive, a 30-day money-back guarantee, transparent replication (the company calls it geo-redundancy) and a whopping 300Gbps network connectivity.3.
GoDaddyImpressive performance across a wide range of productsSpeedy serviceUser-friendly website buildercPanel-powered Linux hostingThe US-based web hosting company is one of the largest in the game and probably the best known one as well.
It is also the biggest domain name registrar in the world with tens of millions of domain names in its portfolio.
GoDaddys cheapest web hosting package is decently kitted out at 2.99 per month (when you sign up for three years, that is).This provider offers free backup and restore, an uptime guarantee (99.9%), unlimited storage (although theres only 100GB for the Economy package), as well as unlimited bandwidth and a free domain with the annual plan.A pretty nifty feature provided by GoDaddy on all its packages is the ability to increase hosting capacity on demand (e.g.
when you experience a sudden surge in traffic) from within your hosting account.4.
NamecheapA budget web host that doesnt cut cornersTemptingly low pricesHelpful supportSoftaculous application installerIf you want to do web hosting on a budget, then as this providers name suggests, it aims to be inexpensive.
You get some impressive value-for-money with Namecheap, particularly with an initial discount for the first year, and there are some heavyweight plans here.However, note the starter value plan only gives you 20GB of hard drive space and 50 email accounts, but you get that at the price of just 6.97 for the first year (yes, year).Namecheap offers a 99.9% connectivity guarantee, and is a very easy service to set up, with an initial welcome email that points you in the right direction for everything you might need (backed up by some impressive FAQs).
It also plays host to an excellent searchable knowledgebase.To round things off, testing proved that this company generally offers above average speeds compared to rivals, making this a great hosting provider for those who arent keen on doing too much damage to their wallet.5.
UK2A good all-rounder hosting outfitDiverse range of plansAbove average performanceHigh quality supportBased in London, bang in the middle of startup territory (Shoreditch), UK2 offers an impressively cheap starting package at 1 per month excluding VAT (although that rises to 6 a month on renewal).
It also offers affordable unlimited packages with unlimited emails, bandwidth, a free SSL certificate (great for improved security and search visibility), a free domain and a dedicated IP.Prospective customers will appreciate the lack of setup fees or hidden charges, the 30-day money-back guarantee, plus 24/7 UK-based phone support on a freephone number and UK-based data centres.6.
HostGatorPowerful web hosting and fairly priced to bootPlenty of choiceMarked lack of annoying limitscPanel hosting managementThis is another web host which caters for the more budget-minded, and of course thats never a bad thing.
Although do note that you only get the really cheap prices when signing up for longer contracts with HostGator, so something of a commitment is required for the best savings here.For example, the cheapest plan is $2.75 (1.95) per month if you sign up for 36 months, but $5.95 (4.20) per month if you sign up for one year.The good news is that you get plenty for your money, and no annoying limitations, so even the basic plan allows for unlimited bandwidth, web space, email accounts and more.
A 99.9% uptime guarantee is also good to see.Customer support is generally pretty good although it falls down in a few areas, for example the web help forums arent moderated by the company itself and we found performance was better than average in terms of site loading times.7.
SiteGroundWeb hosting designed to please the demanding userLots of nifty featuresSpeedy tech supportLimited amount of web spaceSiteGround offers some low-end plans which may cost a little bit more than some budget rivals youll find on this page, but the upside is that they include all the core features that youll likely need.The firms StartUp account is 2.75 a month initially (with the cost rising when you renew), and with that you get unlimited traffic, email accounts and databases, not to mention one-click installation of apps like WordPress.
It also bundles features that rival firms often charge for as extras like daily backups or CDN capabilities (Cloudflare).Another nifty touch is the providers SuperCacher system which caches frequently-accessed data in RAM, aiming to improve site performance.
This could certainly help busy websites.Not everything is rosy here, though for example the basic account limits you to 10GB of web space.
Also, website support via the companys knowledgebase is a rather shoddy experience, but there are other avenues of tech support which perform much better.8.
iPageA great option for those looking to host multiple sitesUnlimited web space, domains, databasesSimple website builder is providedNeat live chat supportThis is a premium web hosting outfit with a well-featured Essentials plan which offers a great deal of functionality, and is ideal for those looking to host multiple websites (or those who want plenty of room to grow).With prices starting from as little as 1.50 per month for the basic plan (via an offer at the time of writing), iPage gives you unlimited web space and bandwidth, unlimited email addresses, MySQL databases and even domains.Not only that, iPage incorporates some very smart extras like a drag-and-drop page builder, with a basic shared SSL certificate thrown in for good measure.
This provider also offers good quality tech support via live chat and email (although other support avenues arent as strong).Performance levels seems solid, and this is certainly a web host to bear in mind for experienced users who are dealing with large numbers of sites.9.
PlanetHippoUK-based host with temptingly low pricesGreat value budget accountNeatly designed control panelSomewhat limited range of productsOne of the smaller web hosting outfits in this listing, PlanetHippo has managed to keep its prices at a lower level compared to most of the competition.
Its One Account Linux costs just 1 per month (excluding VAT), and its an appealing budget package.
The firms Unlimited plan offers unlimited everything for 5.99 per month (and that includes a free domain).As with other web hosts, you get a 30-day warranty, 24/7 UK-based support (and its of a good quality although theres no option to use the phone) and all of PlanetHippos servers are based in the UK.
Throw in a smartly designed hosting panel, and you wont go far wrong with this particular provider.10.
TsohostVersatile provider with some low-cost plansFlexible plans and optionsTransparent pricingFree daily backupsThis is another UK-based provider, and Tsohost also plays the value card, with an entry-level Personal plan which starts at 1.34 per month (providing you sign up for two years its 1.49 per month if you commit for just one year).
That plan limits you to 500MB storage, admittedly, but you do get unlimited bandwidth, Lets Encrypt SSL and five mailboxes.Tsohosts technical support may not be the fastest out there in terms of response times, at least in our experience, but it did provide clear and accurate answers to queries.
Performance levels are also solid, and the company offers a 60-day money-back guarantee, which is more than youll see with most providers.You might also want to check out our other hosting guides:bAFKpcVhE2MXVEdSkBoKaT.jpg#