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10 Largest Web Hosting Companies in the World
What is Web Hosting?
A hosting company is a business that rents space on the internet to store and serve as the home for websites. Hosting companies are typically divided into two main types: web hosts and domain name providers. Web hosts rent space on their website to host a website, while domain name providers provide DNS (Domain Name System) services that allow you to point your website to specific URLs.
How Do Hosting Companies Work
Hosting companies work by renting out their resources – like servers, bandwidth, and storage – to other businesses who want to create or host a website. When you sign up for a hosting company, you agree to the terms of use that are put in place by the hosting company. These terms typically include restrictions on how much data you can access, how often you can access it, and how long your site can stay online.
What are the Different Types of Hosting
There are three main types of hosting: web hosts, e-commerce hosts, and application servers. A web host is a general-purposeHosting Company that allows people to rent space on their website for hosting purposes only; this type of company is most common in developed countries like North America and Europe. An e-commerce host is an Edutainment Hosting Company that specializes in selling products online through an e-commerce storefront; this type of company is most common in developing countries like Africa and Asia Pacific. An application server is an alternativeserver used by developers instead of using a web host or an e-commerce store as their primary site; this type of server is more common in emerging economies like China and India than in developed economies like North America and Europe.
The Benefits of Web Hosting
Web hosting companies can vary in price, but typically they cost between $5 and $50 per month. This fee covers the host’s expenses, such asdomainname.com registrations, server space, bandwidth, and domain name management.
What are the Different Types of Hosting Agreement
Hosting agreements can be for unlimited or specific periods of time. Unlimited agreements allow for a company to use any number of servers and domains at any given time, while specific agreements limit a company to a certain number of servers or domains per period of time.
What are the Different Types of Hosting Services
Hosting services include website hosting, e-commerce hosting, mailhosting, and even DNS hosting. Website hosting includes creating a website and providing access to it through an online interface (like a web browser), e-commerce hosting includes selling products or services through an online store, and mailhosting allows companies to send email messages from their websites directly to customers. DNS hosting provides organizations with addresses for their websites so that people can find them easily online.
How to Get started with Web Hosting.
web hosting is the process of setting up a website to accept requests from visitors. Hosting agreements can vary, but most involve settings up a server and agreeing on terms with the provider.
Set Up Your Own Domain
Once you have chosen your hosting service and set up your website, it’s time to move onto setting up your own domain name. This is where things get a little more complicated.
First, you’ll need to choose the right hosting agreement. Most providers offer deals that allow you to set up your own domain name for free if you purchase their hosting services in advance. However, some providers requirea certain amount of money upfront in order to use their services (usually $10-$30 per month).
If this is an issue for you, be sure to read through the details of each company before signing up so that you understand all of the implications and potential costs involved.
Finally, be sure to learn how to set up a website by reading online tutorials or attending online web development classes. This will give you a good foundation on which to build your own website from scratch!
10 Largest Web Hosting Companies in the World
1. Amazon Web Services — 11.1% of Websites
It should come as no surprise the company leading the charge in one of the industry’s hottest technologies ranks high on the list of largest hosting providers. Cloud-hosting behemoth Amazon Web Services extends beyond simple web hosting to power more than 90 services, including cloud computing, storage, networking, database, analytics, application services, deployment, management, mobile, developer tools, and systems for the Internet of Things.
The on-demand cloud platform began as an in-house innovation retail giant Amazon re-launched in 2006 after retooling its infrastructure to be more standardized and automated.
- Known for: À la carte cloud computing
- Price: Pay as you go
- Domains: $12.00 per year
- Email: Yes (Amazon SES)
- eCommerce: No
- Website builder: No
Due to the high degree of difficulty associated with AWS, combined with the lack of support commonly found among traditional web hosts, these cloud services are typically reserved for experienced developers and established, larger businesses.
2. GoDaddy
No matter which data source you look at, one thing remains clear:
GoDaddy is the most popular and largest web hosting company out there.
Though it’s perhaps best-known as a domain registrar (despite its first-place position on this list), GoDaddy offers a wide selection of web hosting plans for all budgets, ranging from cheap shared hosting to affordable managed WordPress hosting. For those who need more oomph, GoDaddy also has VPS and dedicated server plans.
| Datanyze | W3Techs | BuiltWith | SimilarTech | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Market Share | 16.70% | 6.4% | 18.49% | N/A |
Offer details:
- Price from: $2.99 / mo.
- Sites allowed: 1
- Traffic / bandwidth: Unmetered
- Disk Space: 100 GB
- Free Domain:
- 24/7 Support:
- Extras: Free Business Email – 1st year, 24/7 security monitoring and DDoS protection.
3. 1&1 IONOS — 6.5% of Websites
Finally moving to a company headquartered outside the US, 1&1 IONOS comes in as the fourth-largest hosting provider in the world. The Germany-based host carries global appeal for its well-rounded suite of services, affordable prices, and customer support. The company employs more than 2,000 people worldwide and offers services in 10 countries throughout Europe and North America.
With roots dating all the way back to 1988, 1&1’s legacy has expanded to cover more than 12 million domain names and 70,000 servers worldwide. A 2017 merger between 1&1 and RedBricks led to the birth of 1&1 IONOS, which, starting in 2020, became known as simply IONOS.
- Known for: Full-service web hosting
- Price: $1.00–$55.00 per month
- Domains: FREE first year (then $14.99)
- Email: Yes
- eCommerce: Yes
- Website builder: Yes
In addition to the expected portfolio of shared, VPS, dedicated, and cloud hosting, IONOS offers domain name registrations, and a website builder, plus tools for eCommerce, email, online marketing, and security.
4. Bluehost
Bluehost is definitely one of the biggest names in hosting worldwide. Bluehost offers some of the most affordable budget shared hosting plans out there, along with managed WordPress hosting plans, VPS, and even dedicated servers.
Bluehost uses cPanel as the base for its hosting plans but adds on its own custom hosting dashboard to make it easier for you to manage your websites.
| Datanyze | W3Techs* | BuiltWith* | SimilarTech | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | 6 | 4 | 17 | 15 |
| Market Share | 3.24% | 5.4% | 1.06% | N/A |
| * Some sites aggregate all of the EIG hosting brands together. EIG is Bluehost’s parent company, but it’s also the company behind other popular hosts like HostGator. |
Offer details:
- Price from: $2.75 / mo.
- Sites allowed: 1
- Traffic / bandwidth: Unmetered
- Disk Space: 50 GB
- Free Domain:
- 24/7 Support:
- Extras: Free SSL.
- Editor’s Rating: 5 /5
- User Rating: 4.0 /5
- Support Rating: 3.2 /5
5. Google Cloud Platform — 7.9% of Websites
Similar to Amazon, Google made the internal infrastructure known for powering some of the internet’s most highly trafficked sites publicly available to the world. Google Cloud comprises the public cloud infrastructure as well as G Suite and enterprise versions of Android, Chrome OS, and APIs for machine learning and mapping services.
With Google Cloud Platform, developers and website owners can experience more than 90 on-demand services, including cloud computing, analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, storage, and mapping.
- Known for: Scalable cloud services
- Price: Pay as you go
- Domains: $12.00 per year
- Email: Yes (G Suite)
- eCommerce: No
- Website builder: No
The platform launched in 2008 and became generally available in late 2011, putting it a few years behind AWS, but the craze behind cloud computing launches Google to the forefront of the world’s biggest hosting providers.
6. OVH
Based in France, OVH is one of Europe’s largest web hosts and domain registrars, though OVH doesn’t have a big North American presence.
OVH offers both shared hosting and a range of cloud-based plans, though they haven’t moved into the managed WordPress space yet. In general, you’ll find prices and plans for all budgets and needs.
| Datanyze | W3Techs | BuiltWith | SimilarTech | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | 20 | 5 | 8 | N/A |
| Market Share | 1.16% | 3.4% | 2.47% | N/A |
Offer details:
- Price from: €1.99 / mo.
- Sites allowed: 5
- Traffic / bandwidth: Unmetered
- Disk Space: 100 GB
- Free Domain:
- 24/7 Support:
- Extras: Free SSL, integrated CDN, 10 email accounts.
- Editor’s Rating: N/A
- User Rating: 2.5 /5
- Support Rating: N/A
7. HostGator — 5.3% of Websites
The first brand from Endurance International Group to make our list, HostGator manages more than 9 million domains for nearly 500,000 customers. The company provides the full slate of powerful web hosting products, from shared to dedicated servers. In 2019, HostGator launched a proprietary drag-and-drop site builder, which we reviewed, that includes free hosting, a domain name, customizable templates, and analytics.
- Known for: Beginner-friendly web hosting
- Price: $2.64–$89.98 per month
- Domains: $12.95 per year
- Email: Yes
- eCommerce: Yes
- Website builder: Yes
Although HostGator promises the relatively standard 99.9% uptime guarantee, customers have an extended 45-day window to test services and request a refund, if needed. The company supplies around-the-clock support through phone calls and live chat to assist customers with their websites or online business.
8. Hetzner
Hetzner is another German web hosting company that’s especially popular in Europe, though, like OVH, it doesn’t have much of a North American presence.
Hetzner offers cheap shared plans starting at just a few Euro per month, as well as equally affordable VPS and dedicated server offerings.
| Datanyze | W3Techs | BuiltWith | SimilarTech | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | 11 | 6 | 10 | 3 |
| Market Share | 2.11% | 3.2% | 1.65% | N/A |
Offer details:
- Price from: €1.90 / mo.
- Sites allowed: 1
- Traffic / bandwidth: Unmetered
- Disk Space: 10 GB
- Free Domain:
- 24/7 Support:
- Extras: 50 subdomains, daily data security, 100 email accounts, 1 database, DDoS protection.
- Editor’s Rating: N/A
- User Rating: 3.6 /5
- Support Rating: N/A
9. DigitalOcean — 2.2% of Websites
As its name suggests, DigitalOcean specializes in cloud hosting. The company boasts more than 500,000 customers in 177 countries and more than 575,000 web applications running on its servers.
- Known for: Cloud computing
- Price: Droplets start at $5 per month
- Domains: Not included
- Email: No
- eCommerce: No
- Website builder: No
Founded in 2011, DigitalOcean quickly launched its “simple cloud hosting” platform to give developers more control over their hosting options. The company carries a strong appeal for its low-cost and user-friendly services, as well as its wide range of integrations with popular hosting tools and applications.
10. Namecheap
Like GoDaddy, Namecheap is most well-known as a domain registrar, but it’s also quite popular when it comes to its hosting plans.
Namecheap offers some of the cheapest shared hosting out there, along with month-to-month payment options (which most cheap shared hosts don’t offer). Namecheap also offers EasyWP, one of the most affordable managed WordPress hosting offerings out there.
For those who need more power, Namecheap offers VPS and dedicated servers as well.
| Datanyze | W3Techs | BuiltWith | SimilarTech | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | 26 | 11 | 9 | N/A |
| Market Share | 0.87% | 1.1% | 1.87% | N/A |
Offer details:
- Price from: $1.88 / mo.
- Sites allowed: 3
- Traffic / bandwidth: Unmetered
- Disk Space: 20 GB
- Free Domain:
- 24/7 Support:
- Extras: Free automatic SSL installation, free website builder, domain name and privacy protection, 30 subdomains, 30 email accounts, 50 databases.
- Editor’s Rating: N/A
- User Rating: 2.5 /5
- Support Rating: N/A
Conclusion
Web Hosting is an important part of any business. It allows you to host your website, allowing you to sell products and services online. There are a variety of Hosting companies that offer different types of hosting agreements, which in turn, provide different benefits for the business. Additionally, it’s important to choose the right Hosting agreement for your business – choose one with a great price point and good features. By getting started with Web Hosting, you can create a quality website that will help you grow your business.