Choosing the right hosting platform is essential to your website’s success. If you don’t have the right host, your website will languish in the back of a search engine, never to be seen again. Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to help ensure that your website connects with the best hosts and gets the most traffic. Here are five tips!
What is a Hosting Provider?
Hosting providers are companies that provide web hosting and other services to their clients. There are a variety of providers, but the most common ones are Bluehost, WP Engine, and HostGator.
How to Choose a Hosting Provider
When choosing a hosting provider, it can be helpful to understand the different types of services they offer. For example, WP Engine offers a wide range of themes and templates for you to use on your website, as well as support for a variety of WordPress plugins. HostGator also offers a wide range of services, including domain name registration, email marketing, and more.
How to Set up Your Website
To set up your website with a hosting provider: first choose the type of service you would like (web host or domain name registrar), then choose the appropriate software for setting up your website (WP Engine or HostGator). Once you have set up your website using one of these providers, you will need to copy all of the files from your old site to your new one—this is usually done by copying everything from the old site’s root directory to the new one’sdirectory.
Best and Fastest Web Hosting
1. SiteGround
Hosting Plan
GrowBig
Avg. Global Speed
136.9 ms
Price (USD)
$7.99/mo
Key Features
- Google Cloud
- 20GB SSD storage
- 25,000 visits /mo
- SuperCacher
- 24/7 tech. support
“Powered by Google Cloud Platform – SiteGround is a fast & reliable premium web host.”
SiteGround is officially WordPress endorsed (it’s kind of a big deal, guys!), and that kind of recognition is only given out to web hosts that meet WordPress’s lofty criteria.
Our preferred package is their entry level GrowBig Plan; super affordable at only $7.99 per month but comes packed with benefits and features. You get to enjoy priority support, SuperCacher, Automatic Daily Backups and Free restores.
Speed wise, SiteGround is ranked A+ with a worldwide average of 136.9 ms.
| US (W) | US (E) | London | Singapore | Sao Paulo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 68 ms | 33 ms | 96 ms | 233 ms | 181 ms |
| Bangalore | Sydney | Japan | Canada | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 243 ms | 203 ms | 165 ms | 29 ms | 118 ms |
US Datacenter Average Speed: 136.9 ms
They’ve got 10 data centers spread out across 4 continents, and all of them are utilizing the Google Cloud Platform! Pick one that’s closest to your target audience to optimize their site load speeds.
Cloudflare activation is integrated into the system, so if you want even faster speeds, no problem – you can do so with a click of a button.
2. Namecheap
Namecheap has established itself as an affordable domain registrar. It also offers a range of shared, managed, and dedicated hosting services. Amongst the attractively priced plans, there are also WordPress-specific packages that promise lightning-fast speed and 99.9% uptime.
Here are our speed test results for Namecheap. You can see that it delivers impressive loading times of under one second in the U.S., and under two seconds in Europe, Asia, and Australia:
| REGION | LOADING TIME (S) | TTFB (MS) | FIRST PAINT (S) |
|---|---|---|---|
| N. Virginia | 0.75 | 201 | 0.91 |
| California | 0.51 | 116 | 0.62 |
| London | 1.19 | 343 | 1.27 |
| Paris | 1.22 | 359 | 1.39 |
| Mumbai | – | – | – |
| Tokyo | 1.19 | 338 | 1.31 |
| Sydney | 1.89 | 523 | 1.85 |
Some of Namecheap’s shared hosting features include:
- One-click WordPress installation via Softaculous
- Free domain registration for your first year
- Free site migration
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Free content delivery network (CDN)
- Automatic SSL installation
- Website builder
3. Hostinger
Hosting Plan
Premium Shared
Avg. Global Speed
136 ms
Price (USD)
$5.99/mo
Key Features
- 100GB SSD
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Free domain & SSL
- hPanel
- Localised support
“Hostinger offers premium speeds, features and worldwide data centers at affordable prices – well-balanced hosting perfect for most websites.”
If you’re new in the online business game, then you best pay attention cause you’re gonna want to read about Hostinger.
Hostinger has been steadily growing in popularity for offering well-balanced hosting. In other words, very solid hosting features at affordable prices.
We’ve got several test sites with them hosted in 3 of their data centers, so you can see how well they perform in each continent. Here are the results taken from our server speed test.
| US (W) | US (E) | London | Singapore | Sao Paulo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75 ms | 21 ms | 92 ms | 244 ms | 136 ms |
| Bangalore | Sydney | Japan | Canada | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 211 ms | 265 ms | 172 ms | 37 ms | 107 ms |
US Datacenter Average Speed: 136 ms
The American data center is really fast, returning a worldwide average of 136 ms. Requests from further away like Singapore, Sydney and Bangalore seems to have slightly sluggish response times, but that’s why Hostinger created so many data centers around the globe – to make sure your site is fast no matter where your customers are.
| US (W) | US (E) | London | Singapore | Sao Paulo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 179 ms | 250 ms | 216 ms | 3 ms | 347 ms |
| Bangalore | Sydney | Japan | Canada | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 58 ms | 93 ms | 78 ms | 248 ms | 217 ms |
Singapore Datacenter Average Speed: 168.9 ms
The Singaporean server pulled a superb worldwide average with 168.9 ms. Now these guys are really quick in Singapore, Sydney, Bangalore and Japan, but obviously not as snappy in the West, due to the distance.
| US (W) | US (E) | London | Singapore | Sao Paulo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 143 ms | 83 ms | 9 ms | 239 ms | 194 ms |
| Bangalore | Sydney | Japan | Canada | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 118 ms | 267 ms | 262 ms | 88 ms | 10 ms |
Europe Datacenter Average Speed: 141.3 ms
Their European server performed exceptionally well in Europe and America, but they’re not too quick in the other countries. However, they still scored an excellent worldwide average of 141.3 ms.
Aside from speed, Hostinger has an excellent support team, which serves over 42 countries in their native language! With the inclusion of 1 free domain, 100GB SSD storage, unlimited emails and bandwidth – Hostinger really packs a full punch with their plans, especially for those that are just starting out.
4. Cloudways
Cloudways is a unique provider, offering cloud hosting via companies including DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, Amazon Web Services (AWS), or Google Cloud. You can choose your preferred service, server size, and even location.
For reference, we ran our speed tests using the cheapest DigitalOcean server.
Additionally, Cloudways enables you to configure every aspect of your hosting solution and set up content management systems such as WordPress or Drupal. Although quite advanced, it’s still a fairly user-friendly platform with impressive speeds:
| REGION | LOADING TIME (S) | TTFB (MS) | FIRST PAINT (S) |
|---|---|---|---|
| N. Virginia | 0.92 | 339 | 0.72 |
| California | 0.52 | 164 | 0.44 |
| London | 1.49 | 543 | 1.05 |
| Paris | 1.54 | 580 | 1.09 |
| Mumbai | 2.32 | 860 | 1.57 |
| Tokyo | 1.26 | 450 | 0.91 |
| Sydney | 1.49 | 547 | 1.04 |
Regardless of which plan you choose, Cloudways grants access to these features and more:
- Free SSL certificates
- CDN add-on
- Unlimited application installs
- Advanced security
- Automatic backups
- Easy staging
- Free site migration
- Advanced caching
Cloudways operates a pay-as-you-go pricing model (you can even pay hourly if needed). The price depends on which cloud provider you choose. The cheapest option is the entry-level DigitalOcean plan for $10 per month. However, consider the $13 per month Vultr High-Frequency servers for even better performance.
5. Bluehost
Hosting Plan
Basic
Avg. Global Speed
153 ms
Price (USD)
$5.45/mo
Key Features
- Linux & cPanel
- Unlimited bandwidth
- 50GB SSD
- Resource protection
- CloudFlare CDN
“Suitable for small sites & beginners.”
One of the more prominent brands out there, Bluehost has a good 16 years of experience under their belt as a web host.
Just like SiteGround, they’re recommended by WordPress for their dedication to their infrastructure and excellent 24/7 support team.
Speedwise, they’re pretty good too! They have got a solid A+ with a worldwide average of 153 ms.
| US (W) | US (E) | London | Singapore | Sao Paulo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 ms | 78 ms | 183 ms | 193 ms | 164 ms |
| Bangalore | Sydney | Japan | Canada | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 330 ms | 168 ms | 125 ms | 92 ms | 174 ms |
US Datacenter Average Speed: 153 ms
The pings from US did very well at sub 80 ms each but results from countries further away were a little slower, dipping down to 330 ms in India.
BUT – if you’re looking to target India anyway, might as well opt to host your website with their India data center:
| US (W) | US (E) | London | Singapore | Sao Paulo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 230 ms | 182 ms | 130 ms | 59 ms | 311 ms |
| Bangalore | Sydney | Japan | Canada | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 ms | 148 ms | 126 ms | 191 ms | 130 ms |
India Datacenter Average Speed: 151.1 ms
Bluehost pings just 4 ms from our Bangalore node – which is crazy FAST. Not only that, you’ll be delighted to find that they ping Singapore with just under 60 ms. In other words, your website will be able to provide an optimum experience for visitors from India and the SEA region.
Unfortunately, Bluehost is not very forthcoming about the number of data centers they have – we only know of their 1 data center which is located in the USA. We are also not allowed to pick the data center we’d like to use with Bluehost, which is the reason they’re this far down the list.
At only $5.95 per month, we think that Bluehost totally kicks ass and gives us great value!
6. Hostinger
Hostinger is amongst the cheapest hosting providers on the market. It offers a variety of solutions, including shared, cloud, and dedicated hosting. It also provides specialized WordPress packages and Minecraft plans.
With a 99.9% uptime guarantee and the blazing fast speeds listed below, Hostinger has something for everyone:
| REGION | LOADING TIME (S) | TTFB (MS) | FIRST PAINT (S) |
|---|---|---|---|
| N. Virginia | 0.62 | 200 | 0.57 |
| California | 0.97 | 352 | 0.74 |
| London | 1.12 | 402 | 0.82 |
| Paris | 1.15 | 421 | 0.84 |
| Mumbai | 2.13 | 821 | 1.48 |
| Tokyo | 1.96 | 768 | 1.37 |
| Sydney | 2.28 | 993 | 1.65 |
Shared hosting features from Hostinger include:
- Free site migration
- Email hosting
- Cloudflare protected nameservers
- LiteSpeed Cache plugin for WordPress acceleration
- Free SSL certificates
- Free domain registration for the first year (except for the entry plan)
Pricing starts at just $1.99 per month for Single shared hosting, which includes 100 GB of bandwidth. The Premium shared hosting package gives you unlimited websites and bandwidth starting at $2.89 per month.
7. DreamHost
Hosting Plan
Shared Unlimited
Avg. Global Speed
118.4 ms
Price (USD)
$2.95/mo
Key Features
- Unlimited SSD
- Unlimited traffic
- Free domain & SSL
- 100% Uptime Guar.
- 97-day money back
“World-famous hosting service endorsed by WordPress and with an 100% uptime guarantee.”
When it comes to world-famous web hosts, DreamHost is one of the most familiar names around. Founded in 1997, they’ve remained a very strong web host, and are still one of the few hosts that are officially WordPress endorsed.
This vote of confidence from WordPress makes even more sense when you look at DreamHost’s speed performance. They’ve invested a lot into optimizing their servers, and have very impressive response times to show for it!
We built and hosted a test site on DreamHost’s Shared Plan, from their Virginia center and put them through our speed test tool. Just check out our results!
| US (W) | US (E) | London | Singapore | Sao Paulo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 ms | 2 ms | 77 ms | 242 ms | 117 ms |
| Bangalore | Sydney | Japan | Canada | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 194 ms | 210 ms | 169 ms | 16 ms | 87 ms |
US Datacenter Average Speed: 118.4 ms
The results were pretty damn impressive, with a blisteringly fast worldwide average of 118.4 ms! This makes them the host with the fastest average response time on this entire list. As expected, speeds got slower in regions further away, with the slowest location being Singapore at 242 ms.
DreamHost has 2 datacenters that are both in the US. That means that, as long as your audiences are close to the Americas, they should enjoy blink-of-an-eye speeds.
DreamHost stores all data in SSDs which are twice as fast as HDDs. Plus, their servers are WordPress-optimized, which means they run WordPress like a dream.
How to Find the Best Hosting for Your Website
One of the most important factors when choosing a hosting provider is finding a list of top providers. This will help you compare and select the best hostings for your website.
Check the Prices of the Top Hosting Providers
Hosting providers often offer different prices for different services, so it’s important to compare them to find the best deal. You can also use pricing tools like Capterra or UpgradedHost to get a more accurate estimate of what you would need to spend in order to get a high-quality hosting service.
Compare Hosting Providers to Find the Best Deal
Once you have a list of top hosts, it’s time to start looking at their prices and services. By comparing them side-by-side, you’ll be able to determine which provider offers the best deal for your budget and needs.
Tips for Finding the Best Hosting for Your Website
Hosting providers are a critical part of any website. It’s important to research the best host for your website and find the best deal on a provider. Hosting providers can vary greatly in terms of features and services, so it’s important to decide what matters most to you. For example, if you want to use a cloud-based hosting service, you may prefer one that offers this feature.
Additionally, be sure to research the hosts for your website carefully. Some hosts are good for specific types of websites while others are more general purpose. Be sure to read reviews before making a decision and ask questions about the host’s server capabilities and security.
In addition, it’s also important to consider your budget when choosing a host.hosting provider. Choosing the wrong provider could mean expensive down time or lost traffic because of unstable servers or data handling issues.
Finally, always remember that no matter how great a host your website is hosted on, there is always room for improvement. Use the tips in this section to find hosts that offer features and services that match your needs as well as improve performance and security.
find the best deal on a host for your website
Hosting providers often offer deals on Hosting plans which can make it easy to save money on your website’s hosting fees. To get started, start by researching provider prices and then compare them against other options in your area using search engines or online calculators like The Cost Of Hosting Planner . Once you’ve found an appropriate plan with good value for money, take advantage of its free trial period or buy it outright from the provider .
In addition, be sure to compare hosting prices between different cities and provinces as well as between different websites – this will help you determine which costs less overall when setting up your website!
research the best hosting for your website
Once you’ve determined which host meets all of your requirements (and budget), it’s time to research their web server capabilities – especially if potential clients might access their site through mobile devices or other means (like IE9). factors such as CPU speed, size of file storage space available (including off-site backups), domain quality etc., are all important when researching web server specs!
Conclusion
Hosting providers are a great way to create and manage a website. However, it’s important to choose the right provider for your specific needs. By checking the prices of top hosters and comparing them to find the best deal, you can save money on your website. In addition, you can use tips in this section to help you find the perfect hosting for your needs. Finally, if you have any questions or problems with your website, please don’t hesitate to contact our team!