Want to bring your own business online?
Before you even get your hands in making a website, you first have to find a reliable web host.
A web host (also called a web hosting provider) is going to allow you to make your website available to anyone on the World Wide Web.
So the question is, which web host should you get?
Let’s take a look at the best web hosting for entrepreneurs to date.
What to Look For in the Best Web Hosting for Entrepreneurs
If you want to find the best web hosting for entrepreneurs, these are the things you should look for:
- Affordability
- Security
- Ease of use
- Customer support
- Uptime guarantee
Affordability
As a budding or stable entrepreneur, it’s a wise business decision to keep your overhead to a minimum.
When you’re looking for a web host, look for a provider that offers affordable prices while including important features such as SSL certificates, firewalls, and reasonable storage.
Keep in mind that you’re not just looking for the lowest price, rather, the lowest price that includes all the features your business needs.
Security
Your website is going to be handling a lot of information. Not just your business’ data, but your customers’ data, too.
Look for a web hosting service that gives SSL certificates, malware protection, and CDNs. That way, you know that there are security features that will ensure that your data is protected and secured.
At the end of the day, you don’t want any of your customer’s information leaked or face a lawsuit on data privacy.
Ease of Use
With so many things you have to think about, the least that a web host can do is be easy to use. After all, not every entrepreneur is adept with programming and codes.
Ideally, your chosen web hosting service should have a user-friendly interface, as well as built-in website builders and/or WordPress integration.
Customer Support
A remarkable customer support team is very important in web hosting. What if something happens to your site? When these things happen, you have to be able to contact customer service in different channels and expect them to answer immediately.
Uptime Guarantee
Nobody wants their website to experience any downtime, especially when you’re earning from that website.
There are a lot of web hosting providers that offer a 99.9% guarantee on their uptime rate. I suggest that you only consider those that are known to give that consistent performance.
Best Web Hosting Providers for Entrepreneurs
So what are the best web hosting providers for entrepreneurs? Here are the top 5:
Let’s review each one.
Bluehost
Quick facts:
- Free SSL Certificate
- Free CDN
- Free 24/7 lifetime support
- 50 GB SSD storage (for the basic plan)
- Access to free, premium, and custom WordPress themes
Bluehost is widely popular for any business.
They’re the best all-around web hosting service for anyone who wants a reliable, secure, and easy-to-use provider that offers reasonable prices.
In your first year subscribing to Bluehost, you’ll be given a free domain name. You’ll also be given a free CDN and SSL certificate, but these two do not expire for as long as you subscribe to a plan.
Bluehost has an uptime rate of 99.93% (August 2023) To give you an idea, this is one of the highest uptime rates you can ever find.
And to top it all off, Bluehost has a one-click WordPress installer. If you’re planning to use WordPress, then it’s going to be a walk in the park for you as you design your website.
Everything else is seamless and simple at Bluehost. Even newbies and technical entrepreneurs will find this the right platform for starting their online businesses.
Overall, there’s barely any downside to hosting via Bluehost.
How to Make a Company Website With BlueHost
Quick facts:
- Free SSL certificate
- Free domain name
- Can host 2 websites on their basic plan
- 10 email addresses included in the basic plan
- 90-day money-back guarantee
InMotion is your ideal web hosting provider if you prioritize customer service.
InMotion’s customer service team is by far the most impressive and professional team that you’ll encounter in the web hosting world. They’re quick to respond, and they are available in a lot of different channels.
But of course, that’s not all. InMotion’s basic plan called Launch is already a big package. Sure, it’s more expensive than the basic plans mentioned here, but that’s because you can host 2 websites.
Unfortunately, if you don’t plan on hosting 2 websites, then this feature is not something you’ll be able to maximize.
The Launch plan also includes a 50-GB SSD storage, a free domain, an SSL certificate, 10 e-mail addresses, and unlimited bandwidth.
Note: The unlimited bandwidth just means that you’re not going to get billed based on the bandwidth you consume.
InMotion’s uptime rate is slightly lower than Bluehost’s (at 99.99% (August 2023)). So you have to keep that in mind.
Quick facts:
- Free SSL certificate
- 99.89% (August 2023) uptime
- Free WordPress/cPanel site transfers
- $150 worth of Google Ads spend credit
When it comes to uptime guarantees, HostGator is right on the tail of Bluehost.
This web hosting provider is known for its reliable service and efficient customer support. Any entrepreneur looking for a site that doesn’t go down will be happy to subscribe to HostGator.
Their plans also include a bunch of freebies - $150 worth of Google Ads spend credit, $100 worth of Microsoft Advertising credit, SSL certification, website builder, and domain transfers.
HostGator seems like it has everything.
Except for a few things like a seamless dashboard and a money-back guarantee for some of its plans.
You should also know that they’re not as frequent when it comes to backing up their servers. Compared to other provider’s daily backups, HostGator only does theirs on a weekly basis.
Quick facts:
- 100% (August 2023) uptime
- 10 GB SSD storage (on the basic plan)
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Daily server backups
- 100% renewable energy match
SiteGround is a promising web hosting service because of its unique selling point - it makes sure that carbon neutrality is top of its priority.
But what if green energy isn’t exactly your highest priority?
Don’t worry, SiteGround still has a lot to offer.
SiteGround gives a free SSL, CDN, and email domain on its basic plan. You will also have access to a Managed WordPress hosting, which is perfect if you’re going down the WordPress route.
SiteGround also maintains a daily server backup. So you’re sure to have backups of your site and information.
The only problem here is that SiteGround is a little expensive. Yep, even their basic plan is a few bucks higher than the basic plans of competitors.
And another disadvantage of SiteGround is that it does not offer the highest storage capacities for businesses - their basic package only gives 10 GB worth of SSD storage.
Quick facts:
- Free SSL certificate
- 24/7 customer support
- Cloud hosting availability
- One-click installation for WordPress
- Anytime money-back guarantee
A2 Hosting may be last on this list, but it’s by no means a bad choice. In fact, they’re a go-to for cloud hosting.
A2 Hosting is also known for giving a large storage space even when you just avail of their basic plan. Instead of the usual 50 GB, you get 100 GB of SSD storage.
Another unique feature of A2 Hosting is its anytime money-back guarantee. So if you aren’t satisfied anytime during your subscription, you can always get your payment refunded.
You’d think that these features would make A2 Hosting expensive. But that’s not the case. They’re still one of the most affordable choices.
The only downside with this web host is that their uptime is only at 100% (August 2023). I know, this isn’t bad, but they can definitely do better.
Web Hosting for Entrepreneurs FAQs
As an entrepreneur who’s just starting in the digital world, you probably have loads of questions.
Here are some FAQs that might enlighten you.
How much does a basic web hosting plan cost?
In general, a basic web hosting plan can start anywhere from $2-$10 a month.
A lot of web hosting providers give discounts, especially when you subscribe for a longer term. However, always look at the fine print when it comes to auto-renewals.
What type of web hosting should you use?
There are many types of web hosting plans, but the most popular ones are shared hosting and cloud hosting agreements.
Shared hosting packages are more affordable, but you’ll be sharing with a lot of small businesses in terms of bandwidth and speed. If your priority is an affordable web hosting plan, then this is better suited for you.
Cloud hosting packages are better when it comes to having all the bandwidth and speed you can ever need. Since you won’t be sharing, your website will definitely be faster. So if you’re expecting high traffic and willing to spend a few more bucks, then this is the web hosting for you.
Conclusion
There’s a lot of things you need to do when starting a business online. But with the right web hosting service, your hosting and web design tasks become a lot more manageable.
So make sure that you pick among the best providers to make your life easier!