If you’re looking to create a site for your school or university, then it’s safe to say that you’re trying to find the most reliable web host to ensure your teachers, students, and potential clients get the best online experience.
But with so many web host providers out there, it can be hard to find one that you can trust and one that’s perfect for schools and educational institutes.
I’m here to help.
Here, I’ve listed out the best web hosting providers for schools and other educational institutes to keep the selection process as simple as possible.
Hosting Provider | Price/Month | Best For | Uptime |
---|---|---|---|
BlueHost | $2.75 | Overall | 99.93% (August 2023) |
iPage | $1.99 | Cheap Hosting | 99.87% (August 2023) |
A2 Hosting | $2.49 | LMS | 100% (August 2023) |
InMotion | $5.99 | Students and Faculty | 99.99% (August 2023) |
SiteGround | $6.99 | Customer Service | 100% (August 2023) |
Key Things to Look Out For
To find good web hosting, here are the key things to look out for:
- Reliability
- Cost
- Ease of use
- Scalability
Reliability
Losing your students’ data and having to deal with a server that can’t stay up when traffic spikes is a headache.
A hosting provider that provides high uptime and data should be a priority.
Cost
Running a school is hard work.
Keeping it within a budget is even harder.
Having a low-cost web provider can make life simpler if you’re operating on a tight budget.
But instead of choosing the cheapest web hosting, find one that offers all the features you need within a reasonable price range.
Ease of Use
If you're not the most technically skilled, be on the lookout for an easy-to-use hosting plan that won’t confuse you with complex tools you don't know anything about.
Scalability
If you’re a new school that has the potential to grow, you should pick a provider that offers multiple packages that give you flexibility. This is in case you need more storage or better performance in the future.
Best Web Hosting Providers For Schools
With that out of the way, let’s see what each web hosting provider we mentioned above has to offer.
BlueHost - Best Overall
Special Features:
- Free SSL certificate
- Free domain name for a year
- 99.93% (August 2023) uptime
- 50 GB storage (for the basic shared plan)
- Anytime money-back guarantee
Supporting over 2M+ sites around the world, BlueHost sets the bar high when it comes to providing the best overall web hosting experience possible.
It is the perfect option for advanced and novice users alike.
Its user-friendly cPanel provides you with all the features, site templates, and tools you need to manage a top-notch website.
Just to show you how popular BlueHost is, it is 1 of the 3 recommended hosts by WordPress, which BlueHost comes with pre-installed.
With stellar support available 24/7, you can be sure that they’re always there to answer your questions or solve any issues.
And if you want more technical freedom, BlueHost offers that, too, with custom OS selection on its VPS hosting packages. This gives you total control over how you want to manage your site.
How to Make a School Website With BlueHost
iPage - Best Cheap Option
Special Features:
- SSL Certification
- Site security management
- Automatic set up
- Unlimited disk space
If you’re looking for a cheap option to host your school’s site, then iPage is a great choice to consider.
With iPage’s custom site building tool, you’ll get hundreds of mobile-friendly templates and easy-to-use building features that make this a great pick if you’re new to website design. Simple one-click software install makes setting up features, such as a contact page and more, a cinch!
Their customer service is also available 24/7 to help you along the way.
Better yet, you’ll get a domain name completely free for a year. Plus, you can get unlimited domain names! Just keep in mind that these are only free for 1 year.
What’s more, you’re given unlimited storage for even their basic plan!
However, you need to make sure that the storage stays within a normal operation. If you go overboard, you might be charged for it.
One downside to iPage is its 99.87% (August 2023) uptime. Though this is a good enough percentage, it is a lot lower than the other providers mentioned here.
Still, if you’re looking for an affordable host provider packed with features, iPage is a high contender.
A2 Hosting - Best LMS Option
Special Features:
- 24/7 Support
- Unlimited email accounts
- 100 GB SSD storage
- Free Website Staging
If you're looking to provide complete online learning platforms to your students and faculty, then A2 Hosting provides some of the best value-to-money educational hosting packages around.
With more than 15 eLearning software options to choose from, such as Claroline and Chamilo, A2 Hosting gives schools the power to manage exams, events, courses, and homework easily.
At a great price, their cheapest educational hosting package gives you all these educational solutions. Plus, 100GB of SSD storage with turbo servers promising 20X faster loading times.
An added plus is that you’ll get 24/7 support that — while not the best in the industry — can help in ironing out any difficulties when managing your site.
However, if you plan to stick around annually or monthly you’ll have to pay extra as the price listed above is for their 3-year package.
InMotionHosting - Best for Students and Faculty
Extra Features:
- FreeCDN
- Free SSL certificate
- 50 GB SSD storage
- 10 email addresses
- 24/7 Customer Support
If you’re looking for a heavy-duty option to support all the educational needs of your university or students, InMotionHosting is a great pick.
With educator discounts on their high-end VPS and dedicated server options, you’ll get great speed and reliability at a low price, making for a great value.
And with all the standard educational options such as LMS, educational support software, along with 50GB SSD storage, unlimited bandwidth, and email support, you won’t be left wanting features here.
InMotionHosting is also a great pick if you’re looking for web hosting for your students as part of a course, with up to 50% off for all students looking to set up their websites.
Educational professionals may even be eligible for free shared web hosting, with no strings attached!
So if you’re looking for great performance at a discount (or free), InMotionHosting has got you covered.
SiteGround - Best Customer Support
Special Features:
- Free SSL certificate
- Free CDN
- Daily Backups
- 10GB storage
- 30-day money-back guarantee
SiteGround is another great option. It offers completely managed web hosting with exceptional customer support 24/7.
Its friendly, fast, and proficient customer service reps can guide you through the ins and outs of any technical issue, making this a perfect option if you’re completely new.
This customized care and attention can help you manage a site that caters to your school’s needs while providing multiple packages to fit your data and storage requirements.
An added plus is that they run on 100% renewable energy, which is perfect to match your schools’ ethical ethos.
However, the added customer support doesn’t come cheap, which means even their basic options cost a fair bit.
Conclusion
Regardless of what you’re looking for, the list above contains hosting providers perfect for any kind of educational institute, big or small.
Just make sure to select the option appropriate to your needs so you don't end up wasting your money.
If you’re still unsure which option to pick, then providers such as BlueHost give you multiple packages to meet every sort of need. Plus, they're easily adjustable to match your growth.
Good luck!