Web Hosting for Students – Best 8 in 2023

If you're a student planning to build your website, you've come to the right place.

Either you’re working on a school project, starting a side hustle, or just simply want a personal site for yourself.

Whatever the reason, the first thing you’ll need is to choose the right web hosting provider.

The best one should get your website up and running in no time, even if you’ve got zero knowledge of website building.

We know you don’t have time to hang around the internet and compare web host providers for yourself.

That’s why we’ve listed down our 8 picks for the best web hosting for students below.

If you really don’t have time, check out this quick comparison:

What to look for in the best web hosting for students

Affordability

Students are strapped for cash. A great web host is one with a price tag that won’t burn a hole in your pocket but comes with many features and benefits. Watch out for renewal prices too! Those typically increase your introductory rate up to three times. Yikes.

Free domain name

Domain names cost money. Make sure the package you choose at least includes this in the first year.

Reliability

No one likes slow websites. Yours should take no longer than two seconds to load, otherwise, you lose your visitor’s attention. And when visitors bounce, it’s bad for your web and your rep. A good web host should have an uptime guarantee of 99.9%.

Easy to use

You’re a student, not a tech wizard. You could be both, but wouldn’t it be easier if you can just click a few buttons and your website’s done? Different types of web hosting can give you freedom in customizing your site. That’s something you can explore in the future.

Security

Hackers abound in the digital landscape. Put your and your website visitor’s safety first. Choose a web host that’s tight on security and offers SSL certificates in their packages.

Customer support

Strong support service will help you when you encounter a snag in building your website. All of the web hosting providers on our list offer 24/7 professional help that won’t let you down.

Best web hosting for students

BlueHost - Best Web Hosting Overall

Quick facts:

• Unlimited websites, storage, and bandwidth
• Recommended by WordPress
• Free domain name for 1st year
• Free 24/7 lifetime support
• Free SSL certificate and CDN
• $100 Google Ad Credits

Picture your first website as a student looking like one of these:

Image via BlueHost

Thanks to BlueHost’s hosting plans, you get access to hundreds of premium website templates and designs.

BlueHost packs a ton of benefits for students beginning on the easy-on-the-pockets pricing plans.

Their shared hosting plans start at $2.75/month on the 36-month plan and that already includes all the works.

The basic plan gets you one website, 50GB of storage space, a free Content Delivery Network (CDN), a free Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate, plus a free domain name for a year.

You can even get more with upgraded plans that start at $4.95/month. These come with unlimited websites and storage and free automated backups.

BlueHost Pricing Plans 2023

BlueHost shared hosting plans come in 12, 24, and 36-month package options.

If you don’t know the first thing about building a website, BlueHost has an easy step-by-step set-up process that will walk you through the entire thing.

It’s got templates, website builders, and a professional customer support service ready to assist you anytime.

When it comes to reliability, BlueHost makes sure your website loads at optimum speed. They got a 99.93% (August 2023) uptime average for the past month with an average of  616 ms (August 2023) response time.

Image via UpDown

That means low bounce rates for you and happy site visitors.

Updown, a website that monitors a hosting provider’s speed, shows that BlueHost only had one downtime for the past six months.

Image via UpDown

Affordable and fast! How cool is that?

BlueHost’s shared hosting is a great place to start for blogs, hobbies, and small businesses. But if you need a little bit more room to wiggle, they also have VPS and dedicated hosting plans.

These are good for when you’re expecting more traffic to your site in the future, you’re planning on expanding, or you have the know-how to customize the site yourself.

One thing you have to note is that BlueHost renewal rates are almost triple the introductory price. But since you’ve got months to prepare for it anyway, they’re not as bad.

Besides, when you factor in the fantastic website you’re about to get, the benefits, reliability, and more, it’s worth every cent.

BlueHost is genuinely one of the best web hosting for students, and they’ll help you get your site up and running in no time.

How to Make a Website With BlueHost

InterServer - Best Free Web Host for Students

Features:

• Free standard package for students for the first year
• Unlimited storage and email accounts
• Free SSL certificate
• 30-days money-back guarantee
• Free one-click install for Cloud apps
• Free InterShield security and Inter-Insurance
• Price-lock guarantee

What’s better than a low-priced web hosting plan?

A FREE ONE!

InterServer gives students their standard web hosting package for free for the first year.

All you have to do is sign up with your school email address (.edu) or reach out to their customer service to set things up for you.

Getting the standard package for free is the ultimate deal. It’s got unlimited storage, email, and bandwidth, free CloudFlare CDN and SSL certificates, and weekly backups.

For website building, InterServer gives you an easy WordPress installer and 461 cloud apps available for one-click installs. 

They’ve also got an easy cPanel so you can smoothly manage everything from the backend.

Here’s a sneak peek:

Image via InterServer

InterServer isn’t too bad on the speed too. Although they didn’t average the perfect percentage for uptime, a  99.91% (August 2023) record is still excellent. Their  1000 ms (August 2023) response could also do better.

Image via Updown

They did experience downtime for the past six months, but these are few and far between.

Image via Updown

As for security, InterServer’s got a solid InterShield included in the plan for free. It blocks web attacks, actively scans for viruses, and builds a strong firewall.

And if the worst happens and your website is hacked or compromised, you’re covered with InterServer’s Inter-Insurance. It will investigate the mishap, restore your website, and prevent future incidents.

InterServer Pricing Plan 2023

The free package for a year is fantastic but take into account that you will have to pay the renewal price after.

Plus, you’ll have to pay for your domain registration if you don’t have one yet. That’s an extra $7.99/year with InterServer.

You’ll also be glad to know that InterServer has a price lock guarantee too. This means the price you signed up for is your lifetime locked-in price.

Overall, InterServer is the ultimate choice for students strapped for cash. It’s got value-for-money packed features and that fantastic free one-year deal. Who could say no?

InMotion Hosting - Best Web Host for Student Discount

Features:

• Up to 50% off shared hosting for students
• New UltraStack servers
• 90-day money-back guarantee
• Easy to Manage cPanel
• Free domain and SSL
• Unlimited bandwidth

Students win with InMotion’s excellent discount if you sign up with your school email (.edu). 

Don’t have that? Contact InMotion’s team with proof you’re a student and they'll arrange things for you.

You get a 49% discount on the Shared Hosting 6 Month Power Plan and 58% off on the 12 Month Power Plan. This renews at $5.99/month, so you better prepare before yours end.

Once you have your account, you get access to InMotion’s fast, reliable, and secure, shared web hosting.

The plans include free domain and SSL certificates, email addresses, huge SSD storage, and unlimited bandwidth.

InMotion’s new UltraStack operating system boosts your site’s performance and speed.

Just check out their  99.99% (August 2023) uptime and that lightning-quick  388 ms (August 2023) response time.

Image via Updown

They only experienced one downtime for the past six months.

Image via Updown

The UltraStack servers are doing their job, and this means lowered bounce rates for you plus more conversions!

Website building has never been so easy, thanks to InMotion. Their free, powerful tools and over 400 one-click CMS give you lots of options. You’ve got WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, PHP, Perl 5, Ruby on Rails, and more.

The easy cPanel isn’t too confusing for beginner website owners too. This helps you manage, at a glance, everything on your site.

And if you experience trouble navigating your website, their 24/7/365 support team is ready to assist at any time.

InMotion Pricing Plans 2023

InMotion packages come in 1 month or 1- and 2-year plans.

The Better Business Bureau even recognized InMotion’s superb service and gave them an A+ rating.

Namecheap - Best Cheap Web Host

Features:

• Free domain for the first year
• Unmetered bandwidth
• Free website builder
• Free SSL certificates for the first year
• Free Supersonic CDN
• 30-day money-back guarantee

As its name suggests, Namecheap is one of the cheapest web hosting for students.

With only $1.44/month, you can get your website up and running.

That comes with free SSL certificates, free domain for one year, huge SSD storage, unmetered bandwidth, and a free website builder.

You won’t have to be an expert at the technical aspects of operating a website, Namecheap’s easy cPanel will help you. It gives you an overview and total control over your website.

The Stellar Business hosting plan has added features like auto backup and cloud storage if you want the complete works. The introductory rate will still cost you less than other host provider’s basic plans.

It’s quite a steal for students if you ask us.

Top it all off with Namecheap’s CMS options, top-notch security, and a support team that’s ready to assist 24/7, and you’ve got one of the best web hosting in town.

Namecheap Pricing Plans 2023

Namecheap has plans for monthly, yearly, and 2-year terms.

Based on Pingdom, Namecheap averaged  99.99% (August 2023) on uptime and 319 ms (August 2023) on response time for the past 10 months.

Image via Pingdom

All the plans are backed by their Supersonic CDN which helps distribute content for faster load time. This also helps you rank higher on SEO.

If you’ve decided you like Namecheap’s rates, you might want to explore their other products. They also have WordPress, reseller, VPS, and dedicated hosting.

This web host won’t blast a hole in your pocket. So if you’re strapped for cash and looking for the cheapest way to get that website done, go for Namecheap.

SiteGround - Best Value for Money

Features:

• Powered by Google Cloud
• Unlimited websites, bandwidth, and databases
• Free SSL certificates
• Free CDN
• Free email addresses
• Daily backup
• 30-day money-back guarantee
• 100% renewable energy match

SiteGround has servers on four continents in the USA, Europe, and the Asia Pacific to get the best possible speed. Sign up and choose which server to host your site.

This web host might be a bit pricier than BlueHost on the initial plans but they’ve got features that could compete.

Each plan gets you a bunch of free stuff: email address on your domain, SSL certificates, CDN, and daily backup. 

The top-tier hosting plans grant you premium features like advanced backup, ultra-fast PHP, and WordPress staging.

SiteGround also puts your safety and security first thanks to their Let’s Encrypt SSL and anti-hack systems. That’s layers of protection for your peace of mind.

SiteGround Pricing Plans 2023

SiteGround web hosting services come in 1, 12, 24, and 36-month pricing plans.

All of the plans have access to SiteGround’s 24/7 Amazingly Fast Support. These professionals can help walk you through building your website or dealing with any hiccup down the road.

And if you’re a newbie at this thing, don’t worry! SiteGround has easy Content Management Systems (CMS) on Joomla, Magento, WordPress, and more. 

In just a few clicks, you get your website handed to you, fully optimized, and tied with a pretty ribbon.

Plus, hosting your website on SiteGround lets you help the environment thanks to their 100% renewable energy match.

Are you worried about speed? SiteGround showed an average of  100% (August 2023) uptime with  352 ms (August 2023) response time just last month. That’s got to be one of the best records out there!

Image via UpDown

When it comes to their downtimes, they’ve only had one bad day the past six months. A pretty good record, all things considered.

Image via UpDown

Before you opt for SiteGround, consider that their plans don’t include free domain names. But you can get yours from them at $15.95/year.

Other web hosting sites offer larger storage spaces for a lower price.

But overall, SiteGround is a reliable web host provider for students. They can get you your basics and more if you want to upgrade.

iPage - Best for Easy Website Building

Features:

• Affordable hosting plan
• Free domain for one year
• Free SSL certificate
• Unlimited storage
• Free email
• Free website builder

Students on a tight budget will be delighted to know that iPage has one of the cheapest web hosting plans on this list.

They start at only $1.99/month!

For less than $2, you get to build a website thanks to their free website builder. You get unlimited bandwidth, storage, and databases plus security with SSL.

You won’t even have to be knowledgeable about website design to customize yours. iPage gives you freedom with beginner-friendly tools and one-click CMS.

iPage Pricing Plans 2023

iPage has 1, 2, and 3-year plan options. You’ll save more on the 3-year plan, but you have to renew your domain registration for $9.99/year.

iPage might have a  99.87% (August 2023) uptime, but they aren’t the most reliable provider out there in terms of speed.

Image via UpDown

In a month, they get an average of  99.87% (August 2023) uptime and a response time of  1,810 ms (August 2023).

Compared to other web hosting sites that get milliseconds, iPage’s response time does make them lag behind.

iPage also experienced three downtimes the past six months, according to UpDown’s report.

Image via UpDown

But students who don’t really need the best of speeds for their site don’t have to worry about this.

On all other fronts, iPage is a great web hosting provider. They’re the best option if you’re short on money but need all the basics.

A2 Hosting - Fastest Web Host for Education Hosting

Features:

• Turbo Boosters
• Unlimited emails
• Free website builder
• Free SSL certificate
• Free CDN
•  100% (August 2023) uptime
• Money-back guarantee
• 20+ learning management systems

If we’re talking about site speed and reliability, A2 Hosting takes the cake.

They’ve got their own Turbo Boosters to give you a website that’s up to 20 times faster than most -- and they’ve got the numbers to back it up.

A2 Hosting’s uptime is  100% (August 2023) with a  288 ms (August 2023) response time. That means their Turbo Boosters are doing their work.

Image via UpDown

As for the downtime, it’s practically non-existent with A2 Hosting. It’s green all around as far back as six months ago.

Image via UpDown

The free CloudFlare CDN for each plan will also help boost your site’s speed. CDNs help distribute your site’s content to help it load faster. And the quicker you get your visitors the info they need, the lesser your bounce rates.

Each A2 Hosting plan comes with enhanced security thanks to its free SSL certificates. You also get unlimited websites (except for the basic plan), storage, and bandwidth. 

Students (and even teachers) will be glad to know A2 Hosting comes with 20 learning management system software you can set up with just one click.

This includes Omeka, a platform for exhibits, museums, and library content, course management system Chamilo, and Claroline, a collaborative eLearning platform.

A2 Hosting Pricing Plans 2023

You can get A2 Hosting plans in 1, 12, 24, and 36-month terms.

Like with every other web host provider out there, once you’re done with your first term, the renewal rates almost triple.

If you don’t intend to keep the website after your student project or whatever it is you need one for, this is not a problem.

You can depend on A2 Hosting to make your student website one of the best out there. From design and security to speed, it’s ticked all the boxes to a great web host.

They’re even accredited by the Better Business Bureau and given an A+ rating. Previous customers have rated the web host provider 4.22 out of 5 stars.

If you're not satisfied with your experience, A2 Hosting offers a money-back guarantee. 

But knowing A2 Hosting’s stellar service and product range, your satisfaction is guaranteed.

HostGator - Best for Web Host Beginners

Features:

• Free domain for one year
• Free SSL certificate
• Free email
•  99.89% (August 2023) uptime
• Easy WordPress installs
• $100 Bing Ads credit
• $150 Google Ads credit
• 45-day money-back guarantee
• Multiple billing cycle options

BlueHost is the overall best web hosting for students but HostGator comes in a close second.

They’ve got everything you could ever need for a web host provider, starting with an extensive catalog.

Shared hosting, VPS, website builder, WordPress hosting, dedicated hosting -- name it and they’ve got it.

Image via HostGator 

They’ve been around since 2002 and have hosted over 2 million websites, whether that’s for a beginner’s blog or complicated e-commerce sites.

HostGator’s web host service starts at an affordable price of $2.75/month for shared hosting.

You get unlimited storage and bandwidth, free SSL certificates to guarantee your security, and a free domain for your first year.

Throw in the free email, free website builder, and a 45-day money-back guarantee and you’ve got yourself a sweet deal.

HostGator Pricing Plans 2023

These hosting plans come in 1, 3, 6, 12, 26, and 36-month billing cycles. You get the most out of your money with the 36-month plan, but if you only need a website for a few months, HostGator’s multiple options are a great plus.

HostGator doesn’t stop at the competitive rates and full features, they also provide their customers with speed and reliability. 

Based on Updown, they had  99.89% (August 2023) uptime in the past month with  614 ms (August 2023) of response time.

Image via Updown

Downtimes? HostGator doesn’t even know the word! They never had a downtime for the past six months.

Image via Updown

HostGator is one of the best web host providers out there, no matter how long or short you need their services. 

If you plan on keeping your website even after you finish school, HostGator has many features for you to level up. 

You can master their easy cPanel access, build a better website with their one-click installs, or even move to another hosting plan that will keep up with your growing needs.

Best web hosting for students FAQ

There you have it!

That’s 8 of the best web hosting for students and all its best features.

Still have questions?

Let’s answer them!

What do you need a web hosting provider for?

You can’t have your website ‘go live’ without having a web host for it. 

People won’t be able to access your site if it’s not on a web hosting provider’s server. 

For people to see what you have to offer, start by picking a host so you can store all the files you need. Your provider will then make it accessible for everyone worldwide.

What’s the best type of web hosting for students?

Web hosting providers don't come in a one-size-fits-all service. There are different hosting types like shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, and cloud hosting.

Shared hosting is the best fit for students who are thinking of starting a blog, a portfolio, a small business, or anything that wouldn’t get high traffic. It’s also cheaper since your website will be housed on a server shared by thousands of others. You’re all basically splitting the rent on that server.

The downside to shared hosting is that if other websites in your server experience a sudden traffic spike, it could affect your site and slow it down. 

What is the cheapest web hosting provider for students?

Based on what we listed above, Namecheap has the cheapest package for web hosting. Their plans start at $1.44/month for a 2-year deal. iPage follows a close second with $1.99/month on their 36-month deal.

Conclusion

The best web hosting for students should cover all the bases like price, features, and speed/reliability.

You’ll never go wrong with hosting your website with any of the providers we've listed above.

Which best web hosting for students is your pick?