ShivarWeb

Better Websites. SEO. Marketing. Business.

Web Hosting Reviews: Shared, WordPress & VPS Hosts

If your domain is your digital address - hosting is your digital real estate. Your hosting server is where your website will live online. Good hosting is critical to building a successful project online.

But choosing the right web hosting company is tough. There are dozens if not hundreds of providers. And choosing one to host your website - your digital presence is a big deal. Oh - you also want them to be affordable and convenient.

There is no such thing as an overall "best" option for everyone. There is no "best web hosting" - there is only the best option for you based on your goals, expertise, resources & situation.

Highlights from Web Hosting Reviews

Here are the companies that are usually a good fit for most based on my experience.

Name Best if you want... Plans!
InMotion …high-performance & independent-owned w/ great support. Explore!
HostGator …overall value w/ good pricing, support & unmetered features. Explore!
SiteGround ...good support & advanced features w/ plans to grow. Explore!
Bluehost ...name-brand hosting w/ good support, pricing & interface. Explore!

I've also reviewed larger brands such as GoDaddy, Bluehost, 1&1 Hosting and DreamHost in addition to up and coming brands such as Web Hosting Hub and HostPapa. I've written guides/quizzes to help sort & choose the best shared, WordPress, email, blog, and VPS hosting.

Factors in Web Hosting Reviews

I've been able to look at a range of web hosting companies as part of my or my clients' projects. There's a lot of factors that go into my web hosting reviews, but the main factors are:

Price - How competitive is their short-term pricing? What about their long-term pricing? Are they offering real value or just a short-term "bait" type pricing?

Features - What do they offer beyond core hosting features (aka the "3 D's - domains, database and disk space)? Do they package bonus features (such as backups) or charge separately?

Ease of Use - How do they make the sign-up and setup process less daunting? Do they make it worse with upsells?

Support - How much does the company invest in support? Individual experiences can be anecdotal, but it's usually possible to tell if a company views support as an investment rather than a cost.

Performance - How well do their servers perform? Are they going to be a speed bottleneck?

Culture - What does the company value? Are they all about lock-ins and upsells or do they value long-term relationships?

Customer Focus - What's the company's ideal customer? Are they looking for WordPress developers or beginners?

Next Steps

Browse my web hosting reviews below (based on how recently they were published). Or -

Take my shared hosting quiz which will generate the best web hosting company for you based on your goals & preferences.

Go Take The Web Hosting Quiz!

WordPress Hosting vs. Web Hosting Explained

By Nate Shivar

Choosing the best web hosting plan for your specific project has always been a bit confusing. Plan features never line up. Terminology never matches. And pricing varies according to current discounts and plan length.

But that was before the latest trend – WordPress-specific hosting plans.

Nearly every hosting company offers a “WordPress Hosting Plan” in some form.

View my guide to WordPress Hosting companies here.

Sometimes those plans are nothing more than a headline change. Sometimes they are very well-priced for the extra services. And sometimes they are plainly upsells with dressed up “features.”

It’s maddening – because here’s the thing. WordPress software runs fine on typical web hosting.

You do not need “WordPress Hosting” to run WordPress software. All you need is a Linux-based hosting account that supports PHP and mySQL.

Both are run of the mill features since the early 2000s. So what’s with all the WordPress Hosting plans vs. Web Hosting plans?

Well – sometimes a WordPress-specific plan is absolutely worth paying for. WordPress does have some needs & requirements that are not “generic” so some companies can offer seriously better service, support & performance for WordPress installs.

Here’s how they differ along with features worth paying for, and what to look for when shopping for the right host for your specific project and next steps. [Read more…] about WordPress Hosting vs. Web Hosting Explained

1&1 IONOS Web Hosting Review: 4 Pros & 4 Cons of 1&1 Hosting

By Nate Shivar

1&1 IONOS is one of the largest brands in the Internet services industry, and I get a lot of reader questions about what their hosting product is like. I’ve worked with 1&1 IONOS web hosting several times for clients, and recently bought a hosting package for a separate project I’m running. Here’s my first 1&1 web hosting review in a series that looks at their hosting product overall & in comparison with other top hosts.

Check out 1&1 IONOS’s current plans & pricing here.

1&1 IONOS offers a wide range of products from domain names to hosting to website packages. 1&1 IONOS is actually one of the oldest web hosting companies – founded in 1988. And they are also one of the more aggressive advertisers with full-page ads in magazines and TV spots. Anecdotally, I think only GoDaddy rivals them in terms of mass-market advertising and brand awareness.

They recently merged with one of Europe’s largest cloud providers to create a new company. They’ve redesigned a lot of their products, and restructured their products.

1&1 Rebrand

But big brand doesn’t always mean a good product – and that’s one thing I wanted to look into with a full 1&1 IONOS web hosting review.

[Read more…] about 1&1 IONOS Web Hosting Review: 4 Pros & 4 Cons of 1&1 Hosting

GoDaddy vs. SiteGround Web Hosting Comparison

By Nate Shivar

GoDaddy vs. SiteGround for hosting is a tale of the established, name-brand, corporate giant against the rapidly growing, scrappy, independent company.

View GoDaddy’s Current Promo

View SiteGround’s Current Promo

While there is no such thing as the “best overall” hosting company, both of these companies excel for certain types of projects & certain types of website owners.

In this comparison between GoDaddy and SiteGround, I’ll break down the differences that I’ve found in seven different areas ranging from pricing structure to customer service and market focus so that you can decide which is the best fit for your project.

Also – you can skip to the short version in the conclusion here.

Let’s dive into GoDaddy vs. SiteGround… [Read more…] about GoDaddy vs. SiteGround Web Hosting Comparison

WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org: Which Should You Use?

By Nate Shivar

So you’re exploring starting a website. And you’ve chosen WordPress as your software of choice. It powers more than 25% of the Internet. It’s famous for its versatility and ease of use.

But for anyone unfamiliar with the WordPress world – there’s a point of confusion. WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org – which should you use? What’s the difference? What’s the best fit for your website?

Here’s a concise overview of what you should think about before getting started. [Read more…] about WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org: Which Should You Use?

eHost Hosting Review: Pros, Cons & Comparisons

By Nate Shivar

eHost is a web hosting brand owned by Endurance International. They offer shared Linux hosting (what nearly all starter website owners need) in the form of single unlimited plan. They have been around for a while, but were only recently relaunched by their parent company.

Their datacenter is located in Houston, TX within (what appears to be) the same facilities as their sister brand HostGator. Like most shared hosting companies, eHost also provides email, a website builder, and various complementary services to web hosting.

You can check out eHost’s plan and current pricing here.

I’ve had several readers email to ask my opinion about eHost, so I decided to give them a shot in my recent shopping tour of entry-level web hosts.

Here’s my eHost Hosting review – structured with pros & cons based on my experience as a customer. [Read more…] about eHost Hosting Review: Pros, Cons & Comparisons

Arvixe Hosting Review: Pros, Cons & Alternatives

By Nate Shivar

Arvixe is a web hosting brand owned by Endurance International. They offer a full spectrum of hosting services from shared hosting to dedicated servers (even Windows hosting).

They have been around since 2003, and made their name in the mid-2000s with the ability to choose between US and European data centers. They were purchased by Endurance in 2014.

Their datacenter is located in Austin, TX. Like most shared hosting companies, Arvixe also provides email, a website builder, and various complementary services to web hosting with 24 hour support and a 60 day money back guarantee.

You can check out Arvixe’s plans and current pricing here.

I’ve had several readers email to ask my opinion about Arvixe, so I decided to give them a shot in my recent shopping tour of entry-level web hosts.

Here’s my Arvixe Hosting review – structured with pros & cons based on my experience as a customer. [Read more…] about Arvixe Hosting Review: Pros, Cons & Alternatives