Having a website is slowly becoming a necessity for nearly everyone in the modern world. Whether you want to start an online business, grow a blog, create a website for your brick and mortar storefront, launch an eCommerce shop, or just want to own your own piece of virtual real estate, there’s a nearly infinite number of reasons to build a website.
And if you want a website that’s going to be accessible to the rest of the world, then you’re going to need a high-quality web host behind you.
Your web host is where you store your website’s files, media, photos, videos, and every other element required for your site to function. Without a web host, you won’t have a website–it’s as simple as that.
But, choosing the right web host for your new website can be very time-consuming.
You not only have to sort through dozens of different hosting companies, but you have to find the right plan for your needs too. Plus, you need to sort through add-ons and other features!
Luckily, we’ve done all of the heavy lifting for you. No need to comb through dozens of web hosting reviews, everything you need is right here.
We’ve dug deep into the top hosting companies out there, analyzed their offerings, and tested their services so that you can find the best web host for your needs.
By the end of this post, you’ll be ready to choose the best hosting for your needs.
Our Top Picks: Best Web Hosting 2025
Without further ado, here are the best web hosting companies of 2025. We’ve listed them as the best overall, best value and fastest hosts.
| Rank | Web host | Price/mo | Promo code |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Cloudways | $11 | Use code “WOBLOGGER” for $30 sign up bonus. |
| #2 | 10Web | $10 | Use code “WOBLOGGER20” for 20% off for lifetime |
We believe these three web hosting companies will fulfill the hosting needs of majority of people who are running personal or small business website.
Cloudways – Unleashing the Power of Cloud Hosting
Cloudways managed cloud hosting is transforming the way businesses host their websites and applications in the cloud. With its flexible scalability, high performance, enhanced security measures, user-friendly interface, and round-the-clock support team, Cloudways empowers individuals and organizations alike.
I’ve been using Cloudways since January 2016 for this blog. I happily recommend Cloudways to my readers because I am a proud customer. Use code ‘WOBLOGGER’ and get $30 free hosting credits to try Cloudways for three months.
Whether you’re a small business owner seeking reliability without compromising affordability or an agency looking for streamlined server management processes – Cloudways has you covered. By choosing Cloudways, you unlock the true potential of your website or application and gain a competitive edge in the digital landscape.
Pros
Here are some of the pros of using Cloudways managed cloud hosting platform.
Flexibility and Scalability
One of the significant advantages of Cloudways managed cloud hosting is its unparalleled flexibility and scalability. Whether you’re a small business experiencing rapid growth or an established enterprise with fluctuating traffic levels, Cloudways allows you to scale your resources up or down effortlessly. With just a few clicks, you can adjust server capacity based on your needs, ensuring optimal performance at all times.
High Performance
Cloudways leverages top-tier cloud providers such as DigitalOcean, Google Cloud, and AWS to guarantee lightning-fast website loading speeds. By distributing your website’s data across multiple servers worldwide through their Content Delivery Network (CDN), they significantly reduce latency and improve overall performance.
This means faster page load times for your visitors, leading to enhanced user experiences and higher conversion rates.
Cloudways is the most reliable managed cloud hosting provider according to our speed and uptime tests.
Enhanced Security
Security should be a top priority for any online business. With Cloudways managed cloud hosting, you can rest easy knowing that your website or application is protected by advanced security measures. Their platform incorporates dedicated firewalls, regular security patches, malware scanning tools, SSL certificates integration, and more.
Additionally, they offer automated backups that allow you to restore your data with ease in case of any unforeseen events.
Easy-to-Use Interface
Managing your hosting environment has never been easier than with the intuitive interface provided by Cloudways. You don’t need to be an expert in server management or coding; their user-friendly control panel simplifies tasks such as server deployment, application installation, domain management, and SSL certificate integration. Spend less time on technicalities and more time focusing on your business.
24/7 Expert Support
Cloudways takes customer support seriously. Their team of experienced professionals is available around the clock to address any issues or concerns you may have. Whether it’s troubleshooting, optimizing server performance, or seeking guidance on scaling your resources, their support staff is just a ticket away. With Cloudways, you can be confident that your website is in capable hands.
Cons
While Cloudways offers an exceptional hosting experience overall, it’s important to consider a few factors before making your decision:
Learning Curve for Beginners
For those new to cloud hosting or with limited technical knowledge, Cloudways may have a slight learning curve. While their platform is user-friendly and intuitive once you get the hang of it, there may be a bit of a learning curve initially.
However, with their extensive knowledge base and dedicated support team, you’ll quickly adapt to managing your hosting environment effectively.
No Domain Registration
Cloudways does not provide a domain registration service, which means you’ll need to register your domain through a third-party service.
No Email Hosting
Unlike some hosting providers, Cloudways does not offer email hosting. But, Cloudways have partnered with Rackspace to offer their reliable Rackspace Email service. So, you can manage your mailbox easily.
Best For: Who Should Choose Cloudways?
Cloudways managed cloud hosting caters to a wide range of individuals and businesses looking for reliable and scalable hosting solutions. It’s an ideal choice for:
Small to Medium-Sized Businesses
Cloudways offers the perfect balance of affordability and performance, making it an excellent fit for small to medium-sized businesses looking to establish a robust online presence without breaking the bank. With its flexibility and scalability, Cloudways allows businesses to adapt and grow seamlessly as their needs evolve.
Developers and Agencies
For developers and agencies managing multiple client websites, Cloudways provides a consolidated platform that simplifies server management tasks. Its user-friendly interface, extensive support resources, and collaborative features make it easier than ever to streamline your development workflow and deliver exceptional experiences for your clients.
eCommerce Websites
The scalability and high-performance nature of Cloudways managed cloud hosting make it an excellent choice for e-commerce websites. Whether you’re starting a new online store or migrating from another hosting provider, Cloudways’ optimized environment ensures smooth operations even during peak traffic periods.
Performance-Oriented Websites
If your website’s success relies heavily on speed, such as a content-heavy blog or news site, selecting Cloudways can significantly enhance your overall performance. The combination of their advanced caching technologies, CDN integration, and powerful infrastructure ensures blazing-fast load times for your visitors.
International Businesses
With data centers strategically located worldwide, Cloudways enables businesses with international audiences to deliver seamless experiences regardless of geographic location.
By leveraging their Content Delivery Network (CDN) and multiple server locations, you can ensure low latency and fast page loads globally.
So why wait?
Experience the power of Cloudways today and take your online presence to new heights!
Other Popular Hosting Providers of 2025
There are plenty of web hosting providers out there. If you’re still looking for a host, these are the most popular web hosts according to real customer reviews.
| Web host | Avg. uptime | Price/mo | Our rating |
| A2 Hosting | 100% | $2.99 | Excellent |
| Greengeeks | 100% | $2.95 | Excellent |
| Hostinger | 100% | $0.99 | Excellent |
| InterServer | 100% | $5.00 | Excellent |
| Namecheap | 100% | $1.44 | Very good |
| HostPapa | 100% | $3.95 | Very good |
| iPage | 100% | $1.99 | Good |
| HostGator | 100% | $2.75 | Good |
There is no one perfect web host for all. According to experts’ review, we believe above web hosting companies will fulfill the hosting needs of majority of people who are running personal or small business website.
How to Choose the Right Web Hosting for Your Website?
Every host isn’t created equal. Even though you’re shopping for a similar service, hosts will use different technologies, be better suited for certain kinds of sites, and offer you unique advantages, or even disadvantages.
Think of purchasing hosting like buying a car. At the core, all vehicles serve the same general purpose of helping you get somewhere. But, beyond the price, you have nearly hundreds of different makes and models to choose from.
There is no “best car,” just like there’s no “best web host.” But instead the best car or web host for your unique needs.
With that being said, there are a few key features you’ll want to look out for when searching for a web host:
Bandwidth and Disk Space
Bandwidth and disk space usually go together. Disk space refers to the amount of space you require to store all of your website’s files, media, photos, videos, and more. The larger your site, the more disk space you’ll require.
Most shared hosting plans offer what’s known as “unlimited” disk space. This doesn’t actually mean it’s unlimited and you can store terabytes of data. But instead, the disk space offered is large enough, where you’ll have a difficult time running into the limits.
If you’re building out your first site, you can probably get away with 5 GB of disk space. This will be more than enough to build out a pretty substantial website.
If you do run into the maximum disk space on your current plan, your host will notify you that it’s time to upgrade to a higher level hosting plan.
Bandwidth relates to the levels of traffic your site can support. It’s calculated by the size of the page the user has to load and the total number of users who are visiting your website on any given month. So, the larger the pages on your site and the higher levels of traffic your site has, the more bandwidth you’ll require.
More media-rich sites, think sites like YouTube, will require higher bandwidth than sites like this one, which is more content-driven.
Compatibility With Your Website
You need to choose a host that supports the technology your website is using. For example, the big choice you’ll have to make is between a Linux and Windows server. Most websites will run on Linux servers, but if your site is built using a Windows tool, or your site is using certain Windows software, then you might need a Windows server.
Most hosts will run the majority of their plans on Linux servers, while still offering Windows-specific hosting. Chances are you’ll be running your site on a Linux server too, but keep in mind your unique software needs when choosing a host.
Reliability and Uptime
A reliable host will have high uptime. Uptime refers to the percentage of time your site will remain online during any given month.
Without high uptime, your site will be offline when your visitors are trying to access your site. Talk about delivering a poor user experience!
Having a reliable host is incredibly essential for most websites. But, even more important for sites that process transactions. For example, if you’re running an eCommerce store, then your site is losing you money whenever it’s offline.
Most hosts will offer at least 99% uptime; this means that your site can be offline for around 7 hours per month. With higher quality hosts you’ll see uptime guarantees of 99.9%. This means your website can be offline for approximately 45 minutes every month (much more manageable).
If reliability is a big concern of yours, then choose a host that offers at least 99.9% uptime, that’s backed by a guarantee if your site exceeds this number.
Site and Server Security
Sadly, security is something that isn’t taken into account until it’s too late. But, by planning ahead, you can ensure you won’t experience any security issues in the first place.
Even if you have all of the proper security protocols in place for your website, this won’t matter if your server isn’t secure. It’s like having the most expensive security system in the world, and leaving your front door wide open when you leave the house.
Look for a host that places security at a high priority. Features like firewalls, automated backups, DDoS protection, malware scanning, and user permission management should be included, or at least available as an add-on.
Types of Web Hosting Available
Beyond making sure your hosting company has the right features, you’ll also want to choose the right type of web hosting service for your needs.
If this is your first time building a website, then shared hosting will probably be the right form of hosting for your needs.
Still, it’s important to understand the differences between the most common types of hosting.
Here are the most popular forms of web hosting on the market today:
What Is Shared Web Hosting?
Shared hosting is the most popular form of web hosting. If you’re just getting started online, then this style of hosting is going to be the best fit for your website. Not only will it be the cheapest form of hosting you can find, but it will provide you with everything you need to get your site off the ground and start growing your traffic.
The reason shared hosting is so cheap is because you’re sharing hosting space with dozens, even hundreds of other websites. So, the total cost of the server is split between a ton of different hosting accounts.
Think of it like renting a house with roommates. Beyond having your own bedroom, there’s not a lot that separates you from everyone else in the house. Plus, you’re sharing common areas, like the living room, kitchen, and bathroom.
With shared hosting, you have your own dedicated site resources, but you’re splitting the resources of a single physical server.
This does keep costs low, but it is possible for other sites using the same shared server to impact your site negatively. For example, if another site using the same physical server is experiencing a massive surge in traffic, this could affect the performance of your website. There are also security risks involved, as well.
If issues like these concern you, but you still want to sign up for shared hosting, then make sure you choose a high-quality shared host that has a proven track record, as this will help to mitigate any issues.
What Is VPS Web Hosting?
VPS stands for Virtual Private Server if that gives you any ideas about what this style of hosting offers?
VPS hosting is a big step up from shared hosting. You’re still sharing physical server space with other sites. But, that’s where the similarities with shared hosting end.
With VPS hosting each physical server is broken up into a handful of virtual servers. These virtual servers use partitioning technology to create virtual servers that function as if they were dedicated servers. This means things like more robust security, more storage space, bandwidth, and customization abilities.
You can think of VPS hosting like renting an apartment or condo in a large high rise building. These apartments will be constructed so that there’s little to no interference from other tenants. It’s like having your own space, except you’re sharing the overall physical structure of the building.
VPS hosting can support sites that get higher traffic, require more storage space, or require a unique hosting setup that shared hosting can’t accommodate. It’s usually the style of hosting that site owners turn too, once they’ve outgrown shared hosting.
This type of hosting will be more expensive than shared hosting, but you’ll be getting improved performance, security, and more. Plus, with a growing site, the additional monthly fee should be like a drop in the bucket.
What Is Cloud Hosting?
Cloud hosting is a relatively new form of hosting, especially when compared to the other types of hosting highlighted here.
But, it came into existence to address a pressing need for a lot of website owners. To provide an affordable and high performing style of hosting for sites that have scaling or variable levels of traffic.
The setup of cloud hosting will differ depending on the host you choose, but the overall function remains the same. Instead of relying upon a single server, you’ll be tapping into a network of connected servers. This network of servers is commonly referred to as a cluster.
With cloud hosting, you can scale your server resources up or down with ease. Plus, you typically only pay for the resources that you’re using. Also, since you’re not relying on a single physical server you’ll have very high uptime–if a server on the network is experiencing an issue traffic will be routed to a different server.
The pricing of cloud hosting will generally be on par with VPS hosting, but once again, it depends on the hosting provider you choose.
- Cloud Hosting: Is It a Working Solution for Your Site?
- Cloudways: The Easiest Cloud Hosting for New Users? We Find Out
- Cloudways Coupon Code – Try FREE for 3 Months
What Is Dedicated Web Hosting?
Dedicated hosting is one of the most powerful forms of hosting available. This is a style of hosting that you grow into and usually don’t choose for a brand new website.
Dedicated hosting is exactly what it sounds like. You have an entire physical server that’s dedicated to your site and your site alone. Think of it like owning your own home. No roommates, no sharing walls with neighbors, everything is reserved for you and your needs.
This means that you have unparalleled levels of server resources that are powering your site. So, your website can handle a massive volume of traffic with ease. Plus, you can grow your site as large as you see fit.
Keep in mind that a lot of dedicated hosts require you to handle the technical tasks related to running a server yourself. So, just like owning your own home where you have to handle repairs and maintenance, you have to do the same with your server.
But, if your website is large enough and you’re at the point where you need to upgrade to a dedicated server, then you probably have the resources, or at least the budget to hire your own technical staff.
Dedicated servers will be the most expensive form of web hosting, but it’ll provide your site with unparalleled levels of performance, speed, security, and customization.
What Is WordPress Hosting?
Another form of hosting you might come across is called WordPress hosting. This style of hosting is specifically built for people who run WordPress sites. Every aspect has been optimized to help you get the most out of WordPress.
See, WordPress is one of the best content management systems in the world and can be used to create a highly successful and profitable website. But, left to its own devices, it can be pretty slow, especially over time.
To combat this WordPress hosting optimizes every aspect of the hosting experience to help you take full advantage of the platform. This means your servers will be optimized, they will install WordPress for you, and in some cases, a team of experts will even maintain and optimize your site for you.
With WordPress hosting, you’ll have the option to choose between shared WordPress hosting and managed WordPress hosting. Shared WordPress hosting will be much cheaper, while managed WordPress hosting will have a team of experts managing WordPress for you.
Those just getting started will find standard shared WordPress hosting more than enough.
The Most Important Web Hosting Features to Look For
Some features matter more than others when it comes to your web host.
Here are the essential web hosting features to look for when choosing the right hosting company and plan for you:
Customer Support
You might not rely on customer support very often. But, when an issue arises that you can’t solve, you’ll want a helpful and reliable customer support team behind you.
Most hosting companies will offer 24/7 support through multiple channels. But, make sure you choose a host that has your preferred support channel. For instance, some will have phone and email support, while others will only have a ticketing and email system. Or, you might demand a host that has 24/7 live chat support?
Take note of your preferences as you’re researching through the list of hosts above. Most hosting companies also provide a knowledge base, which is filled with helpful tutorials to help you troubleshoot any issues with your site or server.
Uptime Guarantee
There’s no point in having a website if it’s never online. Your uptime is the percentage of time that your site is online during any given month.
With a low uptime, your visitors will never be able to access your site. Would you go back to a website that you tried to visit time and time again, only to find it offline? Probably not.
When you’re looking for a host, make sure that they don’t just claim to have high uptime, but that it’s backed up by a guarantee. With a guarantee at least you’ll be compensated if your site is offline.
Money-Back Guarantee
When you sign up for hosting, you’ll come across a variety of different payment types. Some hosts will show you a low monthly fee, but you’ll only get this rate when you pay for a year upfront. Other hosts will charge a bit more, but you’ll only have to pay for hosting on a monthly basis.
Regardless of the type of payment you prefer, there’s one thing you’ll want to look out for–a money-back guarantee.
With a money-back guarantee, you can rest easy knowing that if the host doesn’t live up to your standards, you can ask for a refund on your hosting and move to a new provider.
But, some hosts offer a more generous money-back guarantee than others. You’ll find guarantees that range from 30 days, all the way up to 60 days.
Email Account
If you’re creating a business around your website or building a website for your existing company, then a business email address is great to have. This style of email address is where the address matches the domain of your site.
So, if your domain was “makemillions.com,” then your business email would be “chris@makemillions.com.”
Some hosts will offer bundled email services for easier email management, while others will require a fee for such services.
Control Panel/cPanel
Your control panel is what you’ll be using to manage your server. This will help you accomplish tasks like monitoring your site’s resource usage, installing a CMS like WordPress, adding more domains to your account, configuring email addresses, and more.
The most common control panel is called cPanel. It’s an intuitive tool with a graphical interface that’ll help you easily accomplish the above tasks and more.
Another control panel you might also find is called Plesk.
If this is your first time building a website, then look for one of the easy to use control panels just mentioned. Otherwise, trying to manage your site is going to be a real headache.
SSL Certificates
Today, having an SSL certificate installed on your site is a necessity. If your website doesn’t have an SSL certificate, then your visitors will receive an error when visiting your site using the Google Chrome browser.
SSL certificates help to keep your site secure by creating an encrypted connection between your server and your visitor’s web browser.
Most hosts will include a free SSL certificate even on shared hosting plans, but other hosts will charge to add a basic SSL certificate to your plan. If an SSL certificate isn’t included in your plan, then make sure you factor in the cost to your total bill.
Depending on the type of site you’re running, you might need a higher level SSL certificate. For example, sites that handle sensitive personal or financial information, or process a visitor’s credit card information will need a higher level SSL certificate.
Additional Features Beyond Web Hosting
Web hosts today do a lot more than give you server space to store your website’s files. Most hosts offer you additional tools and services that’ll help you build, market, and grow your site.
With the explosion of the beginner web hosting market, hosts began to offer additional tools and services that support beginner website owners so they could take care of all their website needs in one place.
Here are some additional features that you might want to look for in a hosting company:
Website Builder Included
Even if you’re a complete beginner, you’re going to have multiple different ways you can build out your site. The most common approaches are using a website builder or a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress.
If you’re planning on building a content-heavy website and want to be able to manage this content efficiently, then using WordPress is the way to go.
But, if you’re building a simple website that only has a couple of pages and relatively static content, then it’ll be easier to use a website builder.
Most hosting companies will have their own integrated website builders you can use to create your site. These tools are built entirely for beginners, so you can create a professional site without knowing a single thing about programming.
The way you build your site will depend on the builder. But, the most common approach is using a drag and drop builder. All you have to do is select a template and rearrange elements with your mouse or trackpad. The website builder will automatically create the necessary code behind the scenes.
eCommerce Tools and Features
If you know for sure that you’re going to be building an eCommerce store, then you’ll need to choose a host that can support this, not make it more difficult.
Online stores will have different requirements than traditional websites. You’ll need higher bandwidth and disk space since you’ll have a lot more product images and even product videos so visitors can see your products in action.
You’ll also have more strict security requirements. Since you’ll be processing sensitive financial and credit card information, you’ll need to ensure your site, server, and any additional tools you’re using are incredibly secure.
Another thing you’ll need to think about is PCI compliance. This is a set of guidelines that you must adhere to if you’re storing, processing, or transmitting credit card information. If you’re serious about eCommerce, then look for a host that is PCI compliant right out of the gate.
Beyond the foundational eCommerce tools, you might also want to look for additional features that’ll help you promote and grow your store. For example, some hosts have built-in tools that will help you list your products across other marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, and Google Products.
Website Transfers (Free or Paid)
If you already have an existing website and you want to transfer over to a new host, then you’ll want to look for hosts that can transfer over your website for you. If you’re not technically minded, then migrating your site yourself can be a real headache. Especially if you have a large website and are already getting traffic.
The worst-case scenario would be your site dropping offline for an extended period, or you end up losing portions of your site during the migration.
If you choose a hosting provider with an integrated migration service or tool, you can guarantee your site will be migrated successfully. Some hosts will charge a fee for this service, while others will migrate your website for you completely free of charge.
Web Hosting FAQs
Even though we’ve covered a lot in the post above, you still might have a few questions.
Here are some of the most common web hosting questions we’ve seen from our readers:
Which web hosting service is best for WordPress?
If you’re running your site on WordPress, then you’ll want a host that offers WordPress hosting. This won’t be a necessity when you’re first starting your website, as you probably won’t be getting much traffic.
But, as your site grows, it’s a good idea to upgrade to WordPress-specific hosting. This will help you achieve higher levels of performance, and security while operating on a host that’s 100% optimized for WordPress.
The best hosts for WordPress is Cloudways.
What is the fastest website hosting of 2025?
When choosing the right host for your needs, one of the most important things to consider is speed. In fact, nearly half of consumers expect your site to load in under 2 seconds.
Even if everything else about your site is perfect, you’re going to have a hard time being successful if your site and page loads slowly. You’ll deliver a poor user experience, have weak onsite metrics, and end up ranking lower in the search engines as a result.
So, you’ll not only deliver a poor user experience, but you’ll get way less traffic from the search engines too.
If you’re looking for the fastest web hosting provider in the game today, then check out Cloudways.
What is website space?
Website space refers to disk space. The is the amount of storage space you have for your website’s files, including things like your media files — obviously, the larger your site, the more disk space you’ll require. For example, a site like YouTube will require much more disk space than a site that’s purely written content.
What is web hosting bandwidth?
When choosing a hosting plan, you’ll see bandwidth mentioned a lot. Regarding hosting metrics bandwidth relates to the amount of traffic your site can support in any given month. It’s calculated by the size of the page on your website and the number of monthly visitors. So, the larger and more media-rich your site pages, and the higher the number of monthly visitors, then the more bandwidth your site will require.
Conclusion: Which Web Host is Best for You?
As you can see, there’s a lot that goes into finding the perfect web host for your new website. Hopefully, this post has helped to make the decision much easier.
Luckily, all of the hosts highlighted on the list above are a great choice.
So, take stock of your needs and what you require from a host, then compare that to the services and features offered from the hosts above.
Most hosting companies also offer money-back guarantees, so if you are unsatisfied with your choice, you can always cancel and move to a new host!
It’s also important not to get hung up on the host selection phase forever.
Pick a host you like the most and start building your site. As you pick up traction and your site grows in traffic and popularity you can always upgrade your plan.
Our Suggestions: Best Hosts of 2025
We believe following web hosting companies will suit the needs of the majority who run a simple website.
What’s your absolute favorite hosting company? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
