Web hosting is a must for any website that wants to be accessible online. Even if purchasing web hosting is a no-brainer, choosing the best web host can be challenging due to the myriad of accessible alternatives, industry jargon, features, inclusions, and strikingly similar rates (yet distinct). We completed the research to find the top web hosting for small businesses so you can quickly get the right solution for your business.
Before you start, you must be aware of the specifications for your website hosting. Every small company website must have a unique domain name, an SSL certificate, a CMS (content management system), enough storage and bandwidth to host your content, and automatic backups. Forbes Advisor created this ranking of the top web hosting services for small business owners after examining numerous suppliers’ costs, uptime, and features.
For a small business website, you can consider Bluehost, A2hosting, Hostinger, or GoDaddy. GoDaddy offers the most excellent email services for businesses. If you require assistance, follow our instructions for logging into your GoDaddy email.
Methodology
We began our research and testing by analyzing more than 50 different providers to establish which web hosting services are the best for small businesses. We searched for the features that small businesses ought to prioritize as well as the characteristics that a web server should have as a bare minimum. In addition to a low price and a high value, take into account storage, uptime, the availability of support, and money-saving options like a free domain name, a free SSL certificate, and a free business email account.
Small business owners should concentrate on expanding their businesses rather than spending time backing up their websites or scouring online knowledge bases for solutions to issues. Consequently, a web host needs to offer 24/7 support. We compared prices and the amount you might save by entering into a long-term contract with each web hosting provider.
To assess whether actual customer experiences are consistent with the marketing claims made by the web host, we evaluated the top candidates after taking into account both our own first-hand experience and actual customer feedback. We also compared plans and pricing with features and inclusions to help your businesses choose the best hosting provider that will expand with them as they go.
Picking the best Website Hosting for Small Businesses will be Easier if you know these Factors
While searching for the best web hosting for small businesses, you’ll probably run into words and phrases that are unfamiliar to you. Understanding what you need and what would be nice to have is essential.
What Does Caching Allow a Website Hosting to Do?
Less server processing power is needed when data is temporarily stored in a cache. Caching is a feature of both hardware and software. Caches on websites save data from previously visited pages, speeding up later visits. It’s a practical tool that can improve your website’s functionality, especially for frequent visitors.
What is a CDN, and Do you Need one?
A content delivery network (CDN) is a tangible tool for caching. A CDN frequently distributes data across several global servers. Typically, your website hosting on a single server at a single location.
Some web servers let you choose the server that best serves your audience. If your audience is worldwide, you might need to use a CDN. It makes for faster loading times regardless of where a user accesses your website.
How Does WHOIS Privacy Function?
When registering a domain name, you must include contact information such as your home and mobile phone numbers because anyone can check up on WHOIS information on any website. If you don’t mask your information, you risk opening yourself up to spam, telemarketers, and other unwelcome interactions.
Not many web hosts offer WHOIS privacy as part of their hosting services, but some do. You can offer a company address and phone number in place of your details. It can be worth the extra money to have WHOIS privacy masking, which will display non-personally identifying information.
Why Is an SSL Certificate Required?
Data delivered to and received from different workstations is secured by a secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate, an encrypted piece of code. You can detect if a website has this security feature by looking for the small lock icon at the top left of the URL in a browser (also indicated by the “s” in “HTTPS”). It, therefore, safeguards both your website and its visitors.
If you operate an eCommerce website, getting an SSL certificate is essential because it helps secure passwords and credit card information. Additionally, it will be easier to rank in Google’s search engine results if you secure your website with an SSL certificate.
Although some still do, most site hosts give SSL certificates without additional fees. Most also use Let’s Encrypt’s domain-validated (DV) SSL certificate. A single-domain SSL certificate suffices for many small businesses. Still, you might want to spend money on an EV (extended-validated) SSL certificate to offer your website more credibility.