Best Web Hosting for Small Business Websites – Top 10 Options for Guaranteed Uptime
Building your small business website is only one step in the process. For your customers to see your website, you need to have web hosting.
A web host company provides you with space on the internet in which to put your website. Consider it like the property on which your home sets.
Like property, you want the hosting company you use to be good. Imagine if you built your house on a sandy lot, which causes the foundation to sink. That would lead to a lot of problems down the road. You can say something similar about hosting as bad hosting will quickly sink your business.
What Is the Best Hosting for Small Business Websites?
A lousy host may lead to frequent downtime, which means your customers cannot get to your website. It could also mean a slow website that doesn't load properly and provides a horrible consumer experience. Either issue could negatively impact your sales.
According to CNet, when shopping for web hosting, you need to consider the reliability, security, features, and customer support. You also want to be sure the company offers a fair price and make it easy for you to set up and run.
With those things in mind, we've put together a list of the top 10 web hosting companies worth considering if you own a small business. We provide you with quite a bit of information on each so that you can make an informed decision that will positively impact your business.
- Bluehost: Best overall
- DreamHost : Best uptime guarantee
- HostGator: Best uptime
- SiteGround: Best customer support
- iPage: Best pricing plans
- GoDaddy: Best all-in-one option
- InMotion: Best for shared hosting
- A2 Hosting: Best money-back guarantee
- AccuWeb: Best dedicated hosting
- Hostwinds: Best VPS hosting
Bluehost wins as our top choice because it is easy to use, has impressive uptime, offers solid customer service, and provides good introductory and long-term pricing. Overall, this service offers the best value because it doesn't have any particularly bad issues in any of the important categories. Bluehost provides reliable service that will do the job well.
Company | Overall Score | Uptime Percentage | Starting Price | Money-BackGuarantee |
Bluehost | 5/5 | 99.98% | $2.95 | 30 days |
DreamHost | 4.5/5 | 100% | $2.59 | 97 days |
HostGator | 4.5/5 | 99.99% | $2.75 | 30 days |
SiteGround | 4/5 | 99.98% | $6.99 | 30 days |
iPage | 4/5 | 99.94% | $1.99 | 30 days |
GoDaddy | 3.5/5 | 99.99% | $7.99 | None |
InMotion | 3.5/5 | 99.97% | $2.49 | Varies |
A2 Hosting | 4.5/5 | 99.95% | $7.99 | Anytime |
AccuWeb | 4/5 | 99.99% | $3.29 | 60 days |
Hostwinds | 4/5 | 99.9% | $3.36 | 30 days |
In-Depth Reviews of the Top 10 Web Hosting Companies for Small Businesses
1. Bluehost
Best Overall
Ease of use: 5 stars
Uptime: 4 stars
Features: 4 stars
Types of hosting: 4.5 stars
Customer support: 5 stars
Value: 5 stars
Bluehost is our best overall pick for small business web hosting because it is a reliable company. It may not have the top scores in every category, but it does have an overall excellent value. You can expect to have a decent uptime rate of 99.98% with minimal issues keeping your website live.
The service is quite simple to set up because Bluehost ensures the layout of its control panel is not complex, which is great if you are new to this and not a tech genius. If you use WordPress, things are a snap with one-click integration. Don't worry if you are a more advanced user as the customized cPanel has enough features to impress you as well.
Bluehost provides you with some excellent basic features, including a free domain and free SSL certificate to cover your security concerns. It also has unmetered bandwidth, and you'll get 50 GB of storage, which may not compare to some other hosting companies on our list that provide unlimited storage but should be enough to meet your small business needs.
Bluehost does only have Linux and not Windows servers. It offers all the main types of hosting:
- Shared
- VPS
- Dedicated
- Reseller
- WordPress
This company does stand out in the area of customer support. Not only are support agents attentive and knowledgeable but also they are available 24/7 by phone or live chat. You can always reach someone to assist with any need you may have. In addition, Bluehost has an impressive knowledge center where you can troubleshoot on your own.
Costs for hosting start at $2.95 a month for shared hosting at the introductory rate. The most expensive plan is for dedicated hosting at $209.99 a month. Bluehost does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Overall, Bluehost provides you with a great value. You get a lot for your money and a service that is ideal if you are new to setting up and running your business website.
Pros
- Excellent customer service
- Nice WordPress hosting
- Superior value
- Best pricing
Cons
- Small storage amount for basic plan
- Slow if you have spikes in traffic
2. DreamHost
Best Uptime Guarantee
Ease of use: 5 stars
Uptime: 5 stars
Features: 5 stars
Types of hosting: 4 stars
Customer support: 4 stars
Value: 4.5 stars
Coming in second on our list is DreamHost. This service offers a simple layout that makes startup hassle-free. You won't find any complex settings or details in the interface that will confuse you or make it tough to get your website live in an instant.
The standout feature of DreamHost is its guarantee of 100% uptime. You will find this in the user agreement, so this isn't just some marketing trick. The company stands by this promise by offering a refund of one day for every hour of downtime.
When it comes to features, the company offers you up a website builder so that if you haven't quite got everything in order, you can put together a decent website. It also provides unlimited data transfers and storage. You get free ZenCart and a free SSL certificate.
DreamHost provides the basic hosting options with the exception of reseller hosting:
- Shared
- VPS
- WordPress
- Cloud
- Dedicated
Customer support isn't quite up to par because DreamHost doesn't offer any type of live support, which can be incredibly frustrating, especially if you are a beginner who needs a bit of help. They only provide support through email and tickets. However, response time is quick, and the staff is quite knowledgeable. They also have a knowledge base if you want to troubleshoot on your own.
DreamHost offers the best money-back guarantee in the industry of 97 days. That gives you over three months to try the service risk-free. In addition, you have the uptime guarantee. Plans start at $2.59 a month for shared hosting and go up to $169 a month for dedicated service.
Pros
- Excellent security
- Best uptime guarantee
- Nice feature options
Cons
- No live/telephone support
- No email on basic plan
3. HostGator
Best Uptime
Ease of use: 4 stars
Uptime: 5 stars
Features: 4.5 stars
Types of hosting: 4 stars
Customer support: 5 stars
Value: 4.5 stars
While HostGator has a lot to offer, its interface could use some work. It gets a ding on being easy to use because of the clunky and out-of-date layout, which can be confusing for beginners. It does have one-click install for WordPress, though, which is super easy to set up. You also won't struggle with downtime thanks to the 99.99% uptime promise that comes with a one month refund if uptime drops below that percentage.
HostGator does a good job with features, offering you all the basics. It has unlimited emails and storage and unmetered bandwidth. You get an SSL certificate and a free domain for one year. The company provides you with a helpful drag-and-drop website builder. The standout feature is the email marketing software, which is what makes HostGator unique.
You'll get the basic types of hosting options:
- Shared
- VPS
- Dedicated
- Cloud
- Reseller
- WordPress
Customer support is another area where HostGator does an excellent job. The abilities of the staff and responsiveness exceed expectations. The company offers 24/7 live chat, phone, and email support.
HostGator does offer a nice 45-day money-back guarantee, which is more generous than the standard 30-day guarantee. Pricing starts at $2.75 a month for shared hosting and goes up to $139.99 a month.
Pros
- Superior uptime
- Nice variety of features
- Uptime guarantee refund
Cons
- No free domains
- Dated control panel design
4. SiteGround
Best Customer Support
Ease of use: 5 stars
Uptime: 4.5 stars
Features: 4 stars
Types of hosting: 4 stars
Customer support: 5 stars
Value: 4 stars
SiteGround makes it fairly pleasant to startup with one-click installation and straightforward website management. The control panel is pretty much mistake-proof, so you should find it quick to get things going. Plus, a nice thing about this company is that it provides automatic updates, so you won't have to mess with that. The service is also on track with a 99.98% uptime.
Looking at what the company offers, you'll get free email accounts, daily backups, free SSL security, and a drag-and-drop website builder. SiteGround also provides all the typical types of hosting, except VPS:
- Shared
- Dedicated
- Cloud
- Reseller
- WordPress
In the area of customer support, this web host does a really nice job. You'll find help 24/7 via phone and live chat. Plus, SiteGround has a well-written and comprehensive knowledge center, which is nice if you want to rely less on others and learn more about things on your own.
SiteGround is one of the more expensive options with pricing starting at $6.99 a month for shared hosting and going up to $240 a month for cloud hosting. The company does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Pros
- Recommended by WordPress for hosting
- Superior customer support
- Supports various major CMSs
Cons
- Higher prices
- No VPS hosting
5. iPage
Best Pricing Plans
Ease of use: 5 stars
Uptime: 3 stars
Features: 4 stars
Types of hosting: 4 stars
Customer support: 4 stars
Value: 4 stars
One thing that stands out about iPage is it is a green hosting company that commits to reducing its carbon footprint, which is a massive draw for many small business owners who have concerns over the environmental impact of hosting. This is also the reason we put it at number five on our list.
It is also one of the oldest hosting companies around, but despite that, it has aged well, providing one-click installation and a simple sign up process. It does lack a little in uptime with only 99.94%. While that may seem small, even a little downtime is too much when you are trying to run a business, so it has to factor into your decision.
Features are also a bit less impressive than the other companies on our list. You will get free SSL security and unlimited email accounts. You also get a free domain for the first year and add-ons for WordPress optimization. However, backups are not free and will cost you $100 each time.
The types of hosting that iPage offers include:
- Shared
- VPS
- Dedicated
- Cloud
- Reseller
- WordPress
You should know that iPage does limit the shared plan to 500,000 visitors per month, which is probably not going to be a huge issue for most small business owners, but if you plan to grow your business, it is something to note.
Customer support is fairly standard with staff that can assist with just about anything. You can get support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The main thing helping iPage to have a good value despite the few lapses in offerings is the price. You'll pay $1.99 a month for the basic shared plan to start. The highest price is $239.99 a month for dedicated hosting. The company also offers a standard 30-day money-back guarantee.
Pros
- Low introductory pricing
- Green company
- Long history
Cons
- Lower uptime compared to others
- No free backups
6. GoDaddy
Best All-in-One Option
Ease of use – 5
Uptime: 5 stars
Features: 4.5 stars
Types of hosting: 4 stars
Customer support: 4 stars
Value: 3.5 stars
You probably recognize GoDaddy as the largest domain registrar, but it offers web hosting services, too. The best thing about GoDaddy is that it offers everything you need in one place. You can get your domain, build your website, and secure hosting. This ensures compatibility and makes startup a breeze even if you are brand new to this.
You also get the reliability of a huge name. When it comes to uptime, you can expect 99.99%. GoDaddy won't commit to 100% because that is incredibly difficult to provide due to the general nature of internet stability.
Besides offering you a complete suite to set up your website, GoDaddy also provides free backups and SSL security. You also get a free domain name. The company is also generous with the limits on bandwidth, storage, and RAM.
The service provider offers all the basic types of hosting, but does not provide cloud hosting right now:
- Shared
- VPS
- Dedicated
- Reseller
- WordPress
Customer support is decent, but a large company like GoDaddy typically offers more options. It only provides live chat and phone support with no support tickets.
You will pay for name recognition if you choose this company. Shared plans start at $7.99 a month with the highest pricing being for dedicated hosting at $349.99 a month. You also have to pay for any extras, which can add up quickly. Another ding for GoDaddy is it doesn't offer any money-back guarantee.
Pros
- Excellent uptime
- Many extra features
Cons
- No money-back guarantee
- Doesn't offer service tickets
7. InMotion
Best for Shared Hosting
Ease of use: 4 stars
Uptime: 4 stars
Features: 4.5 stars
Types of hosting: 5 stars
Customer support: 3.5 stars
Value: 5 stars
InMotion earns the recognition as being the best for shared hosting, which is nice for small business websites since you probably don't want to make the investment in a higher costing type of hosting right at the beginning. You'll get a typical sign-up process that is simple. Uptime is about 99.97%. The company does a good job with its shared servers, though, and allocating resources for the most stable service.
From this company, you get free SSL security, free email, and unlimited disk space. You'll also receive a website builder if you need it and monitoring of your visitor stats for free.
InMotion offers the typical types of hosting:
- Shared
- VPS
- Dedicated
- Cloud
- Reseller
- WordPress
One area where InMotion could do a lot better is customer support, which is a red flag if you are new to all of this. While the company states it has highly trained staff, they just aren't very good at providing assistance to customers. The company does offer support through live chat and email. There isn't phone support, but there is a knowledge center.
You can get hosting starting at $2.49 a month for the shared plan. The highest plan is a dedicated hosting at $589.99 a month. InMotion does offer money-back guarantees, but it depends on your plan. Business plans only get a guarantee if it is a six-month or longer agreement. Guarantees are up to 90-days.
Pros
- Attention to shared hosting
- Top-notch basic plan features
Cons
- Lacking in customer support
- Money-back guarantees are confusing
8. A2 Hosting
Best Money-Back Guarantee
Ease of use: 5 stars
Uptime: 3.5 stars
Features: 4.5 stars
Types of hosting: 5 stars
Customer support: 5 stars
Value: 4.5 stars
A2 Hosting makes start up easy with one-click installations for most CMSs. Of course, this includes WordPress. It also provides automated WordPress updates, which is a big plus. You can waste a lot of time dealing with these, so knowing they occur in the background without any need for you to do anything is amazing.
A2 Hosting does have a lower than average uptime at 99.95%. So, you will want to note that when making your decision.
The company doesn't do bad with features, though, offering you generous storage space, daily free backups, and unmetered data transfer. You also get a free SSL certificate.
This service also gets a plus for the types of hosting because it offers both Windows and Linux:
- Shared
- VPS
- Dedicated
- Cloud
- Reseller
- WordPress
A2 Hosting also does nicely with customer support. It provides quick responses and attentive staff 24/7.
Another area where A2 Hosting shines is its anytime money back guarantee, which means you can request a refund at any point. Pricing starts from $7.99 a month for shared plans and goes up to $371 a month for cloud hosting.
Pro
- Exceptional email support
- Hassle-free WordPress hosting
Con
- Lower than average uptime
- No domain for free
9. Hostwinds
Best VPS Hosting
Ease of use: 4 stars
Uptime: 4.5 stars
Features: 5 stars
Types of hosting: 5 stars
Customer support: 4.5 stars
Value: 4 stars
While it may be low on our list, Hostwinds is still a decent web host. It is easy to use and set up. You'll get a drag-and-drop website builder, which makes creating your website a snap. It also has nice uptime at 99.99%, which is right in line with the other services on our list.
Features are actually really quite nice. You get unlimited disk space, data transfers, storage, and email addresses. Hostwinds also gives you a free dedicated IP address.
What makes this company stand out is that it offers 10 tiers of VPS hosting. This gives you flexibility and choice that allows you to work this type of hosting into your budget. In addition to VPS hosting, Hostwinds offers:
- Shared
- Dedicated
- Cloud
- WordPress
- Reseller
The company provides Linux and Windows hosting.
Customer support from Hostwinds has quick response times and shows a good knowledge about the product and technical aspects. The company provides support 24/7 via phone, live chat, or ticket.
Pricing for service starts at $3.29 a month for shared hosting and goes up to $125 a month for dedicated hosting. You'll get a 60-day money-back guarantee with all plans.
Pros
- Quick response time from customer support
- Excellent VPS options make it affordable
- Longer than usual money-back guarantee
Cons
- Slows down when traffic spikes
10. AccuWeb
Best Dedicated Hosting
Ease of use: 5 stars
Uptime: 4.5 stars
Features: 3 stars
Types of hosting: 5 stars
Value: 4 stars
AccuWeb provides you with a welcome email that gets you off to a good start. You'll find the process quick and the cPanel interface user-friendly. The service has a decent 99.9% uptime as well.
AccuWeb does not deliver very big on features. You'll get unlimited domains, but it limits you on email, storage, and data transfers. When it comes to security, most companies provide free SSL, but with this service, you have to pay for it.
Hosting types from AccuWeb are the standard offerings:
- Shared
- Dedicated
- VPS
- WordPress
- Reseller
- Cloud
One plus, this company offers hosting for both Windows and Linux, which some of you may find to be helpful since Windows hosting is not as common. It also provides five tier options for dedicated hosting, which is why it earns the best for dedicated hosting designation.
Customer support offers good service, but it's not the best we've seen. You'll get live chat and phone support available 24/7.
AccuWeb does offer a standard 30-day money-back guarantee. Pricing starts at $3.36 a month for shared plans and goes up to $136 for dedicated plans. Plans do not offer a month-to-month payment option, so you do have to commit to a longer plan period.
Pros
- Five tiers for dedicated hosting
- Good uptime
Cons
- Not many unlimited features
- Can't pay month to month
How to Choose Hosting for a Small Business
After viewing our top 10 list, you may wonder how you will ever make a final choice. It can seem daunting when each service has its good and bad points. Even knowing which ones we ranked highest doesn't completely solve your dilemma because you have to choose the service that is best for your needs.
TechRadar suggests that you start by thinking about your needs and assessing your situation before you begin comparing web host options. You can begin with considering how much traffic you expect to have so that the host you choose can accommodate it without charging you extra for going over limits. Other consideration include:
- Technical aspects
- Growth
- Hosting features
- Pricing
Technical Aspects
You also need to think about your own technical skills. If you aren't very tech savvy, then you need to pay attention to ease of use ratings. You will probably also have a higher need for customer support, so those ratings should play into your decision.
Growth
Think about growth, as well. Consider how a hosting service can accommodate your needs now and in the future. Make sure the service can handle your business needs as you grow and start seeing more traffic or have higher storage needs.
Hosting Features
You should pay special attention to the features a provider offers. These may seem foregin to you if you are just starting out, but they will become quite important as you get things rolling. For example, having access to emails can be nice because it adds a touch of professionalism to your website and saves you from having to pay for an outside email.
Features, such as unlimited bandwidth, are also worth noting if you expect to see large amounts of traffic or spikes in traffic. If you don't have your website already set up, a website builder is a handy feature.
Pricing
Also, make sure that you look at pricing. The price alone should not be the deciding factor, though. Make sure you understand the terms. Most web hosts will offer an introductory price, but that usually only lasts for the first year or first term of your agreement. Make sure you know how much the cost will go up.
You should also note how often you have to pay. Some services may allow you to go month to month, which is nice if you are unsure about your hosting needs and want to get a feel for things before making a longer commitment. However, many providers require annual commitments.
You need to have a well-rounded assessment of your needs and what each web host company offers to make a decision. Use the information we gave you in the reviews and take time to gather your own information so that your final decision is solid.
What About Free Hosting?
In your search for the best web hosting for small businesses, you will come across those offering free hosting. As with anything that is free, you will not get the best service from these providers.
While many of the companies are wonderful and do have great paid plans, with the free hosting, you are bottom of the barrel. If there are going to be outages, then you can expect it to happen to you. Free services rarely guarantee uptime, which is something you cannot afford.
You have to have reliability. So, even though free hosts may offer many of the same features as paid hosts, the bottom line is they are just not reliable enough to use for a business.
In addition, you won't get some of the great features that paid providers offer. Storage limits are often low as is disk space. You won't typically get free emails, domains, or transfers. You usually also won't have WordPress integration. Some of these hosts will even place ads on your website that you have no say over.
If you want something for free, then look to a free trial, which you can often find from top companies. Remember also, that most of the companies on our list give money-back guarantees, so you can essentially try them for free.
10 Best Hosts for Small Business Websites
You've reviewed our list of the top 10 best web hosting companies for your small business website and learned quite a bit about what you should expect. You are ready to go make a decision on which one you feel takes the top spot. You may agree with us or not, but you can't go wrong with any of the web hosting companies on our list.
- Bluehost: Best overall
- DreamHost : Best money back guarantee
- HostGator: Best uptime
- SiteGround: Best customer support
- iPage: Best pricing plans
- GoDaddy: Best all-in-one option
- InMotion: Best for shared hosting
- A2 Hosting: Best for WordPress hosting
- AccuWeb: Best dedicated hosting
- Hostwinds: Best VPS hosting
If you have time, visit all these wb hosts and check out their websites for additional details about their service and to get a feel for the company overall.
FAQs
If you still have a few lingering questions about choosing a web host, then these frequently asked questions may clear things up for you.
What are the different types of hosting?
While each of our top 10 web hosting companies offers many types of hosting, you may be new to this and not be sure what it means when we say dedicated hosting or shared hosting. You'll need to know what the different types of hosting are in order to ensure you choose the right plan.
Shared hosting means you share a server with other websites. One downside to this is that if traffic is high, it can cause an outage that affects everyone on the server. So, even if you are staying within the normal traffic load, another website's load could affect you. In addition, you may have more limits on resources. However, the perk of shared hosting is that it is the cheapest option.
Dedicated hosting means you have a server to yourself. The service is more stable overall because it is only working for you. You also get more generous limits, but having a dedicated server requires more from the web host, so it costs you more.
VPS or virtual private server hosting means you are on your own virtual server. This virtual server is a partition on a physical server, which you share with others. So, it has the pros and cons of both shared and dedicated servers. However, it does allow for better growth than shared hosting and costs less than dedicated hosting.
WordPress hosting is specifically for use with WordPress websites. Since this is one of the biggest providers for websites, there is a demand for this type of hosting. Typically, you get customization that makes starting up simple.
Reseller hosting is what you need if you want to host your clients' websites through your website. This is good for website design companies, for example.
Cloud hosting uses servers in the cloud. It also provides a network of cloud resources.
What does value mean in web hosting?
Since we use value as the main way to rank the web hosting companies, it helps to know what it means. When we say “value,” we mean what you get for your money. It reflects the service with the best overall offerings when considered as a whole. A well-rounded service has a high value because you get a lot for your money. If you have a specific need, you may want to look at other ratings beyond value because value averages everything together.
Why is uptime important?
Uptime is one of the most important aspects of hosting because it speaks to the dependability of the service. You want the highest uptime possible because that means your website will always be available to customers. If a customer tries to access your website and can't, it can cause you to lose business. Furthermore, if your website is down often, you can't sell or convert leads.