Before choosing your Web Hosting, you should familiarize yourself with the web hosting types that are available, from Shared hosting, VPS (virtual private server), Dedicated Hosting, and WordPress hosting (or managed WordPress). In this guide, we’re gonna help you understand, analyze and pick the Web Hosting that suits you well.
Best overall
Bluehost
Bluehost offers a list of products/packages and plans that meet all of your web hosting needs.
Best for WordPress
HostGator
If you’re looking to create a WordPress site, for up to 500k visitors per month, at an affordable price.
Best cheap hosting
Namecheap
Perfect for beginners who are trying to join the websites creation world, and learn on their own.
Main sections in this article (click to jump):
- Difference between Shared, VPS, dedicated, and WordPress Hosting
- 3 best web hosting picks
- I just want a simple blog, what’s the best option for me?
- Should I pay for Web Hosting?
What’s the difference between Shared, VPS, dedicated, and WordPress Hosting?
We’ll try to make it short and simple:
| Web Hosting Type | Difference |
|---|---|
| Shared hosting | A shared hosting (the most used hosting package for new website owners) is an arrangement in which multiple websites are hosted on one server, basically, you share the server with many other users. It’s cheap and beginner-friendly. |
| VPS | VPS is also a “shared” physical server, but the technology used makes it acts like multiple servers. Perfect for “advanced” people who have outgrown shared hosting and have an extra budget. |
| Dedicated hosting | Dedicated hosting is where a single person rents the space of an entire server for himself. Perfect for high-traffic websites and for users with highly specialized needs. Definitely not for beginners. |
| WordPress Hosting | Only WordPress Sites are Allowed. WordPress hosting is for people who want to build their sites with the popular WordPress CMS (content management system), where basically you can manage and customize your website (add pages, add media, write articles, etc..). |
| Managed WordPress Hosting | Managed WordPress hosting require less work from your side to create and maintain.. provides an easier experience and a higher level of support. Also, managed WordPress is more expensive than unmanaged WordPress hosting. |
Our top 3 picks for the best web hosting
These top 3 picks are based on server speed, performance & security, price cost, server uptime, ease of use, popularity, features, discounts, and help/support.
1. Bluehost
Bluehost is one of the best-known/most used web hosting companies on the web, and also our top #1 recommendation. Their basic plan from $2.75/month (the cheapest, and the recommended plan for beginners) include:
- Free Domain name for the first year
- Free SSL Certificate
- 50 GB SSD Storage
- WordPress Integration
- Website Builder Available
Their beginner-friendly tools, make web-building very easy for those without any coding skills or web design.
Is there a discount/promo code for Bluehost?
Yes! If you are a new user, you can benefit from a discount on Bluehost, up to 60% on hosting, and more.. check out their page to claim your Bluehost discount. Perfect for getting started online.
How to buy and set up your Bluehost host?
If you are new to this, and you don’t know how to buy or set up your Bluehost account/host, simply:
- Go to Bluehost and click Get Started.
- Choose your plan ($2.75/month is recommended for beginners).
- Choose a new domain name.
- Enter your account information and your billing information.
- Uncheck any extra package.
- Click Submit and you’re ready to go!
2. HostGator
HostGator is also one of the most popular web hosting companies out there, powering more than 2 million websites.
If you are looking for WordPress hosting and planning to have a long-term website with high traffic potential… then their WordPress Starter Plan ($5.95/month) can be the one for you.
- 100k visits per month
- Free domain name included
- Free SSL certificates
- 1 GB backups
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
Is there a discount/promo code for HostGator?
Yes! They do have a special page for that, a page full of Web hosting deals and coupons, for up to 60% off Shared Web Hosting, and up to 75% off VPS Hosting. Some great options to save you big and get you started.
How to buy and set up your HostGator host?
Getting started with HostGator is quite easy, just follow these steps:
- Go to HostGator Shared Hosting.
- Choose your package and click Buy Now ($2.75/month is recommended for beginners).
- Enter a new domain name.
- Uncheck any extra packages.
- Select the Billing Cycle desired.
- Enter your account information.
- Enter your billing/payment information.
- Again, deselect any additional services you do not want.
- Review cart.
- Click “Checkout Now!” and you are ready to go.
3. Namecheap
As we mentioned before, Namecheap is the cheapest web hosting, starting from $1.88/mo only (the stellar plan), you can have:
- 3 websites in the same host
- Free domain name
- 20 GB SSD
- Free website builder
- Free automatic SSL installation
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Domain name and privacy protection
You can even save more, by choosing a longer billing cycle. Perfect for people who just want to have experience in websites creation, and learn how everything works by themselves!
Is there a discount/promo code for Namecheap?
Yes, Namecheap also has a special page for that, where they post fresh coupon codes and discounts every month. You can use them to benefit from domain names or web hosting and other products at lower prices.
How to buy and set up your Namecheap host?
To get started with Namecheap, follow these simple steps:
- Go to Namecheap Shared Hosting.
- Choose your desired plan and click “Get Started” (you can start with the stellar plan for $1.88/month and upgrade later if necessary).
- Search for your ideal domain name in the search box (If you want to link your host to an existing domain name, select the second option).
- Select your domain name and click Connect To Hosting.
- Click Add to cart.
- Review the cart, enter a promo code if you have one, and click Confirm Order.
- Enter your account information, and quickly signup for a new account.
- Enter your billing/payment information, and click Continue.
- Read/agree to the terms and click Pay Now.
I just want a simple blog, what’s the best web host for me?
“I want to start a WordPress site, but which Web Hosting to get?“, “I want to create a simple blog, should I use WordPress?”… if you are asking this kinda question, we got you covered.
For a beginner, It’s best to start with Bluehost (1 click WordPress installation), and you can have a website just like BrownTips.com, even if you are a newbie who doesn’t know anything about websites creation, we have this Bluehost step-by-step tutorial for you, to create your site/blog in just 1 or 2 hours.
Should I pay for Web Hosting?
Yes, you definitely should. As a smart consumer, you should know that free hosting options aren’t going to offer the quality of service or the specs needed to run your website, nor a good bandwidth or server uptime.
And that was it. Happy hosting!
