Best Cheap WordPress Hosting
Best Cheap WordPress Hosting
Many people ask me who I host with. As you read through this blog, you will see I am a bit biased to Hostgator. It is only my personal preference, since I have been with them so long. However, many more hosting companies have come up in rank. Here I want to share what I researched finding 7 best cheap (or less expensive) hosting companies that work seamlessly with WordPress.
A definitive guide to basic SEO and how to choose a hosting plan
The internet progresses with a major percent of people using mobile for all phases of communication. It still amazes me, how many artists, or small businesses do not have a website.
Social media is a great platform to use, but when someone is interested in your work, they want more. A website establishes the seriousness of your presence and your brand.
Determine What Type of Site You’re Building
Just as how the amount of expected traffic or server load affects which type of hosting plan you’ll want to find, your type of website will determine which features are most important to have. Some hosting providers, for example, promote eCommerce functionality while others concentrate on blogging and search engine optimization.
As you start doing more to your site, learn more! Here is a quick blog to SEO basics to get you started.
Whats the difference between hosting and domains?
Consider your domain name as your website’s store name and address, while your hosting company is your landlord that you lease space from.
Your domain can be registered and hosted with a different company than the one hosting your site’s files. I prefer to keep all my hosting resources in the same account. Many of the best domain hosts include free transfers and migrations if you already bought a domain somewhere else. Some providers even include free domain hosting for the first year of newly registered addresses.
These top hosting sites are rated well in several areas. All are under $10/month with plenty of room to grow. For all of us busy creatives, most have introductory prices, so be sure to know what you are paying after that time. It is best to choose wisely so you can find one to stay with.
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1. DreamHost
Dreamhost prides itself on being an award-winning WordPress host. Considering that Dreamhost hosts over 1.5 million sites for 400,000+ members and they’re one of only four web hosts that WordPress itself endorses, they have good reason to be proud.
Their unique relationship with WordPress, thanks to over 750,000 one-click installations, should put Dreamhost on your hosting shortlist if you’re starting a small site.
DreamHost is wordpress-endorsed hosting starting at $2.59/month. Although if you want to add an email, it is an additional $1.67/month.
Starting for just $4.95 a month, you can choose the monthly billing option with DreamHost. This allows you to cancel at any time (with no additional fees!) and provides the same great features as the annual plans.
If you are not able to make a large payment for the annual plans or if you aren’t sure how long you will need your site, this is a great option that not all web hosts offer.
Keep in mind, the per-month fee is higher, but it may be worth it if you need the flexibility of monthly billing.
WordPress installation
The account signup was easy and the one-click install options in the backend worked straight out of the gate and the interface was generally straightforward to navigate.
Customer support
Although support is offered 24/7/365, you can’t actually ring the DreamHost support team. However, for a fee, they offer to ring you.
Other customer support options include:
- Live chat (mainly available when there are not many support staff handling the tickets). Chat is a permanent option for customers who pay a monthly call back fee.
- An active forum.
- Support via Twitter.
- Many of the team are WordPress experts for people needing that specific knowledge.
We decided to use chat to ask some technical domain questions. Customer support was easily reachable via chat and able to help us clear the issue quickly.
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Blogging: Consider a WordPress Web Host
With WordPress recently crossing the 28% mark and powering more than a quarter of all websites on the internet, the content management system is an easy pick for business owners using blog content to spread their brand.
Seemingly EACH OF THESE HOSTS offers streamlined one-click installations of WordPress, upgraded hardware, unlimited storage and bandwidth, pre-installed programs, and dedicated WordPress expertise and support.
Once you are up and running, blog, blog, blog! Here are some blog ideas to get you started.
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2. HOSTPAPA
HostPapa started back in 2006. Since then, they have grown to host over 500,000 websites spread out across the globe.
HostPapa is a Canadian web hosting company based in Burlington, Ontario.
While everyone is welcome to purchase its hosting products, the company prides itself in hosting and domain registration (of domains ending with .ca) geared specifically toward Canadians.
Green Hosting With Carbon Offsets
The main thing that makes HostPapa stand out from other beginner hosts is its focus on being a green host.
Now, this doesn’t mean its datacenters are powered by solar panels and wind turbines but instead buys renewable energy credits to offset its energy usage. For users concerned about their own environmental impact, this could be your selling point.
WordPress installation
You get a free domain and with zero-click WordPress installation you can start building your website right away with the latest optimized version of WordPress and 100+ free professional themes from Jetpack, with automatic updates to WordPress’ latest version.
Included with all plans you receive automated social media posting and scheduling. You are able to plan in advance and reach your audience at a time that works best for them.
Your WordPress plan also comes with a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate and Jetpack that prevents unwanted intrusions with effective brute force attack protection, malware scanning, and spam filtering.
HostPapa ends up making a name for itself by providing all-in-one beginner packages , catering to a worldwide audience, offering solid uptime and security features, along with company values that show they care about more than just profit.
Their focus is on marketing and tailoring their offerings towards an international audience.
Besides English, they offer multiple website versions that cater to users in countries like Australia, Europe, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Belgium.
HostPapa utilizes the classic cPanel setup, like most other beginner web hosts. Chances are, you’ve stumbled across cPanel before, or have at least read about it. It’s one of the most popular and commonly used control panels in the world, well laid out and it’s easy to find what you’re looking for.
Customer support
If English isn’t your first language then don’t worry, you’re covered. HostPapa offers phone support for over 18 different countries in English, French, Spanish, and German.
For starters, the very basic plan is not only incredibly cheap but it also allows you to host up to two websites. You also get plenty of disc space, so you won’t be running into any plan limits here.
HostPapa’s “Starter” plan is the most obvious choice if you’re looking for the cheapest option available.
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3. BLUEHOST
With the basic package you can have cost effective wordpress hosting at $3.95/month. As you can see, a very cheap WordPress hosting option – a shared WordPress hosting plan, to be exact.
One immediate point to note is that Bluehost is the only alternative on the list that doesn’t offer a monthly package. Twelve month commitments are the minimum, though that is offset somewhat by a strong money back guarantee policy that I have personally invoked without issue.
WordPress installation
In addition to the standard cPanel options in place, Bluehost’s one-click WordPress installations are handled by a service called MojoMarketplace.
The MojoMarketplace interface for installing WordPress left a lot to be desired. It was possible to install multiple instances accidentally, and overall feedback on what was happening at any given point was inconsistent and confusing. (For instance, when we look at Bluehost vs HostGator, the latter gives you WordPress installs in just a few clicks.)
On the plus side, this gave us an instant opportunity to talk to support!
Customer support
Service via chat support was fast and friendly and helped us with clearing up the initial WordPress installation problems and setting up a temporary URL to view our site.
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Consider a Host With Which You Can Grow
Creatives usually don’t sell multiple quantities of products. Our artwork is one of a kind with occassional duplicate prints or posters. Our business is counting on the online presence to increase brand recognition.
Hopefully as our collectors find us, we still plan to grow, so you’ll want to find a hosting provider that can handle a booming business.
Ideally, a successful hosting relationship is a lifelong commitment. Looking for a new hosting provider is a pain, not to mention all the headaches and hassles associated with transferring files and domains.
Instead of constantly looking for the next best thing, find a web host that is in it for the long haul. In addition to a strong shared hosting plan, companies like HostGator offer top-rate features at the VPS and dedicated hosting levels, meaning the host will stand by your side as you become more and more successful.
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4. HOSTGATOR
I love and use HostGator. They have been long been respected in the hosting industry since 2002 and I probably have been with them close to that time.
With more than 90% customer satisfaction and 12,000 servers under management, the company is one of the largest and most well-known hosting brands. For customers whose sites require extra power, HostGator offers scalability in the form of cloud, VPS, and dedicated server hosting.
With the starter package hosting is $5.95/month or $3.95/month for 36 months. Signup with HostGator was straightforward and you will soon be logged into a pretty traditional cPanel setup on the backend without incident.
WordPress installation
Installation was also painless using the built-in cPanel WordPress installer. I did find myself having to update themes post-install, but that was just a matter of a few clicks until I made my final decision.
Customer support
In the beginning, I have been up many a night using customer support and would rate them 5 stars every time. I find if you use their chat support during typical business hours, you may have a wait time which can be annoying, but I really didn’t need to use support that often. They also have email with a “ticket” in their support area if it’s not urgent.
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Web Host Pricing
Be aware that most hosting companies offer introductory prices. After your term is up, the price will jump to their actual pricing levels. Some as much as a 50% jump. When you find a hosting company you like, sign up for the longest period you can, for the best rate. After the initial term is up, expect to pay anywhere from $7-$15 /month.
While your costs should definitely factor into your decision, don’t sacrifice support and performance. Also, don’t forget to budget for services such as domain name registration and any themes or plugins you might need to add.
Then look at everything on business terms. I use Hostgator and now pay approximately $145/year for the plan I use, (I have multiple domains). Remember, this is rent for your storefront, and actually, I’m ok with the price I pay.
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5. A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting is one of the best under-the-radar hosting companies you should know more about. Their speed is excellent, customer service is friendly, security features are plentiful, refund policy is liberal, and they’re even environmentally conscious on top of it all.
The entry-level plan, which A2 Hosting call their Lite option starts at $3.92/month, gets you hosting for one website, use of five databases, 25 email addresses, unlimited SSD disk space, unlimited data transfer/bandwidth, and a free (shared) SSL certificate.
WordPress installation
A2 Hosting works seamlessly with all major content management systems. You can install a WordPress, OpenCart, Drupal, Joomla, or Magento site with just a few clicks. No need for a developer to help you out.
A2 Hosting offers a special kind of shared hosting for WordPress. These plans are more expensive than the general shared plans described above. But they include a number of things that make them appealing:
There are other minor features that make setting up and running a WordPress site easier. So this is worth a look if you are running a WordPress-based site.
Like the shared hosting plans, you can choose to host your site on a Windows or Linux server. Windows plans cost 25% more than their Linux counterparts. And instead of the cPanel control panel, Windows plans offer Plesk.
Check out plans for A2 HOSTING
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6. GreenGeeks
GreenGeeks is an interesting alternative for those of us who consider themselves being environmentally-conscious, it is the best green-powered hosting at 3.96/month. The platform has been built with the principle of “maximum use” in mind, which means that the architecture makes it possible for no resources to be wasted anywhere.
Also, the company claims that for every amperage they pull from the grid, they re-invest three times that in the form of renewable energy via Bonneville Environmental Foundation.
On the WordPress side of things, GreenGeeks offers WordPress-specific plans at affordable prices, and with lots of features.
All of their servers use Solid State Drives (giving you better loading times), there’s customized caching technology, you get a free SSL certificate to use, and you can integrate your setup with Cloudflare.
As a great added bonus, you also get a free domain name for a year with your setup.
WordPress installation
GreenGeeks gives you handy 1-click WordPress installs, so there’s not much you have to do by hand.
Apart from that, you also get automatic updates, which should make managing the site on an ongoing basis more hassle-free.
While setting up your account, you also get to choose from data centers in Phoenix, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal and Amsterdam.
Customer support
You can use three main support channels with GreenGeeks: email, phone, and chat. Probably the best option of the three is the live chat – available 24/7. The phone support is available during working hours.
GreenGeeks also gives you access to a knowledge base and a range of tutorials on their website.
Check out plans for GREENGEEKS
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7. InMotion Hosting
InMotion offers a lot of hosting options, with their “Launch” plan specifically optimized for WordPress. This one is most affordable at $6.39/month offering a free domain.
The great thing about it is that you get SSD disk space without any additional fees (SSDs are known for their superior performance compared to the other hard disk technologies). Also, you can have 2 websites on this plan, and you get a free SSL certificate.
WordPress installation
Another surprise with InMotion is that you get WordPress preinstalled as part of your WP hosting package. Just tick the right checkbox during the checkout process. In other words, you don’t actually need to handle WordPress installation on your own, it’s all being done automatically.
Also, during install, you get to select your preferred “max speed zone.” There are two settings: east and west. Depending on which you choose, the site is going to be faster in some parts of the globe vs the others.
After everything is done, you’ll get the access details to your new WordPress dashboard, which is all that’s needed.
Customer support
Right after you sign up, you’ll realize that InMotion has a lot to offer in terms of support and helping you to launch your website. There are tons of different guides and tutorials on various hosting-related matters. There’s also a separate knowledge channel all dedicated to WordPress.
But that’s not all, the support chat is available 24/7, although you may need to wait a few minutes depending on what time you need them. However, the person on the other end was knowledgable and quick to answer the questions we asked. I liked that!
Check out plans for INMOTION HOSTING
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Technical areas you should be aware of in hosting plans
What is SSL?
SSL is Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is the most widely deployed cryptographic protocol providing security over internet communications. One of the most important components of online business is creating a trusted environment where potential customers feel confident in making purchases.
When you check out a domain, one with SSL will read https:
If you do not have the SSL, sometimes the website will show that “this website is not secure”. A quick turn-off if you sell products.
Some hosting companies offer free SSL with registration. It’s something you should now have and worth looking into.
Features and the Resources You Require
The technical features of web hosting might be confusing to beginners, and hosts sometimes use confusing lingo to market their services.
You don’t need to be wary of mythical plans offering unlimited storage, bandwidth, and email accounts, but you should understand the various hosting components and limitations providers might impose.
Email addresses and inboxes
Email hosting appeals particularly to business owners who want the notoriety and name recognition of including the domain name in email addresses. Hosting providers often include advanced email features, such as forwarding and filtering services, autoresponders, and enhanced security, for clients who need several inboxes or marketing tools.
Storage and RAM
Storage, or disk space, is probably the easiest hosting feature to understand, as well as the component you probably have to worry about the least. Many shared hosting providers offer unlimited storage; while that might not be technically possible, most personal or small business site owners won’t come close to reaching the limits. As you move to VPS and dedicated plans, storage can be configured as you go.
The biggest thing to look for when it comes to web hosting storage is a little acronym: SSD. Solid-state drives are much faster and more reliable, but they come at a higher price. Traditional hard-disk drives, on the other hand, are more common in the unlimited plans because they typically come with higher capacities.
As with your personal computer, RAM in web hosting serves a similar purpose: quickly processing stored data. The hardware interacts with your storage drives to accelerate page load times, and many consider RAM to be among the most important features to consider when choosing a host.
Bandwidth and Data Transfer
Also impacting your site performance, bandwidth accounts for the amount of data downloaded or uploaded from a website. Also called data transfers, bandwidth is all about how quickly visitors can access your site’s information — the higher the bandwidth, the higher number of people who can view your site at the same time. Again, most hosting customers will receive much more bandwidth than they’ll use in a given month, but boosting your data transfer limits is a surefire way to grow your site’s traffic without losing performance.
Uptime Rates and Reliability
As entrepreneurs know, time is money. Every second your site is inaccessible can mean hundreds of missed sales opportunities, damaged brand reputation, and lost productivity. The Amazon Web Services outage in early 2017 cost companies an estimated $150 million during three to four hours of interrupted service.
Most hosts guarantee a certain amount of uptime and will reimburse you for any unplanned outages beyond the service-level agreement. Guarantees typically range from 100% to as low as 99%, although most shared hosting customers will find themselves perfectly happy with the ultra-common 99.9% uptime threshold. Larger businesses, however, might prefer to pay a premium for a few extra nines.
Security and Support
Although a website’s security is largely dependent on an administrator’s behavior and password strength, among other characteristics, the hosting company’s infrastructure can represent one of the largest weaknesses. More than 40% of websites are compromised because of a host’s vulnerability, so be sure to look for the providers that include firewalls, monitoring services, and other security add-ons. Bonus points for automatic backups and hands-free WordPress updates.
Hosting customers would be hard-pressed to find a provider that doesn’t offer 24/7 support through multiple channels, but actual execution varies wildly. Whether you have a billing question or need technical help getting unhacked, customer service should be responsive and ready to assist. Unfortunately, this critical aspect of hosting is hard to discern until you are already signed up for a plan and find yourself needing help. Definitely do your research to tell if a host’s support stacks up.
Why Free Hosting Isn’t Always a Great Idea
The convenience and savings are attractive at first. Added features, support, and security are what you gain by signing up with a reputable hosting provider. Well worth the slight cost.
Wix, for example, offers a favorite site building platform on top of vibrant themes and secure eCommerce tools. You can design and deploy your site for free, but you’re restricted to a Wix.com subdomain. Upgrading to one of the economical plans removes email, domain, and eCommerce restrictions. After you’ve spent time designing your “free website”. you now find out you MUST host it with them. The last time I checked it was $20 /month.
Why Cheap Hosting Providers Have More Value to Give
Because hosting companies can pack thousands of hosting customers onto a shared server, providers can afford to include dozens of value-added services with hosting plans. By signing up for an affordable hosting plan, you can experiment with luxury options, such as content delivery networks, automatic backups, website builders, and eCommerce tools, to explore different avenues of online success.
Think Ahead: Choose a Host With Which You Can Grow
We strongly prefer hosts we can stick with for the long haul. HostGator, my top choice with which to scale, makes VPS provisioning and deployment a breeze. Flexible software options, coupled with powerful hardware and award-winning support, make the company a great choice to usher your website from the shared to dedicated hosting ranks. HostGator offers unlimited free cPanel migrations and up to 90 manual migrations based on which VPS plan you choose.
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SEO for ARTISTS ebook
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Comments (4)
I am thinking of starting a new website using wordpress and am doing my research. This post made it sooooo much easier to make early decisions. Thanks!
Nice post. I was checking constantly this blog and I’m impressed!
Very useful info particularly the last part 🙂 I care
for such info a lot. I was seeking this particular info for a very long time.
Thank you and good luck.
It can seem daunting in the beginning. I am here to help you get started if you need it, at extremely reasonable rates! Just doing one little thing every month can give you a real boost. Joyce
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to
be really something which I think I would never understand.
It seems too complicated and very broad for me.
I am looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the
hang of it!
Further reading
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