The best web hosting services in 2023

When building a website, the best web hosting is integral. You need hosting for your site to have an online base and source of content, much as you need one of the best website builders: your site can't exist without it.

Knowing what to look for when choosing a web hosting service can be challenging, so make it easier by knowing what type of hosting you require before you search. We've outlined these in our frequently asked questions section.

Our top tips for finding the best web hosting provider include bearing your budget in mind and knowing your intentions for your site. We recommend planning for scalability, in case your site grows in the future; and, whether you're a beginner or an expert, take note of customer support and service levels you'll require. 

To test a host, we build a test site, trial response times and uptimes over a two-week period, analyze user interfaces, features, and tools, investigate how easy it is to set up or import an SSL certificate, and see how responsive customer service and support are, while also evaluating pricing plans in depth.

Read on and see which leading hosts we recommend.

The quick list

Here are our favorite web hosting services. Check out the full reviews for further details. 

The best web hosting services of 2023 

Best overall

Hostinger has over 30m customers, and it's easy to see why: its extensive online support base and 24/7 help service complement competitive pricing. Basic shared hosting costs $1.99 a month for the first year, with 50GB of storage. While that isn’t a lot, it’s great for single-page sites and small businesses..

For those wanting more, there's VPS and cloud hosting, ranging from $3.99 to $69.99 a month. Business plans come with more resources and day-to-day backups. It’s worth noting, however, that prices increase greatly after the first year, sometimes by up to 100%.  

Whichever plan you choose, check our Hostinger coupon codes to see if we can save you on those plan costs.

Hostinger comes with a one-click auto installer for all your favorite web apps, including WordPress. We found this makes it supremely easy for those starting to build their first website, and it also includes the Zyro website builder, which competes with leading builders across the market. 

We found that the simple, uncluttered interface is user-friendly for all levels of competence, though it's worth noting Hostinger favors those who can undertake their own administrative functions, or have the time to take advantage of its comprehensive range of online support materials.

Read our full Hostinger review.

Best for small businesses

ScalaHosting, with 15 years of experience, offers a diverse range of hosting solutions from shared to custom-managed clusters, catering to various business needs. Its Dallas-based operations provide a stable platform for those new to web hosting.

The shared hosting plans are budget-friendly, starting at $2.95 per month with a three-year commitment. They offer essential features like free domain, SSL, and site migration. The use of NVMe storage is a distinctive advantage that improves site load times.

ScalaHosting's WordPress hosting mirrors its shared plans in terms of pricing and features, with added WordPress-centric perks. The support team is adept at resolving WordPress-specific issues, so it's a viable option for WordPress newcomers.

The VPS hosting plans are fully configurable and provide more resources compared to shared hosting. The option to host your VPS with Amazon AWS extends flexibility, making ScalaHosting suitable for more resource-intensive projects.

*We’ve listed the introductory prices here. Check the ScalaHosting website for the prices you'll pay after the first term.

Best unlimited hosting

Bluehost maintains a stellar reputation in a crowded field and is our pick for the best VPS hosting and the best unlimited web hosting.

It offers shared, dedicated, managed, and unmanaged WordPress hosting, with shared offering unmetered bandwidth at reasonable prices. Its cheapest plan comes in at $2.75 a month for 36 months and includes 50GB storage, five email accounts, and a free domain.

Bluehost provides 24/7 support through phone and live chat, and while not the most customizable, we found its feature-packed plans to be well-configured and supported. Its strongest selling points are speed and uptime, key for any growing site, and an advanced yet simple dashboard for all levels of competence.

For WordPress hosting, it offers the most support out of the box for WordPress and WooCommerce sites, and is one of only three hosts officially recommended by WordPress. This instills a great deal of confidence, alongside extra features including automatic updates, custom themes, a free domain for the first year, a free SSL certificate, and a free CDN. 

Finally, it has its own website builder for WordPress, the Bluehost WordPress website builder, which allows you to utilize drag-and-drop functionality.

Read our full Bluehost review.

*Monthly payments aren’t available, so prices shown are derived from the price of a one-year subscription term: prices will increase significantly after this initial subscription

Best for high-end configurations

InMotion Hosting offers a range of solutions but specifically focuses on managed hosting. Shared hosting starts at $2.49 a month, with support for two sites, 10 email addresses, lots of storage, and unlimited bandwidth. InMotion also offers VPS and dedicated servers for $14.99 and $69.99 a month respectively, while managed WordPress hosting starts at $15 a month. 

Higher prices are backed by additional features and great support, with a site builder from BoldGrid also available for those looking to build and host a site all-in-one. We found that hardware and software offerings are better than those of many rivals, and this is reflected in higher pricing at upper levels.

InMotion states that customer support agents can only handle chat, phone, or support email tickets after completing a rigorous internal training program. This means that friendly, responsive staff are highly knowledgeable should you run into any issues. If you don’t mind paying extra for hosting, we found that this top-level customer service is absolutely worth it. 

Read our full InMotion Hosting review.

Most eco-friendly

Data centers are responsible for enough global carbon emissions to rival airlines: GreenGeeks, as its name suggests, is an eco-friendly web host that invests in renewable energy to keep operations carbon neutral.

With its great shared hosting plans, GreenGeeks doesn’t force you to choose between hosting quality and environmental benefit. It also offers WordPress, VPS, and reseller hosting. 

We found that all plans come with unmetered traffic count and storage space, alongside top features such as free site migration, domain registration, and auto installation. A Weebly website builder is also available.

The trade-off comes in the form of after-sales phone support, which isn’t 24/7. However, round-the-clock live chat is available, as well as email support and an online suite of resources can help with less complex issues.

Read our full GreenGeeks review.

*GreenGeeks offers monthly, annual, biannual, and triannual billing with its shared hosting: monthly prices decrease with longer subscription terms

Best for small sites

SiteGround specializes in shared and cloud hosting, with its three shared plans among the best on the market. Starting at $2.99 a month, the basic plan quickly rockets after the first year to $14.99 a month. While that may seem a disadvantage, all plans are managed, meaning you can expect quality support. 

It also offers managed WordPress and WooCommerce hosting, including many features that competitors usually charge for, like managed WordPress installations, migrator tools, daily backups, and staging areas. We found this solid performance is reflected in great speeds and constant uptime, while it also uses a native control panel.

SiteGround isn't as good for enterprise-scale clients though, given its lack of VPS and dedicated hosting options. However, security features are high-level, including free SSL certificates, 2FA, and DDoS protection. And if you're looking to build a website, SiteGround packages a Weebly builder with every plan.

Read our full SiteGround review.

Best cloud web hosting

Cloudways, our pick for the best cloud hosting, combines affordable, reliable, and scalable managed hosting with flexible, pay-as-you-go plans and enterprise-focused tools.

It utilizes cloud infrastructure networks, including DigitalOcean, Linode, VULTR, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud. Top features we explored include a strong security focus, including dedicated firewalls and DDoS attack protection, alongside two-factor authentication, automatic patching, and advanced bot detection. 

It also integrates with WooCommerce and WordPress, with its Breeze WordPress caching plugin helping reduce page load times. All plans offer 24/7 real-time monitoring, free SSL certificates and site migrations, 24/7 customer support, automatic backups, and unlimited app installations.

Pricing is more complex, via hourly and monthly payments. It offers a free trial, and the ability to cancel at any time given there are no long-term subscriptions. Prices start at $11 a month for 1GB RAM, a one-core processor, 25GB storage, and 1TB bandwidth. 

With industry-leading performance, highly-configurable hosting, and scalable value-for-money, Cloudways serves as a great middle-ground between beginner-friendly hosts and technically-complex providers. It's ideal for users looking for more power.

Read our comprehensive Cloudways review.

*Significant discounts are available with longer-term subscriptions, and you may be required to pay more on renewal

Best for WordPress

DreamHost is a veteran in the hosting market, and its customers enjoy great performance, zero downtime, and good speeds across shared, dedicated, cloud, VPS, and managed and unmanaged WordPress hosting. 

Shared hosting starts at $2.95 a month (rising to $6.99 after the first term), with unmetered bandwidth for one site: a better deal is perhaps Shared Unlimited for $2.95 a month (rising to $12.99 after the first term), offering unmetered bandwidth and storage. For WordPress, it offers a free automatic site migration plugin requiring no technical knowledge. 

Technical support is well-versed on a range of subjects and available via phone, chat, and a ticket system, though live chat is not available 24/7. There's also a very useful online knowledge base with answers to frequently asked questions.

In terms of features, its internal control panel wins plaudits from us for ease of use, while its full domain registration portal allows you to manage every aspect from one central dashboard. DreamHost’s excellent 97-day money-back guarantee, which means you can request a full refund at any time in the first three months, is an absolute standout, however. Very few competitors offer anything close.

Read our full DreamHost review.

* Discounted monthly rates

Best budget option

Namecheap is known primarily for domain registration but also offers paid hosting at hugely-attractive prices. It offers shared, WordPress, reseller, VPS, and dedicated hosting, and its cheapest shared hosting plan, at just $1.48 a month, provides 20GB storage, 30 email accounts, one free domain, and 24/7 support. 

This also comes with unmetered bandwidth and a free website builder. If this sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is, a little: the price jumps to $4.48 a month from the second year. 

While free domain name registration is a lucrative plus, you can't opt for a .com or .net domain with a starter plan and are restricted to store, .online, .site, etc. For those looking for a more advanced builder, we found that one is available for simpler sites on monthly and annual plans.

Namecheap’s biggest downside however is its low speeds and poor performance. While uptime is indeed 100%, response times are unusually slow. Thankfully, a 30-day free trial provides ample time to judge performance on a case-by-case basis, while live chat and online support mean issues are easy enough to resolve.

Read our full Namecheap review.

*This price only applies to the first year of your subscription, and renewal prices will be significantly higher

Best cheap domain registration