Web Hosting Provider Comparison
Question: How do I choose a web hosting provider, and which one(s) do you recommend?"
Answer: There are literally hundreds of web hosting providers to choose from, and it's hard to know which ones are good or bad.
I've listed several reputable web hosting providers below, with a comparison of their features. These are providers that I've either used before or would recommend using for getting your website pages on the Internet.
A web hosting provider is a company that stores your web pages and makes them viewable on the Internet. They also provide domain registration services so you can reserve a domain name (e.g. www.yourcompany.com) and create personalized email accounts like you@yourcompany.com.
Recommended Web Hosting Providers
| Web Host | Domain Name |
Email Addresses |
Monthly Bandwidth |
Storage | Databases | Add-on Domains |
Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1&1 |
Free | 600 | 300 GB | 10 GB | 10 | None | $3.99 |
| Dotster |
Free | 10 | 250 GB | 5 GB | 1 MySQL | None | $5.25 |
| HostMonster |
Free | Unlimited | 3000 GB | 300 GB | 100 MySQL 100 PostgreSQL |
Unlimited | $5.95 |
| StartLogic | Free | Unlimited | 3000 GB | 300 GB | 25 MySQL | 10 | $5.95 |
| techhosting |
Free | Unlimited | 1000 GB | 100 GB | Unlimited MySQL | 7 | $5.95 |
| Lunarpages |
Free | Unlimited | 3500 GB | 350 GB | Unlimited MySQL | 10 | $6.95 |
| Blue Host |
Free | 2500 | 3000 GB | 300 GB | 50 MySQL 50 PostgreSQL |
Unlimited | $6.95 |
| Hostgator |
Free | 20 | 200 GB | 50 GB | Unlimited MySQL | Unlimited | $6.95 |
| IX Web Hosting |
Free | 5000 | 3500 GB | 500 GB | 100 MySQL 100 PostgreSQL |
8 | $6.95 |
| iPowerWeb |
Free | 2500 | 3000 GB | 300 GB | 1 MySQL | 6 | $6.95 |
* Last updated on Jan 10, 2008 - visit each provider to view additional hosting plan options
Which web hosts do I recommend?
I've used both Lunarpages and HostMonster to host my own sites, so I can attest to their reputability and dependability. They both have a rich set of features with very affordable price tags. Lunarpages comes with $700 worth of Coffee Cup web site development software, which makes it a very attractive option for someone who needs to create a new web site template. Both Lunarpages and Hostmonster are very responsive with technical support and continually upgrade their features with faster hardware, increased bandwidth, storage, email accounts, etc.
Web Hosting Providers You Might Want to Stay Away From:
You might be surprised to see big names like GoDaddy and Yahoo on this list, but I really feel they're lacking in features compared to the web hosting providers listed above (and Yahoo is just plain too expensive).
If you're one of the web hosting providers on this list, you may use the Contact Form to plead your case or let me know about improvements you've made. :)
| Web Host | Monthly Bandwidth |
Storage | Databases | Add-on Domains |
Monthly Price |
Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GoDaddy |
5 GB | 250 GB | 10 MySQL | No | $3.99 | Low bandwidthSmall storage No add-on domains |
| Dot5 |
3000 GB | 300 GB | Unlimited MySQL | 6 | $4.95 | Extremely Slow No Fantastico Scripts |
| HostRocket |
Unlimited | 100 GB | 10 MySQL | 10 | $4.95 | $29.95 Setup Fee (should be free) |
| FatCow |
3000 GB | 300 GB | 5 MySQL | Unspecified | $6.95 | Too few databases Too many unknowns |
| Yahoo |
200 GB | 5 GB | Unlimited MySQL | None | $7.71 | Low bandwidth Small storage Too expensive No add-on domains |
* Last updated on Jan 10, 2008
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