Best Small Business Web Hosting Reviews

Your web hosting provider can ultimately make or break your presence and relevance in the digital world, so picking one for your business is a very crucial step. While you will find an almost endless list of services in one Google search, you wouldn’t be able to identify a reliable service from a mediocre one with just one look- this requires extensive research and effort.

We ranked the best web hosting providers most suitable for small businesses, so all you have to do is read and decide.

CompanyRankingRatingPricePlans for SMBs?SSLScalable?Description
DreamHost1st9.6 out of 10$7.95 Per Month100%EveryoneShared, VPS, Dedicated

DreamHost Review

A stellar control panel, affordable prices, solid uptime, free DDoS protection and more add up to one of the best web hosts out there.Full DreamHost Review »
Bluehost2nd9.6 out of 10$3.95 Per MonthSharedFree on ProYes

Bluehost Review

Bluehost offers various subscription options to help meet the needs of various customers, with great introductory prices.Full Bluehost Review »
InMotion Hosting3rd8.9 out of 10$2.95 Per MonthSharedPaidYes

InMotion Hosting Review

Fairly affordable web hosting services topped off with great uptime, easy domain transfers and awesome customer service.Full InMotion Hosting Review »
A Small Orange4th8.8 out of 10$20.00 Per MonthShared, VPS, Business, WordPressYesYes

A Small Orange Review

A great uptime, ample server headroom and PCI compliance make A Small Orange a good choice for small businesses, despite a few missteps.Full A Small Orange Review »

AccuWeb Hosting

5th8.8 out of 10$5.91 Per MonthShared, VPS, DedicatedVariesYes

AccuWeb Hosting Review

AccuWeb offers value-for-money shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting packages, plus optimized plans for Magento and osCommerce, all at reasonable prices.Full AccuWeb Hosting Review »
GreenGeeks6th8.7 out of 10$39.95 Per MonthShared, VPS, WordPressPaidYes

GreenGeeks Review

GreenGeeks offers a one size fits all, eco-friendly web hosting service that is compatible with Linux OS. There are a few blemishes though.Full GreenGeeks Review »
SiteGround7th8.7 out of 10$3.95 Per MonthSharedFreeYes

SiteGround Review

From one-click app installs to a DIY site builder, Siteground has it all. Their knowledgebase is also remarkable. But be wary of the few shortcomings.Full SiteGround Review »

1&1

8th9.5 out of 10$0.99 Per Month99.99%BusinessShared, Cloud

1&1 Review

With dirt-cheap prices and top-notch security, 1&1 gets you started without breaking the bank, though some plans have resource caps.Full 1&1 Review »

GoDaddy

9th8 out of 10$3.99 Per Month99.9%EveryoneShared, VPS, Dedicated

GoDaddy Review

A user-friendly web hosting provider that also offers fairly affordable plans, great uptime and support, 1-click app installs and lots more.Full GoDaddy Review »

WP Engine

10th8 out of 10$29.00 Per MonthWordPressFree and PaidYes

WP Engine Review

WP Engine is the de facto managed WordPress host, which is great news for businesses, though quality in this case comes at quite a cost.Full WP Engine Review »

HostGator

11th8.8 out of 10$3.95 Per Month99.9%Low-Cost, EveryoneShared, Cloud, VPS, Dedicated

HostGator Review

Part of the EIG house of hosting brands, HostGator offers cheap hosting plans with complimentary use of the Weebly website builder for an easy start.Full HostGator Review »

Site5

12th7.9 out of 10$4.95 Per MonthShared, VPSFree and PaidYes

Site5 Review

Although Site5 offers higher than average page load times and great features, the below average uptime and various shortcomings are disappointing.Full Site5 Review »
LiquidWeb13th7.8 out of 10$50.00 Per MonthShared, VPS, WordPressPaidYes

LiquidWeb Review

A variety of VPS hosting plans, backed by quality performance, customer support and satisfaction guarantees. Be wary of the high costs though.Full LiquidWeb Review »

Arvixe

14th7.8 out of 10$40.00 Per MonthVPSFreeLimited

Arvixe Review

The Arvixe Advantage provides fully-managed Linux and Windows VPS that gives a dedicated server environment at a fraction of the cost.Full Arvixe Review »

Hostwinds

15th7.7 out of 10$5.00 Per MonthShared, VPSNoYes

Hostwinds Review

Though lacking some advanced hosting features, Hostwinds still succeeds thanks to a solid uptime, decent price and overall capable offerings.Full Hostwinds Review »
HostMonster16th7.7 out of 10$14.99 Per MonthVPSYesYes

HostMonster Review

HostMonster offers a standard selection of VPS plans all with varying features to meet the needs of different customers.Full HostMonster Review »

iPage

17th9 out of 10$1.99 Per MonthNo GuaranteeEveryoneShared, VPS, Dedicated

iPage Review

Sufficient performance, reliable security protocols, and an affordable price tag---these are the things that you can expect with iPage.Full iPage Review »

FatCow

18th7.8 out of 10$4.08 Per MonthNo GuaranteeBeginners, Bloggers, SMBsShared, VPS, Dedicated

FatCow Review

FatCow offers a versatile stable of hosting packages, able to cater to beginners and experienced users alike. However, prices tend to skew a bit high.Full FatCow Review »
A2 Hosting19th9.2 out of 10$3.92 Per Month99.9%Bloggers, EveryoneShared, VPS, Dedicated, Reseller

A2 Hosting Review

A2 hosting arms your website with ultra-fast SSDs, the right tools, plus the option to upgrade to turbo speed once you have the right resources.Full A2 Hosting Review »

Media Temple

20th7 out of 10$20.00 Per MonthShared, VPSFree on AgencyYes

Media Temple Review

Media Temple's unique Grid shared hosting network provides rock-solid stability, but some of their prices are a tad too expensive.Full Media Temple Review »
Didn't find what you were looking for? Check out these related categories.
Also, here are some important things we looked at for our rankings.

Server Choices

The most common and highly affordable hosting plan that you will see makes use of shared servers, meaning your website will be hosted on a physical server with other websites under the same provider. While this is a good starting point for personal and blog sites, it may not be advisable for business use, as a spike in traffic can easily render changes in performance. If you have a little extra to spare, going with a VPS, dedicated, or even a cloud hosting service is definitely a better way to go, as you have a better control of the service and can enjoy its full performance at your disposal.

Security

Since you will most likely be accepting and processing purchases online, it is imperative that your server has a foolproof security to protect you and your customers from malicious attacks and hackers looking to gather personal information for their gain. Some hosting providers provide a shared SSL certificate, while others offer other types of SSL certificates for your convenience. There are also hosting companies that render 24/7 monitoring of their servers to ensure that any attacks will be halted immediately.

Web Tools Availability

WordPress, Magento, Drupal… these are only three among dozens of web tools and applications that you will encounter in building your website. Some of them are Content Management Systems, which you can use to build and organize your website's content; others are ecommerce solutions to make online transactions smoother- overall, these are tools which can make managing your website a little easier. Some hosting providers offer a one-click installation of these applications, so you can use them right off the bat. Be sure to check out if compatibility with other third party applications are available, in case you have any preferences in mind that is not on their in-house list.

Upgradability

Expansion of a business is almost inevitable in many cases, which is why it is wise to plan for it right from the beginning. Having a provider that can give you space for growth can prove to be a more cost-effective purchase, rather than needing to look for another service since your web host does not have any upgradable features to accommodate your growing requirements. Going from a shared host to a VPS or dedicated server is the usual step if you have gained a lot of traffic and need powerful resources, but if your web host provider offers packages that you can scale later on, then it would be a great option too.

Price

For small businesses, cost may be a great factor in choosing a web host provider- the service will require spending money on a monthly basis, so affordability will be a concern. Do take note though, in most cases for web hosting, you get what you pay for, and settling for a cheap web host with sub par performance can give little value for your money. Taking a look at the provider's feature set against others with comparable prices can help you choose a jampacked plan with a lightweight price from a dirt-cheap plan with scarce offerings.

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