One of the lessons I’ve learned after reviewing dozens of web hosts is that a good web host might not always be the right web host.
Why?
Because different kinds of websites will have different needs.
Some web hosts might be good in certain areas, such as speed, while others might focus on providing a stable server. You need to remember that a “good web host” does not give you a 100% satisfaction guaranteed.
Instead, as an owner of a small business website, you need to be aware of what your requirements are. By being cautious and picky about your web host, you can make sure that your business stays online, the way you want it.
And it starts by knowing the must-have features that you’ll need for a good business web hosting.
Critical features for small business web hosting services
- Cheap Price – Budget is always a big issue for small businesses. So, most owners will consider the overall cost of building a website (which include web hosting cost) in the first place.
- Reliability – Every big thing starts small. Good reliability and higher uptime are the foundations that you must have to get your website bigger and better.
- Scalability – Your business will grow, so your web host must be able to coup with it. Always start small with an affordable hosting and upgrade (to VPS or cloud) when your business takes off.
- SSL Certificate – There are multiple factors that can generate trust for online websites. SSL certificate is one of them, which, an absence can send many potential customers away.
- Backup Service – It will be definitely hard to sleep if you have a good amount of money at stake. Automated backup services will ensure you that whatever happens, you won’t lose your website.
FTC Disclosure
WHSR receive referral fees from companies mentioned in this page. Our opinions are based on real experience and actual server data. Please read our review policy page to understand how our host review and rating system works.
Best Web Host for Small to Medium Business
After evaluating all the good web hosts around, I have come down to a list of companies that perfectly fit the needs of most small-business owners.
1. InMotion Hosting
Website: https://www.inmotionhosting.com
Inmotion Hosting offers SSD-based Shared Business Hosting on their servers located at the East and the West Coast of United States. You have the option to choose one of them.
Shared plans are basically budget-friendly which includes one free domain name and one free SSL certificate. They also offer advanced hosting plans such as VPS Hosting and Dedicated Server Hosting for websites in need of more CPU resources.
Regardless of the plan, their server uptime is mostly above 99.95% with good latency in the US.
Their service is backed up by all three methods of support (live chat, phone and email ticket). Contacting via phone call is the quickest way to get your problem solved professionally.
More about Inmotion Hosting in my review.
Quick review
Recent speed test at InMotion Hosting: TTFB = 431ms.
Special discount for WHSR users at InMotion Hosting – Save 57% on first bill.
Pros
- Solid server performance – Good uptime (>99.95%) and response time (< 450ms)
- Big first-time discount on shared hosting plans – save up to 57%
- Free domain registration, SSL Certificate and automated daily backup
- SSD storage and peered connection technology for up to 6x faster website
- 90-days safe hosting period with no-question-asked refund policy
Cons
- Server location USA only
- Must go through phone verification for account activation
Price
- Shared business hosting starts at $5.99/month (regular $7.99/month)
Which InMotion Hosting plan is recommended for small / medium business?
For new and small businesses – Start with InMotion Power Hosting Plan – at $5.99/mo, customers can host up to 6 domains with free SSL for all domains and all essential e-commerce features ready.
Upgrade to VPS-1000HA-S or VPS-2000HA-S later as your business grows.
2. SiteGround
Website: https://www.siteground.com
SiteGround has achieved the highest customer satisfaction in the last couple of years with their helpful live chat support being one of the highlights.
Their servers use NGINX, HTTP/2 in conjunction with SuperCacher technology to maximize the website speed. It can save a big 7% loss of conversion that could just happen in 1 second of load delay (source).
All SiteGround plans feature one-click SSL installation and the shared plans have Let’s Encrypt SSL for free. Shared plans also come with a free automated daily backup service for better peace of mind.
More about SiteGround in my review.
Quick review
SiteGround uptime in March 2018: 100%
My chat record with SiteGround support – SiteGround has the best live chat support in market according to that study.
Let’s Encrypt SSL is auto-installed to all SiteGround hosting accounts. To check your free standard Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates at SiteGround, login to cPanel > Security > SSL / TLS Manager > Certificates (CRT).
Pros
- Great uptime (100% in most cases)
- A straight 60% off on the first bill of any shared hosting
- Choice of server location (America, Europe and Asia)
- Officially recommended by WordPress.org and Drupal.org
- Native 3-layer caching system for optimal performance (SuperCacher)
- Let’s Encrypy SSL (HTTPS) is auto-installed to all domains
- WooCommerce-ready – Siteground pre-install and manage all you need for a WooCommerce site.
Cons
- High renewal cost on shared hosting
- SuperCacher is not available on the basic shared plan (StartUp)
Price
- Shared hosting starts at $3.95/month (regular $9.95/month)
Which SiteGround plan is best for small business?
StartUp or WooCommerce Startup. SiteGround StartUp is great for hosting one business website – the plan comes with all essential features and suitable for business sites with less than 10,000 visits per month.
If you are running WordPress WooCommerce site, go for SiteGround WooCommerce Hosting . All SiteGround’s WooCommerce plans come with auto-updater, pre-installed WooCommerce and Storefront theme, and Let’sEncrypt SSL.
3. Cloudways
Website: https://www.cloudways.com
Cloudways might not be a household name in the hosting industry but they are currently making strides in cloud hosting. Or rather, cloud management to be exact.
What Cloudways offer is the ability to create a cloud server for your website and have it hosted on six cloud providers: Amazon (AWS), Google Cloud Platform, DigitalOcean, Vultr, and Linode. If your website or project demands maximum power (for suddden traffic spike), then Cloudways ability to give you dedicated resources to improve your website speed and stability is a huge plus.
In addition to that, they also support a slew of performance-boosting technologies such as PHP7, Varnish, Nginx, Redis, Memcached, and HTTP/2.
If you’re not a technical person, Cloudways also supports automated installation for some of the popular CMS and apps such as WordPress, Drupal, Magento, Joomla, PrestaShop, and OpenCart.
More about Cloudways in Azreen’s in-depth case study.
Quick review
Cloudways Managed Cloud Hosting Plans.
Cloudways user reviews
Pros
- Ability to choose multiple cloud providers
- Easy install process for WordPress, PrestaShop, Drupal, etc.
- Affordable cloud hosting management platform (cloud hosting as low as $10/mo)
- Pay as you go – only pay for the resources your business site consumes
- Simplicity – Beginner and developer friendly with Intuitive UI
Cons
- Easy installer is only limited to 12 apps/CMS
- Doesn’t not have any root access
- Confusing for first time cloud hosting users
Which Cloudways plan to go with?
Any Cloudways entry level plan is good for small business. At this time of writing, Cloudways Digital Ocean and Cloudways Vultr have the cheapest price. For $10/mo and $11/mo, you’ll get 1 GB server RAM and 25 GB storage for your business websites.
4. Hostinger
Website: https://www.hostinger.com
Hostinger has the cheapest and entrepreneur-friendly hosting services. Start at as low as $0/month and upgrade to a premium plan later.
The $0/month hosting uses the same hardware (Intel Xenon processors and SSD storages) as their premium hosting which makes their service more transparent.
Their premium plans are still cheaper than the market average featuring MariaDB (for a secured database), SSH Access (for better security) and pre-optimized servers for website speed.
More about Hostinger in Jason’s review.
Quick review
It’s the innovative features that make Hostinger ticks.
We started tracking Hostinger in May 2017. Test site hosted at Hostinger has been up for the last 637+ hours at this point of writing. Besides the one hour scheduled maintenance in June 1st, the server has not gone down.
Pros
- Start with $0/month hosting by Hostinger’s 000webhost.com
- Free domain name and automated daily backup
- Flexible VPS hosting plans (6 different levels)
- Top-level data backups on VPS accounts
Cons
- Price increases at renewal
Price
- Shared hosting starts at $2.15/month (regular $3.99/month)
Which Hostinger plan is right for small business site?
There’s only one shared plan that’s right for businesses at Hostinger – the Business Plan. Starts at $7.95/mo, Hostinger Business Plan users get unlimited SSD store, free domain registration, daily backup, and free SSL.
Avoid Hostinger Single or Premium plan if you are serious about your business.
5. InterServer
Website: https://www.interserver.com
Founded by Michael Lavrik and John Quaglieri, InterServer is a New Jersey-based company that’s been in the game since 1999.
Initially launching as a virtual hosting account re-seller, the hosting provider has grown over the past 17 years and now operates two data centers in New Jersey and is in the process of expanding to additional locations.
The best thing about InterServer is their solid server performance, guaranteed email delivery, and locked-in signup price. The company pledge that they will never increase their price during renewal and keep them under 50% utilization for sudden traffic spikes. Also, the new Guaranteed Email Delivery feature ensure important business emails you sent will not be trapped in recipients’ junk box.
More about InterServer in my review.
Quick review
Interserver does not jack up their price during renewal.
Interserver speed test results from March 8th, 2018; TTFB = 222ms.
Pros
- Good uptime (>99.97%) and excellent server response time (<220ms)
- Special discount: For new purchases, use promo code WHSRPENNY to try Interserver at $0.01/mo (first month only).
- Flat price on all shared and VPS plans (no increase at renewals)
- Free website migration
Cons
- VPS hosting panel is not beginner friendly
- No live chat support
Price
- Shared hosting starts at $5.00/month (same at renewal)
Which InterServer hosting plan is business-friendly?
Interserver Standard Shared Hosting Plan is good enough for any new, or small businesses. Priced at $5/mo (for life), you’ll get all essential business hosting features plus automatic virus scanner, machine learning firewall, in-house caching, and guaranteed email delivery.
6. HostGator Cloud
Website: https://www.hostgator.com/cloud-hosting
HostGator has been providing web hosting services since 2002 and received the highest mentions in one of the surveys conducted in WHSR.
The company, after being acquired by Endurance International Group in 2012, has reintroduced themselves as a cheap cloud hosting provider recently. Hostgator claims that the cloud servers can provide up to 2x faster website load time (which my speed tests concur).
More about HostGator Cloud Hosting in my review.
Quick review
Our test site at Hostgator responded to our test in 30 – 403 ms. Bitcatcha rated the results as “A”.
TTFB = 343ms according to performance test at WebpageTest.org.
Pros
- Good and stable uptime record (>99.99%)
- Big first-time discount on cloud hosting up to 45%
- Cheap and flexible (3 tiers) cloud hosting plans
- Free website migration for new users
- 45-days money back guarantee
Cons
- Occasional long waiting time in live chat
- Security and backup features not included in plan
- Signup price revised recently and expensive renewal cost
Price
- Shared hosting starts at
$3.95/month $4.95/month (price revised recently)
Which Hostgator Cloud plan is best for small business?
Hostgator Hatchling or Baby Cloud Plans should be good enough for new businesses. Hostgator Hatchling Cloud Plan guarantees 2 CPU cores and 2 GB memory for all accounts; whereas Hatchling Cloud Plan guarantees 4 CPU Cores and 4 GB memory.
Get Smart:,Know Your Business Needs!
So there you have it, the web hosting services that we think will perfectly suit the needs of any small-to-medium business owners for their website.
But of course, in order for you to choose the right host for your website, you need to know the needs of your business first. As we’ve mentioned earlier, smaller business websites tend to have peculiar needs and identifying them will go a long in choosing the perfect web host for you.
Some other points that you need to consider before choosing your web host are:
- What are the software you need for your business? Pick a host that allow you to auto-install those software
- Where is your customers located at? Pick a host that has servers close to your audience / customers
- What is your business growth plan? Look for a host with VPS and dedicated upgrade options – so it allows you to grow with minimum hassles
The more you understand your business and its needs, the better and easier it will be to choose the right web host.
Last but not least, you should always remember that there is never a one-fix-all solution for your website. It’s all about finding the right balance of good features in a web host while still fullfilling the needs of your website.
Further reading