As of January 2018, over 4 billion people were active internet users, according to Statista.
With so many people using the internet for browsing, shopping, blogging, etc. it makes sense for small businesses to ensure that they too are online for the world to see.
The basis of any professional and great performing website is your web hosting provider.
With so many available, we’re going to pull together a top 10 list for your small business, so you can make an informed decision in finding the perfect web host.
The 10 Best Hosting Companies for Small Businesses
GoDaddy
One of the bigger names in web hosting, GoDaddy offer a variety of hosting plans, including shared hosting, business hosting, VPS, and dedicated servers.
Their shared hosting plans start from as little as £2.99 per month (Economy) and go up to £6.99 per month (Ultimate), offering unlimited websites, storage, bandwidth, and a 1-year SSL certificate.
GoDaddy are a reputable brand with years of experience, offering all of their users 1-click installs to popular applications like WordPress, as well as a user-friendly control panel in order to manage your website’s hosting.
Uniquely, they also have a range of business hosting plans, specifically designed for small businesses that are looking for the server power and resources of VPS hosting, without the price tag.
Although they are more pricey than shared hosting, GoDaddy’s business plans start from £19.99 per month, giving you the option to upgrade as and when you require the extra storage and performance.
All of their business plans come with a SSL certificate, which is an integral element if you’re setting up any online business – after all, your users will want the reassurance that your website is safe and secure when making any payments.
iPage
iPage have been around for a long time; they’re well-known for their exceptional customer service and low prices.
iPage offer shared web hosting, VPS, dedicated servers, and WordPress hosting. Unlike most other providers, iPage’s shared web hosting only contains 1 pricing plan, but it packs a pretty hefty punch considering the features.
From only £1.50 per month, iPage offer unlimited disk space, domains, and MySQL databases which are key elements for any small business.
You’ll also get a free online store, PayPal integration and shopping carts, as well as a website builder, so you pretty much have everything you need to start your small business venture.
SiteGround
Founded in 2004, SiteGround have continued to grow as a web hosting company that offers a range of features at affordable prices.
Their StartUp plan starts at £2.75 per month, offering 1 website, 10GB storage space, and includes of all their essential features such as 24/7 support, cPanel access, free website builder, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
It’s always reassuring to see a web hosting company offering a money-back guarantee, it shows that they have confidence in their services and know what they’re doing.
Although SiteGround don’t offer as much storage space and disk usage as other companies, they’re still a suitable contender.
Let’s face it, most small businesses don’t actually require that much website space anyway, and even if you do, you can always upgrade your package.
SiteGround offer a 99.9% uptime guarantee which is essential when looking for a web host; our experience with SiteGround passes with flying colours, and we’d recommend it for small businesses who are just starting out.
If you’re looking to grow bigger, however, you may want to upgrade your plan, or transfer to a different provider when the time comes.
Wix
You may be surprised to see Wix on our list of top 10 best hosting companies for small businesses, but we figured we’d add them in for good measure, as they’re very underrated.
Wix is not only a website builder, but can also host your website for you – an all in one package which can come in very handy if you’re waiting for your small business to take off.
Wix is completely free, however, if you want your own branding on your website and want to link your domain, prices start from £2.55 per month.
Wix often have sales and deals, so if you are looking for a website builder and a web host in one, then keep your eyes peeled to get a decent discount.
There’s no need for any coding skills with Wix as it’s a drag and drop builder, with hundreds of free templates to choose from.
If you’re testing the waters to see if your small business can grow into something bigger, then Wix is a great choice, with inclusive eCommerce stores on a budget and a 14-day money-back guarantee.
HostGator
A familiar name with lots on offer, HostGator provides the same features as other web hosts at an affordable cost.
Their business plan starts at $5.95 per month and provides unlimited domains, 1-click installs, unmetered bandwidth, and a free SSL certificate, along with a free website builder should you need it.
In comparison to other providers, HostGator offers an extremely cost-effective solution for small businesses, especially considering everything you get is unlimited.
Their user experience is extremely friendly, and their performance is reliable; their customer support in our experience was brilliant, and we especially liked having the option of live chat when we needed it.
Admittedly, the user reviews on HostGator aren’t that great; I’m not sure why, because we couldn’t fault it, but if you do find that it’s not suitable for your small business, they offer a 45-day money–back guarantee.
BlueHost
BlueHost are another big competitor in the web hosting market, once again providing shared hosting at affordable prices, often with sales and discounts to get a real bargain.
BlueHost’s prime plan starts from $5.95 per month and comes with unlimited websites, space, bandwidth, email accounts and more.
The difference between their prime plan and their cheaper plans is that you get domain privacy and SiteBackup Pro, which is very useful if you’re running a small business.
However, if you’re looking to go the whole hog, you’ll need to upgrade to their ‘Go Pro’ plan which is essentially designed for businesses who want an SSL certificate, and higher performance.
This comes in at $13.95 per month, which is comparably more expensive against similar web hosts.
BlueHost are well-known, and have a good reputation, so spending the extra on a web host that will give you what you pay for is definitely a bonus.
We’ve included them because they do offer a great package to get your small business started, but you may want to keep checking back to see if they offer a sale or a first-time buyer discount.
InMotion
InMotion are undoubtedly a brilliant choice for small businesses, offering small business hosting from only $5.999 per month.
You’ll receive a free domain, 6 websites, unlimited disk space, bandwidth, and be upgraded to their 2x performance servers, granting you more resources compared to shared hosting.
Their 90-day guarantee is very enticing, reassuring you that you can test the performance of your website over a 3-month period without the risk of burning away your money if you don’t enjoy your experience.
All of InMotion’s business plans come with a free SSL certificate as well as $250 worth of advertising credits which is a lovely little bonus.
Their reputation continues to grow, being a CNET certified service provider for 15 years.
They also offer handy features that other web hosts often make you pay for, such as, website migration, including all of your site files, databases, and settings.
If we had to recommend the best hosting company for small businesses, InMotion would definitely be at the top of the list.
1&1
1&1 are pretty famous for their cheap domain names, but they also offer some pretty decent web hosting packages too.
Their Pro plan starts from £6.99 per month and includes scalable performance that is often seen in cloud hosting; so, if you’re attracting more traffic than you originally bargained, your web hosting won’t be affected.
With unlimited storage, websites, databases and an SSL certificate, they’ve brought together all the features any small business could need when starting their web hosting journey.
Even if you drop down to their Plus plan, you’ll still receive pretty much the same benefits; when compared to other providers, this is quite rare to see.
If you’re looking for a web host that can provide unlimited features, along with 1-click installs of all your favourite eCommerce elements, then 1&1 is a solid choice for your small business.
DreamHost
DreamHost are a provider that aren’t as well-known as some other web hosts, but they definitely deserve a spot in our top 10 best hosting companies for small business.
They are pricier, starting at £10.95 per month, but you can reduce your monthly payments by signing up to a contract – not the best way to entice customers, but if you’re looking for a long-term provider then it does work out to be affordable.
DreamHost offer a 97-day money-back guarantee, which is one of the longest guarantees we’ve encountered, so they’re clearly confident in what they can offer.
They only offer one shared hosting plan, which comes with unlimited websites, 1-click installs, SSL certificate, and 24/7 support.
All of their servers offer SSD hosting so you can guarantee that your small business website is going to load in record time.
What really stands out for DreamHost is the user feedback; their support, ease of use, and performance has received outstanding reviews, which for a web host, can sometimes be difficult to find.
If you’re willing to pay a little extra, then DreamHost could be a good solid starting point.
HostRocket
HostRocket boast some really positive user reviews, offering hosting plans from $5.99 per month (if you opt for their biennial plan), with unlimited disk space, bandwidth, websites, and email accounts.
Their customer support is available 24/7, so should you encounter any issues, they’re on hand to help.
Their hosting plans support the latest software, such as, PHP 5, CRON abilities, and SSH access, as well as their own site builder with some really professional templates to choose from.
1-click installs are available at the ready, making your experience as simple as possible.
Although their plans are more expensive if you pay monthly, if you’re looking for a web hosting company that is backed by lots of positive reviews, with great customer service, HostRocket is a good choice for small businesses.
