As a small business in today’s competitive market, you need a reliable web hosting service to build your online presence. You cannot afford to fail, so your choice must be sufficient to offer a smooth customer experience for your visitors. The best SMB hosting solutions offer good server performance, fast-loading speeds, automated backups, free SSL certificates, and 24/7 customer support at a minimum.
Our experts performed an independent study, including thousands of user reviews, tests, and surveys, to separate the most affordable yet quality small business hosting providers from the mass. In this article, you can learn all there is to know about small business web hosting and how to choose the best web host for your company.
But if you are in a hurry, we won’t take your time any longer – here’s our selection of the top web hosting solutions for your small business!
Short on Time? Check Our Top 10 Web-Hosting Providers for Small Business
- FastComet – Best Overall Hosting for Small Businesses
- HostArmada – Best Value for Money for Small Companies
- A2 Hosting – Best Web Hosting for Customer Support
- Cloudways – Best Cloud Hosting Provider
- Verpex – Best Feature Set for Discounted Prices
- Hostens – Cheapest Hosting for Small Businesses
- ScalaHosting – Best Managed VPS Solutions For Small Business Owners
- ChemiCloud – Best Web Hosting for Beginners
- Kamatera – Best VPS Hosting on A Budget
- InterServer – Best for Enterprise Level Solutions
How Do We Rank and How You Should Choose Your Small Business Hosting Provider?
Types of Hosting5%
- Reliable Uptime, Speed, and Security15%
- Scalability Options8%
- Unique Feature Set10%
- Ease of Use, Help, and Support12%
- Value for Money20%
- User Reviews30%
At HostAdvice, we make independent measurements for each category, i.e., the following study is specific to the small business hosting category. Our results and ranking come from two primary sources – our expert reviews and honest user reviews. We combine the two to reveal to you the best of the best companies for your small business on the market.
Our professionals continually test dozens of web hosts worldwide, including server performance, uptime, speed, ease of use, customer support, money-back guarantees, etc. The question is, does the web host stand true to its promises? Moreover, is the company transparent and consistent in its offering? Fast forward, it should be!
You’ll find an assigned percentage for each factor representing its importance or contribution to an ideal small web hosting service. The higher the number, the more critical it is for you to consider this criterion when selecting the best website hosting for small businesses.
Here are the key factors our professionals used to rank the best small business hosting provider:
- Types of Hosting (5%): Most of the cheapest plans that will pop up on your radar will be shared hosting plans. However, finding a web host with varied options would be best, meaning you shouldn’t dodge or ignore the VPS, cloud hosting, or dedicated server options. These can give you more room to try new things, primarily if you cannot operate on a shared hosting plan due to security concerns or restrictions.
- Reliable Uptime, Speed, and Security (15%): An uptime guarantee, robust security mechanisms, and fast loading speeds should be your primary concerns about any hosting provider. Your small business website needs to be online at all times, and you shouldn’t leave visitors waiting around, at least while you establish your market position and build an excellent reputation. While it is not realistic to expect a 100% uptime guarantee, you can indeed find 99.95% and above – which should be your standard. Furthermore, the web host should offer you good security features to protect your website and visitors from malicious parties or hackers.
- Scalability Options (8%): Your business will not remain small forever if you’re good at what you do. Eventually, you and your business will grow in popularity over time, and many more people will visit your website to order your specific services or products. That being the case, you want to find a small business hosting provider that lets you expand your bandwidth, storage, RAM, CPU cores, and so on, so you can keep up to speed with the increased traffic your website will get, as well as your increased revenue that will allow you to afford these changes.
- Unique Feature Set (10%): The feature set plays an essential role in each web hosting plan, especially for small businesses on a budget. You should consider the set of freebies included in the plan. It would be best to look for several valuable extras, including a free domain, unmetered storage and bandwidth, a free SSL certificate, cPanel or another user-friendly control panel, a website builder, eCommerce functionality, marketing and SEO tools, a free professional email address, a 1-click installer for WordPress, other CMSs, and apps, free daily automated backups, and website migrations.
- Ease of Use, Help, and Support (12%): The best small business hosting is always easy to use and navigate. Even as a beginner or a first-time user, you should be able to find everything conveniently. Usually, top web hosts offer you a user-friendly control panel, such as the industry gold, cPanel. In addition, you should also be able to contact their in-house team 24/7/365 for any issue you might encounter via live chat, email, ticketing system, or phone. Access to self-help databases, such as tutorials, a knowledge base, videos, or a FAQ section, is also a plus.
- Value for Money (20%): If you are running a small business, chances are you don’t have extra cash to throw around. So, you need to make the best use of your money. What features are you getting for the cost? Do other companies offer more for the same price? Ensure you don’t sacrifice quality for a lower price. The cheapest plan won’t always cut it, so you need to pay attention to the price-to-value ratio. Opt for outstanding SMB hosting solutions with high-end services on a budget. At this point, you need to consider first-time discounts and regular rates, renewal prices, and money-back guarantees. Does the web host reward you with a discount if you commit to the longer term? If yes, how long can you benefit from it, and so on?
- User Reviews (30%): The most transparent and valuable report always comes from an unbiased customer, which is why we value these reviews so much. It’s not enough to check the web host’s website since it might contain empty promises. Instead, it would be better to opt for objective comments on the web or personal recommendations from friends/acquaintances with your exact business needs.
What Is Unique About Web Hosting For Small Businesses?
Nowadays, a website can either “make it or break it” for your business. Each successful brand has a strong online presence. However, finding a web hosting for small businesses isn’t as easy as it seems.
First, not all web hosting packages offer sufficient power to back up a business. So, web hosting services for SMBs must deliver reliable infrastructures. Businesses in general, and especially in the beginning, cannot afford downtime, slow-loading speeds, and insufficient security. These three factors can quickly become your formula for failure – loss of customers and profits. So, reliability is key, marking a clear line between business success and failure.
Next, web hosting plans for small businesses include incredible email specs, such as unlimited email addresses and inbox space, along with an SSL certificate for free or at an affordable price and automated backups.
Furthermore, small business-friendly web hosts offer affordable introductory prices, inclusive plans, and a free website builder for superior ease of use. Other extras worthy of mention include drag-and-drop functionality, perks like appointment booking, eCommerce selling, SEO, and marketing tools.
Lastly, web hosting services for SMBs always come with an upgrade path. Usually, small business owners don’t have money to spare, so opting for a scalable and flexible plan is always the better alternative.
Fortunately, specific web hosts understood the exact needs of a small business and delivered!
The Best Small Business Web Hosting Services Of 2022 (Bought and Tested):
I recommend FastComet as the best website hosting for small business entities due to its comprehensive offer. What makes FastCloud awesome? It’s a fantastic combination of variety, performance, features, and ease of use.
- Overall Score: 4.8
- Reliability: 4.8
- Features: 4.9
- Upgrade Path: 4.9
- User Friendly: 4.8
- Value for Money: 4.8
FastComet provides an easy and pain-free start for your small business – you can get immediate activation or express people-powered transfer service free of charge!
Research Findings:
Reliability: FastComet utilizes a global network powered by 11 enterprise-class datacenters and 200 Global CDN Anycast Network access points. Its SSD-only cloud accounts for 300% faster access to files, regardless of your customers’ location.
Features: Even the cheapest shared hosting plan includes free Let’s Encrypt, WAF, malware scan and reports, free daily backups, domain transfer, cPanel, managed migrations, and 100% satisfaction or money-back guarantee.
Upgrade Path: FastComet offers many different plans on cloud infrastructure, including shared hosting, VPS, dedicated server, WordPress, WooCommerce, OpenCart, and Magento hosting. You can easily upgrade from one subscription to another or add resources without downtime.
User Friendly: cPanel-powered solution with 1-click installs for over 450 apps. As a customer, you can also benefit from over 3,000 pages of step-by-step tutorials, unlimited 24/7 priority support, and over 20 frameworks and development tools for DIY solutions.
Value for Money: Affordable plans for small businesses with frequent discounts and special prices. Shared hosting plans start at $2.95 per month for a single website, 15GB SSD space, unlimited FTP accounts, databases, sub-domains, and multiple PHP versions.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Multiple server locations worldwide and a CDN (your global audience won’t experience latency)
- Real 24/7 technical support with instant response
- Excellent set of features (cPanel & Softaculous, SSL, domain name, BitNinja, daily backups, security add-ons, etc.)
Cons:
- Some features are locked to the priciest plans, such as the RocketBooster
Exceptional server uptime and speed, transparency, global server network, freebies, and in-house website builder. Does it get better than this? Make sure to check FastComet and all it has to provide today!
Are you looking for an all-in-one web hosting solution for your small business? HostArmada is the way to go – you’ll get lightning speed, reliable security, and 24/7 technical support on a budget!
- Overall Score: 5.0
- Reliability: 4.9
- Features: 4.9
- Upgrade Path: 5.0
- User Friendly: 5.0
- Value for Money: 5.0
HostArmada is a fast and secure web hosting service with valuable features for the price, including full management, free domain, and website transfer, free SSL certificates, daily backups, and more!
Research Findings:
Reliability: HostArmada has nine data centers across several continents, utilizes a cloud SSD, stable and up-to-date technology to keep your small business website online, and it’s reliable enough to provide 99.9% uptime.
Features: HostArmada’s cheapest shared hosting includes free SSL, web server cache, seven daily backups, SSD storage, free website transfer, unlimited FTP accounts, databases, email accounts, subdomains, multiple PHP versions, malware scan and removal, WAF & IP firewall, etc.
Upgrade Path: You can start small with a shared web hosting plan and scale with time. You can upgrade to WordPress, VPS, dedicated CPU hosting, opensource, and development hosting.
User Friendly: Managed web hosting services, demonstrating incredible ease of use with the industry gold cPanel and 1-click application installer. Its technical support is online 24/7 to handle everything; migrating websites to installing themes, plugins, SSLs, optimizing websites, and more!
Value for Money: With HostArmada, you can pay monthly, annually, biennially, or triennially with better discounts in the longer term. This provider generates the best price-to-value ratio, meaning you’ll receive many valuable extras at an affordable price.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- A low number of clients per server (even in a shared environment, you’ll benefit from low server load and optimal website performance)
- Incredible ease of use (beginner-friendly cPanel, Softaculous, and a simple website builder)
- An extensive set of extras (domain name/transfer, automated backups, website migration)
Cons:
- More expensive than competitors (but worth the features)
HostArmada might as well be the best way to spend your money. While it’s more expensive than its competitors, it has a special offer worthy of your time and resources, so make sure to give it a go!
I found in my complete review that A2 Hosting offers the best customer support service, making it the best website hosting for small business entities with no prior experience, skill, or knowledge in the field.
- Overall Score: 4.7
- Reliability: 4.7
- Features: 4.7
- Upgrade Path: 4.7
- User Friendly: 4.9
- Value for Money: 4.6
Whether you choose to build a new website with A2 Hosting’s site builder or go for a free website migration instead, A2 experts will be available to assist you along the way. In turn, you can enjoy a fast and 100% worry-free experience!
Research Findings:
Reliability: At A2 Hosting, you’ll be hosted on its fine-tuned SwiftServer platform loaded with tools like a free CDN, SSDs, and your choice of datacenters (to host your site closer to your visitors). You’ll also benefit from the best hardware, networks, software, and a 99.9% uptime commitment.
Features: The cheapest plan includes unlimited email accounts, unlimited transfer, free SSL, free Website Builder, website staging, the best versions of PHP, MySQL, MariaDB, Apache, Python, Ruby, SSH, SFTP, FTP, and so much more.
Upgrade Path: A2 Hosting offers unique growth features across all plans. Apart from shared hosting, you can also find WordPress hosting, VPS, and dedicated servers (managed and unmanaged) so that, with time, you can grow with your small business.
User Friendly: You’ll get the award-winning cPanel for free in each managed plan, 1-click installs with Softaculous, WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Magento, PrestaShop, and more. The Guru Crew support is available 24/7/365 via live chat, phone, or email.
Value for Money: Good quality for money; over 70% off on web hosting packages, shared hosting starting at $2.99 per month for one website, 100GB SSD storage, and unlimited bandwidth.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Superior ease of use (easy cPanel control panel, free and easy website migration, Softaculous, CMS optimization, and more)
- Unique growth features (2x resources, unlimited websites, databases, email accounts, and performance plus traffic spike protection option in shared web hosting)
- Excellent support team (hand-selected technicians available 24/7 across several channels to provide fast and valuable responses)
Cons:
- An uptime of 99.95% (A2 Hosting falls short of top-end competitors)
- Relatively expensive pricing plans (its money-back guarantee is a major plus in this regard)
Speed, support, and ease of use directly influence your small business website’s success. The good news is, you’ll get the very best of each with A2 Hosting – review all it has to provide today!
You’ll get the ultimate flexibility and scalability options with a cloud hosting solution as a small business. And if I were you, I would select Cloudways as the best SMB hosting on the cloud.
- Overall Score: 4.6
- Reliability: 4.7
- Features: 4.6
- Upgrade Path: 4.8
- User Friendly: 4.6
- Value for Money: 4.6
Cloudways allows you to choose from five different cloud platforms, grants you a free trial, and a pay-as-you-go solution with plenty of valuable extras, such as free SSL, free migration, unlimited app installation, 24/7 real-time monitoring, automated backups, and more.
Research Findings:
Reliability: With Cloudways, you’ll benefit from a performance that scales with an optimized stack, built-in CDN, auto-healing servers, and PHP 7.3 ready servers.
Features: All Cloudways plans come with Cloudflare, free SSL, website migration, unlimited app installation, dedicated firewalls, automated backups, staging environment, advanced caching, auto-healing, regular security patching, SSH and SFTP Access, and more.
Upgrade Path: You’ll benefit from pay-as-you-go plans that adapt to your budget, meaning you can always scale up/down on demand to optimize operational costs.
User Friendly: Cloudways’ cloud hosting platform removes the complexities of setting up your website and lets you go live in minutes. You’ll benefit from a worry-free experience with 24/7/365 available solid support.
Value for Money: Cloudways’ standard pricing plans start at $10 per month for 1GB RAM, 1 Core Processor, 25GB storage, and 1TB bandwidth, along with a rich set of features; essentially, it’s excellent quality for the price.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Over 60 global data centers (choose the closest one to your target audience for faster page load times)
- Seamless vertical scaling with 1-click functionality (without affecting your customization)
- A dedicated environment with many advanced features (dedicated IP, 1-click server cloning, built-in WordPress and Magento cache, etc.)
Cons:
- No cPanel available (you can access your server and configure everything using the Cloudways dashboard)
- Offsite backup storage is charged extra ($0.033/GB per server)
- You need at least some experience or skill to manage
No other provider on the market can match Cloudways’ versatility and customization levels. Its managed cloud hosting platform is created for exceptional experiences, innovation, and simplicity – review all it has to provide today!
If you ask me, whoever developed Verpex had extensive experience in the web hosting industry. How do I know this? The company combines the best of the best features - all necessary extras for your small business for the lowest possible price!
- Overall Score: 4.9
- Reliability: 4.9
- Features: 5.0
- Upgrade Path: 4.8
- User Friendly: 4.9
- Value for Money: 4.9
Web hosting, resellers, or servers – whichever plan you go for with Verpex, you’ll benefit from an extensive set of extras; free domains, SSLs, migrations, backups; the list goes on.
Research Findings:
Reliability: Real worldwide hosting with 12 server locations across five continents, so your global customers won’t experience lag. With Verpex, you can expect LiteSpeed servers, 1.8 seconds load time, and 8,128 kb speed and performance.
Features: All Verpex web hosting packages offer a free domain, unlimited SSL certificates, free migrations, offsite daily backups, cPanel control panel, one mailbox, multiple PHP version support, PHP Opcode cache, one-click WordPress, and more.
Upgrade Path: Incredible scalability on a cloud infrastructure; you can upgrade to managed cloud, WordPress, and Magento servers.
User Friendly: Especially easy to use cPanel and Softaculous, along with instant 24/7 support to help you with any issues via live chat, phone, and ticket.
Value for Money: Verpex offers one of the cheapest web hosting plans, considering its quality. You can constantly benefit from its special sales; $0.50 for the first month for one website, 10GB bandwidth, and 1GB SSD disk space.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Transparent pricing with no hidden costs (90% off on your first month)
- A 45-day money-back guarantee on all plans (you’ll get a full refund, no questions asked)
- Lots of freebies included (cPanel, Softaculous, SSL, mailbox, daily backups)
Cons:
- Free domain registration/transfer is limited to annual plans (you won’t get this with a monthly subscription)
- A 99.5% uptime guarantee (much lower than competitors of the same rank)
Join Verpex – the hosting family you can count on; With free migrations, 1-click installs, and advanced security measures, you’ll have all the tools to design and manage the perfect small business website on a budget!
If you are just starting with your small business, chances are, you’re on a tight budget. But don’t worry; I have found the perfect solution for your entity – Hostens allows you to begin with an incredible $0.90 per month!
- Overall Score: 4.4
- Reliability: 4.4
- Features: 4.5
- Upgrade Path: 4.4
- User Friendly: 4.4
- Value for Money: 4.5
Hostens is the best hosting for small business entities. It will keep your site up and functional, while you can also benefit from secure and quality service, clear deals, and the best hosting prices. And if you sign up for a year, the provider will grant you a domain name entirely free of charge.
Research Findings:
Reliability: Hostens has received a Tier III data center certification, meaning its cloud infrastructure is built on enterprise-level hardware with reliability and redundancy in mind, delivering a 99.95% uptime guarantee.
Features: You’ll benefit from valuable features for your small business, such as Let’s encrypt certificate, professional mail filter, scheduled backups, and DNS manager.
Upgrade Path: If you exceed shared hosting plans (up to 40GB disk space, 4TB bandwidth, 40 websites, 40 databases, and 400 email accounts), you can easily upgrade to VPS hosting.
User Friendly: Hostens’ Installatron allows you to install, update, and backup over 100 scripts and content management systems. You’ll also benefit from a free website builder, quick setup, and proactive support via email, live chat, or ticketing system.
Value for Money: Excellent value for money; shared hosting starting at $0.90 per month for 10GB disk space, 1TB bandwidth, ten websites, ten databases, 100 email accounts, cPanel, PHP, Ruby, Python, free website builder, daily/weekly backups, and EU, USA, or ASIA location.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- One of the lowest prices on the market (the rates don’t increase on renewal, which is pretty rare within the web hosting industry)
- Professional, friendly and polite 24/7/365 technical support
- Free Website Builder included in all packages 100% free of charge
Cons:
- No dedicated hosting is available (which limits the scalability options)
- Free domains are limited to annual offers (excluded from monthly plans)
- All plans impose bandwidth limits (there’s no unlimited traffic)
Hostens is also optimized for the most popular CMSs worldwide, including WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla. Don’t waste your time and check all it has to provide today!
Are you browsing for a fully managed, cloud-based VPS at the price of a traditional shared hosting plan? If I were you, I would not spend a minute more. ScalaHosting is the best, hassle-free web hosting for small business owners.
- Overall Score: 4.8
- Reliability: 4.9
- Features: 4.8
- Upgrade Path: 4.4
- User Friendly: 4.9
- Value for Money: 4.8
ScalaHosting’s powerful VPS SMB hosting lets you get your fully managed VPS live in two minutes. The team will help you by taking care of server management, including regular maintenance, monitoring, hardware setup, software installations, technical issue resolutions, and more, meaning you can easily take the hands-free approach.
Research Findings:
Reliability: ScalaHosting utilizes 100% SSD-powered cloud infrastructure. It combines enterprise-level hardware with innovative software and tuning to load your websites faster. You’ll also benefit from a 99.9% uptime guarantee on custom-built servers and a self-healing cloud setup to prevent lag and downtime while maximizing reliability.
Features: All ScalaHosting plans include the robust SPanel control panel and all the free services it comes with, Softaculous one-click installer, advanced cybersecurity SShield, faster OpenLiteSpeed web server, SBackup daily backups, SWordPress Manager, free domain, free website migration, free SSL certificates, dedicated IP address, and more.
Upgrade Path: You can upgrade or downgrade your resources at any time, with a single click. If you have less traffic, you can switch to ScalaHosting’s cheap web hosting solution, starting at $3.95 per month, or upgrade to a managed, custom-built cluster solution that matches your unique needs.
User Friendly: With the 24/7/365 Fully Managed VPS, ScalaHosting experts set up, maintain, and optimize everything for you and are always available for live assistance. Its next-gen, in-house cloud-based hosting platform, SPanel, is super easy to use and 100% compatible with cPanel.
Value for Money: While ScalaHosting’s cloud VPS plans might seem expensive at first sight, they are worth every dime. You can start at $14.95 per month for 2 CPU Core, 4GB RAM, 50GB SSD, and unmetered bandwidth and get $78.95 worth of features free of charge, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Choice of providers with over 35 enterprise-grade data centers globally (ScalaHosting, AWS, and DigitalOcean)
- 100% flexible to your needs with on-demand scalability
- Incredible ease of use with SPanel and cPanel compatibility
Cons:
- Prices double on renewal (from $14.95 to $31.95)
With ScalaHosting, one size fits all plans are a thing of the past. Instead, you’ll get full customization and on-demand scaling at market-leading prices. It’s the perfect match for startups, growing businesses, and users with limited technical experience. So, if you are one, make sure to check its plans!
Nothing’s easy if it’s your first time doing it, and the same applies to web hosting services. If you are a first-time user, I suggest getting ChemiCloud to benefit from incredible ease of use.
- Overall Score: 5.0
- Reliability: 5.0
- Features: 4.9
- Upgrade Path: 5.0
- User Friendly: 5.0
- Value for Money: 4.9
ChemiCloud’s motto is “web hosting that simply works,” and that’s precisely what to expect – the perfect combination of a reliable cloud platform, 99.99% uptime, a free domain, and 24/7 award-winning support.
Research Findings:
Reliability: With ChemiCloud, you can choose from seven locations worldwide, benefit from advanced DDoS mitigation, Cloudflare CDN in over 200 cities, fast connectivity, and low latency.
Features: The cheapest shared hosting plan features one-click installs for hundreds of apps, free domain, daily offsite backups stored for 30 days, free CDN, cPanel access, reliable email service, unlimited bandwidth, and more.
Upgrade Path: You can easily upgrade to a shared hosting plan for up to unlimited websites, 40GB SSD disk space, unlimited bandwidth, or altogether to WordPress hosting or VPS plans.
User Friendly: Easy to use hosting with cPanel tools, Website Builder, and 24/7 expert support to forget about wait times and solve your issues quickly.
Value for Money: Excellent quality for the price; frequent discounts and special prices – shared hosting starting at $4.48 for one website, 20GB SSD, and unmetered bandwidth.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- 99.99% uptime guarantee (one of the best in the industry)
- Incredibly easy to use for beginners (cPanel, Website Builder, 1-click installs)
- Customer support that cares (instant response on live chat and first reply times of 10 minutes for tickets)
Cons:
- Free domain name registration is limited to annual hosting plans
- Slightly pricey plans
- Relatively new on the market
ChemiCloud offers a simple Website Builder with drag-and-drop functionality, over 350 templates, and responsive design. Building a website has never been this easy; test it out right away – you won’t regret it!
I would recommend Kamatera to any small business looking for a scalable and highly affordable solution on the cloud. It offers superior VPS hosting services with incredible customization and flexibility.
- Overall Score: 4.9
- Reliability: 5.0
- Features: 4.8
- Upgrade Path: 5.0
- User Friendly: 4.8
- Value for Money: 5.0
Kamatera’s cloud infrastructure makes pay as you go a reality. You can start small, scale your VPS up or down as required, pay hourly or by the minute only for what you use, and cancel what you don’t need!
Research Findings:
Reliability: Kamatera operates 13 global data centers with thousands of servers worldwide and offers a 99.95% uptime guarantee with no single point of failure, meaning your customers wouldn’t experience any latency or be left waiting for your content to load.
Features: You can pick the services you need, including different processors, operating systems, memory (RAM), SSD Storage, OS add-ons, public IPs, data center and internet traffic, etc.
Upgrade Path: Kamatera offers instant scaling up or down as required in minutes. You can quickly add or remove hardware components, such as CPU, RAM, disk storage, load balancers, firewalls, or even clone your original server to the same data center or another location.
User Friendly: You’ll benefit from instant deployment, creating your VPS server in less than 60 seconds. Customer support is available 24-hours a day, 7-days a week for personal assistance.
Value for Money: Kamatera will charge you according to what you use, meaning you’ll get the best price-value ratio. Its cloud infrastructure is the most inexpensive yet high-quality server solution available.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Absolute control and freedom to configure, scale up or down and add new components
- Technical support with unbeatable response time, expertise, and commitment
- High-performance VPS with data centers located in America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East
Cons:
- The cPanel is unavailable (Kamatera has its custom solution)
- You’ll need at least some technical understanding (or lots of help from customer service – which you’ll get)
- Managed VPS support is a bit expensive
Join the tens of thousands of companies already enjoying Kamatera’s cloud infrastructure. You can start with its 30-day free trial, meaning you have nothing to lose and much to gain for your business!
Your small business will not remain small forever; if you are looking for an enterprise-grade solution to back up your growth, let me come to the rescue. I suggest getting InterServer – the best small business hosting for customers with high demands.
- Overall Score: 4.4
- Reliability: 4.4
- Features: 4.4
- Upgrade Path: 4.5
- User Friendly: 4.4
- Value for Money: 4.4
InterServer offers a wide range of web hosting services, including shared, cloud, cPanel hosting, Windows VPS, Cloud VPS, Storage VPS, dedicated servers, colocation services, and much more. Whatever you need, InterServer can supply it!
Research Findings:
Reliability: InterServer utilizes Cloudflare’s global caching data center network, providing industry-leading service, content delivery reliability, and a route-optimized network for ultra-fast speeds.
Features: Easy-to-use control panel, speed optimization, website migration, multiple operating systems, instant activation, hardware replacement guarantee, and unlimited support are part of InterServer’s comprehensive offer.
Upgrade Path: Over 70% of InterServer’s customers have migrated from other hosts. You can start small at $2.50 per month or transfer from another company and grow to various highly advanced solutions depending on your business needs.
User Friendly: You’ll benefit from an easy-to-use control panel, 461 scripts available for 1-click installs, self-help tips, and epic support available 24/7 for instant responses via live chat, phone, email, or Facebook chat.
Value for Money: InterServer offers affordable plans for its rich features and offerings. Shared hosting plans start at $2.50 per month for unlimited SSD storage, email accounts, 450+ cloud apps, a website builder, and more.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Many freebies (unlimited SSD storage, unlimited email accounts, SitePad Website Builder, website migration, SSL certificates, etc.)
- Outstanding server infrastructure with a high level of security
- Build your eCommerce store on your choice of platform (Magento, PrestaShop, WooCommerce, OpenCart, and much more)
Cons:
- Not everything is included (unlimited isn’t really unlimited in shared hosting resources; you need to manually backup your cPanel)
- Outdated interface and limited plans to choose from (the one size fits all approach is not ideal for beginners)
- Pricing increase (add-ons might significantly increase your initial costs)
InterServer has been on the market for over two decades and has managed to keep its top market reputation. They continually exceed customers’ expectations, so why not check if they can exceed yours?
Ranking comparison between the Top Providers
Things to Know Before You Choose A Small Business Hosting Provider
To build your small business website, you need to choose a domain name, design your site, and purchase a web hosting plan. While the first two might be necessary, your web hosting choice essentially determines the speed of your website, how it is to handle surges in traffic, and how it thwarts hacking attempts.
It would be best to clarify all confusing terms and tools you might encounter while searching for the best hosting for small business companies. What do you need, and what’s nice to have? Let’s dive in!
Types of SMB Web Hosting and Which Is the Right One for You?
In general, you can find shared hosting, VPS, cloud hosting, and dedicated servers as the primary types of web hosting services. The good news is that you can use any of these four types for your small business. And the bad? The wrong choice can cost you a lot in profits.
Shared hosting is the cheapest alternative, primarily suitable for website owners in their beginner stages. It can help you get your site online without any skill or prior experience. However, you would be sharing resources with other websites on the same server with this solution. So, their surges in usage can ultimately affect your website’s user experience in terms of speed and security.
Once you outgrow your shared hosting plan, the best small business hosting solution is getting a VPS (Virtual Private Server). While you will still have neighboring sites in your server environment, you’ll increase your control over the resources and customization options. It’s the ultimate middle ground – combining the affordability of a shared and the features of a dedicated web hosting environment.
With dedicated hosting, you’ll get all the server resources and control to yourself. However, this is the most expensive solution on the market. It’s the best choice for website owners with high levels of website traffic and those who need complete control of their servers. If, however, your small business isn’t highly profitable, you might as well pass on it.
Finally, cloud hosting utilizes a whole network on the Internet, using combined computing resources. The web host, in this case, spreads its resources across several networks to reduce downtime and server malfunctions. In turn, users can employ as many resources as they need, scale on-demand, and pay for usage.
And while these are the basic web hosting types, you can opt for many different solutions with your small business hosting provider. For instance, you might be looking for WordPress hosting, yet another unique offer supporting the number one CMS worldwide, and so on.
There’s A Significant Difference Between Managed and Unmanaged Solutions
If you decide upon a VPS or a dedicated server, you’ll have to make yet another decision regarding the level of support – managed or unmanaged?
If you select an unmanaged/self-managed web hosting solution for your small business, you will be responsible for server management and maintenance. In this case, the web host is only responsible for the health of the physical hardware, providing you space in the online world that you can configure on your own. Since all work falls on your shoulders, naturally, the price is lower than with managed support.
You won’t have to worry about any technical details with a managed web hosting solution. The web hosting company will take over server management and maintenance tasks, including updates, patches, installs, etc. You’ll get a user interface resembling the user-friendliness of a shared hosting solution.
Uptime Is More Than Necessary In The Web Hosting and Business World
Uptime refers to the time your server is up and running, and while it’s essential for all websites, it’s the key to success for business people. What happens when a potential customer tries to visit your site, but it’s inaccessible? They transfer to your number one competitor.
So, downtime can harm your profitability as a small business, which is especially important initially. Once you establish a good market reputation, these adverse effects might be reduced to a certain extent. However, while building your position, it’s vital to have server uptime as close as possible to 100%, eliminating the effects of regular maintenance.
Caching, CDN, SSLs, and More!
The best web hosting for small business companies delivers valuable extras that are more than pleasant, such as caching, CDN, WHOIS privacy, and SSL certificates. What can they do for your website?
You can encounter different caching techniques; it can happen through hardware or software. In general, the cache holds data temporarily. Say you have visited a site. The tool caches the data so that you’ll benefit from faster loading speeds when you return to the same site. At the same time, the cache utilizes less server processing power.
A CDN (Content Delivery Network) is a physical caching that spreads the data across several servers worldwide. The web host would store your data on a single server without it. For instance, your website might be stored in a data center in Amsterdam, Europe. The thing is, when Europeans try to access your website, they will experience faster speeds. However, if a person from the US tries to do the same, they would experience latency.
The rule of thumb is that the closer the data center to your audience, the better speed, and customer satisfaction. But what if you have a global target market? Then, a CDN is a must, ensuring consistency and fast-loading speeds across all locations around the globe.
Yet another necessary feature for a small business is an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate. With an SSL, all data you transfer from and to your website would be encrypted, allowing you to protect your website and visitors. SSL certificates are even more necessary if you sell goods or have an eCommerce website. In this case, you are handling sensitive customer information, so you must find a way to secure credit card information, passwords, etc.
Last but not least, you should understand the importance of WHOIS privacy. This feature masks the information you provide when you register a domain name, such as contact information, phone number, and address. Without WHOIS privacy, you can easily become subject to spam, telemarketers, and other malicious parties – anyone would be able to look up the WHOIS information on your website.
Tips To Help You Pick The Best Web Hosting For Small Business
Nowadays, you can choose from thousands of web hosting plans for your small business. Many of the best small business hosting providers can handle significant traffic and offer top-notch security, unlimited storage, bandwidth, web analytics tools, and other extras. So, your choice might quickly become “impossible.”
No two businesses are the same, so you can go wrong with web hosting even if you decide to copy your number one competitors. The question is, how can you choose the most suitable web host and web hosting plan for your small-to-medium-sized enterprise? Let us help you on your journey!
Start The Search Process By Considering Your Small Business Needs
Step one in selecting the best hosting for your small business is listing your needs and preferences. Do you have a single static page or two of information? If that’s the case, you won’t need much storage space or heavy-duty security features. Simply put, if your site is modest, you can get by with a leaner option.
If, however, you’re getting more traffic, you have more resource-heavy content to store, or you need to transfer more files monthly, your needs and proprietary expenses will increase. The rule of thumb is that the more traffic you receive, the better the hosting plan you need. The same applies if you are selling products and handling sensitive client information – you’ll need a higher degree of security and protection for your visitors.
Think About The Long-Term Vision Of Your Small Business
When it comes to doing business, it’s not enough to think about the here and now. And if you are a good businessperson, your company won’t stay small for long. So, like with any other aspect of operation, you also need a plan for your web hosting package.
Is the provider of your choice able to support your future growth? How will they handle your expansion? Will they add resources to your plan if your speed and performance start suffering? What if you are in a shared environment – can the SMB hosting provider migrate your website to a VPS or a dedicated server downtime-free? And what about your SEO rankings? Will they suffer during the website transfer?
These are all essential considerations you must make before committing your resources to a small web hosting provider. The best hosting for a small business always provides the proper support and storage space to grow with your website!
Shared Hosting Is The Best Way To Start
If you are an entrepreneur or a small business owner starting for the first time, a shared hosting plan is a perfect service for you. It’s an all-in-one solution that delivers sufficient resources for start-ups with low to medium traffic websites. Shared hosting is also the most affordable solution on the market, demonstrating the best ease of use out of all web hosting alternatives.
The web host will handle most technical aspects if you get a shared hosting plan. You’ll get access through a user-friendly control panel that’s easy to use and navigate. And sure, if you outgrow this package, you can easily transition to a VPS or a dedicated server. By this point, you would already have developed a certain understanding of the web hosting world and how things work in it. So, you’ll be more prepared for an advanced solution than in the beginning.
Always Know Where You and Your Team Stand
How can you find your web hosting match made in heaven if you are unrealistic of your capabilities? The only way to do so is by objectively assessing what you (and your in-house team) can or cannot do.
For example, what’s your budget? Primarily, this depends on your business scale and size. However, it’s an essential factor when opting for a web hosting plan. If you are on a tight budget, getting a shared hosting plan would be best. If, however, you’re an established business, you can get a more advanced solution.
Similarly, you need to consider how tech-savvy are you? Do you have a development team available on-demand, or are you less skilled with computers and the web? The less knowledge and experience you have, the more support you’ll need from the small business hosting provider.
Best Web Hosting For Small Business Services: Summary
Getting your small business on the online market is not an easy job. Fortunately, you can benefit from lots of good SMB hosting offers; these providers understand your needs, wants, and demands and are here to deliver.
When it comes to finding the best web hosting for small business entities, the cost of the service is among the most important things to consider. We advise you to keep costs as low as possible, especially in the beginning. However, don’t trade-off quality in the process – your web host must be reliable, secure, and fast to keep your customers protected and happy. It should also deliver you the functionality you need, whether it’s eCommerce, SEO tools, CMS compatibility, etc.
As a beginner, you also want to get an easy-to-use service that you can easily understand and navigate. It would be best to avoid paying extra for employees or developers just to get your site online and operational. In this regard, the web hosting service provider should also be able to assist you 24/7 with all issues you might encounter.
Chances are, you have found your perfect small business hosting in our list. But if you haven’t, make sure to advise another third party or us before you spend your money – whether it’s an expert, a user of the same service, or maybe a company similar to yours. Either way, don’t trust the promises of the web host altogether, but ensure they stick to those!