Best Shared Hosting Services of 2022
Building a beautiful website is crucial for business owners but maintaining it is just as important.
Regardless of the size of your business, an online presence is a way to reach a large audience. And a reliable website is the way to do just that to bring customers to your business and boost your sales.
Even if you are a small business, you need a website to stay up to date and grow your business. This means, even for your site that has modest needs, you need a similarly affordable web hosting service.
A shared web hosting server is an extremely wallet-friendly option where the server houses multiple sites. You can get started here with just a few dollars and if you are just getting off the ground, shared hosting requires the least amount of maintenance on your end. Not just for new websites, but this is also the perfect solution for simple websites or anyone with a tight budget.
Our Picks for Best Shared Hosting Providers
- 1.Hostinger
- A2 Hosting
- SiteGround
- DreamHost
- HostGator
What is Shared Hosting?
Shared hosting, as the name suggests, involves sharing a server with other users who are running their own websites on the same hardware as you. Because every customer of the hosting provider is getting a portion of the physical server, this hosting server is considered the cheapest way to get a web hosting service.
This is a cost-effective solution where you are sharing resources with others, which means the performance you’ll get is also likely to be a bit slower than other expensive hosting services like dedicated servers where you lease an entire server.
As you are just starting out, shared hosting will work just fine for you. However, once you start to experience increased traffic that could become a problem, as you would require greater bandwidth and consistent performance. Additionally, shared hosting could mean limited security features, the issue of servers getting overloaded, a bit of slow performance, and you may not be able to run any other software programs that are not supported by your web hosting company.
But there are tons of benefits of using shared hosting as well. It is the most affordable service and is ideal for a small business as well as blogs and personal websites. You can still have more than one database, and it is pretty simple to manage your website here. This server has a user-friendly setup process with no need for server configuration. Your web hosting company will also take care of all the technical issues so that you can just focus on running your business.
For your small business, shared hosting services will still offer you great performance. While sharing space with other sites means your website might be affected if your neighboring website experiences a traffic spike or security breach, a quality shared host service will usually mitigate this risk as much as possible.
What to Look for in a Shared Hosting Service
How do you decide which shared service is the best? Let’s take a look at all the factors that you can consider when making the decision.
Features: What Comes with the Service?
Many shared web hosts offer unlimited monthly data transfers and storage. How much storage space you need depends on your website’s purpose, and you need someone that can keep you from running out of memory. Your hosting provider must be able to handle your traffic, so you may want to look at the monthly traffic limit and any additional fee charges for more visitors.
Speed: Not just a Movie from The 90s
You want to go for a provider that can offer a good loading speed. This will further help you with Google ranking as it prioritizes those with faster loading for the best user experience. Not to mention, a slow website can push your customers right into the arms of your competitors.
Uptime: Minimal Downtime is Key
Another important factor to consider is your site uptime because if it goes down, your clients or customers won’t be able to access your products or services. And it can be damaging to your reputation, too, when your user goes to your website but it doesn’t load. So, make sure the website hosting service you are choosing offers a high uptime percentage and the best quality of availability.
Security: Back it up!
When you are trusting someone to host your website, you have to make sure that the chosen provider is able to protect its customers and offer constant backups so that when you experience unforeseen problems, your website can still be fully operational.
Price: Get the Most out of Your Dollar
Understand your needs and what you are getting for your money. Many providers also offer free usage periods, which can help you determine if it’s worthwhile to hire a certain service.
Customer Support: Being There for You
You don’t want someone that leaves you once they have sold their services to you. Customer support is a key factor for many users, especially for someone who is not technically knowledgeable. Your website hosting service must be easily accessible 24/7 and be efficient in assisting you. Tutorials, knowledge bases, and forums are other useful tools your host should provide.
Best Shared Hosting Services
Best shared hosting is more than just a good deal, as you need someone who gives you all the tools and more that you need to build your site. Let’s check out the best-shared server hosting for your business.
Hostinger
With its single shared hosting plan starting at $1.39 per month, Hostinger offers one of the most affordable hosting services. Even their most expensive plan costs just $4.99 per month.
While the prices jump when you renew, as to avail of its cheapest plan you have to commit for four years, they still remain less than what most other shared hosting providers are charging. On top of this, you get a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you are not satisfied, you can always ask for a refund.
Besides its extremely low price, Hostinger offers a surprising amount of features. The cheapest plan gets you one website, 30 GB SSD storage, one email account, two databases, and 100 GB bandwidth. All plans come with managed WordPress, granting you one-click WordPress installation, the WP Starter site building wizard, auto-updates, and more.
A free SSL certificate and Cloudflare protection are also included in all plans, while higher tier subscriptions will further get you daily backups, free domain registration, and SSH access.
Moreover, if your website gets 10,000 visits a month, Hostinger’s starter pack is a good place to get started. If all of this is not enough, this provider has seven data centers spread out worldwide and offers you an auto-installer for your favorite web apps.
In addition, Hostinger promises a 99.9% uptime guarantee. It also includes 24/7/365 live chat customer service with its every plan so that you are not left stranded.
Pros
- Low introductory prices make it super affordable
- Lots of disk space and SSL included
- Huge knowledge base
Cons
- Base plans offer low storage and bandwidth
- Extra features only available at a cost
- Slow customer support
A2 Hosting
One of the fastest shared hosting services, A2 Hosting’s startup plan begins at $2.99 per month if you commit to three years upfront. Renewing your plans, however, will make it costly.
Its entry-level plan will get you one website, unlimited email, 100 GB SSD storage, site staging, free SSL certificate, unlimited subdomains, and parked domains, as well as malware and virus scanning.
A2 Hosting offers the best loading speeds thanks to its powerful servers, and if you are looking for speed, its Turbo plans will be the best option for you. The Turbo plan can make page loading speeds up to 20 times faster.
Its most expensive plan is Turbo Max which would cost you $12.99 per month but will provide you with unlimited websites and NVMe Storage, as well as free automatic backups. There is also a lower-tier Turbo boost plan which costs $6.99/month. Besides ultra-fast technology, this plan comes with unlimited sites, storage, and databases.
Unlike many providers where free site migrations can be available at an added fee, this service is free on all A2 Hosting’s shared plans. A2 also works with popular tools, providing you with one-click installs for WordPress, WooCommerce, Joomla, and Drupal.
A2 also has customer support available 24/7 through phone, email, and live chat to help you with technical questions quickly.
Pros
- Anytime money-back guarantee
- Fast page loading speed
- 24/7 customer support
Cons
- High renewal prices
- Domain name not included
- Free backups only included in the Turbo plan
SiteGround
A great choice for growing websites, SiteGround’s shared hosting plan starts with $3.99 per month that gives you one website, 10 GB of web space, 10,000 monthly visitors, unmetered traffic, free SSL, daily backup, free CDN and email, managed WordPress, and unlimited databases.
SiteGround also makes it easy to scale up to a bigger, better plan if you gain a massive audience. Its high tier costs you $10.69 per month that allows you 10x the monthly visitors of its starter pack. Additionally, you get free SSL, CDN, and email along with unlimited websites, unlimited databases, and unmetered traffic. Your web space will increase to 40 GB in this plan while you get daily backup, on-demand backup copies, and priority support.
To improve site performance, SiteGround uses the SuperCacher system, which caches frequently-accessed data in RAM. While the provider doesn’t offer VPS and dedicated hosting options, its security features are high-level, covering 2FA and DDoS protection. And if you’re looking for a website builder, a Weebly builder is also attached with every plan.
All three of its plans are managed, which means you can expect quality support and come with a 100% renewable energy match, too. This feature-packed shared host further guarantees a 99.98% uptime and provides speedy support for all your technical needs.
Pros
- Unmetered bandwidth and free backups
- Ability to choose server locations
- 100% renewable energy match
Cons
- Comparatively costly
- Limited amount of web space
- Phone support only during certain hours
DreamHost
DreamHost’s cost-effective shared hosting starts at $2.59 per month. These reasonable monthly rates rise to $5.99 per month if you don’t want to sign a long-term contract. This starter pack offers you hosting for one website while providing 50 GB of site storage and five subdomains. Email, however, costs you another $1.67 per month.
A good reason to choose DreamHost is its higher-tier attractive plan that costs you $5.99 per month but allows you to take on more traffic with its unlimited traffic offering. This shared unlimited plan also includes emails, hosting for unlimited websites, site storage, and subdomain.
Both plans come with WordPress pre-installed, a WP site builder, and a free SSL certificate. If you need to upgrade further, DreamHost also offers managed WordPress, VPS hosting, cloud hosting, dedicated hosting, and more. And if you already have a WordPress site, the hosting provider will migrate the site to your new account for an added fee.
Another benefit of going with DreamHost is its 100% uptime rate guarantee. If your site still goes down, you get compensation for your downtime. On top of that, there is a 97-day money-back guarantee.
As for customer support, you can always reach out to them by email, as well as live chat, but it is not available 24/7. Phone support is also only provided during certain hours.
Pros
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Strong performance
- 97-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- No reseller hosting
- Email costs extra
- Live support not available 24/7
HostGator
Starting from $2.64 per month, HostGator’s Hatchling Plan offers you a single domain with WordPress installs but unmetered bandwidth and a free email address. This cost applies if you sign up for three years, otherwise, you have to pay $3.58 per month for one year.
If you want unlimited domains, you can go to its Baby Plan, which will cost you $3.38 per month. For $5.08 per month, HostGator will further provide you free upgrade to positive SSL, free dedicated IP, free SEO tools, free email address, free WordPress, unlimited domains, and unmetered bandwidth. However, if you renew your plan, the cost will rise as much as $15.
If you want to create an online store to start selling products, HostGator’s eCommerce site builder is pretty simple. For an extra $150, HostGator adds on Google Ads credit to help you grow your business.
HostGator also gives you access to cPanel for further customization. This feature is usually not a common offering among shared hosting providers. For future upgrades, there is the option of cloud hosting and dedicated server plans.
For customer support, the provider ensures 24/7 server monitoring, as well as 24/7 live chat and phone support. HostGator also has over 500 video tutorials and tons of articles to help you do things on your own. A 99.9% uptime guarantee is another factor that makes it reliable.
Pros
- Extremely high uptime of 99.99%
- Unmetered bandwidth & storage
- cPanel hosting management
Cons
- No free domain or backups
- Expensive add-ons
- Support a bit slow
What does “Uptime” mean for Shared Hosting?
Uptime is the amount of time that a server on which your website is being hosted is up and running. It is a very important factor when choosing a shared hosting provider because a high uptime means your website is accessible to your users most of the time, and you are not losing business and revenue due to downtime.
For instance, an uptime of 99.9% means a downtime of 1.44 minutes a day or 8.8 hours a year.=
Is Shared Hosting the same as Web Hosting?
Web hosting is the process of an individual or organization buying space to house a website so that it is accessible on the Internet. It is an umbrella term, and there are different types of web hosting servers such as VPS hosting, cloud hosting, dedicated server hosting, and shared hosting.
Shared hosting is the cheapest type of web hosting where your website shares a server with other websites. It is most suitable for a starter website or those who don’t have much site traffic.
What are the Disadvantages of Shared Hosting?
While inexpensive and easy-to-set-up shared hosting is the best option for a small business, you get very limited resources as you are sharing them with other websites. This could lead to sluggishness, and on busy days, your website may just stop working. Spike in traffic on your neighboring website can also slow down your own site. In shared hosting, you have no root access, and there are limitations on what you can install as well as security risks
Final Thoughts: Small Business Run Smoothly with Shared Hosting
Not all shared web hosting services are equal. Some providers are cheaper, while others have better features. But if you want to build a single website for blogging or your small business, then shared hosting is a pretty good choice.
When it comes to deciding on the hosting provider, consider your website’s needs and see what each host has to offer you in terms of speed, performance, scalability, support, and security.
Just make sure that the plan you end up choosing can accommodate your traffic. As you grow, you’ll likely upgrade your web hosting in the future.
