- Development
Best Web Hosting Services in 2021
Written by Alex Curtis
Web hosting support services are something that most businesses simply hope to pay for and forget about.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look for the best web hosting solutions and products for your website.
Most web hosting support services offer very affordable plans including 24/7 support, although choosing the right one can be tricky!
With thousands of providers in the market, we have consolidated five of the best web hosting services, while keeping in mind their uptime, server speed and customer service.
Most of these top web hosting services are for smaller-scale websites; if you are hosting a web app or platform, you may wish to consider using a service like AWS.
Hostinger
Launched in 2014, Hostinger is one of the best web hosting companies, serving over 30 million websites worldwide.
Customer service is top notch, with extremely stable servers.
Uptime is excellent with servers located in the UK, USA, India and more. Their speed will have a positive impact on your SEO, with faster loading times.
Server response time: 424ms
Live chat waiting time: 3 seconds
Cost: from £0.99/month
SiteGround
SiteGround is a web hosting agency that provides much of Crucible’s clients’ hosting.
While their service isn’t the cheapest, their support is stronger than others and their customer service is very strong.
With 100% uptime, performance couldn’t be better, and they are highly recommended by WordPress.org. Server locations are worldwide and as a bonus, they also offer free SSL certificates on all plans.
Server response time: 425ms
Live chat waiting time: 2 seconds
Cost: from £5.99/month
Bluehost
Bluehost has made a big impact in the WordPress community, and is a popular hosting solution, especially for those new to web development.
Powering over 2 million websites, packages boast a great number of features with excellent support. Loading times are great provided you don’t overuse WordPress plugins.
Server response time: 512ms
Live chat waiting time: 4 seconds
Cost: from £2.30/month
HostGator
Hostgator provides better than average uptime and load speeds.
They are great for start-ups wanting to get their website up and running, although it is fairly suitable for established businesses as well.
While their customer service is strong, their provision isn’t as strong as some others on this list.
Server response time: 512ms
Live chat waiting time: 3 minutes
Cost: from £2.00/month
WP Engine
WP Engine’s monthly price plans are higher than their competition, but with good reason.
WP Engine offers managed hosting, which means more than just providing space on a server. Their tailored services include speed optimisations, security checks and backup management, as well as providing multiple development environments and allowing businesses to scale their hosting with their traffic.
With award winning support services, they aim to be a bridge between businesses who have outgrown shared hosting and those using cloud computing solutions such as AWS.
Server response time: 428ms
Live chat waiting time: 2 minutes
Cost: from £20/month
If you’re looking for the best web hosting solution for your business, most hosting solutions can fulfil the job of ‘keeping your site up’ if you are a start-up or small business.
However, once you begin to scale up, it’s worth looking at specific services that fit your needs more closely. You are most likely going to have a long term relationship with the hosting company and if maintenance is an unfamiliar territory, consider ones that provide additional support.