A Domain name and Hosting are two key requirements of building a business website. The Internet will offer you a bounty of domain name and hosting providers, but which one should you pick for your business?
Should you go with the first one that claims to offer the best services? No, certainly not. It is not the time to fall for such tall claims, but to do your due diligence. You should invest your time to find the right hosting platform for your small business.
Your business needs a budget-friendly, reliable, and high-performing server to host a professional website to foster your brand image. Additionally, you’ll also need to find a hosting provider that offers 24/7 customer support. It is very vital to the success of your business. Let us elaborate on it. We’ll also talk about other factors you should look for in a hosting platform.
How to find the right hosting platform for your small business?
24/7 Customer Support:
Look for hosting providers that offer 24/7 customer support. The nature of a hosting service requires dedicated support since your business website is hosted on its servers in real-time. A 24/7 customer support will help you solve a problem as it arises, instead of waiting for a resolution for hours while you are losing your clients. When your business website malfunctions, it affects the reputation of your business and makes customers question the business’s credibility. Hands-on support is a necessity with the Hosting service.
An Uptime of alteast 99.9%:
When a hosting service provider claims that it offers 99.99% uptime, it means that the server hosting your website will stay up and running for that percentage of the time. Even when a hosting provider claims a 100% uptime, you don’t have to take their word for it. Do some research, read reviews about the provider and see the actual uptime website owners experience. Basically, if the hosting server is down, your website will be off the internet. It won’t show up to the visitors. That’s why a higher percentage of uptime is always recommended.
Unmetered Bandwidth:
Bandwidth is a measure of speed. With regards to hosting, unmetered bandwidth usually means the bandwidth is set to 1gbps, and you can transfer an unlimited amount of data. Keep in mind, with hosting unmetered or unlimited never truly means exactly that. There’s still a limit. However, you can pay a flat rate for unmetered bandwidth.
These days it is unheard of for a business to choose to pay for metered bandwidth. A metered bandwidth is when you pay for the amount of data you use each month. Since Unmetered bandwidth offers unlimited data transfer and usage, your business would do better with this option.
5 Best Web Hosting Providers For Small Business
1. Bluehost
Bluehost, one of India’s most well-known hosting providers, is easy to use and very beginner-friendly. It allows users to sign up via a simple two-page setup. Once you have filled in all the information correctly, your account will get activated instantly. Bluehost offers an excellent hosting uptime of 99.98% for its shared hosting plans. The uptime for VPS and Dedicated hosting plans is better, around 100%.
One of the best parts about Bluehost is that it offers daily backup and website restoration with all of its hosting plans. It will ensure that your business doesn’t lose any important data if the website crashes. Bluehost also comes highly recommended by WordPress, which powers at least 39.5% of the internet.
It is set up in such a neat manner that you can easily scale your website by upgrading to higher level hosting plans. Bluehost has the most customer-friendly support system in place. They are very prompt and will also help you with the required resources found in their knowledge centre. Bluehost also offers a reliable 30 Day money-back guarantee.
Uptime: 99.98%
Hosting Solutions and Pricing:
- Shared Hosting: Starts at ₹299 per month
- VPS Hosting: Starts at ₹1,859 per month
- Dedicated Hosting: Starts at ₹6,719 per month
Pros:
- Easy WordPress Integration with One-click installation
- User-friendly and advanced Cpanel control panel
- Unmetered bandwidth for optimal performance
- Impressive Uptime of 99.98%
- Comes with a Free SSL Certificate
- Excellent 24/7 Support: Live chat, Phone, and Knowledge Centre.
Cons:
- Renewal Prices can be a bit steep
- Expensive Add-ons and upgrades
- Limited hosting options (No Windows or ASP.net hosting)
- Doesn’t offer free migration to Bluehost
2. BigRock
An ICANN accredited company, BigRock is one of the foremost hosting service providers for small businesses. BigRock hosting is known for its fast servers, helpful customer support team, and exceptional hosting solutions. Be it an individual blogger or small business, beginners can start with the affordable shared web hosting plans offered by BigRock. As your business grows, you’ll have to scale your website as well. BigRock offers higher tier hosting plans suitable for those needs as well.
Once you sign up for BigRock unlimited plans, you also get features such as anti-malware integration, backup support, and a dedicated email server. BigRock’s Cpanel takes some getting used to, and users need time to familiarise themselves with the features.
All of BigRock’s plans include security features such as a firewall, security scanner, security audits app, anti-DDoS functionality, and network intrusion detector. These ensure that your business website remains safe from attackers. It also offers great uptime with excellent bandwidth. Similar to Bluehost, BigRock also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Uptime: 99.9%
Hosting Solutions and Pricing:
- Windows Hosting: Starts ₹59 per month
- Linux Hosting: Starts ₹159 per month
- CMS Hosting: Starts ₹159 per month
- Ecommerce Hosting: Starts ₹159 per month
- Bluehost WordPress Hosting: Starts ₹179 per month
- Windows Reseller Hosting: Starts ₹1599 per month
- Linux Reseller Hosting: Starts 1699 ₹ per month
Pros:
- Big Rock Offers Affordable hosting Plans
- Extensive range of plans for everyone
- Reliable 24/7 Customer Support: Email, phone call, and knowledge base
- A highly stable 99.9% uptime
- Integrated and high-level security Features with a Free SSL certificate
- BIg Rock offers 30 Day Money-back Guarantee
Cons:
- VPS hosting can be expensive for some small business
- Users need time to familiarise themselves with the control panel
- Renewals can get expensive with no discounts available
3. Hostgator
Hostgator is one of the oldest names in the hosting circles. Considered one of the best web hosting services for small businesses, Hostgator offers a bevvy of attractive features, including its 45 Day Money Back Guarantee. It is quite easy to get your refund. All you have to do is cancel your account within the first 45 days of purchasing a shared, reseller or VPS Hosting plan from Hostgator. Like Bluehost, Hostgator also has a stellar cPanel, which makes accessing your data and functionality a whole lot easier.
When it comes to customer support, Hostgator is quite decent. Usually, you can refer to the Hostagtors’ knowledge base to find your solutions, but you can also contact them via live chat. However, you might experience a slight delay in their response time. You’ll have to be patient. Another thing to keep in mind, the 45-day money-back guarantee is not offered with Dedicated hosting.
Although Hostgator powers millions of websites on the internet, it doesn’t rank the highest for website speed and performance. It could do with some improvements. On the plus side, all Hostgator plans come with a free SSL certificate, which is essential for the secure function of your business website.
Uptime: 99.99%
Hosting Solutions and Pricing:
- Linux Shared Web Hosting: Starts ₹199 per month
- Windows Shared Hosting: Starts ₹299 per month
- Cloud Hosting: Starts ₹799 per month
- WordPress Hosting: Starts ₹249 per month
- Linux Reseller Hosting: Starts ₹1999 per month
- Windows Reseller Hosting: Starts ₹1505 per month
- VPS Server Hosting: Starts ₹999 per month
- Managed VPS Hosting: Starts ₹7899 per month
- Linux Dedicated Servers: Starts ₹10,899 per month
- Managed Dedicated Server Hosting: Starts ₹16,269 per month
Pros:
- At 99.99%, Hostgator offers the best Uptime
- It offers Unmetered Bandwidth and Unlimited Storage features
- Easy WordPress integration with One-click Installation
- Hostgator offers Free SSL Certificate
- Quick and easy integration with Constant Contact
- Excellent Documentations with the Knowledge Base
Cons:
- Live Chat Support responses are slow and need improvement
- Additional fee for restoring your backups
- A bit more expensive than other small business hosting providers
- Needs Improvement with the website performance
4. Hostinger
Hostinger is the right hosting platform for small businesses looking for discounted prices. But affordable rates are only the beginning of what Hostinger has to offer. It is loaded with features, such as Free SSL Certificate, a Super-fast loading speed, and a free website builder. Similar to most hosting providers on this exclusive list, Hostinger also provides a 30 Day money-back guarantee.
While it offers a wide range of customer support options, it doesn’t have phone customer support, which could be a deal-breaker for some. However, it more than makes up for it with its searchable knowledge base that answers the most frequently asked questions and issues that arise with hosting. Additionally, it also offers a decent live chat feature that allows you to communicate with a dedicated customer support team.
While it may not have the traditional cPanel, Hostinger’s dashboard is quite user-friendly. It will not take much time to learn to operate it as everything is clearly labelled. Hostinger has also covered the new ground with its innovative hosting services, such as Cyberpanel VPS hosting and Minecraft Server hosting.
Uptime: 99.90%
Hosting Solutions and Pricing:
- Web Hosting: Starts ₹69 per month
- Cloud Hosting: Starts ₹1699 per month
- cPanel Hosting: Starts ₹499 per month
- VPS Hosting: Starts ₹639 per month
- Minecraft Server Hosting: Starts ₹1419 per month
- CyberPanel VPS Hosting: Starts ₹639 per month
Pros:
- One of the most Affordable Hosting plans for Small businesses
- The cheapest plan offers unlimited Bandwidth with 100 GB of Storage
- Get Free daily website backups with Hostinger
- Extensive Customer support options: Live chat, ticket, knowledge base, and email.
Cons:
- Doesn’t offer Dedicated Hosting Services
- At 99.90%, it doesn’t have the Best Uptime
- Doesn’t offer phone support in any form
5. Reseller Club
ResellerClub offers competitive Hosting plans and solutions. These plans have a varying range of features, including Integrated caching, an efficient content delivery network, e-commerce templates, and drag and drop editor. Reseller Club’s exceptional servers deliver optimal performance for your business website.
Reseller Club offers a 30-days money-back guarantee, which means you can get a complete refund if you cancel your subscription within the first 30 days of purchasing it. One of the best parts about Resellerclub hosting is that it offers free website migration when you want to move your website to the Resellerclub servers.
It uses the traditional cPanel, which makes it easier for users to access the dashboard and use the functionalities of their hosting account. The standard hosting plans come with backups. However, only 7 days’ worth of backups can be restored with these plans.
Uptime: 99.99%
Hosting Solutions and Pricing:
- Linux Shared Hosting: Starts ₹299 per month
- Windows Shared Hosting: Starts ₹235 per month
- WordPress Hosting: Starts ₹230 per month
- Drupal Hosting: Starts ₹235 per month
- Joomla Hosting: Starts ₹235 per month
- Cloud Hosting: Starts ₹700 per month
- Professional Cloud Hosting: Starts ₹999 per month
- Linux Vps Hosting: Starts ₹815 per month
- Plesk VPS Hosting: Starts ₹815 per month
- Managed VPS Hosting: Starts ₹7530 per month
- Dedicated SSD Servers: Starts ₹9900 per month
- Linux Dedicated Servers: Starts ₹6120 per month
- Windows Dedicated Servers: Starts ₹9400 per month
- Managed Dedicated Server Hosting: Starts ₹11285 per month
Pros:
- Stays true to its 99.99% uptime
- Reseller club offers a free SSL Certificate
- Reseller Club offers a standard 30 Day Money Back Guarantee
- Extensive range of Hosting solutions and plans
- Exceptional chat and ticket support features
- Two unique control panels to choose from
- It offers a great DNS Management Feature
Cons:
- Domain names can be pricier than the other alternatives
- It doesn’t provide free domains
- Phone customer support needs improvement
- Doesn’t include free daily backups
Final Words,
We have seen 5 of the best Hosting service providers in our guide. Each one is unique and stands out with its own set of features. Choose the one that fits all the requirements for your small business.
Bluehost, while not the most affordable, offers the complete package, from great uptime to excellent customer support. It is, therefore, the popular choice. Keep in mind hosting providers keep running discounts for new customers. You can also find discount coupons for Bluehost and get a good deal on your first purchase. We recommend getting at least a 3-year subscription. Typically, the renewal charges for most hosting providers are a bit expensive.
Now, Big Rock also offers similar features, but it is cheaper than Bluehost. So, small businesses on a limited budget can benefit by sticking with Big Rock. By far, Hostgator offers the best uptime for shared hosting. If you want to go the cheapest route, consider Hostinger or BigRock. In contrast, if you don’t have to worry about the budget, consider giving Reseller’s club a try. The servers deliver great performance.
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