It is easy to get started with shared hosting. It is not easy to choose the best option. After doing extensive research, we found Hostinger to be the best-shared hosting. It offers a powerful, all-inclusive plan at a steep discount that is almost unbeatable by the competition.

The Best Shared Hosting Plans For Most

Hostinger

Best for Most

Hostinger’s shared hosting is affordable and easy to set up. Hostinger’s shared hosting is quick and easy to set up.

Simple is the foundation of shared hosting. Hostinger makes it easy to get started. It doesn’t matter if you are an inexperienced host or a novice. You won’t be surprised at what you should do next after the set-up.

You get 24/7/365 support at your fingertips. Hostinger takes out the hassle of creating a website. It all comes at a reasonable price.

Here are the 7 Best Shared Hosting Options to Consider

1. Hostinger – Best for most
2. DreamHost- The best risk-free web hosting plan below $5
3. GreenGeeks – The best for unlimited email, disk storage, and domains
4. Bluehost -The best for building beautiful WordPress websites.
5. InMotion hosting – The best for creating the fastest website starting day one
6. SiteGround- The best customer support you can boast about
7. A2 Hosting- The best for building a profitable ecommerce website

Is it a good idea to invest in a shared hosting plan?

It’s like trying light without darkness. Without web hosting, a website is impossible to have.

A web hosting provider is required if you wish to create a blog, launch a website, market your products or marketing services in Miami online, or simply have an online home for your company.

Hosting is simply a metaphor for the place your website lives.

Shared hosting is a good option if you are building something that isn’t intended to be the next Facebook or Amazon, YouTube, or YouTube.

Shared hosting is a way for websites to share space and resources on the same server as other sites.

Because it’s not only your site that’s on the server, other websites can have an impact on your site’s performance. It is up to the shared hosting company to ensure that all websites on their server have consistent loading speeds and uptime.

Most websites begin with shared hosting. It’s affordable and you don’t need a lot of content when you first start. You don’t necessarily need a comprehensive plan.

If your requirements are not complex, you may only care about good hosting at a low price.

As your website grows, you will need more power and speed. Shared hosting is not the best option if your website will become a major platform for sales and communication. You will need to upgrade.

Shared hosting is best for those who are just starting. It can be used for sites that are still in their infancy and for beginners, as well.

If you have a short-term promotion site or marketing campaign landing page that needs to be live quickly, then shared hosting is the best option.

You can also use shared hosting if your small business isn’t trying to establish a national brand that attracts thousands of people per month.

Shared hosting, in its simplest form, is about getting enough resources to your site for as little as possible. It also allows you to set up your website quickly and easily for as low as possible.

Continue reading to learn which shared hosting companies deliver the best results on these points.

#1 – Hostinger – Best for Most

Hostinger

Best for Most

Hostinger’s shared hosting is affordable and easy to set up. Hostinger’s shared hosting is quick and easy to set up.

Overall Score: 3.7/5

Most shared hosting plans will require you to compromise some quality in order to save money.

Not Hostinger. They provide the attention and quality that every user needs. The entry-level plan costs a ridiculous amount, but it still offers a user-friendly onboarding experience and a reliable site speed.

Let’s have a closer look at Hostinger’s performance in each of our five categories.

1. Pricing = 5/5
2. Getting started = 4/5
3. Customer support = 1.7/5
4. Speed = 3/5
5. Uptime = 1/5

Pricing: 5/5 – Hostinger scores a perfect score for being thrifty.

Hosting starts at $3.49 per Month, which is $47.88 for the first year.

Domain names are $8.99 per year. Domain privacy is an additional $5 that protects your personal information online.

Hostinger offers a free professional email account.

Everything you need to launch your website in the first year is only $61.87

Hosting plans often see a significant increase in price when they are renewed. Hostinger makes it much more manageable. 

You’ll be paying just a little more for renewal–$5.99/month–which will bring you a total of $71.88 for the second year. This does not include the renewal rate at which your domain name will be renewed.

Hostinger’s web hosting cost for both years is $137.74.

For just $1.99 per month, you can sign up four years in advance for even better pricing. This is four years’ worth of hosting for a total of less than $100. Remember to account for domain acquisitions and WHOIS privacy.

This is a great deal compared to other options on the list. After four years, your renewal rate will rise to $3.99 per month.

Hostinger has remarkable savings for hosting costs that anyone can afford.

Hostinger’s easy steps to get started Your custom control panel is easy to use and the checkout process is seamless. This allows you to instantly see what you can do and what you need.

You will be greeted immediately upon signing up with a welcome screen

There’s no confusion about what to do next. Follow the instructions that come with clicking “Start Now”.

You will see a welcome message in your email with an outline of each step that you need to complete in the setup wizard. Each link in the email will take you to the screen above.

You will be asked questions when you begin the setup process.

Do you want to create a new site? Are you migrating to an existing site?

Migration is the transfer of all website data to your new host.

You will also be asked if your domain is already purchased.

We recommend WordPress for your content management system (CMS). It is simple to install.

All research and testing are done on WordPress sites.

Next, choose your WordPress theme. This will determine the design and layout of your website. This theme can be modified or changed later.

You will then be given instructions to point your domain name at Hostinger servers. This is only possible if your domain name is already owned.

After that, you are ready to access your account dashboard.

Once you’ve answered all the questions and followed the clear instructions, your WordPress site will be fully functional.

Hostinger makes everything easy. It’s all there in front of you, and it takes no time to find the answers. Hostinger has managed to ensure that you leave the setup wizard with a website ready for you to display.

Hostinger has one problem. They don’t offer a free domain. Although it is a minor problem, Hostinger cannot achieve a perfect five out of five rating in this category.

Customer service: 1.7/5 – Hostinger’s customer service was poor and we would like to see improvements.

All of the representatives were friendly. They did not do anything more than send us support tutorials.

For beginners, you will need more.

Worse, they take a long time to respond. This is the time between the moment we ask a question and the moment a rep enters the chat and begins to address it. They are extremely slow. The fastest interaction took 16 minutes, even though we waited at the beginning.

Hostinger had the longest live chat response time of any member on this list.

Take a closer look at what we did.

It’s easy to get started by finding the live chat widget in the bottom right-hand corner.

We first interacted and asked: “What security features do your company offer to make my site safer?”

We sent our question in at 7:48 a.m. PST. After waiting 16 minutes we received a reply.

As you can see, the rep was polite and quickly provided us with an excellent support article. We were given actions that we could immediately take.

Problem is, it took them far too long to reply.

We asked for a second interaction and were able to walk through the process of setting up email.

We began the chat at 1148 a.m., then received an instant reply from a bot saying they would put us in touch with the team and that we could leave the chat if needed as the response would be via mail.

At 12:17 p.m., the response arrived 29 minutes later. It was a friendly response. The support document included step-by-step instructions for setting up an email account. We were also offered assistance if needed.

We then asked how to forward these emails to our Gmail accounts. We received two support articles that provided ways to access Gmail emails within minutes.

This was the end of the chat. We ended it at 12:27 p.m. The whole conversation took 39 minutes.

The rep was friendly and willing to help. For such a simple request, it took quite a while.

We asked the question, “How can we make our site load as quickly as possible?”

We began the chat at 6:40 pm and did not receive a reply until 42 minutes later.

After the rep sent us two support articles on how to speed up WordPress websites, we thanked them for their help and closed the chat.

After waiting for 42 minutes, the rep spent only two minutes with us. We wish the rep had spent more time with us than just dropping off support articles.

This is bad service as we are left to search for the answers ourselves. It would have been helpful to be shown where the answer is.

Hostinger customer service is friendly and will help you. It may take you a while to get it, and it might just be a collection of helpful articles. Even after receiving support, you might be responsible for finding the answers on your own.

This is not the best experience for beginners or those who are in a rush. Hostinger could improve its response time and show more concern for people seeking help.

The rep should walk you through the steps and not just leave it up to your imagination to find the answers.

They are being paid for the answers and not the location of the answers.

Speed: 5/5 – If you want people to return after their first visit, your website must be quick. Hostinger is not a great host, but it doesn’t let down either.

Over 30 days of research, we found an average speed of 670 milliseconds. This is less than a half-second.

The average time it took to connect with other providers was 699 milliseconds. Hostinger is slightly ahead of most of the rest.

Hostinger invests in speed-related features that you can also take advantage of.

The caching plugin creates a virtual snapshot on your website, which speeds up load times. Your site details are saved to the server and then quickly sent to visitors.

Hostinger has data centers in several countries around the globe, including the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Brazil, Singapore, Indonesia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Lithuania.

To reduce the distance between your visitors and the server hosting your website, you can choose the nearest data center. This will result in faster loading times.

Hostinger passed our speed test and was able to work on most lightweight websites. Hostinger provides enough speed to keep visitors coming back for more.

Your site will not be found if it isn’t up to standard. Your site’s availability and the frequency at which it is unavailable due to maintenance, errors, or any other reason are measured by your uptime.

Hostinger had an average of 99.68% uptime over 30 days. This may seem good, but it is still far from a great shared hosting performance. For a month’s shared hosting, the total downtime is two hours and 22 mins.

Even worse, many incidents of unavailabilityYi58 are common. One incident lasted more than 30 minutes. This is unacceptable.

The image below shows the availability percentage at the upper left. The right side shows the total downtime, in hours, minutes, and seconds. The next section shows the longest downtime and most incidents.

Freshping, which is the website that we use to check our uptime, says that all 58 incidents were connected timeouts lasting anywhere from a few seconds up to 30 minutes.

This occurs when your website attempts to access more resources than the server has available. The web browser is unable to load the website that you desire.

High numbers of incidents indicate that either one site is hogging resources on the server or that there are too many sites.

It could actually be both, which makes our downtime worse.

Hostinger appears to have poor management of their shared servers which directly impacts your site’s availability. Our site and potential customers were left in darkness after a 30-minute incident. That is not what you want.

It’s almost like going to your favorite restaurant with your friends from far away and finding out that they are closed when they should be. It’s a waste of time and makes you look stupid.

Hostinger is still our number one choice. Hostinger is not the best choice for web stores that require a high level of uptime. Hostinger offers a great combination of low prices, ease of use, and fast site speed.

#2 – DREAMHOST — The Best and Most Risk-Free Hosting Plan Below $5

DreamHost

Best Plan Under $5

DreamHost’s low prices make it easy to get started with your website. Even better, their monthly hosting plans are just as affordable as any other annual plan. They are risk-free and ideal for landing pages and sites that only require web hosting temporarily.

Score: Overall Score: 3.7/5

DreamHost is the most affordable month-to-month plan, so you can test the waters without taking any risks.

DreamHost is a great choice if you need a landing site for a few months, or if you are launching a new product and want a temporary website.

For those with tight budgets, their monthly plans can be especially helpful. DreamHost won’t penalize anyone for skipping an annual contract. You can still pay a reasonable amount each month, without having to fork out for an entire year.

For consistency with other providers on our list, we tested the annual plan. We’ll also discuss month-to-month pricing details in the next section.

1. Pricing = 5/5
2. Getting started = 3/5
3. Customer support = 1.7/5
4. Speed = 2/5
5. Uptime = 5/5

Pricing: DreamHost is a rare commodity in the shared hosting industry. Their monthly, no-commitment pricing can be compared to almost any other yearly plan. You can also drop them if they aren’t performing well.

DreamHost is an affordable plan that will keep your wallet happy and keeps you sane. They are ideal for small projects, mock websites to show clients or marketing campaigns that last less than one year.

DreamHost’s entry-level monthly plan costs $4.95 per month for the first three months. The price goes up to $7.99/month after that, which makes the total cost for the first year $86.76.

DreamHost can help you register a domain name. Prices vary depending on which domain you choose. You can expect to pay between $1 and $10 per year for the first year. After year one, the domain renewal cost is $15.99

Domain privacy is available for free. DreamHost is the only host to offer domain privacy protection at no cost.

You can also get an email address for $1.99 per month

If you stay with DreamHost for at least one year, a full-service plan without any commitment or contract will cost you between $111.64 to $121.64 depending on the domain. You’ll pay a predictable $110.64 if you already own a domain.

The hosting costs more in the second year because you don’t get the first three months at $4.95 promotional pricing. You’ll pay $135.75 per year for the second domain at that fixed renewal rate.

The hosting costs $250 for two years. This is without any commitment.

This information was not used for scoring. To compare apples to apples, we used pricing information for each host’s one-year contract. Because not all shared hosting plans offer month-to-month plans. If you’re looking for a more affordable option, there are plenty of options.

Let’s now look at the pricing for DreamHost’s annual plan.

Hosting costs start at $2.95 per month for the first year. For 12 months, it will cost $35.40. Your domain privacy is protected by the annual plan, as well as your domain name.

You can save an average of $30 each year with the free domain name and privacy protection

Unfortunately, they are the only provider to charge extra for email.

You can purchase a professional email address via your domain for $19.99 if you require an email.

For the first year of hosting your website with email, it will cost $55.39

Hosting costs for the second year are $6.99 per month. This is $83.88 for the first year. Add $15.99 for renewal and $19.99 for additional email.

The second year’s cost is $119.86. Privacy protection is available at no additional cost.

The renewal rate is 137% more than the promo pricing, which is a common occurrence in shared hosting.

The cost for two years, including email and domains, is $175.25. Hostinger is the only other option cheaper than this one. It is also much cheaper than the $222.54 average cost of all other hosts on our site.

If you believe it, it gets even better. You pay $2.59 per Month for a 3-year commitment. You still pay only $165.20 even if you pay for your domain and email. DreamHost shared hosting is available for $10 more than the annual two-year commitment.

Starting: 3/5 – DreamHost is middle of the pack, and easy to use. It is complicated because of a few things.

For example, you will need to navigate through confusing upsells at checkout. These upsell were pre-selected, and they don’t explain what they are. We owed twice the amount at the check-out than we expected, and we didn’t understand why.

It can be confusing.

You will be asked to register a DreamHost domain name or to add one that you already have when you first get started.

After we had made our domain selections, we noticed that our prices doubled. We didn’t understand why.

We were confused and couldn’t find the answer until we scrolled to the bottom of this page.

These add-ons are cheaper and preselected to change our prices.

They were all unchecked except for the free preinstall WordPress installation (we include email service in our pricing, but it wasn’t included during setup testing).

The price returned to normal once we had done that. After clicking “Submit”, we were taken immediately to our control panel.

You can manage all aspects of your website from the control panel. We received two emails next, one with general account information, and one that explains how to set WordPress up.

Follow the steps to choose the theme you want for your site. We found it confusing the number of pre-installed plugins was. If you don’t understand what they do, it can become overwhelming.

We had to locate the domain server last, and we didn’t know how to connect the domain we wanted to our server.

This has been done dozens of times, but we are still not sure what to do. DreamHost should be more clear about its DNS settings.

The setup is not difficult, but it could have been simpler. Not having pre-selected add-ons would have given us a better foundation for getting started, rather than feeling like they were trying too hard to get us in the door.

Support: 1.7/5 – DreamHost does not make it easy to get help. The live chat widget is difficult to locate. There’s no icon at the corner or a place to connect to someone. It was a difficult task to find it.

We discovered that there is no chat button. To start a conversation with support, click on the “Support” button and then click on the “Contact Support” link in your left-hand navigation menu.

We began our live research after we had found it.

At 7:57 AM PST, the first interaction began. We received a reply at 8 AM on the dot. We wanted to know how we could increase security on our site.

We were sent an article by them and they recommended DreamShield as a paid upgrade. It acts as a malware detector and protects your website against malicious cyber attacks.

This question was answered by them at 8:14 AM. We were confused as to why the chat took so much time (17 minutes) for such little information.

This interaction was not helpful to us. It felt more like they were trying to sell their product than solving our problem.

The second interaction was to help us set up email for our domain. After asking our question, we were immediately provided with three support articles by the rep. None of these were helpful.

One concerns the updated contact information for an account. These were not relevant or helpful for our question. The first article dealt with how to transfer domain hosting between accounts, while the third was about their sender policy.

We didn’t get any help so we created support tickets at 11:55 am but kept the chat open.

The ticket was submitted seven minutes earlier than the live chat response. The live chat representative confirmed that the issue was resolved.

The chat took approximately 24 minutes, and the ticket that we submitted took around 17 minutes

The ticket rep was friendly and pointed out that we are not on a hosting package that includes email. We were also shown how to sign up and what is included in the plan, as well as information on upgrading to that plan.

After asking about how to speed up the site at 6:42 pm, we had our third interaction and were connected immediately to a representative. We were immediately greeted by the rep. It took them a while to reply.

They then checked the website’s loading speed and declared it to be fine. They also noticed that there wasn’t any content on the site. We explained to them that we are just starting out and wanted more advice on optimizing our site before we get started.

They directed us quickly to a support article about WordPress optimization. After six minutes, the chat ended at 6:48 pm.

We appreciated that they did not immediately ask us to upgrade to a higher level of service. We wished they would have taken the time to give us specific advice, rather than just sending us to a support article.

Overall, however, we were able to communicate quickly and get us started on improving our site’s speed.

Speed: DreamHost is 2/5 for shared web hosts. Their strength is speed.

We found that their average response time was 813 milliseconds after a month of research. This is just below one second, but it’s quite high. This is not the worst thing, but it is not great.

The graph shows the daily average speed. The graph shows the changes in speed over the last 30 days. Sometimes, the increase in response time was more than a second and a half.

DreamHost strives to improve its speed despite the fact that it is slow.

• You have unlimited bandwidth so you don’t need to worry about how much data visitors are able to access and what limits may be placed on your website.

• Resource protection is a way to ensure that your resources don’t get used up by malicious intent such as bots or attacks.

DreamHost also monitors site performance 24/7.

To summarize, visitors need to be happy with your site. Dreamhost must improve in this area to be competitive with top-ranked shared hosting providers.

Uptime: 5/5 – Uptime measures your website’s accessibility using a tangible metric.

DreamHost is the best-shared hosting provider for uptime. Their uptime is almost 100%, with only 49 seconds of downtime in the 30 days that we tested. This is a remarkable feat.

You can see that there was only one incident, and it was quite brief. It was an HTTP 500 Internal Service Error (a generic term for server-side errors).

The average downtime for this list was 26 minutes and 49 seconds. SiteGround is second in terms of uptime, while DreamHost is the clear winner.

Dreamhost does an amazing job managing their shared server. 

Dreamhost’s uptime is actually better than other web hosts of higher quality that cost triple.

Visitors can stop by any time, provided you keep the lights on. DreamHost offers standard availability at very low shared hosting prices. It is amazing how they do it and, even more, you have this advantage over your competitors.

#3 – GreenGeeks – The Best for Unlimited Email and Disk Space

GreenGeeks

Best for unlimited sites & scaling

GreenGeeks offers truly unlimited shared hosting at their higher and middle pricing tiers. Hosting for unlimited websites with unlimited disk space and unlimited email accounts is available for a little more than the entry-level plan.

Overall Score: 3.6/5

You’ve found the best-shared hosting provider if you are looking for something more. GreenGeeks scored a 3 or higher in all categories we tested.

GreenGeeks’ entry-level shared hosting plan is a great choice. Our research revealed that their higher-end shared hosting tiers offer better value.

Why? You’re here because you require lots of disk space, separate domains, email accounts, and plenty of other features. GreenGeeks plans are unlimited. This means you can host as many websites as you like without worrying about any limitations.

To be clear, the Pro and Premium plans allow unlimited sites and disk space. We did not test them. We tested GreenGeeks’ entry-level Lite plan to compare the other plans in a consistent manner.

Here’s the best thing.

Because the Lite plan performed so well, you can expect that the speed and uptime you receive from GreenGeeks will be comparable to or even better than the higher-tier plans.

Even though we did not test the higher-tier plans, we can confidently speak to their value since the lowest tier passed our performance tests.

Let’s take a look at these facts:

1. Pricing = 3/5
2. Getting started = 4/5
3. Customer support = 3.5/5
4. Speed = 5/5
5. Uptime = 4/5

Pricing: 3/5 – GreenGeeks pricing for their entry-level plan is average at best. The entry-level plan is excellent, but the Pro plan at mid-level is fantastic, as we mentioned earlier. Below are both pricing options.

While we want to be fair in comparing each plan on this list, we also want you to see how unlimited resources can make your life easier.

Let’s now talk about the unlimited Pro plan.

This package includes unlimited bandwidth, disk space, and email accounts.

The monthly cost is $6.95, which equals $83.40 for a full year. This plan comes with a free domain and email. However, domain privacy is available for an additional $9.95 per year. All in all, Pro-level hosting costs $93.99 per year.

Your monthly payment will increase to $15.95 upon renewal. This makes the second year $191.40. You will need to pay $13.95 for your domain and $9.95 for domain privacy. Email is still free. The second year will cost you $215.30.

Add the two years together and you’ll be paying $308.65 for unlimited storage, email, website, and email. It is $9 more than the most expensive provider on this list. You don’t have to worry about running out of resources or signing up for another site. This is something that can be a burden with shared hosting.

Let’s now look at the plan that we tested: GreenGeeks basic Lite, which allows you to host one website but gives you 50 GB of storage and 50 email addresses.

Hosting starts at $4.95 per month, which works out to $59.40 per year. Email and domain name registration costs for the first year are free. Domain privacy costs $9.95 Your first year will cost $69.35.

The renewal cost for the entry plan is $10.95. This represents a 137% increase to bring the second year of hosting up to $131.40. You pay $155.30 when you add the domain costs of $13.95, $9.95 for privacy, and $55.95 for hosting.

GreenGeeks Hosting costs $224.65 per year for two years. This is just $5.53 more than the $219.11 average.

You can save some money and get an extra year of hosting if you sign up for three years upfront. For all three years, you will pay only $147.39. This saves $7.91 and gives you an additional year for hosting.

GreenGeeks pricing for the Lite plan is fair and reasonable, in conclusion. Although it is a little more expensive than other providers, we believe the performance you receive is well worth it.

You can also solve scaling problems by upgrading to the Pro plan if your site grows in popularity.

When you consider it, the unlimited plan is a great deal. The Pro plan is the best option if you intend to create multiple websites and need unlimited storage.

Setting up: 4/5 – GreenGeeks makes it simple to get started. You just need to choose your domain and plan. Once you have added your account information, you are good to go. There are no complicated options.

The account dashboard is easy to use, and well-designed. This makes it easy to find what you need.

A side note. If you choose a monthly plan, there is a $15 setup charge. This setup fee is not mentioned anywhere on the site, and it is only mentioned after we have completed the setup.

We recommend the annual commitments, but we don’t recommend them. This is because of the value that you get for your money. GreenGeeks provides more value for your money if you commit to at least one year upfront.

First, create a domain name.

Next, enter your account information and choose your package. Finally, submit your credit card details.

This email verification process was new to us. This is not something that any other host does in their setup. Our email arrived in a matter of minutes.

It may take longer if you have concerns about your account. You can reach them by using the link on your order receipt, which says “Support Page”.

If there are no problems on GreenGeek’s end, you will receive an email confirmation that your web host account has been activated. You will be able to access your account dashboard by entering the login details.

As you can see, the options are available to create a new website, migrate an existing site, build a site with assistance, or skip it altogether and return to it later.

It is so easy to see what the next step should be. Each option will guide you through a wizard to make it easy to get started.

The wizard asked us which app we wanted after we had chosen to create a new website.

Click continue to choose WordPress. Next, we activated the SSL certificate.

This can be done by clicking the security link on the left-side navigation. Then select “Enable SSL”.

Next, choose a theme to use on your WordPress website. There are eight themes to choose from, including some of the most popular WordPress themes, like Astra, Hello Elementor, and Kadence.

You can then choose the plugins that you wish to install after you have selected your theme. This is great as you can choose what plugins your site requires before you go.

Each plugin has a different function depending on the purpose of your site. The first three plugins are free.

• Woocommerce converts your WordPress website into an ecommerce shop, allowing products to be sold

• Elementor is a page builder for free that lets you create custom websites and pages.

• WP Forms allows you to create website forms with custom fields or designs

These other options are expensive and can be ignored if there are better alternatives or you don’t need them.

Once you’re done, click Create My Website.

The WordPress installation took only a few seconds, which is very fast.

We don’t have any information about how to connect domain names. This can make it difficult for people who have their own domain names.

This is important because GreenGeeks does not issue temporary domain names as other hosts do. You won’t be allowed to log in to WordPress until the Domain Name Server records (DNS) are updated.

This is just a wish we could see clearly so that it’s easy to know what to do to get ahead.

After some research, we found the answer in their knowledge database. It would have been much better if this had been explained during set-up.

The setup is simple enough for anyone to do. It was very easy and smooth.

It was very easy to set up the site using the wizard. The only thing that kept this score from 5/5 was the lack of a WordPress site builder.

Customer Support: 3.5/5 – Fast and reliable hosting is a must. But, it’s not enough. You need to have above-average customer service. GreenGeeks is like the post office in that it delivers on all three.

We received much more than just support articles. They were patient and guided us through every step.

We found it even more remarkable that none of the four providers listed on this list tried to sell us anything when we inquired about security improvements.

GreenGeeks provides live chat and telephone support throughout the day. It’s easy to find the chat widget in your dashboard.

We connected immediately with a representative after our first interaction at 8:58 AM PST. We inquired if they could assist us in making our website safer and received a reply a few minutes later asking for verification of our account.

It was very easy to do and the rep provided instructions on how it should be done.

The rep then mentioned that our site already has an SSL certificate and that it is secure.

They also mentioned that their servers are extremely secure and well-controlled. We can be confident that their security monitoring, both internal and external, was developed in-house.

They then mentioned that the best way to protect your account is to keep your login information safe and change your password frequently.

We asked them one more question about how to protect against malware and hackers, and they suggested that all WordPress themes and plugins be kept current.

The entire interaction took about ten minutes

We appreciated that there weren’t any upsells and that all the advice was easy to follow and understand. This is a great resource for those just starting out. It was quick and easy to use the help.

We asked for help with setting up email. The second chat began at 12:49 p.m. In less than one minute, we received a reply with a link that took us through setting up email accounts.

The entire chat lasted eight minutes.

Although the rep wasn’t as friendly as some other support reps that we chatted with, this was a basic question. The rep quickly responded with the right support articles and stayed on the line until we were satisfied. Overall, the rep was very responsive and helpful.

The chat was about speeding up our website. It started at 7:28 pm. We got a reply in less than two minutes. We wanted to know how to speed up our site’s load times and if GreenGeeks has any tools that can help.

The representative suggested that we install a caching plug-in and sent us a support article about how to do it on our WordPress site. We asked for any further advice.

They advised us to contact our developer. This wasn’t helpful. They sent another support article about speeding up WordPress websites after we did not reply. We explained to them that we don’t have any developers and that this is our first time doing this. They basically ignored that and told us to have a great day.

After 12 minutes, they concluded the chat at 7:40 pm.

Our experience was positive. They were very helpful and took the time to help us solve our problems. The last interaction was not rushed.

Overall, we felt the service was well-tailored to our needs, and GreenGeeks did a great job in this area.

Speed: 5/5 – Our research revealed that GreenGeeks respond in an average of 450 milliseconds.

They may not brag about their speed, but they could. They are tied for first place in the speed test alongside InMotion.

This takes less than a half second. Your web pages will load quickly.

The dark blue line running across the image is the response time graph. This test also revealed that the fastest page was loaded in the time period of one second.

This is amazing because even if you are a beginner, people will still visit your site and believe that you paid a lot for such speed.

GreenGeeks is a speed-oriented company. GreenGeeks has speed-enhancing features to get the job done every day.

• Cloudflare’s content delivery network includes 194 locations. It caches your site’s content, auto-minifies images, speeds up loading times for uncacheable material, and blocks malicious traffic that consumes a lot of server resources.

• GreenGeeks uses RAID-10 solid-state drives. These drives are more efficient because site data is redundantly stored on multiple disks. To keep the server running fast, if one of them is slow, it will load another.

• They also use LiteSpeed, the fastest WordPress server, which is 50 times faster than Apache servers.

GreenGeeks is committed to speed optimization, as you can see. Your site will get more visitors every month than you think.

GreenGeeks’ Uptime Score is 4/5. This company has the second-highest uptime in this category. They have almost 100% uptime and had only two minutes and six seconds of downtime in our 30-day test.

The availability can be seen in the upper left. Also, you can see the three incidents. One lasted for a full minute, and 38 seconds.

All three Freshping reports were timeout connections. This happens when your site is trying to get more resources from the server and it does not load.

Overall, GreenGeeks has a great uptime performance. They outperform most shared hosts on this list. They also score well above the average overall. GreenGeeks is a comprehensive shared hosting provider that allows it to scale.

#4 – Bluehost – The Best Way to Build Beautiful WordPress Sites

Bluehost

WordPress Users: Best

Bluehost is recommended by WordPress. It offers a quick and easy way to get a WordPress website up and running. Bluehost is a great place to host a WordPress website during lunch. It’s also one of the most affordable in this category.

Overall Score: 3.6/5

The Bluehost website-building tool is the only one you’ll ever need. It is easy to use and includes tons of templates, making it one of the most popular page builders available.

Bluehost is the ideal platform for creating a website that has a bit more style than a standard WordPress theme. It allows you to switch between blog layouts and create the perfect call-to-action buttons. You can even make a masterpiece in ten minutes.

Let’s take a look at other things Bluehost does well.

1. Pricing = 4/5
2. Getting started = 4/5
3. Customer support = 3.7/5
4. Speed = 1/5
5. Uptime = 3/5

Pricing: 4/5 – Bluehost is a reliable name in shared hosting and is still affordable to start with.

You’d be hard-pressed to believe that they are among the few WordPress-certified service providers who offer a low starting price for the first year.

Let’s see what we mean.

Hosting starts at $2.95 per month, which is equal to $35.40 upfront. Hosting comes with the additional benefit of an email account and a domain name. Bluehost will also give you an additional $11.88 per year to help protect your online identity. This brings your total cost down to $47.28 for your first year.

Your hosting rate will increase by 239% when it is time to renew for the second consecutive year.

Even though this plan has the highest renewal percentage of providers on our list it is still very affordable.

It is now $9.99/month. This is $119.88 per month for a second year.

Add $17.99 for your domain name and $11.80 for your website privacy. The new price for year 2 is $149.75.

You get 2 years for $197.03. This is a lot lower than the $222.54 average across our entire list.

Bluehost is third-cheapest overall, behind Dreamhost and Hostinger.

If you’re looking to tilt the balances even further in your favor, you can sign-up for three years in advance starting at $2.95 per month. You’ll still pay $177.58 per year if you include the domain and privacy.

Bluehost offers incredible pricing for entry-level plans.

How to get started: 4/5 – Bluehost’s signup process is cluttered with ads and upsells.

It’s as simple as it gets. It comes with everything you need, including a domain name and five email addresses for free for the first year.

Your website builder is also integrated into your dashboard, so you can quickly jump over to create a stunning website in just a few seconds.

It is so easy to use. Drag-and-drop makes it much simpler than programming to place things on your site.

It’s easy to set up settings and use a third-party program to complete the puzzle. The dashboard is simple to use, clean, and clutter-free.

Don’t believe us? Check it out below.

Start by deciding whether you are adding a domain to your existing one or creating a new one.

You can skip this step if you’re not sure.

Next, enter your account information, package details, additional services, and payment information.

A few of the add-ons are pre-selected. To have a functioning website, you don’t necessarily need all of them. You can also un-check any of them.

You can find out more information about each add-on by clicking the link.

After you are done, click “Submit” to create a Bluehost account.

After creating your account, a login is required. The setup wizard will ask you how much assistance you require when setting up your site.

We took the middle route: we needed a little help. The next step is to choose the type of website you wish to create.

You can choose to skip this if you’re not sure.

After you have made your selection, you will be asked “How comfortable do you feel creating websites?”

Next, choose between a basic WordPress installation or Bluehost’s drag-and-drop WordPress builder.

This is the best thing about this setup. You can choose which one to use.

It’s great if you are familiar with WordPress and want to use the simple install. If you are a beginner and don’t want any help with setting up WordPress themes or setup, the drag-and-drop builder may be a better choice.

This video will show you how to create a beautiful website in no time. Even if it’s lunchtime at work.

Scroll down to find a few FAQs that will help you decide the best option for you. It is clear and helpful.

The site builder will make your site a bit slower than WordPress. It is simple and easy for beginners.

WordPress by itself offers greater flexibility, but it takes much longer to set up and learn.

WordPress was chosen for testing purposes. Feel free to follow your heart.

You can choose to use the page builder and you will be able to jump straight into it. Answer a few questions and you can start designing your site.

When you choose WordPress, you will be asked about your industry as well as who the website is for.

You can then choose a theme, or you can skip it altogether and pick one later. To make your search easier, you can filter only free options or only pay options by feature. You can also browse different website types.

It is intuitive and offers a lot of options.

The WordPress setup wizard is now complete. The dashboard will take you to a list of tasks that will help you build your website. It’s easy to know where to begin.

We didn’t like the lack of guidance in setting up our domain names. You can easily solve this problem by visiting the knowledge base. This can prove confusing for newbies, as you don’t know the reason your site isn’t showing up online.

Bluehost does not provide any information on DNS setup. This is especially important if domain name setup was not performed during the initial stages of the onboarding process.

The setup process is easy, regardless of whether you use the website builder or the standard WordPress installation. Bluehost’s entry-level shared hosting plan is affordable and anyone can use it.

Customer service: 3/5 – We found the customer support representative we followed up with a little too salesy. However, the scores improved after our first contact.

Bluehost was able to help you, and we did it well.

Although the live chat widget doesn’t appear in your dashboard right away, it is easily found. Clicking on the knowledge base option from the dashboard brought up a list of options that allowed us to launch a live chat.

Click on the chat button on Bluehost’s home page in the upper right.

Bluehost will respond to your questions by sending you some questions. These questions may not be helpful. Scroll down to the bottom and click “Start chat”

The first chat began at 8:07 AM PST. Within 30 seconds, we received a reply.

They wanted to verify our account using the last four characters of our password. After that, they asked us to verify our account with the last four characters of our password. We then mentioned that we would like to learn more about security measures that can be used to protect our website.

The first thing they said was that paid packages were available. We were told how much each of these additional packages costs per year, and the features included in each package. We then asked if they could do anything that didn’t cost extra.

Although they suggested some plugins that we could install, the rep claimed that they were not very good. This response was a surprise to us. They tried to sell us an upgrade for a fee.

We thanked the rep and said that we would think about it. The rep then said that they hoped for a 5-star experience before closing the chat. It took 22 minutes to complete the chat.

The sales-first approach didn’t appeal to us.

Help that solves problems quickly and cheaply is what we prefer. We are more likely to seek out other options, especially when there are better alternatives.

The rep also didn’t tell us about the paid plans, but just gave a list of all the features. This was not helpful. I would have preferred to have been able to find out more about what we could do with our current plan, instead of being forced to upgrade.

We asked about setting up email in the second chat. We connected quickly and started the chat at 12:03 p.m.

We were shown how to create an email account. They were friendly, straightforward, and efficient.

We asked the rep how to forward emails to our Gmail account. Within seconds, the rep replied with instructions on how to do it. The entire chat lasted five minutes.

The chat was quick and easy. Everything went exactly as they said. It was definitely a better experience than our previous interaction with Bluehost.

The third interaction took 17 min. Our site needed to be speeded up. Although we stated that there were no issues, we wanted to know if there was a way to increase speed if needed.

The rep didn’t seem to pay attention to our comments, as they tried to solve a problem that wasn’t there.

They were unable to answer all of our questions, and when we finally asked for a guide they sent us an article on setting up an email account.

After that strange exchange, we received an excellent response filled with examples and concrete actions. They sent us a few additional guides which were extremely helpful.

We believe the rep was distracted, or perhaps working on two conversations simultaneously. However, after the mix-up, they were extremely helpful. It was just that they were not able to focus on our question initially, which was a waste of time. They were still helpful, but not efficiently.

Speed: 1/5 – According to Google, the fastest website receives traffic.

We were therefore disappointed by the performance Bluehost displayed in our testing.

Bluehost actually had the slowest response times of all the hosts that we tested.

The loading speed average of 1107 milliseconds was the lowest in the group. This is just over a second. This might seem acceptable on paper but it’s not reliable speed.

What is the point?

Bluehost is less than half a second slower when compared to hosts with similar prices. This means that your competitor is quicker and has taken your food.

Considering what we have seen from other shared hosts to date, it is clear that almost all of them had no trouble getting their averages below 1000 milliseconds.

However, we have to admit that shared hosting isn’t known for its speed or performance. However, some responses took almost two seconds to respond to, which is really high.

We could not find any speed optimization features for entry-level plans when we searched. Bluehost offers a lot of speed and performance features that are only available to managed WordPress users who are willing or able to pay more.

Bluehost is a great service that helps beginners create fast websites.

Bluehost’s Uptime Score is 3/5. Bluehost shows a 99.95% uptime with only 20 minutes and 28 seconds of downtime during testing.

Other providers on this list have an average downtime of 26 minutes and 49 seconds. Bluehost performed slightly higher than the average.

They are somewhere in the middle between good and bad.

One incident caused our site to be down for just over ten minutes.

One of the seven downtime incidents was a refusal to connect, three were connection timeouts, one error was unknown, and two were SSL errors.

SSL errors can be a serious concern because the browser cannot verify the SSL certificate. Your website will display a warning message that it is not safe to visit.

Visitors may feel uncomfortable about your brand, and they might not return to your site again.

Bluehost ended up performing slightly better than the average of all other hosts on the list. However, we are concerned about SSL errors and the damage to your reputation that they can cause.

Bluehost’s accessibility and easy setup make it an excellent choice for creating a WordPress site.

#5 – InMotion Hosting – The Best to Get You the Fastest Website Starting Day One

InMotion Hosting

Site speed is the best

InMotion is a shared host that offers lightning-fast speeds and reliable uptime. Shared hosting at affordable prices with solid customer support.

Overall Score: 2.8/5

A fast website is essential for delivering a great user experience. We were impressed by the lightning-fast speed of InMotion hosting when we did our research. To make your site look fully formed in a flash of an eye, there are no speed-related features or programs you need.

They scored the highest on the list and can compete with higher-tier web hosting plans for triple the price. This is the only place you will find it.

These are their results in each category that we tested.

1. Pricing = 2/5
2. Getting started = 2/5
3. Customer support = 4/5
4. Speed = 5/5
5. Uptime = 4/5

Pricing: InMotion shared hosting – 2/5 – This is the most expensive price.

It causes the overall score of shared hosting to drop, as the price is the most important aspect of judging it.

Hosting costs start at $6.99 per month and run to $83.88 for the first 12 months. If you require one, your domain name is included free of charge for the first year. An email is also available for $0.

It costs $12.99 to secure your domain privacy online. It protects your identity so hackers and scammers don’t know who the site belongs to.

It costs $96.87 to host your website for the first year.

Hosting renewals for the second year are $11.99 per month, which is $143.88 This is 72% less than the renewal rates for other hosting plans.

Your domain won’t be free for the second year, so you will need to pay $15.99. Privacy costs remain the same at $12.99, and email is still available for free. Hosting costs for the second year total $172.86

Your total cost over the two-year period will be $263.73. Our average cost for all hosts is $222.54 InMotion is our second-most expensive option.

Two years upfront can be purchased. You will receive a $5.99 per month promotional price, which will bring your web hosting costs down to $185.73. This includes privacy and domain costs.

InMotion’s pricing is a problem and can cause the overall score below what many would consider acceptable. It is possible to opt for a two-year plan upfront. This removes the problem that their pricing can cause.

Getting started: 2/5 InMotion’s setup can be difficult to understand. Because there is no way to start once you have paid for your plan, the account dashboard can be confusing and cluttered.

Even though we looked at all the guides they sent, and the dashboard’s bottom, nothing was clear. Either you have to know exactly what you are looking for, or you will need to spend a lot of time trying to figure it out.

They do offer a 30-minute free call to assist you in setup. We didn’t use it to keep the testing transparent with other hosts.

If you have a competent rep, we can see how it would be beneficial.

We did not test this feature, so cannot be held responsible for its quality. It was not part of our scoring.

You can see our onboarding experience below.

They include:

• Backup Manager $24 per Year (automatically checked to confirm)

• For $72 per annum (automatically checked no), you can get a dedicated IP address

• QuickStarter – for $249 one-time, you receive a professionally designed website on WordPress. (automatically tested no)

We didn’t like the backup manager. A plugin is available for free that will perform your website backups.

It then asks for your domain name. InMotion allows you to buy one, purchase one, or use an existing one. Click “Continue” to continue using the one we already had.

A popup asks if you want to save an additional 10%. It automatically applied the new discount when we clicked “Yes”. This is something we’ve seen many times while using InMotion. This is a discount for all new users of InMotion Hosting.

You can then enter your personal information and make your payment.

After we paid, we received a welcome message. We also had the option to receive help in creating or migrating a site by scheduling a one-on-one conversation with a specialist. This feature is exclusive to InMotion, and it’s something that no other budget-shared hosting plan offers.

We didn’t say thanks and we did not use the one-on-1 call.

We received several emails after that. The guide for setting up a new website was the most important. It’s missing many details.

It covers setting up email and pointing to your domain. Although this document can be very helpful, it does not provide any guidance on what to do prior to these steps. It would be helpful to have a step–by–step guide for setting up your website.

The document was closed, and then we clicked the button to set the password in the dashboard.

After creating a password, we clicked “Login”. We were then taken to a login page.

Logging in will take you to your dashboard. However, there is no guidance. Although you can schedule a one-on-one meeting, we believe there should be clear instructions on how to set up your website.

Even the “Recommended for You” section was opened to the getting started guide.

We clicked WordPress next, as that is the CMS we use and want to install. It didn’t tell us how to install it, but how to use it once it is installed.

It was necessary to dig, but it shouldn’t be. This is clearly not for beginners.

Important: Open Softaculous to install WordPress. It’s located on your dashboard homepage. It would take us a while to figure this out if we didn’t know.

Once we click to install WordPress there is a form that you need to fill out.

Once you have completed this form, you can choose the plugins that you wish to install. The entire process took about 15 minutes.

This was ultimately a bad user experience.

They can make the process much simpler. Even if you are offered a specialist to call you, you may not have the time. It is a disaster otherwise.

Customer Support: 4/5 – We found InMotion customer support to be comparable with other web hosting plans.

Although the first two reps were great, the third was a bit rushed.

The reps were attentive to our questions and showed a genuine concern for our needs.

You can find the live chat button on the website at the bottom right corner of the screen. It is always available. A new window will open when you click the button. It asks you if you would like to speak to sales or support.

We clicked “Support”

InMotion Hosting offers something different. They give you a link to the knowledge base so you can review it while you wait to get help. This was something we thought was very nice.

The first question we asked was about security features that make our site safer.

The chat began at 7:14 AM. It took fifteen minutes for a response. We were greeted by the rep who explained that they provide a free SSL certificate as well as server-side protection which actually protects your physical server hardware against attacks.

Then they said that although we are responsible for most security aspects of the site, such as our account password, ModSecurity can help. If we needed more security, they recommended Sucuri, a paid feature. We were pleased that they made it clear that there was a charge.

To find out what they had to say, we asked them if Sucuri was needed for a new site.

It’s not something we need right now, the rep stated. We thanked them and ended the chat. The chat lasted for 28 minutes.

We appreciated that they took the time and explained things to us, rather than just sending us to a support page.

We liked the fact that they did not mention a paid upgrade until the end. The rep even said that it was not something we should be concerned about right now, but that it is something we will keep in mind for the future.

Overall, the interaction was great.

We also asked about setting up an email account in the second interaction.

The chat began at 12:05 p.m. and lasted for 15 minutes. It was very straightforward.

The rep went above and beyond to walk us through each step, instead of just giving us the instructions. The rep gave us lots of information on where to find it so that we didn’t have to search for it. This level of support for beginners is ideal.

We asked about speeding up our site and the last interaction took place at 7:03 pm. It took only 30 seconds to connect.

We were told by the rep that it would take them about five minutes to review our site. They then asked us what problems we were experiencing. We replied that we didn’t have any problems, but we wanted to know what we could do to make it better.

A rep replied about a minute later saying that caching plugins like W3 Total Cache could make your site more responsive. They added that there are many other options we could look into.

Caching is a method that stores certain areas of your website that aren’t changing, such as images and static content, on the server. This cache serves these pages and other content instantly to your visitors, thereby making your site more efficient.

The rep informed us of that and said they had speed optimization guides available to send. We agreed to have them sent over. They sent eight guides, but no explanations. There were only eight links.

They then asked if they could help us with anything else. We replied no and thanked them both for their time. After six minutes, they ended the chat at 7:09 p.m.

Overall, the chat was excellent. However, we felt the chat was a little rushed especially after eight guides were sent without explanation.

However, we were impressed by how quickly we were able to connect. After waiting five minutes for a review, we received a quick answer. However, there was no advice or guidance on how to use the plugin.

Overall, our experience was positive and InMotion Hosting provided better support and service than other shared hosting providers. We are happy with the service and support you’ll receive.

Speed: 5/5 – InMotion is the fastest host for shared hosting. It beats the competition and is quicker than other gold-standard hosts with higher-priced plans.

Our research revealed an average speed of 339 milliseconds. This is a remarkable speed and visitors will not believe your site is on a basic plan.

Your website will offer the best user experience on the internet, at a fraction of the cost.

It makes sense because InMotion is very serious about speed and offers many speed-related features that will allow you to keep your site running at a fast pace.

You get unlimited bandwidth. This means that data can be transferred from your server to your visitors without restriction. This is especially important if your website has more visitors than others on the same shared hosting provider.

InMotion also offers Max Speed Zones. This is fancy phrasing to say they manage your data centers. They pick the closest center to your visitor so that your request is processed quicker than expected. Your website content does not have to travel as far so it is faster.

This is usually done with a CDN (content delivery system), which can be confusing for beginners. It’s nice to be able to relax and not have any responsibility for getting this speed.

InMotion is a perfect choice if you need a site that loads quickly and you don’t have to learn complicated software or pay extra. This host is great for sites that are full of ever-changing and increasing data.

Uptime: 4/5 – When you need a site, you want it to be available immediately. We were thrilled when InMotion provided the reliability we needed after our full month of testing.

Their uptime rate was 99.9%. This means that every visitor will be able to access your site when you choose shared hosting from InMotion.

Although shared hosting will usually experience downtime, it is the reason they are not available that matters most. It can indicate underlying concerns that could make your site appear unsafe.

InMotion Hosting has some concerns.

Four incidents caused the site’s inaccessibility.

Two SSL errors were made, one was a bad gateway, and one was an internal HTTP 503 server error.

SSL errors are a serious problem. (As you will recall if you read the Bluehost review above).

These errors warn visitors that security is at risk. Visitors will receive a message stating that it is not safe to continue browsing your site due to security issues.

This could make your visitors doubt your site and cause them to distrust it.

Bad gateway errors indicate network problems between the servers. One server can become overloaded. Your provider must make changes to determine why your server is not responding to visitors’ requests.

InMotion’s uptime percentage is excellent and it performs better than any of the 26 minutes averaged by all the other hosts in our list. We are concerned about SSL errors, which can cause massive traffic loss to your site.

Your website will still be available.

If SSL errors continue to occur, contact support to see if this can be fixed.

InMotion is the clear winner in performance. This is a significant advantage in shared hosting where speed and uptime are often unpredictable. InMotion Hosting is for you if you are able to handle a more difficult setup and a higher price.

#6 – Websiteground — The Best Customer Support You Can Claim to Have

SiteGround

Best customer support

SiteGround is the best choice for anyone new to hosting or someone who has never managed a site before. SiteGround’s exceptional customer service is a shining example of its excellence. Their slightly higher price tag is worth it when you consider site speed and reliability.

Overall Score: 2.7/5

You might have many questions if you are new to web hosting. 

That’s perfectly normal.

SiteGround provides exceptional customer service and answers all questions with Olympic-level athlete abilities.

They were the top-rated customer service. Users continue to be amazed by their care and willingness to assist, including us.

Let’s take a look at other aspects of shared hosting to see how SiteGround performs.

1. Pricing = 1/5
2. Getting started = 3/5
3. Customer support = 4.4/5
4. Speed = 4/5
5. Uptime = 5/5

Pricing: 1/5 – This is where SiteGround falls short. This category covers 40% of each provider’s overall score.

SiteGround was the most expensive host we tested. The overall score is a hard rock.

You might be able to change your mind after reading this review.

Hosting starts at $4.99 per month for your first year. This is $59.88 per year. SiteGround charges $15.95 for a domain name and $12 for privacy. Email is free. In fact, you get unlimited email accounts.

For a year, the total cost of everything is $87.83. Then, you’ll pay a staggering 200% increase if your plan is renewed.

Your monthly cost increases to $14.99 per Month, while domain, email, and privacy are fixed at the same prices as before.

SiteGround’s second year of hosting costs $207.83. For two years of SiteGround hosting, the price will be $295.66.

If you are just starting out, this can seem like a huge investment. We get it. SiteGround is not for everyone.

These are not your cheap shared hosting plans. However, the speed, reliability, and service they provide make it worth the price.

SiteGround is expensive. SiteGround is not worth the effort. It’s just too much for most people, especially those who value price.

SiteGround is affordable, but it doesn’t compromise on quality. As you will see.

SiteGround is designed for those who are committed to SiteGround for the long term and for those who want reliable performance from day one.

It’s easy to get started with SiteGround. It is easy because we did the research.

So, why are they only scoring three out of five?

They don’t offer a WordPress site builder, and they don’t provide a domain free of charge with their plan. This causes them to lose two points.

They do many things right, and the setup process is simple.

You can see it for yourself.

Registering a domain through SiteGround is the first step.

You cannot skip this step or come back to it later. You can’t start if you don’t have a domain.

You will then need to enter your account information and payment information. Finally, choose a plan.

You have three options: StartUp, GrowBig, or GoGeek. The startUp is the entry-level shared hosting plan.

You can also choose one upsell, SG Site Scanner. It detects suspicious activity on your site and alerts you if it has been infected with malware or hacked.

We like that it doesn’t come pre-selected. You can read the information and make your own decision. The annual cost is $19.80. This can improve site security but it is not necessary.

You’ll then be redirected to a successful webpage by clicking “Pay Now”.

We received a clear, well-formatted welcome email that explained what was next. This was to add a website to the hosting plan.

This is a good thing, as it’s not confusing.

After you’ve logged in, you can click the orange button and begin installing WordPress or setting up your site.

SiteGround makes it easy to see what the next step is. SiteGround makes it easy to understand what to do next.

After you have started the wizard, you can follow the steps to create a new site, migrate an existing website, or skip the wizard and start from scratch.

We decided to create a new website. The next step is to choose from WordPress, WordPress with WooCommerce (for online stores), or Weebly as your content management system.

After selecting WordPress, we were asked to choose our login and email credentials for our new WordPress installation.

After clicking “Continue”, you will be asked if you would like to add the security extension. To move on, you can click the skip it button at the bottom.

After clicking “Finish”, wait for the WordPress installation to complete. Installation was quick and completed in less than three minutes.

Once you have installed WordPress, you will be able to use the step-by-step instructions in your customer dashboard to determine what to do next.

You can manage your website immediately or point your domain to the servers.

It’s easy to follow each step and you know exactly in what order they should be done.

If you prefer video tutorials, there are many options.

This is a great resource, especially for those who are new to setting up websites.

You can even skip steps so that you always know what comes next. This level of simplicity is unmatched by any other provider when it comes to pointing your domain at the server.

The domain information is particularly useful. Most other sites don’t mention domain names at all. SiteGround has tons of information about pointing your domain to SiteGround, as well as temporary domains. They explain what they are, and how you can set them up if needed.

SiteGround has a clear plan to help you create a website that works.

The interface is modern, simple, and clean. Even if you have never used shared hosting before, it is easy to navigate the process.

SiteGround customer support rating: 4.4/5 SiteGround offers the best customer service on this list. We have the real-world experience to prove it.

They are always willing to help and will go the extra mile to make sure your questions are answered.

Reps are available almost immediately and are knowledgeable, friendly, and eager to assist with any interaction.

They would have scored well, but the last rep referred us to a support article without adding any context advice.

You can reach them 24 hours a day for complex problems.

It almost feels like they are asking you questions and not hiding behind chatbots like other hosts.

You can read our entire experience below.

To chat with a representative, we had to read several support articles. We didn’t enjoy this process. Although we thought it should have been easier to start a chat, once we received help, it was excellent.

The first chat began at 9:10 AM PST. We wanted to know how we could improve the security of our website.

The rep was quick, helpful, and straightforward. She advised us to enable automatic WordPress core updates and plugin updates. This will prevent sites from being hacked or infected with malware, according to the rep.

They explained everything immediately so that we didn’t need to ask any further questions. They responded to our questions as if they knew we would ask more.

It took only four minutes to complete the chat.

This was an amazing support service. The representative was very knowledgeable about WordPress and offered specific advice. There was no upselling of paid security products. We left the conversation knowing exactly what to do.

During the second chat, we needed assistance setting up email.

We started a chat at 1.05 p.m., and we were connected within a matter of seconds. Within a matter of minutes, the rep replied with detailed instructions on how to locate the area where you can create an email account.

Later, we asked how to forward these emails to Gmail accounts.

Within 30 seconds, the rep replied with instructions on how to access that section of the dashboard.

The rep thanked us and we ended the chat. The chat lasted seven minutes.

We were guided by the rep to find our way to where we wanted to go. SiteGround’s support has been excellent so far.

Chat number three lasted only eight minutes. We needed help speeding up the site.

At 7:47 p.m. the chat began and was connected immediately to a representative. They were pleasant and friendly and confirmed that our site was brand new.

We stated that we had been hearing about site speed and that we wanted to learn more.

The communication was quick and friendly. We were given a few tutorials by the rep who was very helpful. They were also encouraging.

We did not like the fact that they sent us just a support article. They lost a part of their point.

SiteGround’s support was amazing. We had one small complaint. SiteGround is the best choice for customers who want great customer service. They will provide fast, friendly, and effective support that actually solves problems.

Speed: 4/5 – Even though you don’t have any knowledge about shared hosting, the frustration of waiting for a website to load is well-known. SiteGround is the third fastest provider on this list.

They respond in 616 milliseconds on average. It takes just under a minute for your page load to show off your shiny new blog post, content, or product.

We are all impatient. Your visitors expect your site loads quickly.

Take a look at the wave pattern running across the image. It remained steady for the entire month that we tested it. One time we did notice a spike in response times that reached two seconds. This still falls within Google guidelines for a fast website.

This image is often used in shared hosting. It looks like a wild roller coaster, going up and down with reckless abandon.

Your site will still be responsive and stable every time a visitor enters your domain name. This is the most important aspect of speed–it must be consistent.

SiteGround adds extra benefits to keep your site’s speed up. Cloudflare partners with SiteGround to offer a free CDN (content delivery system) that will ensure your site loads quickly around the world. To turn it on, you just need to click a button.

You can also get company-specific software to optimize your images and improve your database functionality. This software is already installed and configured for you automatically.

SiteGround is the gold standard for shared hosting and makes it more efficient than others.

SiteGround is the first in terms of uptime percentage with a 5/5 rating. You’ve come to the right place if you are looking for the best availability and reliability in shared hosting.

SiteGround’s uptime is 100% over the 30 days of testing. Only one incident lasted less than two seconds, according to our research.

Our website is always available. We were open for visitors at all hours of the day, including night, for a whole month.

This uptime performance compares to dedicated servers or cloud services that take care only of your website.

This is shared hosting. SiteGround shines in this area.

You want your content and ecommerce website available 24 hours a day. SiteGround, based on our data, gives you this.

They are a master at server management and make sure it happens every day.

A hosting provider who puts in this effort is worth it. You don’t have the worry of losing hundreds, or even thousands, just because your site crashed at peak times.

Choose SiteGround to provide your shared hosting needs. You will get maximum reliability and exceptional customer service.

#7 – Hosting – The Best Way to Create Profitable Ecommerce Websites

A2 Hosting

Best for Ecommerce

A2 Hosting makes it simple to transform your website into a great online store. You can choose from Magento, WooCommerce, and OpenCart to make your ecommerce website open in no time.

Overall Score: 2.1 of 5

A2 Hosting makes it easy to launch your ecommerce website.

You can choose the ecommerce platform that you wish to install from your dashboard. There are also setup guides for platforms such as Magento, WooCommerce, and CubeCart.

Let’s see how they perform in other areas of web hosting.

1. Pricing = 3/5
2. Getting started = 0/5
3. Customer support = 3.3/5
4. Speed = 1/5
5. Uptime = 3/5

Pricing: A2 Hosting pricing is affordable at 3/5 It’s not too expensive but it’s nothing to brag about.

You start out paying $5.99 per month. For a year, hosting costs $71.88. You will need to pay $14.95 per year for a domain. WHOIS privacy is available for an additional $9.95. Email is a great benefit that you get for nothing. You can have unlimited email accounts with A2.

The total cost for the first year is $96.78, in all. This gives you everything you need for managing your website.

Your monthly cost will increase by 50% to $8.99 per calendar month when it is time to renew. This is the lowest increase for renewal. A2 is a great choice because web hosts are known for increasing the cost of hosting, while A2 keeps it affordable. 

Your second-year costs will be $132.78 assuming all other things remain the same. It’s $229.56 when you add up two years’ worth of hosting.

For two years of hosting, the average price for all hosts is $222.54. A2 Hosting is slightly more than that.

Do you want to save money? You can save money by opting for the 3-year contract upfront.

The monthly cost is $2.99, but you will still need to pay for domain privacy and your domain name. This totals $182.34 for three years. This is a significant discount. The promotion pricing is valid for three years.

A2 offers shared hosting at a reasonable price. A2 doesn’t charge renewal fees so you don’t need to be concerned about that.

Getting started: 0/5 A2 Hosting is the most difficult host to get started. How difficult is it going to be to put together your website if you don’t know how?

There were many confusing upsells at checkout. The customer dashboard is too cluttered with information. You don’t know how to start once you have paid.

Unable to use the item, you will be left with a receipt.

If you don’t know what to do, it can seem almost impossible.

You must first register your domain name. Next, you need to transfer it or buy a new one. Things get confusing and difficult to understand immediately after you have set up your domain information.

Although the advanced SSL certificate has been pre-checked (which may be causing the huge price rise mentioned), A2 doesn’t indicate that it’s an advanced option. It simply says “Rapid SSL”.

This screen can be overwhelming for a beginner. You don’t need the Rapid SSL plan, which they don’t explain at all. The SSL certificate that comes free with the plan is sufficient.

Scroll down to see all the add-ons and plans available.

These are the upsells

• Premium SSL Certificate for $49.99 – $149.99
• Unlimited storage, email upgrade, and backup for only $2 per month
• An IP address is dedicated for $5.99. Not preselected
• A2 website builder (free for one-page sites, $6-$16 elsewhere), not pre-selected

There is no guideline. No checklist. There is no guideline. We were also sent a welcome email that included login information for four accounts (control panel and FTP), SSH, and email. There was not much information about each account and why they are different.

This is a great way to get started or for anyone who needs help setting up a website quickly.

We found it easy to set up ecommerce websites. Once you have logged in to your dashboard, you will be able to quickly install Magento, WooCommerce, CubeCart, or any other platform.

To actually create your website, you need to go through a lot of hoops. Once you’re done, ecommerce integration becomes easy.

This being said, you might be confused if this is your first time doing it. It’s not your fault. This is not the way any shared hosting arrangement should make you feel.

This setup could be more user-friendly for beginners. It provides guidance and step–by–step instructions.

A2 Hosting failed to check any of our ease-of-use boxes. They scored a straight zero.

Customer service: 3.3/5 – We tested A2’s customer service and found that they were friendly and knowledgeable.

The rep was salesy in the first interaction and didn’t do much to help.

A2 has many ways to reach support. This is something we love. Support can be reached via email, ticket, phone, and live chat. You can also access the knowledge base to find common problems and tutorials.

We first reached out to each other via live chat and asked about improving site security.

The chat started at 9:28 AM PST and lasted 22 minutes.

We were not happy that they offered a paid service as the first option. We would have preferred that they sent us an article about WordPress security before recommending paid options.

It would have been even better if they had told us the prices of these plans.

Finally, we were able to get the rep to send a link to their security upgrade packages and a knowledgebase article that provides more information about how to secure WordPress sites.

However, I did not receive any advice about the most important areas to concentrate on or how to use this document.

The second interaction was at 1:16 p.m. and we were connected immediately to a support representative.

We needed help setting up our email. The rep asked us if we would like to set up an email from the domain that we host.

We were given a detailed explanation by the rep on how to reach the correct area and set up an email account. This was the most comprehensive interaction we had with this topic. They even provided screenshots of where to click.

We asked the representative how to forward emails to our Gmail account. The rep replied in a matter of seconds, with another screenshot showing where to go.

They also provided a link to a support article that provides more details if needed.

The chat ended at 12:27 p.m. and lasted for 11 minutes.

This was a remarkable display of customer service. Even for a simple question, it was comprehensive. We felt that the rep was genuinely interested in helping us and was very helpful throughout.

We received assistance in optimizing our WordPress website, and the chat started at 8 p.m.

The rep spent some time reviewing our website and sent us a report.

They also sent us a support article about how to enable Cloudflare and a support document on WordPress optimization using the A2 optimization plugin.

The chat ended at 8:11 p.m. and lasted only 11 minutes.

We would prefer that the rep explained speed optimization to us, rather than just sending us to a tutorial. The rep was friendly but not too friendly. We left with the information we needed and a quick interaction.

A2 Hosting provides superior customer service. Your questions and concerns are addressed promptly. Although there is some variation in the way reps respond to customers, the overall service is satisfactory.

Speed: 5/5 – A speed test that we conducted revealed that A2 Hosting does not perform well in this category. They average 895 milliseconds. This is second to Bluehost.

This is disappointing as speed is a key ranking factor for Google. Even if your content is top-notch, nobody will wait for pages to load.

The jagged blue display represents the uptime in the above image. It can climb and fall frequently above and below 1 second, and it reaches a maximum load time of 2 seconds and a quarter at one point in the 30-day test.

The rolling hills are a symbol of the inconsistency of visitors’ speed when they visit. This is common with shared hosting. This is too irregular to be acceptable.

This is because other websites that share server space with you take resources from your server. This can slow down your site’s response time. Poor server management can make this worse.

You want a provider that manages servers efficiently and doesn’t allow other websites to take over all of the resources. Research shows that A2 Hosting is slow when compared to top-rated shared hosting providers. This area needs to be improved.

They don’t appear to be worth mentioning, even though they do use speed-related features to try to increase speed.

Uptime: 3/5 A2 Hosting is considered middle-of-the-road in terms of uptime. Their average availability was 99.96% for 30 days, with a total downtime time of 15 minutes and 41 seconds.

The majority of the incidents were caused by an HTTP 500 server error. This is a common problem for server-side issues. 

A 41-second connection timeout occurred. This happens when the browser attempts to load more resources from the server.

In conclusion, A2 Hosting did not do terribly in keeping our site up. However, if you use them to host an ecommerce site, they may not be the best.

A2 Hosting beat the average downtime for providers on this list by 26 minutes and 49 seconds. This is encouraging news for websites with low stakes.

However, A2’s performance is not great for online ecommerce businesses. Real revenue is at stake here every 15 minutes. A2 Hosting makes it easy to turn your website into a profitable web store.

Methodology for Choosing the Best Shared Hosting Plan

By reading real user reviews, we were able to discover what is most important to beginners.

We then created our research guidelines to match the needs of hundreds of newbies like you.

These are the top five most important areas of our research that you care about:

1. Pricing = 40%
2. Getting started = 25%
3. Customer support = 15%
4. Speed = 10%
5. Uptime: 10%

These percentages represent the weighted score that we assign to each category based on importance.

This was determined by observing the number of people complaining about the category and the things they felt were missing. We made sure to pay attention to every detail.

We didn’t stop there.

Our research and testing process goes deeper than others. We took seven steps to ensure you get the best possible review.

Here’s how it was done.

After getting comfortable, we set up an account with each host in this review. We then bought one domain for each host.

We took the time to document each step of the signup and onboarding process so you can be sure which one is right for you and which one you need the most help with.

Next, we created brand new WordPress websites on each server with the same 2021 WordPress themes installed and no additional content to create a basic shell of a website.

Why did we do it?

We didn’t want the server to do extra work, and no variables or distractions that could change our testing consistency between providers.

The next step was even simpler, as we were able to place each URL into Freshping. Freshping monitors site speed, uptime, and other factors. They are trusted by the entire web hosting industry and are considered the gold standard in this area.

We waited for 30 days, while Freshping looked closely at our system and presented the results at the conclusion of our testing period.

We reached out to the customer service representatives of each provider via live chat at three different times during the day. We kept it real by not telling them that we were reviewing their services.

We were their real users and could get as much insight into their customer service as you would when you are in need of help.

This approach allowed us to record customer support quality, timeliness, and knowledge levels, as well as overall helpfulness, with each host that you are reading about.

What is the best price for shared hosting?

This is the most difficult hurdle for beginners. This is the biggest hurdle for beginners.

The majority of us ask the same questions.

“Will it pay you back later?”

“What if this is too difficult to use?

“Is the value of what I’m buying worth it?”

All good questions. These questions are going to be answered by our research.

Shared hosting is very affordable and you won’t need a lot of resources if you are just starting out. There is no traffic or authority so you don’t need to spend a lot on storage, memory, CPU cores, or other resources.

Cheap shared hosting is the best and most popular option when testing out shared hosting providers.

Many of you stated that you want low upfront costs when pricing was being researched. Although promotional pricing is appealing, very few providers offer monthly payment plans with minimal upfront costs. We do know of a few that excel at this, but they are not all the same.

However, upfront payments are necessary to get the best pricing. Most often, the upfront payment is a lump sum that covers one to three year. The pricing is usually more competitive for longer terms.

Let’s take a look at how we calculated the costs and scored for our points system.

The total cost of the one-year basic plan and the first year’s costs were added together.

We then assigned a score based on the total price of both years.

• 5 points for $180 or Less
• 4 points for $181- $210
• 3 points for $211- $240
• 2 points for $241- $270
• 1 point is worth more than $271

We also included all the necessary items to get your website up and running without any surprises in our pricing. Each total includes:

• Hosting plan cost
• All costs associated with purchasing domains through the host during checkout
• WHOIS privacy protection at any cost
• Cost for at least one email account that is attached to your new domain

While some hosts offer domains, privacy protection, and email, others do not. These are the key areas that we consider when pricing.

You can build your site in less than one day (no experience required).

Having trouble getting started with your setup can be a major problem. Nothing is worse than trying to complete something but failing because you are frustrated.

Shared hosting doesn’t have to be complicated, according to us. This is an entry-level web hosting service, so it should not be difficult to get up and running.

This may sound familiar to you. Everybody starts somewhere.

We focused relentlessly on the host’s onboarding process to determine which provider offers the best path to set up.

It makes up 25% of the overall score.

We make it easy by showing you the steps involved in onboarding.

There are several ways you can build your website. A platform such as WordPress has themes that make it easy to create a website. You can also use a website builder to give you complete control over how your website looks.

You should find it so easy that you can build anything you don’t know about building websites.

These hosts often offer site builders that make creating beautiful websites quick and easy.

Five key areas were examined that made it easy for users to get started.

• No tricky upsells during checkout
• A simple, clutter-free, and clean dashboard
• You don’t have to guess what the next step will be during this process.
• Access to a WordPress builder and free themes are included to help you get started
• Everything you need is included in one package

We don’t want to make you pay for something that you don’t require.

In case you need to choose from another provider, we want you to be able to identify them when you set up a hosting plan

All of this is covered in our comprehensive review of the products.

We will provide simple instructions for what to do next after you have completed checking out. You will be brought immediately to a setup wizard.

If so, it’s a strike against the host.

From submitting your payment information to accessing the dashboard after setting up and building your website, it should be an easy process.

A user dashboard that is easy to use and clean is essential for managing plugins and installing WordPress. We compared all seven providers and chose the most user-friendly.

It is crucial to have tech support available on time, but quality matters more

Nearly every review we reviewed mentioned customer service. 

This makes perfect sense.

You don’t want to feel bad if your website doesn’t work.

You bet.

Because we take customer service very seriously, we wanted to know who can give you the best assistance.

Support is essential to the longevity of your website.

Your website can be very fast and accessible. It can also be a masterpiece. What if something goes wrong and you are unable to get help?

Not at all.

We invest so much in customer support, which is why it makes up 15% of our total hosting score.

We reached out to all seven hosts at different times during the day. This allowed us to test accuracy and efficiency, depending on when we might reach them.

No matter when you need assistance, every host should be able to provide great service.

We asked three questions via live chat when we were doing our research:

• What security features are available to make my site safer? (around 8 a.m. PST)
• Could you please show me how to set up an Email Address on my Domain? (approximately noon PST).
• How can I speed up my website’s loading? (around 8 p.m. PST)

We then scored each host based on these five important standards for shared web hosting.

• Get connected with a rep right away
• Answered question/issue in under 15 minutes
• It didn’t feel as if they were trying to sell us anything that we don’t want.
• Instead of just giving us a tutorial, the rep guided us through each step.
• Telephone support is available 24 hours a day (half an hour if not 24/7).

The scores for each question are then added up. This is our final score for customer service for this host.

Each interaction is what determines the score. It is possible that you had a better experience with a provider than we did. T 

Consistency is the keyword.

Excellent service should be provided at all times.

Every customer service standard that we scored was specific to actual user requests for improvement in the area. This allows you to see who is providing customers with exactly what they need.

Our findings showed that five hosts performed better than the average, while two others did worse.

Snappy Load Times That Encourage Visitors To Stick Around

When looking for a host, it is important to find the right balance between price, reliability, speed, and quality.

In the world of shared hosting, speed isn’t as important as ease of use, pricing, and customer support. It is only 10% of the overall score.

It’s still important and can help you rank high on Google if you take into account SEO and the experience of your visitors.

The response times for shared hosting can fluctuate. This is due to sharing space on the server by other websites. It can sometimes affect the speed of your website.

It’s important to note that shared hosting providers offer great speed and consistency.

We took the necessary steps to eliminate any doubts regarding each provider when researching speed.

To test the speed of our websites, we used them.

Each site was just a shell. It only had the essentials. Each website used the 2021 WordPress theme. It had no media or data slowing it down.

This research gave us an insight into how efficiently and fast the servers work with each host.

We then entered each URL in Freshping to monitor site speed at a one-minute interval.

We waited for 30 days and then watched each host perform.

This is the best way to get an accurate estimate of how fast a shared host can deliver in a single month. Server performance can fluctuate, and our testing shows this. We also show you which providers are able to manage it well.

After a 30-day testing period, we pull the data to determine the average response time visitors can expect.

We then assigned a score using the grading scale.

• 5 points for less than 550 milliseconds
• 4 points for 551 – 650 milliseconds
• 3 points for 651-750 milliseconds
• 2 points for 751-850 milliseconds
• 1 point = more than 851 milliseconds

All hosts tested had an average response time of 699 milliseconds.

Four hosts performed faster than the average, while three of them were slower. Two hosts scored perfectly, and the rest were between the other levels.

Our testing reveals that not all servers are created equal.

This research doesn’t cover everything you need to learn about site speed.

Today, it is important to have an above-average understanding of shared hosting response times, what’s most important, and how quickly you can assess if the provider that you are interested in will keep your website loading at high speeds.

Real-World Uptime Data From Our Own Shared Hosting Accounts

It refers to the number of times your website is available for visitors. It is calculated as a percentage of average availability.

Each provider was surveyed for 30 days. Higher percentages are better. 99.99% is the goal of most shared hosting providers.

Server errors, timeout errors, and security issues are some of the reasons behind downtime. These are not all equally serious. You can read more about each product in the reviews. 

Depending on the severity of the outage, downtime may occur in seconds, minutes, or hours.

Shared hosting is not about performance, to be clear.

It is about cost-effectiveness and how things are set up. This is why uptime only makes up 10% of the overall score. This is not something that many novices are aware of, or complain about.

Performance becomes more important as you climb the ranks of web hosting. You will be more demanding as you grow your site because it requires better performance.

With that disclaimer out of your mind, it is important to remember that uptime is crucial as every second of downtime can be a lost opportunity.

It could even have a negative impact on the success of your site.

Are you going to keep returning to the same restaurant where your order was not correct? Or to the dentist who made an appointment but was closed when they got there.

You wouldn’t trust them again with your business and your precious chompers.

Your website is no different. While uptime means availability, the real benefits of your website are reliability, trust, and credibility.

We took great care in researching this issue for you. We monitored every aspect of site speed and the factors that caused sites to be unavailable for a period of 30 days in Freshping.

We gave each provider a score after the testing period based on our scoring criteria.

• 5 points for less than 1 minute of downtime
• 4 points for 1-15 minutes of downtime
• 3 points for the downtime of 15-30 minutes
• 2 points for every 30 to 45 minutes of unproductive time
• 1 point for every 45 minutes of downtime

It was amazing to see the data. For the month, there was an average downtime of 26 minutes and 49 seconds for all providers.

Six hosts scored higher than the average, one host did significantly worse and two received perfect scores.

This being said, nearly 30 minutes of downtime can be a lot more than you should ever make available to your visitors.

Remember that higher-end hosting plans are committed to providing 100% website availability with no downtime

We recommend upgrading to a higher hosting plan when you are serious about growing your website’s popularity, such as VPS hosting.

We want you to be ready for when you make decisions down the road. Understanding uptime is an important part of that.

Hostinger

Best for Most

Hostinger’s shared hosting is affordable and easy to set up. Hostinger’s shared hosting is quick and easy to set up.

Summary

Hostinger has been voted the best-shared hosting service by most users. It is extremely affordable and simple to use.

To find the right provider for your needs and site, you can use our research and findings.