2018's Best "PHP Hosting" Providers

Let’s face it: Static webpages are a thing of the past. In an online world laden with skateboarding puppy videos and celeb clickbait slideshows, we land on a barebones website and naturally assume it was built when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

Alright, I may have gotten a tad carried away there, but notwithstanding, the call for a dynamic scripting language is more relevant than ever. PHP is one of the foremost programming languages, beloved by devs of varying experience levels and increasingly looked to by site owners because its rising popularity means PHP developers are easier to find and to finance.

These days, most any web hosting provider worth a dime is going to accommodate the widely used programming language. The best, however, make the language very accessible, if not pre-installed. For example, iPage lets you seamlessly switch between PHP versions.

Leading hosts like InMotion also house a breadth of knowledgebase articles and expertise to help you troubleshoot errors in your PHP code. Not to mention, their technical support experts are available 24/7. They may not be permitted to physically debug your code, but they can certainly provide insights into what settings or plugins may be giving you grief.

Just as developers have their choice of development environment — whether it be a simple text editor or an IDE or the like — hosters offer different environments in which to house your PHP-based project. As I alluded to earlier, most shared hosts accommodate PHP. Next, we’ll cover the crème de la crème of more advanced hosting options.

Best PHP Cloud Hosting (VPS)

If you’d like to host your PHP-based website on a cloud-based, or virtual, server, you’ve got some combination of the following on your mind: Which PHP versions are supported, and can I use handlers to customize? Will my server be CGI-friendly? How much disk space am I getting? I could go on, but you get the point.

InMotion hits PHP hosting out of the park, allowing customers to choose one, or multiple, PHP versions. Their free SSDs will make your PHP-based site load 20 times faster than average, and they offer guides for updating your php.ini file.

Best PHP Server Host (Dedicated)

With Liquid Web’s dedicated server options, you get your money’s worth in Heroic Support™ and hardware performance. They boast a redundantly built, multi-tiered network; a commitment to custom-built add-ons for extending security, privacy, and performance; and an awesome uptime rate guarantee and SLA.

Also, managed hosting is this team’s strength. Let Liquid Web handle your infrastructure while you perfect your PHP code by selecting their core- or fully managed hosting services.

Any hosting shopper is going to consider cost, but a savvy hosting customer knows to weigh the number of quality features against the price tag. A host promising the world when their reality is subpar support and limited customization control isn’t worth the $3, $5, or FREE price tag they dangle to catch your eye initially.

Fair: Free PHP Hosting

We get this question a lot: “What about free ______ hosting?” You can fill in that blank with just about any hosting specialty imaginable, and the answer remains: Free hosting options exist, but they’re not worth your while in the slightest.

We recommend aiming for a low-cost, high-reliability hosting alternative — iPage, Bluehost, or A2 Hosting, to rattle off a few better-than-free options — to the free crap.

Fantastic: Cheap PHP Hosting

Here’s where the real value offer comes in. If you want a bargain in PHP hosting, look to the providers who tout longstanding reputations in the industry, a laundry list of PHP-specific features, and a credible support staff.

There are a host of features you should demand from any worthy web host: reliable uptime rates, a variety of design and customization options, trustworthy security measures, and solid support, to name a few. Then there are those extra geeky features for the die-hard devs:

• Up-to-date PHP versions / choice of version / option to use multiple simultaneously
• Unlimited MySQL databases and guidance for updates
• PHP extensions (e.g., PHP-CPP, PHP CAPTCHA, Dispatch, PHP DB Class, etc.)
• Easy customization of php.ini file
• Root, SSH, and phpmyadmin access
• Linux / preferred operating system
• Apache web server
• Extensive KB articles for the DIYers

Above is just a smattering of the tools and tricks a hosting provider might offer for PHP lovers!

You’re all set to begin designing and developing your dream, non-dinosaur-looking, dynamic site! Of course, if you want to incorporate dinosaurs into the actual design, we wouldn’t object. The providers ranked in our PHP hosting reviews are more than qualified to help you custom-create your next project — whatever that may be. Ready, set, code!!