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Shared hosting plans are essentially the golden gates into the world of web hosting. They're the vast majority of site owners' first stop on their site-building journeys, and as such, the best shared hosts are welcoming to... (read more)
Advertiser Disclosure
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Shared Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.bluehost.com/shared |
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Shared Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.ipage.com/shared |
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Shared Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 days | Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.inmotion.com/shared |
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Shared Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | Unlimited SSD | FREE (1 year) | www.greengeeks.com/shared |
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Shared Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45 days | Unlimited | New or Transfer | www.hostgator.com/shared |
It's clear by now the best shared web hosting services tout a balance of low cost and unlimited resources, including email, domains, storage, and customer support. After reviewing the top shared hosts for WordPress, Linux, eCommerce, and more, we compiled a handy-dandy summary table with our findings. We encourage you to consider cost, website builder services, and support options, in addition to our experts' ratings, when choosing the best shared hosting provider for your next project.
| Rank | Web Host | Price | Domain | Expert Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bluehost | $2.95 | FREE (1 year) | ★★★★★ 5.0 |
| 2 | iPage | $1.99 | FREE (1 year) | ★★★★★ 4.8 |
| 3 | InMotion | $2.95 | FREE (1 year) | ★★★★★ 4.8 |
| 4 | GreenGeeks | $3.95 | FREE (1 year) | ★★★★★ 4.8 |
| 5 | HostGator | $3.48 | New or Transfer | ★★★★★ 4.6 |
If pricing is a primary concern for your hosting needs, we've got you covered. Check out our reviews of the cheapest web hosts, complete with pricing and analysis for their current hosting plans. see all reviews »
Looking for a dedicated server to host your website? Choosing the right host can make all the difference. See what our team discovered when comparing the various dedicated hosting options. see all reviews »
While not a good solution for beginners, virtual private servers offer ideal computing resources and scalability for those who are comfortable managing advanced settings. Check out our reviews of the top VPS options. see all reviews »
If WordPress is your platform of choice, you'll want to read about our experiences installing and maintaining WP with various hosts before deciding on a hosting plan. See which one has our highest recommendation. see all reviews »
Want your own website but don't know where to start? These services enable you to build your own site, without any coding or programming knowledge required. Be on the web in no time — and at a super-low price! see all reviews »
As my personal websites and technical expertise have become more refined, so has my taste for the shared hosting provider keeping everything online. At the beginning, I craved the equivalent of hosting fast food: something cheap, with name recognition, served with fries, a drink, and a toy — everything I need, all on one tray.
Now, however, my palate is more sophisticated and discerning. I appreciate speedy solid-state drives, ultra-helpful support teams, and that second or third nine after the decimal point when describing reliability and uptime guarantees.
As with food, finding the right hosting meal is all about finding the balance between the nutritional elements you want and how much you’re willing to pay. We’ve targeted some of the biggest shared hosting differentiators and highlighted the providers with the best services for whatever you’re craving.
Don’t get me wrong, I have a deep affinity for fast food — just because it’s at the lower end of the fine dining spectrum doesn’t mean you should go without. The same goes for web hosting: Even the most basic plans come with some pretty amazing standard flavors and features. Here’s what you can typically expect from most shared hosting packages:
To start figuring out what to order, you’ll want to take stock of the menu and what you’re hungry for. What’s your budget? Are you looking to blog or start an online store? Is this a pet project or something you want to grow to reach a large crowd? How much help do you need to get a site online?
Who doesn’t like ordering off the value menu? Don’t let a low price tag fool you into thinking a host’s services are necessarily subpar. Since web hosting providers can put hundreds or even thousands of customers on a single shared server, cheap hosting plans include extra features without raising prices. Here are some of the perks you’ll commonly see when signing up with an affordable web host:
When it comes to a reputable and affordable shared hosting provider, Bluehost is among the best in the business — combining low cost with modern hardware configurations and reliability. The biggest deal of the industry, however, falls to iPage. Boasting excellent features and performance, iPage excels at a price point that is hard to beat.
Hosting providers give their customers a control panel to simplify account management and provide access to several helpful tools. The most popular option, cPanel streamlines the hosting experience for both beginners and more experienced users. Be sure to look out for these options when looking for a shared hosting plan with cPanel:
You’ll most often find cPanel on Linux shared hosting, and few are better than Bluehost. Their custom cPanel interface unlocks one-click installations of popular content management systems, email setup, and domain management.
Another control panel option, Plesk is most commonly associated with Windows hosting plans. Boasting a sleek, modern interface, Plesk gives users the same powerful tools for managing your hosting account, websites, files, applications, and email accounts. If you want to explore shared hosting options with Plesk, look out for the following:
We appreciate GoDaddy’s industry-leading load times and that they give customers a choice between cPanel and Plesk. Already the world’s top domain registrar, GoDaddy is a shared web host tailored for usability and support at unbelievably low prices.
Although many novice customers won’t notice a difference, the operating system installed on your shared server can affect performance, security, pricing, and technical features. Linux plans tend to be cheaper because the platform and much of its supporting software programs are created and maintained by open-source communities. Linux has inspired several other operating systems, so keep an eye out for these features:
You’ll want to choose a Linux shared hosting package especially if you expect to use a popular content management system such as WordPress or Drupal. Given how involved they are with the WordPress website hosting community, Bluehost is an easy recommendation for Linux hosting.
One of the most frequently used perks of shared hosting are the one-click installations of the internet’s most popular programs. Add content management systems, eCommerce tools, forums, and more in seconds by signing up for a shared host that offers:
Most hosts provide easy access to WordPress and similar programs, but some of our favorite providers go a step further. Bluehost actively contributes to WordPress, while SiteGround optimizes performance by including three layers of caching. For those customers needing more help getting started with WordPress, InMotion created their own site builder, called BoldGrid.
No matter the goals for your website, you don’t want your visitors to gather dust while waiting for your pages to load. You’ll see these words if a shared hosting provider wants to brag about being optimized for speed and performance:
Consistently one of the fastest hosts in the game, InMotion boasts top-notch SSDs that will load your website up to 20 times faster than the regular hard drives you’ll get with other shared hosting providers. What’s more, they offer a 90-day money-back guarantee to give you ample time to test putting the pedal to the metal.
New customers getting started with their first website might understandably be intimidated by coding or content management systems. Drag-and-drop website builders provide a pain-free experience, simplifying site creation into a code-free, what-you-see-is-what-you-get interface. Here’s what to look for:
We love when hosting providers craft their own site building solutions to meet the specific needs of their customers. The one-of-a-kind BoldGrid is the first builder to harness the power of WordPress, while iPage’s WebsiteBuilder provides hundreds of templates for creating a stunning responsive look. MyWebsite, the custom builder from 1&1, comes with a 30-day free trial and more than 100 apps to add to the functionality of your site.
Trust us — a quality shared web hosting package is worth the investment. The companies reinvest your money into upgrading infrastructure, adding services, and hiring more support agents. Free hosting plans put your website on slow servers and won’t pick up the phone when you have a question. Save yourself the trouble by starting with an affordable host right off the bat.
Classy restaurants commonly station a host or hostess at the front door to welcome prospective patrons and answer any questions they might have about the menu before they come inside for a table. Hosting companies employ similar tactics by welcoming new customers with discounts and extra features. Figure out what features you’re craving, find the best deal, and watch yourself quickly become a hosting connoisseur!
