- HoneyHat

Which is better for your business?

Let’s start by asking a fundamental question. Do you want a self-hosted or hosted solution for your small business website?

This is an important question because the choice you make will have a significant impact on your business and your maintenance needs. Unfortunately, many people don’t know the difference between self-hosted and hosted websites until they have spent months creating a website.

Eek.

What is the difference between self-hosted and hosted solutions?

Hosted Web Solutions

Hosted website platforms provide all the tools you need to create and manage an online business. Shopify is one example. You can sign up in minutes and start to see the benefits immediately.

A business website creator that allows you to choose from a variety of themes to personalize the look of your store.
Secure credit card payment processing
A complete inventory management system with order processing tools.
An integrated point-of-sale solution to sell in person.
Integrations allow you to sell through other major channels such as Amazon, eBay and Facebook.
Built-in security, analytics, etc.

You can also customize the functionality of your website with more than 6,000+ Shopify Apps

Hosted website services allow you to focus your efforts on growing your business by providing a managed, optimized platform. You don’t need any technical knowledge or skills.

Hosted solutions usually charge a monthly fee — Shopify charges $29 per month, for example.

Self-Hosted Solutions

Self-hosted solutions require more management. You will need to rent server space from a service provider for this type of small business website hosting. The next step is to set up, configure, manage, and maintain a content management system.

You’ll need to integrate different tools and services into your website’s functionality. This is how it usually works:

Get small business web hosting through a provider such as BlueHost or SiteGround.
Install a Content Management System (CMS) such as WordPress.
Buy and customize a theme for your website from a marketplace such as ThemeForest.
Use WooCommerce to integrate a commerce tool such as WooCommerce to manage inventory and take payments.
Add additional WordPress plugins to improve security, SEO (SEO), image optimization, analytics, and so on.

In general, these services charge a monthly fee. This will bring your monthly bill to between $50-$300.

In general, self-hosted web solutions offer a lot of flexibility. You can customize almost every aspect of your site.

But, as Spiderman’s Uncle Ben said, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” You are responsible for creating, optimizing and managing every aspect of your website.

With which host or self-hosted?

Which type of small-business web hosting should you select? Here’s the bottom line:

A leading hosted website solution such as Shopify allows you to focus on your business and leave the technical details to experts.
Self-hosted solutions are for technical-minded people who want to have full control over the backend of their website.

When people refer to web hosting, most people mean self-hosted services. We’ll now dive into self-hosted web solutions.

What is the best web hosting for small businesses? Three Top Services to Consider

Let’s start by looking at the top 3 best web hosting services for small businesses.

1. Bluehost

Bluehost is a popular choice for small business web hosts. It provides:

Shared Hosting, VPS Hosting, and Dedicated Hosting
24 hour support via chat and phone
Basic website builder
Unlimited bandwidth
Automatic Backups
1 year free domain
SSL Certificate
99.98% Uptime

Prices increase after one year and customization options are limited.

Shared hosting starting at $2.95 per Month with 50GB SSD storage.

2. Hostinger

Hostinger has more than 30,000,000 customers and is another top web host for small businesses. Hostinger offers the following:

7 types hosting: Shared VPS, Cloud WordPress, cPanel and CyberPanel VPS.
A vast knowledge base
Live Chat Support
Website builder
SSL Certificate
100GB bandwidth with the cheapest shared hosting package
1 Email Account on the Cheapest Shared Hosting Plan
No cost domains with premium plans

A single shared hosting plan costs just $1.39 per monthly. To access all features, however, you will need to select a premium plan.

3. SiteGround

SiteGround provides web hosting services to small businesses. SiteGround does not allow you to buy domains, but it offers many attractive features such as:

There are four types of hosting available: shared, WordPress and WooCommerce.
Ability to select server locations
Unmetered bandwidth
Impressive performance
Free encryption certificate
Daily backups
24/7 customer support.

SiteGround costs $3.95 per monthly, which is slightly more than other small business web hosting solutions. Despite this, SiteGround offers great support and all plans are managed well. It is not recommended for businesses that are growing quickly as there is no dedicated VPS hosting.

Top 5 Small Business Web Hosting Services

There are many great web hosting services available. Here are five more:

Read our review of the 9 top hosting providers in 2023 to learn more.

5 Types Of Web Hosting

You can read detailed reviews of hosting providers all you want, but you won’t know enough to make an informed choice if you don’t understand the differences between hosting types and what you should look for. Let’s start by learning the basics.

There are five main types of web hosting available. The one that suits your needs and goals will depend on which one you choose. Let’s take a closer look each type.

1. Shared Hosting

For small businesses that are on a tight budget, shared hosting is the best choice for web hosting. Your website will be stored on the same server as other websites, just like its name.

Sharing hosting can often come with limited bandwidth and disk space. If you use more, you will be charged for the extra or forced to upgrade. Share hosting is best for websites that have low traffic.

If everything goes according to plan for your business, you will quickly outgrow shared hosting.

Don’t let the low shared hosting rates fool you. If you have to upgrade, make sure to consider the cost of more expensive plans.

2. Managed WordPress Hosting

Managed WordPress Hosting is exactly what it sounds. It’s specialist hosting for WordPress websites.

Managed WordPress hosting is more reliable and secure than shared hosting. It is also more expensive than shared hosting.

It’s a great choice if your goal is to create a new website with WordPress.

3. Hosting dedicated to your needs

A dedicated server is better for websites that get a lot of traffic.

This web hosting option will ensure you have enough disk space and bandwidth to meet your needs. You also get better security than shared hosting.

It is more expensive than shared hosting.

4. VPS Hosting

Virtual Private Server plans offer secure dedicated hosting on a shared server.

VPS hosting can be cheaper than dedicated hosting, but it offers many of the same advantages.

Keep in mind, however, that small businesses often don’t have the resources to allocate VPS server resources effectively through web hosting. Before you choose a VPS hosting service provider, make sure to do your research.

5. Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting allows you to host your website on a number of servers. Cloud hosting is more secure than shared, dedicated or VPS hosting.

Cloud hosting is, unsurprisingly, the most expensive type for small business website hosting.

10 Things You Need to Look For in a Hosting Provider

Now you know the differences in hosting, here are 10 things you should consider when selecting a provider:

1. Forgoing costs

When making any purchase, cost is often the most important consideration. However, the old saying “You get what your pay for” is true. It pays to be aware of the disadvantages associated with choosing a low-cost plan.

Small business web hosting companies often offer low rates for new customers. The rates will be increased after a certain period, or businesses may have to upgrade if they exceed the disk space and bandwidth limits — which can happen quickly for some users.

Bottom line: Choosing a cheap hosting provider could end up costing you more in the long-term. It’s better to decide on the features that you need to make your business a success.

2. No cost domains

Small business website hosting companies offer a 1 year free domain when you sign up to a hosting plan.

This offer can be tempting, but it is important to think about the long-term. You should verify the renewal costs if you sign up to a plan that includes a free domain.

3. Built-In Website Building Tools

Some web hosting companies offer integrated website-building tools.

They are often very limited in terms of functionality. If you are looking to create a simple website with minimal effort, a hosting company that offers a good website builder might be a good choice.

4. It’s easy to use

Small business website hosts often have confusing interfaces that are full of ads to encourage you to upgrade. Others are simple and straightforward to use.

It’s worth looking at platform reviews before you make a decision.

5. Uptime

Hosting services for small businesses can’t guarantee uptime. At some point, things will go wrong and your website will be down. It’s wise to select a provider that has a track record of uptime.

6. Security

Small businesses may have to pay additional fees for security features. SSL certificates are required if you intend to accept credit card payments via your website.

Find out if you have to pay additional security fees.

7. Customer Support

It is worth finding a host that offers support via chat, phone, email, or chat. Some web hosts also offer 24/7 support, which is useful in an emergency situation.

8. Bandwidth

Bandwidth refers to how much data a website can transmit to users at any one time. The more traffic you have to your website, the more bandwidth will you need.

Bandwidth is typically sold per gigabyte (GB). Many web hosting companies offer unlimited bandwidth span>

Although there is no unlimited bandwidth, hosts know that it’s very rare for small websites not to exceed bandwidth limits. It’s still worth knowing the bandwidth limits as your site could be shut down if it exceeds them.

Choose a plan that has enough bandwidth to handle peak times such as Black Friday flash sales.

9. Disk Space

The amount of disk space required to store your website’s files is called disk space.

If you plan on uploading a lot of high-definition video and photos to your website, you will need lots of space. If you are only planning to create a one-page website that details your freelance services, however, you won’t require much.

10. Scalability

Your web hosting will likely need to be upgraded if your business expands as expected. Before you commit to any host, make sure to compare the features and prices of each plan.

Summary – Choose the Best Web Hosting for Your Small Business

It’s crucial to choose whether you want to use a web-hosted solution like Shopify , or a self-hosted solution like BlueHost, Hostinger or SiteGround.

Start with a shared hosting plan to get your business started. Then, you can move to dedicated or VPS hosting as your business grows.

These are the questions to ask when choosing web hosting for your small company.

What are the ongoing expenses?
Is the hosting included with a domain for free?
Do you need a website builder to create my website?
Does the hosting service make it easy to use?
Is the service reliable?
What security measures are included?
Is there 24/7 customer service via my preferred means of communication?
How much bandwidth do I need?
How big is my disk space?
This service makes scaling simple and affordable.

Here are 9 top web hosting companies to consider in 2023.

For more information, see our guide 9 Best Hosting Providers in 2023

Which hosting company are you currently leaning towards? Comment below to let us know!

Want To Learn More?

Author: Thomas J Law

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