QUESTION Is How do I choose a service for web hosting? There are so many options to choose from: Bluehost and HostGator ... etc. No matter which host you choose, keep in mind the 3 most important factors of a WordPress hosting:
Speed – also known as “load time”
Uptime – needs to be at least 99.94%
Customer Support – they should help you with WordPress related questions.
We found the 10 most popular "WordPress" hosting providers with the help of HostingFacts*com and put them through multiple tests (speed, uptime, customer support, and pricing).
2 Best WordPress Hosting Services
Let's now jump to the best providers for hosting, then move down the list to see which ones to avoid. The 10 best WordPress web hosts are here without ado:
1. Bluehost
Visit www.Bluehost.com
Uptime: >99.99%
Load Time: 419ms
Support: 10/10
Website: www.Bluehost*com
Bluehost is a popular hosting service among small business owners and bloggers. Hence the reason, I’m recommending Bluehost for people who want to create their website using WordPress.
They’re hosting more than 2 million websites and they belong to EIG who also owns HostGator.
How did Bluehost compare? Turns out quite good:
Their last 12-month average uptime is >99.99% and load time is 419ms. Surely a strong top 1 host.
BlueHost has 24/7 customer service for any website setup questions you may have. However, they're not cheap. Prices start at $ 2.75 a month, but they also throw new accounts into a free domain name plus site migration.
PROS: Strong uptime and load time, free site transfer, free domain name, recommended by WordPress
CONS: No option to pay monthly. (click to see if $2.75/mo discount is still valid)
2. HostGator Cloud
Visit www.HostGator.com
Uptime: 99.96%
Load Time: 462ms
Support: 9/10
Website: www.HostGator*com
Brent Oxley founded HostGator in 2003 and later sold to Endurance International Group (EIG). They host more than 10 million domains, according to their website, making them one of the world's most popular web hosting providers (next to GoDaddy).
And for a reason!
Their last 10-month average load time is 462ms and uptime 99.96%. This means they’re the most reliable web hosting with only 1 hour of downtime per year. Plus, they were the third fastest web hosting service, only beaten by A2 Hosting (with a lower avg. uptime).
To give you a better overview of HostGator Cloud performance, take a look at the graph below (last 10 months):
Remember this is not a regular, shared hosting option for HostGator. It's the new, improved hosting of the cloud. They come with a pricey cost – $ 13.99/mo, but at the moment they are reduced to $ 2.99/mo
PROS: Good load time, reliable, one-click install for WordPress, 1 free site transfer
CONS: Higher renewal fee (click to see if their $2.99/mo discount is still valid).