Forum Discussion

markiecooks's avatar
markiecooks
Contributor 2
3 months ago

Website Host

We are working on finally building our website.  I have purchased the domain but would like recommendations for hosting providers.  I am not tech savvy so one that is easy to design and navigate would be a huge plus.

  • I always recommend SiteGround, assuming you're talking about a WordPress website. I've worked with them over the years in hosting many websites, and they best combination of support, website performance, and cost. They have an easy to use Site Tools platform too for anything you need to do to your website (clearly cache, restoring backups, etc.). No extra charges on SSL certificates, free CDN available, the list goes on.

    WP Engine is good too, but more expensive, and I'm not sure it's entirely worth it.

    I'd stay away from Bluehost. You'll find them on a lot of "lists" where the author earns an affiliate commission, but among agencies and developers, most of us steer clear. Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!

    Best,
    Chris

  • Here are a few hosting providers based on simplicity and how user-friendly they appear to be:


    Wix.                                                                   Super easy drag-and-drop design, so you don't need any tech experience. Hosting is included, so it's all-in-one. Plans start at about $16/month.

    Square space.                                                     Great if you want a clean, professional-looking site without too much effort. Hosting is part of their package. Starts at $18/month.    


    WordPress.com.                                                        A little more flexible, with a ton of templates to choose from. They handle the hosting for you, so you don't have to worry about it. Plans start around $10/month.                                          


    Weebly.                                                       Very simple and beginner-friendly. It's great for small businesses and easy to set up. Hosting is included. Starts at $12/monthly.                    

    Shopify (if you're selling stuff).               Perfect for e-commerce. Super easy to manage an online store. Includes hosting, payments, and security. Starts at $29/month.


    Now, on a personal note, we didn’t go with any of these. This is just the info that I have found out and a few colleagues informed me on.

  • FredHodgeJr's avatar
    FredHodgeJr
    Jobber Ambassador

    GoDaddy when starting off works, we had for many years, HostGator and SiteGround are great as your website and business grow.

  • I recommend WP Engine for four reasons if you are building on WordPress. 

    1. They offer a plugin maintenance plan that automatically updates and pushes fixes to the plugins needed to run your site. (This costs but is cheaper than paying a dev agency.) 
    2. Their customer support is 1st tier. 
    3. They offer an integrated image optimization tool that helps reduce your file sizes, leading to a faster web experience. (This costs extra but is a must-have.)
    4. They natively offer staging and development sites, so you have tighter control over your design, development, and content updates. Most hosts only offer a production environment. 
  • Finding a decent Web Hosting company is getting harder and harder to find.

    HostGator is really bad now!!! They forced us to move from a $35 plan to a $80 plan, said server upgrades was the reason. They will only give discounts to new clients, and you will not get REAL 1 on 1 Phone support till you pay for dedicated servers $120+ or more a month.

    All companies offer the worst or no customer service support, is very common, yes, they lie a lot at time of sales.

    I looked everywhere for a hosting solution with real 1 on 1 person support on the phone. It's almost impossible to find now.

    We are migrating our hosting to a new company this month now.  Let me know if you need more help.