This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for the UK audience.
It is vital that your small business has a website. For many companies it is potentially even more important than a physical presence in the form of a shop or office building. A business website doesn’t necessarily have to be elaborate, complicated, or even expensive to launch, but you do need some form of web presence. After all, many users come to Google first when they are looking for a new product or service they need.
As the name suggests, web hosting is where your website is hosted. It is home to your site, which means that the speed of your site and its reliability depend on the web hosting service you choose. It is then crucial that you choose a host carefully. Just like you don’t want your business to have an ugly storefront, nor do you want your web presence to be unappealing. However, setting up your site online can be a daunting process, especially if you are not tech savvy.
Read on as we explain everything you need to know about finding the best small business web hosting so you can set up an online store or just an online presence with the minimum of fuss.
Which type of hosting is best for your business?
Each web hosting provider offers a different service and set of features, but they also offer different types of hosting. Broadly speaking, these can be divided into four main categories: Shared hosting, VPS, Dedicated, and Cloud Hosting. Shared hosting is the cheapest out there because it means your website is hosted alongside other sites. This usually means that speeds are slower because you can be affected by the performance of the other sites on the server. You also don’t tend to have that many features at your disposal. However, it is ideal for a small business that just wants to have an online presence in some way.
VPS hosting and Cloud hosting are a similar type of hosting service as your website is still hosted alongside others. However, the number of other sites tends to be smaller and you get the benefit of a virtual private server, which usually means more flexibility and overall performance, for a price.
The most expensive but most high-quality form of web hosting is dedicated hosting. This type of web host offers the best speed, performance, security, and uptime, but comes at a significant cost since you get a full server dedicated to your website. For a small company, this is almost always excessive.
What should you pay attention to when choosing a web hosting solution?
For most small businesses, cost is a significant part of the web hosting decision-making process. You should consider purchasing web hosting, a domain name, and possible add-ons such as an SSL certificate (if you sell online). Some web hosting comes with everything included, while others add it as you buy.
Ease of use is also key, with an intuitive control panel that makes the process much smoother, as well as excellent customer support. If you plan to sell products through your website, you should look out for features that will help you set up an ecommerce website with some hosts offering special packages for an ecommerce store. Some web hosting also offers built-in page builders, so you can have a website built in hours by choosing a theme instead of editing the design yourself.
Speed is also something to consider, as a slow-loading site is off-putting to customers and can affect your search engine rankings. Reliability is also essential, although all the hosting companies we have listed here are very reliable and offer very high uptime.
What is the best web hosting solution for your business?
To help you find the perfect solution for your business, we’ve put together a selection of options to suit everyone and every business. Consider these options carefully and pick a favorite.
Here are the best web hosting solutions for your business in 2023.