Web hosting

Web hosting is where your website lives: the server that stores its files and shows pages to visitors. Hosting prices are easy to misread. Most plans advertise a low monthly rate that requires prepaying one to four years, then renew at three to six times that amount. This topic puts the renewal price next to the intro price so you can compare what you’ll actually pay.

It’s for small businesses running a brochure site, a booking site or a small online store, usually on WordPress. We cover shared hosting for simple sites, managed WordPress hosting for sites that earn money or get steady traffic, and our own storefront, Secure Server (powered by GoDaddy), for owners who want domain, hosting and email in one account. If you’d rather not run hosting at all, a website builder may suit you better.

Where to start

1. Start with best web hosting for small business for our ranked picks and a three-year cost table.
2. Running WordPress? Read WordPress hosting explained to see whether shared, managed or WordPress.com fits.
3. Want everything under one account? See our Secure Server (powered by GoDaddy) review.
4. Ready to buy? Compare plans on domains and hosting.