As a small business in today’s competitive market, you need a reliable web hosting service to build your online presence. You cannot afford to fail, so your choice must be sufficient to offer a smooth customer experience for your visitors. The best SMB hosting solutions offer good server performance, fast-loading speeds, automated backups, free SSL certificates, and 24/7 customer support at a minimum.

Our experts performed an independent study, including thousands of user reviews, tests, and surveys, to separate the most affordable yet quality small business hosting providers from the mass. In this article, you can learn all there is to know about small business web hosting and how to choose the best web host for your company.

But if you are in a hurry, we won’t take your time any longer – here’s our selection of the top web hosting solutions for your small business!

Check Our Top Web-Hosting Providers for Small Business

1. HostArmada – Best Value for Money for Small Companies
2. Hostinger – Ideal Web Hosting for Small Business with Affordability and Scalability
3. FastComet – Best Overall Hosting for Small Businesses
4. A2 Hosting – Best Web Hosting for Customer Support
5. Verpex Hosting – Best Feature Set for Discounted Prices

At HostAdvice, we make independent measurements for each category, i.e., the following study is specific to the small business hosting category. Our results and ranking come from two primary sources – our expert reviews and honest user reviews. We combine the two to reveal to you the best of the best companies for your small business on the market.

Our professionals continually test dozens of web hosts worldwide, including server performance, uptime, speed, ease of use, customer support, money-back guarantees, etc. The question is, does the web host stand true to its promises? Moreover, is the company transparent and consistent in its offering? Fast forward, it should be!

You’ll find an assigned percentage for each factor representing its importance or contribution to an ideal small web hosting service. The higher the number, the more critical it is for you to consider this criterion when selecting the best website hosting for small businesses.

Here are the key factors our professionals used to rank the best small business hosting provider:

• Types of Hosting (5%): Most of the cheapest plans that will pop up on your radar will be shared hosting plans. However, finding a web host with varied options would be best, meaning you shouldn’t dodge or ignore the VPS, cloud hosting, or dedicated server options. These can give you more room to try new things, primarily if you cannot operate on a shared hosting plan due to security concerns or restrictions.
• Reliable Uptime, Speed, and Security (15%): An uptime guarantee, robust security mechanisms, and fast loading speeds should be your primary concerns about any hosting provider. Your small business website needs to be online at all times, and you shouldn’t leave visitors waiting around, at least while you establish your market position and build an excellent reputation. While it is not realistic to expect a 100% uptime guarantee, you can indeed find 99.95% and above – which should be your standard. Furthermore, the web host should offer you good security features to protect your website and visitors from malicious parties or hackers.
• Scalability Options (8%): Your business will not remain small forever if you’re good at what you do. Eventually, you and your business will grow in popularity over time, and many more people will visit your website to order your specific services or products. That being the case, you want to find a small business hosting provider that lets you expand your bandwidth, storage, RAM, CPU cores, and so on, so you can keep up to speed with the increased traffic your website will get, as well as your increased revenue that will allow you to afford these changes.
• Unique Feature Set (10%): The feature set plays an essential role in each web hosting plan, especially for small businesses on a budget. You should consider the set of freebies included in the plan. It would be best to look for several valuable extras, including a free domain, unmetered storage and bandwidth, a free SSL certificate, cPanel or another user-friendly control panel, a website builder, eCommerce functionality, marketing and SEO tools, a free professional email address, a 1-click installer for WordPress, other CMSs, and apps, free daily automated backups, and website migrations.
• Ease of Use, Help, and Support (12%): The best small business hosting is always easy to use and navigate. Even as a beginner or a first-time user, you should be able to find everything conveniently. Usually, top web hosts offer you a user-friendly control panel, such as the industry gold, cPanel. In addition, you should also be able to contact their in-house team 24/7/365 for any issue you might encounter via live chat, email, ticketing system, or phone. Access to self-help databases, such as tutorials, a knowledge base, videos, or a FAQ section, is also a plus.
• Value for Money (20%): If you are running a small business, chances are you don’t have extra cash to throw around. So, you need to make the best use of your money. What features are you getting for the cost? Do other companies offer more for the same price? Ensure you don’t sacrifice quality for a lower price. The cheapest plan won’t always cut it, so you need to pay attention to the price-to-value ratio. Opt for outstanding SMB hosting solutions with high-end services on a budget. At this point, you need to consider first-time discounts and regular rates, renewal prices, and money-back guarantees. Does the web host reward you with a discount if you commit to the longer term? If yes, how long can you benefit from it, and so on?
• User Reviews (30%): The most transparent and valuable report always comes from an unbiased customer, which is why we value these reviews so much. It’s not enough to check the web host’s website since it might contain empty promises. Instead, it would be better to opt for objective comments on the web or personal recommendations from friends/acquaintances with your exact business needs.

What Is Unique About Web Hosting For Small Businesses?

Nowadays, a website can either “make it or break it” for your business. Each successful brand has a strong online presence. However, finding a web hosting for small businesses isn’t as easy as it seems.

First, not all web hosting packages offer sufficient power to back up a business. So, web hosting services for SMBs must deliver reliable infrastructures. Businesses in general, and especially in the beginning, cannot afford downtime, slow-loading speeds, and insufficient security. These three factors can quickly become your formula for failure – loss of customers and profits. So, reliability is key, marking a clear line between business success and failure.

Next, web hosting plans for small businesses include incredible email specs, such as unlimited email addresses and inbox space, along with an SSL certificate for free or at an affordable price and automated backups.

Furthermore, small business-friendly web hosts offer affordable introductory prices, inclusive plans, and a free website builder for superior ease of use. Other extras worthy of mention include drag-and-drop functionality, perks like appointment booking, eCommerce selling, SEO, and marketing tools.

Lastly, web hosting services for SMBs always come with an upgrade path. Usually, small business owners don’t have money to spare, so opting for a scalable and flexible plan is always the better alternative.

Fortunately, specific web hosts understood the exact needs of a small business and delivered!

Ranking comparison between the Top Providers

Things to Know Before You Choose A Small Business Hosting Provider

To build your small business website, you need to choose a domain name, design your site, and purchase a web hosting plan. While the first two might be necessary, your web hosting choice essentially determines the speed of your website, how it is to handle surges in traffic, and how it thwarts hacking attempts.

It would be best to clarify all confusing terms and tools you might encounter while searching for the best hosting for small business companies. What do you need, and what’s nice to have? Let’s dive in!

Types of SMB Web Hosting and Which Is the Right One for You?

In general, you can find shared hosting, VPS, cloud hosting, and dedicated servers as the primary types of web hosting services. The good news is that you can use any of these four types for your small business. And the bad? The wrong choice can cost you a lot in profits.

Shared hosting is the cheapest alternative, primarily suitable for website owners in their beginner stages. It can help you get your site online without any skill or prior experience. However, you would be sharing resources with other websites on the same server with this solution. So, their surges in usage can ultimately affect your website’s user experience in terms of speed and security.

Once you outgrow your shared hosting plan, the best small business hosting solution is getting a VPS (Virtual Private Server). While you will still have neighboring sites in your server environment, you’ll increase your control over the resources and customization options. It’s the ultimate middle ground – combining the affordability of a shared and the features of a dedicated web hosting environment.

With dedicated hosting, you’ll get all the server resources and control to yourself. However, this is the most expensive solution on the market. It’s the best choice for website owners with high levels of website traffic and those who need complete control of their servers. If, however, your small business isn’t highly profitable, you might as well pass on it.

Finally, cloud hosting utilizes a whole network on the Internet, using combined computing resources. The web host, in this case, spreads its resources across several networks to reduce downtime and server malfunctions. In turn, users can employ as many resources as they need, scale on-demand, and pay for usage.

And while these are the basic web hosting types, you can opt for many different solutions with your small business hosting provider. For instance, you might be looking for WordPress hosting, yet another unique offer supporting the number one CMS worldwide, and so on.

There’s A Significant Difference Between Managed and Unmanaged Solutions

If you decide upon a VPS or a dedicated server, you’ll have to make yet another decision regarding the level of support – managed or unmanaged?

If you select an unmanaged/self-managed web hosting solution for your small business, you will be responsible for server management and maintenance. In this case, the web host is only responsible for the health of the physical hardware, providing you space in the online world that you can configure on your own. Since all work falls on your shoulders, naturally, the price is lower than with managed support.

You won’t have to worry about any technical details with a managed web hosting solution. The web hosting company will take over server management and maintenance tasks, including updates, patches, installs, etc. You’ll get a user interface resembling the user-friendliness of a shared hosting solution.

Uptime Is More Than Necessary In The Web Hosting and Business World

Uptime refers to the time your server is up and running, and while it’s essential for all websites, it’s the key to success for business people. What happens when a potential customer tries to visit your site, but it’s inaccessible? They transfer to your number one competitor.

So, downtime can harm your profitability as a small business, which is especially important initially. Once you establish a good market reputation, these adverse effects might be reduced to a certain extent. However, while building your position, it’s vital to have server uptime as close as possible to 100%, eliminating the effects of regular maintenance.

Caching, CDN, SSLs, and More!

The best web hosting for small business companies delivers valuable extras that are more than pleasant, such as caching, CDN, WHOIS privacy, and SSL certificates. What can they do for your website?

You can encounter different caching techniques; it can happen through hardware or software. In general, the cache holds data temporarily. Say you have visited a site. The tool caches the data so that you’ll benefit from faster loading speeds when you return to the same site. At the same time, the cache utilizes less server processing power.

A CDN (Content Delivery Network) is a physical caching that spreads the data across several servers worldwide. The web host would store your data on a single server without it. For instance, your website might be stored in a data center in Amsterdam, Europe. The thing is, when Europeans try to access your website, they will experience faster speeds. However, if a person from the US tries to do the same, they would experience latency.

The rule of thumb is that the closer the data center to your audience, the better speed, and customer satisfaction. But what if you have a global target market? Then, a CDN is a must, ensuring consistency and fast-loading speeds across all locations around the globe.

Yet another necessary feature for a small business is an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate. With an SSL, all data you transfer from and to your website would be encrypted, allowing you to protect your website and visitors. SSL certificates are even more necessary if you sell goods or have an eCommerce website. In this case, you are handling sensitive customer information, so you must find a way to secure credit card information, passwords, etc.

Last but not least, you should understand the importance of WHOIS privacy. This feature masks the information you provide when you register a domain name, such as contact information, phone number, and address. Without WHOIS privacy, you can easily become subject to spam, telemarketers, and other malicious parties – anyone would be able to look up the WHOIS information on your website.

Tips To Help You Pick The Best Web Hosting For Small Business

Nowadays, you can choose from thousands of web hosting plans for your small business. Many of the best small business hosting providers can handle significant traffic and offer top-notch security, unlimited storage, bandwidth, web analytics tools, and other extras. So, your choice might quickly become “impossible.”

No two businesses are the same, so you can go wrong with web hosting even if you decide to copy your number one competitors. The question is, how can you choose the most suitable web host and web hosting plan for your small-to-medium-sized enterprise? Let us help you on your journey!

Start The Search Process By Considering Your Small Business Needs

Step one in selecting the best hosting for your small business is listing your needs and preferences. Do you have a single static page or two of information? If that’s the case, you won’t need much storage space or heavy-duty security features. Simply put, if your site is modest, you can get by with a leaner option.

If, however, you’re getting more traffic, you have more resource-heavy content to store, or you need to transfer more files monthly, your needs and proprietary expenses will increase. The rule of thumb is that the more traffic you receive, the better the hosting plan you need. The same applies if you are selling products and handling sensitive client information – you’ll need a higher degree of security and protection for your visitors.

Think About The Long-Term Vision Of Your Small Business

When it comes to doing business, it’s not enough to think about the here and now. And if you are a good businessperson, your company won’t stay small for long. So, like with any other aspect of operation, you also need a plan for your web hosting package.

Is the provider of your choice able to support your future growth? How will they handle your expansion? Will they add resources to your plan if your speed and performance start suffering? What if you are in a shared environment – can the SMB hosting provider migrate your website to a VPS or a dedicated server downtime-free? And what about your SEO rankings? Will they suffer during the website transfer?

These are all essential considerations you must make before committing your resources to a small web hosting provider. The best hosting for a small business always provides the proper support and storage space to grow with your website!

Shared Hosting Is The Best Way To Start

If you are an entrepreneur or a small business owner starting for the first time, a shared hosting plan is a perfect service for you. It’s an all-in-one solution that delivers sufficient resources for start-ups with low to medium traffic websites. Shared hosting is also the most affordable solution on the market, demonstrating the best ease of use out of all web hosting alternatives.

The web host will handle most technical aspects if you get a shared hosting plan. You’ll get access through a user-friendly control panel that’s easy to use and navigate. And sure, if you outgrow this package, you can easily transition to a VPS or a dedicated server. By this point, you would already have developed a certain understanding of the web hosting world and how things work in it. So, you’ll be more prepared for an advanced solution than in the beginning.

Always Know Where You and Your Team Stand

How can you find your web hosting match made in heaven if you are unrealistic of your capabilities? The only way to do so is by objectively assessing what you (and your in-house team) can or cannot do.

For example, what’s your budget? Primarily, this depends on your business scale and size. However, it’s an essential factor when opting for a web hosting plan. If you are on a tight budget, getting a shared hosting plan would be best. If, however, you’re an established business, you can get a more advanced solution.

Similarly, you need to consider how tech-savvy are you? Do you have a development team available on-demand, or are you less skilled with computers and the web? The less knowledge and experience you have, the more support you’ll need from the small business hosting provider.

Best Web Hosting For Small Business Services: Summary

Getting your small business on the online market is not an easy job. Fortunately, you can benefit from lots of good SMB hosting offers; these providers understand your needs, wants, and demands and are here to deliver.

When it comes to finding the best web hosting for small business entities, the cost of the service is among the most important things to consider. We advise you to keep costs as low as possible, especially in the beginning. However, don’t trade-off quality in the process – your web host must be reliable, secure, and fast to keep your customers protected and happy. It should also deliver you the functionality you need, whether it’s eCommerce, SEO tools, CMS compatibility, etc.

As a beginner, you also want to get an easy-to-use service that you can easily understand and navigate. It would be best to avoid paying extra for employees or developers just to get your site online and operational. In this regard, the web hosting service provider should also be able to assist you 24/7 with all issues you might encounter.

Chances are, you have found your perfect small business hosting in our list. But if you haven’t, make sure to advise another third party or us before you spend your money – whether it’s an expert, a user of the same service, or maybe a company similar to yours. Either way, don’t trust the promises of the web host altogether, but ensure they stick to those!