For digital creators and business owners, web hosting isn’t a mere option; it’s a necessity. People turn to the internet when searching for products or services, so your business must have a reliable and easily accessible website for potential clients to find. Even a simple page that details your business location, contact information, and hours of operation is invaluable, giving your venture an air of legitimacy that it wouldn’t have if you forgo a website.
Gone are the days when businesses were listed in yellow pages; if you can’t be found in a search engine, your business doesn’t exist. Businesses need a sharable website to build an online presence. Without a website, your business lacks discoverability, and will earn little money. Granted, web hosting isn’t exclusively a business investment; if you’re aiming to host a personal site, blog, or project, hosting services are also highly valuable. Regardless of your website target, the services listed here have you covered.
User Friendly Web Hosting Services
Most entry-level shared hosting plans have enough resources to support a small, personal website. The problem is that some providers pack these plans with unnecessary tools as a way to increase the price.
For instance, why should you pay extra for fancy e-commerce features if you have no intention of selling products on your site, or for a bunch of advanced developer tools you might never use?
I tested dozens of web hosting services to find affordable options that not only offer great value for money but also provide plenty of user-friendly tools to get you started. Whether you’re starting your first blog, building a portfolio site, or thinking of selling products online, you can use any of these hosts to get your website up and running quickly.
Short on Time? These Are the Best Web Hosts for Personal Sites in September 2022:
InterServer – Affordable shared hosting with unlimited storage and bandwidth, along with a free website builder
Hostinger– Incredibly cheap shared hosting with a user-friendly control panel and excellent loading speeds
A2 Hosting – Shared hosting with excellent security features and an anytime money-back guarantee
What We Look For in the Best Web Hosting for Personal Sites
I’ve spent the past few weeks testing some of the most affordable hosting platforms in the industry. During my tests, I prioritized these features:
Pricing.You don’t want to spend a fortune on a personal website, but you don’t want to get stuck with a subpar service, either. The web hosts on my list are affordable, but their entry-level plans pack a lot of value.
One-click installers.Whether you want to set up WordPress or add new functionalities to your personal site, these tools can help you do it quickly.
Website builders.Even if you’ve never built a website before, you can easily build a beautiful one from scratch. In addition to WordPress installations, the hosts on this list offer website builders with dozens of design templates and beginner-friendly interfaces – no coding involved.
Step-by-step guides.From setting up WordPress to connecting your domain and building your website, a host’s help center should cover everything. The hosts on my list provide excellent guides and tutorials.
Outstanding customer support. It’s nice to know that someone’s always there to provide professional help if you need it. I looked for hosts with support teams that are knowledgeable, polite, and quick to respond.
The Best Website Builders for Personal Sites
Web hosting is just one way to get your website online – and it isn’t right for everyone. Website builders are a great alternative (and we’ve tested all the top website builders in the industry!) They’re especially good for beginners, or if you just want a simple all-in-one solution to get your website online super-quickly. Dedicated website builders tend to have (a lot) more features than the free website builders that web hosts include with their plans, so if you’re planning on using a website builder for your website, choosing a dedicated website builder could be a better choice.
The best website builders have simple drag-and-drop editors, tons of templates to choose from, and allow you to set up your website in minutes. Most also have app stores so you can add extra features (like impressive image galleries or social media integrations) with a couple of clicks. The best part is that you can try them for free – without having to add your credit card details.
Wix – The most flexible drag-and-drop editor, with 500+ templates and hundreds of apps available to add to your website. It’s easy to use and even has an Artificial Design Interface (ADI) that can build your website for you, so all you have to do is add your own text and images.
Squarespace – Allows you to create a striking website thanks to its beautiful templates – which is perfect if you’re a creative. Its built-in features include a blogging platform, social media integration, and it’s also fully e-commerce ready if you decide you want to sell a few products, too.
SITE123 – The easiest website builder to use, making it perfect if you’re a beginner. With multiple ready-made pages and page-elements to choose from, all you have to do is insert your content. It’s also got a decent selection of apps that you can add for extra functions – so it’s not just for beginners.
If you choose to build your own personal site, and you’re looking for the right hosting plan for you, these are my top recommendations:
InterServer – A Single Shared Hosting Plan for Any Personal Site
InterServer keeps things very simple with a single, affordable shared hosting plan. The Standard plan includes unlimited storage space and bandwidth in addition to an impressive kit of user-friendly features.
Additionally, InterServer is one of the few hosts to offer affordable monthly billing. With many other hosts, you’d have to commit to multi-year contracts just to get a good deal. When you’re just starting out, it may make more sense to stick with InterServer’s cheap and simple monthly billing.
Whether you want to use WordPress or a different CMS (content management system) to build your website, InterServer makes it super easy to set up your account and get started. You even get automated WordPress updates and backups, which most hosts don’t usually include for free.
Features:
One-click installer for over 400 scripts. Softaculous is a fantastic tool you can use to install WordPress, any other popular CMS, or hundreds of functional plugins for your website. If, for instance, you want to add a photo gallery to your personal site, all you have to do is to open Softaculous and install Piwigo (or a similar script).
SitePad website builder. If you don’t like WordPress, you have other options. InterServer’s Standard plan comes with the SitePad website builder, a simple drag-and-drop interface with dozens of themes to choose from.
Unlimited email. If you opt for the Standard plan, you don’t have to pay extra for email hosting. You can create an unlimited number of email accounts with your own domain name, and you get InterServer’s built-in spam protection to boot.
Managed security. InterServer keeps your website safe for you. All plans come with the InterShield security suite, which includes a web application firewall, a malware scanner, and email protection. Even if your site gets hacked, InterServer’s tech support team will clean it up for you.