Beginners guide to shared hosting 2020.
So you’ve had this million-dollar business idea for a while, and all you need is a website to make your dream a reality. But first, you need web hosting so that you can venture off into the World Wide Web.
Welcome to the right place. In this article, I’ll cover the pros and cons of the two best shared hosting companies for beginners. As well as what hosting service you should be cautious of when signing up. I hope by sharing my experience with you, enables you to avoid making time-consuming mistakes like I did when I first started learning about Web Development in 2016.
With that said, building a website in 2020 is no longer something that only a coding genius can do. Any average Joe with a bit of enthusiasm and love for a quick tutorial or two can build and launch a website within a week if they make use of the World Wide Web.
Thank you, Sir Tim Berners-Lee!
Firstly, however, you need to pick a website hosting company to house your website. It can be rather tricky as there are so many options, but the most cost-effective and advert free choice is shared hosting.
So, what is Web Hosting?
In short web hosting is an essential and vital tool for anyone wanting to launch a website on the internet. You can think of web hosting as an online house that contains the data of a web page, such as videos, images, articles, and coding that make up a website.
A website hosting company provides you with hard disk space on a high-tech computer to store your website data securely. These computers are called servers. The server then sends out your website information 24/7 to the people on the World Wide Web as they request it through their web browser by entering your website domain name. If you would like to find out more click this link to see an in-depth look at what web hosting is. ≫
Shared hosting explained.
Shared hosting services refer to a web hosting service in which multiple websites rely on one web server. It means that you share your server with other website owners. Having the right shared hosting service is essential to ensuring that your website is accessible at all times without causing hassle to your potential clients.
It offers a great way to enhance your website performance at a low cost while providing security benefits to you and your clients. The choice of your hosting is something that immensely impacts the way your website functions in the long run.
And is ideally suited for websites that have less traffic, and one of the best things about using shared hosting is that it offers a very cost-effective way to get your web site on the internet.
What are your options when it comes to shared hosting?
Currently, there are two categories of web hosting. Non-EIG hosting that applies to all the companies that do not fall under the EIG hosting company umbrella. And, of course, EIG hosting that applies to all the companies that fall under the EIG hosting company brand.
Let’s start by looking at two of the best non-EIG hosting companies.
1. Siteground
A web host that is always at the top of my list because of their excellent service.
Siteground is a web hosting company founded in 2004 by Bulgaria university students. The company not only serves the Bulgarian population but also extends its services globally. Since its foundation, it has seen steady growth throughout the years. The company offers a variety of hosting plans that cater to the different needs of its diverse clients.
Even though Siteground is impressive, there isn’t anything like the perfect hosting service. Therefore let’s balance this out by looking at some of the pros and cons that come with the decision to use Siteground, shall we?
Pros:
- Siteground is accessible and straight forward, making it great for a user to navigate through. With functions such as WordPress install and free site migration tools to make your life a bit easier.
- They have excellent customer support. And are accessible in different platform, for example; phone and text messaging, among other means.
- Thanks to the hardware that they use, Siteground has the highest speed amongst the shared hosting providers. Why is this a pro? Well, statistics show that users leave a site if its load time is slow. So the faster your website is, the better it is for you.
- Siteground is loved by the WordPress community, and also one of the WordPress preferred hosting providers.
- 30-day money-back guarantee, so you have a chance to test them out, and if you are not satisfied, you get your money back.
Cons:
- Siteground is among the priciest shared web hosting service providers in the market, but with the quality of service, they offer. I’d say it is worth it.
- The company also limits disk space in all their plans. And it could result in a disadvantage for the website owner. It also ties in with why Siteground is pricier than it’s competitors.
- Although they have come a long way with regards to making features that apply to the general public, most of the dashboard functions are more suited to developers. But, they are making their tools more user-friendly daily as they take customer feedback seriously.
Interested in having a look at their plans?
You can find them by clicking the link below and have a gander at what is on offer. A word of advice is to always sign up for the cheapest plan to test first and then only sign up for bulk offers. As your business grows, you can upgrade your plan.
Siteground Hosting Plans & Pricing ≫
2. A2 Hosting
A web host that keeps up with Siteground and one of the top contenders in the market.
A2 is a web hosting company founded in 2001 by Bryan Muthig. The company is another global web hosting company that boasts of high speed and support. Since its foundation, the company has come a long way and built a stellar reputation. A2 has various data centres across the world to choose from making them another top choice when it comes to shared hosting.
As always, all companies have their pros and cons, so let get into it.
Pros:
- With A2 shared hosting, you get bang for your buck as they do not limit storage space which is great if you want to save a bit of cash.
- They come in a close second with their speed ratings on the web compared to Siteground.
- A2 also caters for the non-techies with their user-friendly C Pannel.
- Their customer support is on par with Siteground.
- But the best on the list of their pros is their anytime money-back guarantee, which makes them a top contender in the shared hosting world.
Cons:
- Slower loading times compared to Siteground, not the biggest deal, but if it is the speed you are after then, this could affect your choice.
- They limit the number of email accounts that you can create, whereas Siteground does not.
You can have a look at A2 hosting plans by clicking the link below.
A2 Plans & Pricing ≫
Now that I have given my two cents on the two companies that I have found the most reliable over the years, let’s talk about a company that takes the cake when it comes to saving costs, EIG, Endurance International Group.
What and who are EIG?
EIG, in my opinion, is a company that I would not recommend, but I have to say that they are one of the smartest and most innovative companies out there. The company knows how to put itself in a position that would be hard to incur losses, no matter how many clients they lose. They still go to the bank smiling; those clients that think they have terminated their contracts with EIG, say because of bad service or unsatisfaction, may unknowingly land on another company that is under EIG, Genius!
EIG, Endurance International Group≫, is a company founded in 1997, which from the offset started buying out smaller hosting companies that would run under its umbrella but still keep using their original names. This strategy made it difficult for clients to know which companies were under the EIG umbrella and also made it difficult for the company to lose clients or profits.
Now the company has over 80 companies under its belt and not enough employees, which does not boast well for customer service. EIG is a good alternative if one is strapped for cash but still need hosting services.
Some companies under the EIG banner like Bluehost and Host Gator has kept their service on an acceptable level. And some might say that they get the best service from these companies. It all depends on the luck of the draw.
Here are some pros and cons to give you a bit of an overview of what you can expect when choosing a company under the EIG umbrella.
Pros:
- Diversity. Due to EIG having different companies under the EIG umbrella, they offer a wide range of hosting solutions together with different solutions of tech, almost making it a one-stop-shop.
- They have a considerable number of subscribers to their services, meaning many people trust them with the work they do.
- Most of the companies under their banner offer services at low prices, so you can save a few bucks on hosting with them.
- Not all EIG brands are the same, so if you do your research, you should find a company under their brand that can boast excellent customer service and acceptable up-time.
Cons:
- One recurrent complaint by the EIG clients is the constant breakdowns experienced on their websites. Some people have complained about their sites being down for months! Such inconveniences cause their clients to lose customers and, therefore, money.
- These frustrations mean that clients take their business elsewhere for better services; this is where they find themselves landing in another company under EIG, where they experience similar issues, and the frustration continues.
- Users of the companies under EIG have reported poor customer support as feedbacks are not as quick. Also, some have complained that the customer support lack knowledge in the areas they are required to help.
Conclusion:
I hope that this article has given you some useful information to help you get a better idea of what shared hosting is. I know it is not a very in-depth article, but it is just a quick overview for those of you who want, an overview and a quick guide of what shared hosts are reliable.
At the end of the day I believe you get what you pay for, and the best advice is to invest in a good hosting company that helps you achieve your vision as much as you help them cash in that check!
If you would like to find out what you need to build a website check out our Website Design Checklist ≫