• Has the most affordable standard plan among Top 5
• Reliable server backups
• Excellent customer service team

Cons

• Doesn’t provide Windows servers (If you aren’t a system administrator, this doesn’t matter.)

Review

FatCow has an outstanding reputation in the web hosting industry. They’re dedicated to delivering good customer service; they even give away a month’s worth of free web hosting if they fail to meet expectations. Customers have consistently praised their services for over a decade.

Click here to check out FatCow.

• Fast and reliable web servers
• Excellent uptime
• 90-day money-back guarantee
• Has the most affordable starting price among Top 5

Cons

• Not all resources are unlimited

Review

InMotion has a very affordable starting price. It’s a good hosting solution if you don’t need a lot of resources. It’s especially ideal for personal websites and customers who don’t mind starting small.

Click here to check out InMotion.

• Good web hosting features
• High-quality technical platform
• Founded in 1996
• Has an established reputation

Cons

• Rather high starting price
• Average technical support

Review

HostMonster offers unlimited resources and good features. Their starting price is higher than other web hosts’, but they still offer a good deal considering their established reputation. They’re well known for their solid business practices.

Click here to check out HostMonster.

• Specializes in business and professional hosting
• Excellent technical support
• Very good control panel with additional plug-ins and applications
• Highly acclaimed internationally

Cons

• Has the most expensive starting price among Top 5

Review

BlueHost offers excellent hosting for business or professional purposes. Their control panel is considered one of the best in the industry. Compared with other web hosts, their starting price is rather expensive, and some resources aren’t unlimited. Still, this company is considered one of the leaders in web hosting, and their plans offer great solutions for business needs.

Click here to check out BlueHost.

• Generous hosting packages
• A wide variety of features for an affordable price
• Resources are generally unlimited
• Technical support is helpful and available anytime
• Offers reseller hosting
• Offers a money-back guarantee anytime, whereas other web hosts offer them for 30 to 90 days

Cons

• It’s a relatively new web host—so server uptime, while excellent, has been tracked for only a short period

Review

Just Host offers the best value for money. With their impressive technical platform and additional features, anyone can easily start building a great website. They also have efficient and reliable technical support. So far, it’s the only web host to offer a money-back guarantee anytime. All in all, Just Host is a fantastic all-purpose web hosting solution.

Click here to check out Just Host.

We all want to get the best value for our money. Whether you’re planning to launch a business website or start a personal blog, you probably want the lowest hosting prices if you’re just starting out.

Web hosting providers can afford to offer the lowest hosting prices because they know how to optimize servers and reduce overhead costs. Low-priced hosting plans contain all the features typically needed by individuals and small businesses. Note that lower prices don’t mean lower quality. The prices only serve to attract new customers. But it’s the quality of service that retains them.

Choose the right web host

Although many web hosts offer the lowest hosting prices, not all of them offer quality services. So choose among web hosts carefully. Here are the factors you should consider:

• Customer support. Your web host should have a competent customer support team. One that operates 24/7 is best, especially if you live in another part of the world. After all, a single glitch on your website may result in losing potential clients and income. Web hosts with good customer support will make sure that your needs are fulfilled in the most convenient way possible.
• Good uptime. Check your potential web host’s service monitoring performance. This will show you how often their servers have downtime. No web host has 100% uptime; after all, web servers have their limitations, and hardware upgrades are necessary for reliable service in the long run. But good web hosts make sure to limit their downtime.
• Service backups. Occasional technical failures are unavoidable. Although you should always make backups yourself, it would also help if your web host makes their own backups of website data.
• Disk space and bandwidth. Know how much disk space and bandwidth are allotted to you by your web host. This way, you can maximize your website’s potential even at the lowest hosting prices.
• Domain names. Some of the web hosts that offer the lowest hosting prices also include free domain names with their packages. You may want to choose these hosts so that you can get your domain and hosting in a one-stop shop, as opposed to getting them separately.
• Control panel. Having access to a control panel makes website management a lot easier. This will save you a lot of time and effort in the long run.
• Reputation. Conduct a background search on potential web hosts. Read reviews to see how well they’ve satisfied their customers.

Remember, you want value for money, not just the lowest price tag. So make sure you select the right web host to suit your needs.

Recommended web hosts

InMotion
Just Host FatCow HostMonster BlueHost

The following is a table of the lowest-priced plans from our recommended web hosts. Note the differences in features and contract periods. We highly recommend Just Host’s Just Plan Premium ($6.95/month). But, as you can see, there are cheaper plans, so you may opt to choose them instead. Either way, all of the web hosts below are recommended.

We’ve done our best to ensure the accuracy of the information below, but we’re only human. Please double-check the information at the web hosts’ websites.

The following is a table of web hosting plans, similar in terms of price and features, from our recommended web hosts. Note that these web hosts may have cheaper plans (see the starting prices on this page), but we specifically looked for plans to fulfill most people’s needs, including multiple hosted domains, multiple databases, and lots of disk space and bandwidth. We highly recommend Just Host’s Just Plan Premium. But some comparable plans are slightly cheaper, so you may opt to choose them instead. Either way, all of the web hosts below are recommended.

We’ve done our best to ensure the accuracy of the information below, but we’re only human. Please double-check the information at the web hosts’ websites.

These are our recommended web hosts in order of preference. We love Just Host, but we encourage you to choose carefully and determine which web host is right for your needs.

We’ve done our best to ensure the accuracy of the information below, but we’re only human. Please double-check the information at the web hosts’ websites.

If you would like to have your own website, you need two things: web hosting and domain registration. The basics of these are explained in the beginner’s guide to web space, so you may want to read that before you continue with this page.

Once you know the fundamental principles, you can start taking steps for domain acquisition. To buy a web domain is actually straightforward. It’s the process that leads up to it that may be a little complex. You need to take great care—after all, your domain name will form the foundation of your online presence. It’s recommended that you read this entire article before doing anything, so that you know all of your options beforehand. When you’re ready, just follow the steps in order. Good luck and have fun.

Come up with a good domain name

Here are some characteristics of a good domain name:

• Short. Although you can have up to 63 characters in your domain name, there’s no reason to lengthen it. The shorter it is, the easier it will be for people to type and remember.
• Relevant. Your domain name must be descriptive of your product, services, or identity. Try not to use acronyms. Don’t use names that have nothing to do with you or your business.
• Memorable. Come up with something catchy and easy to remember. It’s best to have a domain name that’s also your website name. It’s surprising how many websites out there have a different domain and website name.
• Avoid hyphens. People have a hard time remembering them, so they may type your domain name without hyphens and end up in the wrong website. They’re also difficult to share with others verbally.

There are two kinds of domain names:

• Branded domain names are recommended for businesses or individuals. For example, John Smith, a freelance writer, wants to build a website to attract new clients. Johnsmith.com would be a good domain name.
• Generic domain names are recommended for portals, resource websites, or niche websites. For example, John Smith wants to build a website to help other writers learn more about writing. Writingtips.com would be a good domain name.

Set aside time to brainstorm for a domain name. A good domain name can take hours, days, or weeks to come to you. There are a lot of domain names that are already taken, so use your creative juices to come up with a unique one.

Check the domain name’s availability

To check whether the domain name is available, do a search at any domain registrar or web host. But before you do this, make sure you’re ready to buy your desired domain name. If it’s available when you check, buy it right away—or someone else might snap it up.

If it’s not available, don’t be surprised. A lot of good names are already taken. Here are your options:

Option 1: Buy it from the owner

Do a Whois lookup to get the domain owner’s contact information. Email them to ask whether they’re willing to sell the domain to you. Some people buy domains hoping to resell them and make a profit. In this case, expect to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars depending on the domain name’s value. On the other hand, if the owner has lost interest in the name, you could probably buy it for less.

Option 2: Choose a different top-level domain (TLD)

The domain name’s TLD is its extension. Com (.com) is the best choice for a business. But if it’s already taken, you may choose to get the .net or the .org version. Net would be better, since some people still associate Org with nonprofits.

A country-level TLD is also an option if your website focus is local to your country. If you run a catering service in the United Kingdom, for instance, a .co.uk domain would be better than a .com. People who are searching for UK catering will immediately know, by looking at your domain name, that your company is local.

Option 3: Choose a different domain name

You could either come up with a completely different domain name, or edit your desired name somehow. The latter is simpler. If you have a café named Magnolia, and magnolia.com is taken, you could try magnoliacafe.com instead.

For generic names, this will be easier. Just add a prefix or suffix to your desired name. For example, you wanted cookies.com, but it was taken. You could try:

• mycookies.com
• thecookies.com
• bestcookies.com
• cookiesblog.com

…and a lot of other variations.

Buy your web domain

Once you find an available domain name you like, buy it immediately to prevent others from beating you to it. Make sure you’ve got your payment method handy. Domain registrars usually accept credit cards and Paypal.

You have two options when buying your web domain.

Option 1: Buy web domain and hosting separately

Buy your web domain at an accredited domain name registrar. Go for an established and reputable company such as GoDaddy. Afterward, get your web hosting at a good web hosting provider such as Just Host.

It’s best to get your domain name before your web hosting, as web hosts usually ask for your domain name when you sign up.

Option 2: Buy web domain and hosting together

Most web hosts also do domain registration. Some web hosts even register domain names for free if you sign up for their web hosting. (As an example, Just Host offers a web-hosting-plus-domain package. They offer 1 or 3 free domains, depending on the plan you get.) This is a good idea for beginners, as it makes things much simpler.

Whether you buy your domain and hosting separately or together, it’s best to register the domain for as many years as you can. Not only can you get a discount; you also won’t have to deal with the inconvenience of having to renew every year.

Point your domain to your web hosting

You will have to do this step if you bought your domain and hosting separately. First, find out the name servers that your web host uses. These usually come in pairs, e.g., ns1.webhost.com and ns2.webhost.com. You should find this in your web hosting account’s control panel; but if not, ask your customer support. Then, go to your domain registration control panel and edit the name servers. Input the addresses you got from your web host. Within 48 hours, the world will be able to access your website through your new domain.

Fantastico is a powerful, easy-to-use piece of software that lets you install popular web applications on your website. It often comes bundled with web hosting plans. With Fantastico web hosting, you can easily install any of the following applications:

• Blogs. A blog is a regularly-updated website, much like a journal or a magazine. Blogs can be used in a variety of ways, ranging from personal diaries to newspapers to company newsletters. With Fantastico web hosting, you can not only set up a blog on your website; you can also add search functionality, customize the design, and arrange the layout in a few clicks. Two popular examples of blog applications are WordPress and b2evolution.

• Forums. These are discussion boards where people can interact online. With Fantastico web hosting, it’s easy to set up a forum without the need to program it from the scratch. Fantastico also lets you customize the forum design to match your main website. phpBB and SMF are examples of forum applications.

• Customer service systems. Fantastico lets you set up help features, FAQ pages, and chat scripts so you can support your customers. A lot of companies use osTicket and Help Center Live, for example.

• E-commerce systems. If you’re used to buying things online, you’ve probably seen this kind of system already. With Fantastico, you can install shopping carts and e-commerce applications instantly. You can also select the design and features to suit your business needs. osCommerce and Zencart are popular examples.

• Photo galleries. More and more people use photo galleries to exhibit their creative work or share personal pictures. You have more control and reliability when you do this on your own website instead of uploading to third-party image hosting sites. Fantastico web hosting lets you install powerful web-based image gallery systems. You can even include commenting functionality, user registrations, and browser-based uploads. Among the many applications you can use are 4images and Gallery.

In summary, Fantastico web hosting is ideal for any website owner or administrator. It’s great for beginners, as it lets you build and manage your website in a few easy steps. No extra fees. No database setup. No programming. You can choose from more than 50 applications to install.

Note that there are many web hosts that provide Fantastico web hosting. When choosing your web host, you should of course make sure they bundle Fantastico with their plans. But in addition to that, make sure they have adequate disk space and bandwidth, good customer support, and reliable service. Check out some recommended providers of Fantastico web hosting.