The Best Web Hosting List

By now you have seen that most if not all of even the best web hosting companies offer “unlimited web hosting” through unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, and unlimited website hosting. But do you know what you’re really getting with companies that promote ‘unlimited web hosting’?

It’s a fact – nothing but the essentials like air and water are unlimited and even then, mathematically, there is a physical end to them. The same goes for anything you buy, including web hosting storage, bandwidth, email accounts, and domain name hosting.

So how can web hosts offer unlimited hosting?

One word – marketing! All web hosting providers are competing in what is one of the most saturated and cutthroat markets in the world. There are estimated to be over 10,000 web hosting companies around the world, most of which are fresh startups who will barely be able to make back their down payment. So to get more customers, you have to advertise big.

But aren’t these web hosts lying about their offers?

Essentially, this depends on the web hosting provider in question. Little webhosting companies are most likely lying and are not trustworthy, as they won’t have the technology to back your website up or the reputation to become well-known and approved. The best web hosting companies, like the ones we promote here, are however fully prepared to back their promises up.

What’s the catch?

That is a good question. As a general rule, web hosting companies limit their hosting customers by setting a cap on what’s called CPU. CPU stands for computer processor unit and this unit measures how many times your website is accessed per minute, second, day, etc. It is basically the brain of the server, just like your home computer’s processor is what makes it load fast or slow.

Now, shared hosting (which is the cheap and affordable hosting you’ll find here) means that your website and about 300 other websites are sharing the same CPU (processor). So imagine 300 people sharing your home computer – if you have a good processor, your machine will run fast, just like if the customers sharing space with you are not using very much, the server will be fast and good! So if all 300 customers use >1% CPU, your server will be amazing.

Now imagine all 300 people trying to download a movie all at the same time on your home computer. Your home computer would likely shut down, as it would be unable to handle the load of 300 people downloading something that large at once. That is the same effect as if those 300 people on your web hosting server all used more than 1% CPU. Your server (and website) will crash.

So the catch to unlimited web hosting is merely CPU usage. Keep it below 1% and you’ll be fine and can really utilize unlimited storage and bandwidth!

So you think you’re ready to buy web hosting? That’s great! Like the first time I purchased web hosting, you must be very excited! It’s a little bit scary, a little thrilling, and a great deal nerve-wracking. To help ease your web hosting anxiety, here are some presales questions you may want to answer yourself before you buy from the best web hosting provider of your choice.

What kind of website do I want to host?

Are you ready for business hosting? Ecommerce? Personal? Family? Narrow it down as much as possible to a specific niche. Here are some further examples:

* Blog hosting / WordPress web hosting
* Joomla hosting
* Web 2.0 hosting
* Dedicated Server Hosting
* Adult hosting
* Music hosting
* Email hosting
* Reseller hosting
* Photo hosting / Artist hosting
* Church hosting

What kind of features do I need?

Consider the kind of website you are looking to create. If you are starting a church website, odds are you are not going to need very much storage space, whereas you might need a website template and an average amount of bandwidth. On the other hand, if you are running a photography website, you are going to need a good deal of storage space and bandwidth, but may be less concerned with website templates or the amount of email addresses you can use.

How many webpages and/or websites will I create?

You may not know this ahead of time, but think in generic terms – do you plan to add other websites to your hosting account in the future? Would you like to be able to have that option?

Do I need advanced web hosting features?

Do you plan to add scripting or programming to your website? If so, make sure the kind of scripts you want to run are supported by your web hosting provider. If you’re unsure, odds are you don’t need them.

Can I build the website myself?

If yes, don’t choose a web hosting provider who offers free site building tools over one that doesn’t just because it looks like they offer more. If you’re unsure about building your own website, make sure that you put a website builder as a priority on your web hosting checklist! Or get a web design template.

As many of the best webhosts offer their services within shared hosting environments, it’s important to be aware of CPU usage and how it might affect you. Although many hosts are now offering “unlimited bandwidth” there is a bit of a catch to it — you can use as much bandwidth at you need, but if you’re using too much of the CPU, you’ll need upgrade to a dedicated or VPS server.

Many webhosts limit CPU usage to less than 1% on a shared server, and the logic behind this is simple. Say you have 100% of the CPU available on a server, and 300 people are on that server, that leaves less that 1% available to each person so the computer can run smoothly. That doesn’t necessarily mean each person IS using their portion — some customers may have a very small site that demands little or no CPU, some may not have a site yet at all — but it means that if your site is consistently busy and your users are doing CPU-intensive actions, you’ll become a burden to the server, everyone else’s site will slow down, and you’ll have to upgrade.

Most people with small sites won’t ever have to worry about it but, let’s put it this way, just because a shared server says it offers “unlimited bandwidth” doesn’t mean a site like Facebook or Livejournal or Pogo can survive on it — they’re way too popular and will need much more than what a shared server can offer.

The Best Web Hosting List shows you the Top 10 Web Hosting providers worldwide, but some of the features may be new to you, so we’re here to explain those deal-breakers and give you the best definitions for the most common web hosting terms.

One of the main things you’ll see for web hosting providers these days is Storage Space. Storage (or Disk) Space just measures the amount of actual space on the web server that the web host gives you to be able to store pictures, videos, music, content, and etc. So everything that makes your website unique will be stored. That’s why it’s always dependent on what you plan to do with your site as to how much web hosting space you actually need.

Hint: you probably don’t need more than 1GB of web hosting space.

However, the best web hosts will normally offer “unlimited web hosting”. So what the heck does that mean to you? Basically, that you have “unlimited storage space” to play around with. You can host your videos, music, files, pictures, and everything else, and you’ll technically never run out of storage space!

The catch? Web Hosting space is only one thing you need to measure when hosting your website – web hosting companies can offer “unlimited web hosting” because they can catch you on other technicalities like CPU usage.

We recommend IX Web Hosting, because they offer Unlimited Website Hosting and Unlimited Storage Space and Bandwidth. And trust us when we say they really do mean UNLIMITED!

Plus, IX Web Hosting offers over $500 in free advertising credits, which is an offer we cannot find to beat anywhere else.

We have already explained some basic web hosting terms in detail, but it’s time to get to the nitty-gritty web hosting terms that come up literally everywhere you look! This ought to make it easier to choose the best web hosting provider for your business or personal website.

Control Panel – This is what you use to manage all aspects of your website. For example, you will login to your control panel to update your website, install a blog like WordPress, or to create an email address.

Database – You will likely never use them (either consciously or unconsciously) but databases are places you can store things like product or customers lists, scripts, or where automatic installations install important features. For example, when installing Joomla, your web hosting control panel will install modules into databases. You don’t need to know this, but it helps make Joomla function.

Domain – Your website URL that you want visitors to type in to visit your website. For example, thebestwebhostinglist.com is our domain name here. Normally, you can get this registered for free with your web host.

FTP – FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, and though it sounds technical it’s as easy to setup as downloading a file from your email! FTP Programs help you upload and download files, music, and videos from your webhosting account to your PC or vice versa.

GB – (gigabyte) Honestly, you don’t need to know what a ‘gigabyte’ is to enjoy your webhosting account and website. But a gigabyte (or GB) is a measuring increment. 1 GB is worth 100 MB (megabytes). Make sure you choose a web host who offers more than 5GB of storage space and more than 100GB of bandwidth. That’s all you’ll really need.

Money-Back Guarantee – Pretty self-explanatory, this is something every web host should offer. It’s a guarantee that, if you dislike their services, you can get a refund within a specified period of time. Most MBGs are 30, 60, or 90 days.

Subdomain – Yep, there are levels for domains. For example, thebestwebhostinglist.com is our primary domain. But ix-web-hosting-review.thebestwebhostinglist.com is our subdomain, devoted to explaining everything there is to know about IX Web Hosting. Using subdomains can help you build a new website without purchasing an entirely new domain name for it.

If you are a work-at-home mom, just starting your home business, or perhaps looking to extend the reach of a local business to a broader online community, small business web hosting is definitely the way to go. But what exactly does a small business website need that’s different from what normal webhosting customers require?

For one thing, technical support. If you are running a simple blog and it goes down for a couple minutes, it’s no big deal. But if you are operating a business online, every minute of downtime means the possibility you are losing sales, money, and customers. Don’t be fooled by “99.9% uptime” though – every web host says they have that. What you need is valuable, trustworthy, knowledgeable technical support available as close to 24/7 as possible. Remember, live chat is great, but live phone support is better and a decent ticketing or email system is best.

Another difference is storage space and bandwidth. While shared web hosting providers can make up high numbers, you really need a web hosting provider who can stand behind those numbers and back you up if you reach them. Choose the best web hosting you can to assure you can run shopping carts, multiple websites and pages, hundreds of emails, and more. Remember to choose the features you need most and worry about pricing second – most webhosts will be affordable these days.

Make 100% sure your webhosting provider has the following features or that you are able to purchase these features at an additional cost:

* Dedicated IP Address
* SSL Certificate
* Shopping Carts
* Blogs (WordPress)
* CMS (Joomla)
* Multiple Parked Domains (redirecting domains)

Small business webhosting can be tough, but with the best web hosting list guiding you every step of the way, you can make sure you are making the right decision.

Every business needs a website. That is a fact. So finding the best business web hosting provider shouldn’t be a hassle. That’s why we here at thebestwebhostinglist.com have provided you a list of the best business web hosts in the world.

What should you look for in business web hosting?

* Web Hosting Storage space
* Website Hosting Bandwidth
* Dedicated IP Address
* Free Domain Name

The best web hosting providers will feature all these and more, including email hosting, multiple domain web hosting, windows web hosting, linux web hosting, and more.

You’ll want to pay particular attention to these business web hosting providers, as they will be the backbone for your website and business.

As a web designer, you have many options for best web hosting companies around the world. However, did you also know you have choices as far as your web hosting options for your clients?

For example, you could become a web hosting reseller, where you would essentially resell web hosting plans to your clients and customers. You can then mark up the hosting costs for your own profit by as big a margin as you’d like. You can make upwards of $10/month per customer doing this, depending on your pricing structure. The only downside is that most web hosting companies will make you manage your own billing and support for your customers.

The other option is dedicated server hosting, where you purchase a large dedicated hosting plan and resell the space underneath that plan, allotting specific amounts of storage, bandwidth, email accounts, subdomains, etc to customers on a case by case basis. In this case, you can always get Managed Hosting and let the web hosting provider manage your server; however, that’s not a guarantee they will manage your customers.

If you are looking into web hosting and buying your first website, personal web hosting is probably exactly what you’re looking for. In the world of best web hosting, “personal web hosting” just means you are hosting a website for your personal needs, hobbies, interests, etc.

Personal web hosting is often also referred to as blog web hosting, because many people running personal websites blog on a daily or weekly basis.

In looking for a provider who offers reliable personal web hosting services, you’ll need to ask the following questions:

* How much storage space do I really need? – The answer to this varies of course, but mainly if you’re only running a personal website, you won’t need more than 1GB of storage space for your pictures, files, and documents.

* How much bandwidth do I really need? – Again, this varies, but use the 1GB bandwidth rule for this as well. Even if your personal web hosting plan is going to be visited by your entire family, odds are you still won’t use up that 1GB.

* How many email addresses do you need? – Email accounts are very important to some and not to others. If you only need one email address for your personal web hosting site, don’t put emphasis on this feature.

* How much are you willing to spend? – You can get phenomenal personal web hosting for $4/month, or you can pay $7/month for bigger websites, multiple domain hosting, and unlimited email accounts. The price is up to you!

The first thing you should know about web hosting providers is that they want you to be their customer. Their number one priority is making the customer happy, because the best web hosting is about customer satisfaction. Offering you cheap web hosting is one way to accomplish getting your business. The other way is offering a ton of storage space and web hosting bandwidth.So how much storage and bandwidth do you really need?The answer actually varies. But you will likely fall into one of the two following categories:* New WebmastersIf you have never bought web hosting, just need a simple website, or are running a small website, you really will only need 10GB or less of web hosting storage space. Don’t be fooled by the large amounts of storage space even the best web hosting offers – they are simply marketing terms to get you to buy.* Web Hosting GurusIf you operate a large web hosting site, are planning to run dedicated server hosting, or have an audience who download regularly from your website or view the website quite a bit every day, hour, or month, you are going to want to pay more attention to web hosting storage and will likely even need to look into VPS web hosting or even dedicated server hosting, both of which are more expensive web hosting types.