The Best Web Hosting List

When you are shopping online for the best web hosting providers, you’ll find a lot of web hosting rebate and hosting coupons type sites. These websites are often affiliated directly with the hosting companies, because the web hosts will pay their affiliates to advertise and offer incentives for their products.

To take advantage of web hosting rebates, you must first find a quality hosting rebates website. For example, try FreeWebHostingDeals.com, which is the best hosting rebate site you’ll find because they offer 100% rebates, which means you get your web hosting for free.

The second step requires following the instructions on the web hosting rebater’s website. For example, on FreeWebHostingDeals.com, you must click through their unique hosting rebate URL prior to purchasing.

Next, you’ll purchase the hosting plan in full upfront.

Finally, you’ll fill out the web hosting rebate form, and you can expect your full rebate in the mail in less than 2 months!

I have personally worked with many of these web hosting rebate sites, and have to say that FreeWebHostingDeals.com is the most professional and unique offer I have ever seen. Check them out and take advantage of their 100% rebate before it’s too late.

Free web hosting is one of the most searched terms in Google every day. This is because many people don’t want to spend the money on purchasing from an affordable web hosting provider. They are either scared that they will have wasted their money, simply figure they will be too lazy to complete a successful website, or are daunted by the task of working with a ‘web hosting provider’ instead of a ‘free hosting provider’.

But there are benefits to going with a cheap web hosting provider over a free host:

1)    Credibility – no one will take Username.thonghosting.com seriously.
2)    Professionalism – MyBusiness@yahoo.com is unacceptable in a business environment
3)    Ad-Free – on free web hosting sites, you must display your free host’s advertisement banners, which is how they can provide your site for free

There is one website that can help, though – FreeWebHostingDeals.com is a website that offers mail-in rebates for your web hosting purchases. Basically, you purchase the hosting plan from one of their reliable web hosting partners and then fill out their rebate form. Once you do that, they’ll send you a rebate for the full amount of your purchase in about 60 days! So you get all the benefits of paid web hosting but 100% free through Free Web Hosting Deals.

Asking the right questions is essential to getting the right answers, so the more you know ahead of time will influence the kinds of questions you are able to ask and the best web hosting answers you’ll receive in turn!

So here are the top 5 most important web hosting questions to ensure you choose the best web hosting provider.

Q. How many years has your web hosting company been in business?

Why This is Important: If they say “10 years”, you know you’re in good hands! If they say “5 months”, better put your money elsewhere. The good news is that all of our recommended web hosting providers have been in business more than 2 years and many of them have been around for more than ten, which helps you ensure you have quality web hosting.

Q. How easy is it to upgrade or downgrade my service? Can I do this even after I’ve hosted with you past the 30 day money back guarantee period? How much will it cost?

Why This Matters: Imagine that your ecommerce web business escalates so fast that you need to accommodate with a VPS or dedicated server. Wouldn’t that be great? Not if your web hosting provider doesn’t support VPS or dedicated servers! Make sure 1) if you plan to grow that your web host can accommodate, 2) that you can do so at any time, and 3) that it doesn’t cost a fortune to do so. All of the recommended web hosts here will provide easy upgrades and affordable hosting solutions.

Q. How often do you perform website backups, how long do you keep them, and how much does it cost to retrieve these backups?

Why This Matters: I’m sure you can guess, but if your website is hacked or a server goes down, what happens to your website? Do they ensure a copy somewhere for you? If so, how long will that copy be available to you and how much will it cost to have it sent to you? Knowing this will allow you to plan out website backup strategies or hire someone to keep daily backups.

Q. What are your technical support hours of operation?

Why This Matters: If you need help at 1am, can you send an email and actually get a response or give them a call? Problems happen, so make sure your web host can be accountable for any technical issues that arise.

Q. Do you offer a web hosting money back guarantee or uptime guarantee?

Why This Matters: If you don’t like the hosting plan or if your website is down for more than a couple hours every year, you need to know what your web hosting provider can do to compensate for your loss.

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!

The prices listed on any web host’s website are part of their marketing tools – i.e. the monthly hosting price is not always a monthly payment you make, something that can confuse new webmasters who just want a simple website solution and website hosting. So here are some web hosting FAQs to help you choose the best web hosting payment plan for your needs.

What is a billing cycle or payment plan?

Just like when you buy most things online, you are rewarded for choosing a longer payment plan or billing cycle. So the secret to getting the cheapest discounts and deals on most webhosting plans is to choose a 1 or 2 year billing cycle. While it might appear cheaper to go with a 1 month, 3 month, or 6 month contract, you will normally have to face setup fees and cannot normally receive web hosting coupons with your purchase. This is simply because it’s in the web host’s best interests to keep you as long as possible, so they are willing to offer incentives to get you to stay, just like any business would.

Which cycle will get me the cheapest web hosting?

The longer the better. You are lucky these days because you can look at web hosting reviews before you buy, so you know what you’re getting yourself into and you can be assured you won’t run into trouble down the line. Especially if you choose one of our recommended Top 10 Web Hosts, you are sure to get a great deal from a reliable web host.

That said, we recommend purchasing at least a 1-year billing cycle.

How much should I pay?

Affordable web hosting should be just that – affordable! Take a look at our Top 10 Web Hosting List for the cheapest web hosting providers. You’ll notice that none of them charge more than $7.95/month, but some may offer bigger plans for bigger bucks. For your first website, don’t pay more than $10 per month.

You may not know this, but there are other choices besides internet web hosting to host your website. Of course, there are ups and down to hosting your website from place to place, so here’s a brief rundown of some pros and cons for hosting your website at home vs hosting it with a reliable web hosting provider.

Hosting at Home

Yep, you can host your website from your home computer if you want to! You can do this by using your home computer’s system resources, your DSL or high-speed internet connection, and web space. Using Microsoft Word or other free products, you can design a simple website and put it online.

Pros: It’s nearly free! You only have to pay for your internet connection, home computer, and any web design products you’ll use to get online.

Cons: There are…a lot of cons to this, unfortunately. I’ll just list three of the biggies. 1) You can’t use your home computer for both hosting a website and as a computer, unless your computer is MASSIVE. It takes a lot of resources to run a website. 2) Your internet service provider likely won’t provide you with a dedicated or static IP address, which is necessary for good SEO (search engine optimization) and ecommerce web hosting. 3) There’s no support hotline, so if your hard drive melts, you see a blue screen with white text, or get corrupt files, will you know what to do?

Web Hosting from a Reliable Web Hosting Provider

You already knew this was possible, but it’s the most popular method for hosting your website.

Pros: You get technical support if you choose a provider from our Top 10 Web Hosting List. You also get a free domain name, unlimited emails, and you don’t have to worry about melting your hard drive, backing up files, or your internet connection. Web hosting companies have better internet connections anyway, one that will never or very rarely be down. You can also purchase dedicated or static IP addresses easily, so ecommerce and great SEO is never a problem.

Cons: It’s slightly more expensive, though if you run into trouble on your home computer, trust me, the cost will be tenfold more than what you’ll pay for reliable hosting service from our affordable hosting providers.

So you want a new website but you can’t afford the arm-and-a-leg costs some web hosting providers are throwing at you? Join the club, of which every single reader here is a member.

It’s very common to get confused as to what exactly you’re going to have to pay for website hosting, for how long, and how often. Sometimes, web hosts will hide payment details in the fine print or charge you extra for setup fees, shorter contracts, or ‘extra features’ that should be part of the main plan.

Because we’re here to help, here’s a few tips on purchasing reliable web hosting on a budget!

Shop Around

You wouldn’t buy the first car you come across, nor would you buy it without a test drive or two, right? Shopping for web hosting is the exact same thing, except you don’t have to deal with sleazy car salesmen or haggle for prices. Our Top 10 Hosting List offers the best web hosting providers in the world, along with reviews on each host, helpful tips on choosing the best host, and even coupon discounts. We recommend IX Web Hosting but that doesn’t mean they’re the best solution for your needs. Remember to compare web hosts side by side, look at the features, and rate them along with us.

Call, Email, Read

Call the web hosts and ask them questions, email them and pretend you have support issues to test their response times, and read through their FAQs to make sure you understand what they’re selling. It wouldn’t hurt to read their fine print, too!

Choose a Longer Billing Cycle

If you’re willing to purchase web hosting for 1 or 2 years at a time, you can save a LOT of money. For example, some hosts charge a $30 or $60 nonrefundable setup fee on month-to-month, quarterly, or half-year billing cycles. This means if you don’t like the hosting plan, you only get a small refund – that $30 or $60 is lost forever. The main advantages of choosing a longer billing cycle are that you don’t have to worry about payment for another year or two and you save money.

Web Hosting Discounts

Right now you can find amazing web hosting coupons on our main page! We’ve listed them below for your convenience. Simply click on the deal you want and you can buy instantly or choose to compare and shop around.

Good luck on your budget web hosting search!

Many people have asked us what it takes to actually build a website from start to finish: i.e. How long does it take and how much does it cost?

Building a website can be extremely easy and can take you less than a few hours if you plan the building of it ahead of time! Here are some tips and tricks for getting your website online in under 5 hours!

1) Write your content and get your images ready first.

Yep, before you sit down to purchase web hosting, domain name, and start building, come up with your text, save your images, and even get your videos, music, and other production tools ready in advance. Having these at hand will speed up the process of creating your website.

2) Choose your website builder or templates.

This may require doing a little research and you might need to compare web hosts in the process, but find out which content management system, website builder, or web design template you’re going to use to actually put your site online and make it look good. Our biggest recommendations go to:

* WordPress Web Hosting – For this, we would recommend IX Web Hosting, ThinkHost, or HostMonster. They can all help you get WordPress up and running with no programming or design experience required. Plus there a gazillion Free WordPress Theme sites you can choose your design from. Easy, easy, easy.

* Joomla Web Hosting – For this, we recommend IX Web Hosting, DreamHost, or BlueHost, all of which have Joomla tools that help you install and get started without having to know a thing about technology! Plus, sites like iJoomla.com offer Joomla Extensions and design tools that help you make Joomla work for you and look good to boot.

* Web Design Templates from DreamTemplate. These guys know website design, and their templates are super cheap. You only have to pay one-time and they can help you install them. These templares are compatible with all of our Top 10 Web Hosting providers.

3) Pick the Best Web Host and Build!

Once you log in, you can start building your website immediately. That means less time spent worrying.

Now for the best part – you can design, build, and host your website for under $100 per year. This is around $6.95 or LESS per month! That’s less than 25 cents/day. You really cannot lose with these easy website hosting deals.

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.

There has been a lot of talk recently about ‘being green’, and as Kermit the Frog says, “It’s not easy being green.” At least, that’s what a lot of webhosts out there will tell you, because 1) being green doesn’t come cheap and 2) becoming a green web host isn’t easy. It’s also looked down upon by certain types of people, while revered by others, so green web hosting companies can be at the top of the industry in certain circles but laughed at in others.

There are a couple things you should know firsthand about green hosting:

• Green Hosting is also known as Eco-Friendly Web Hosting or Sustainable Web Hosting. Any way you slice it, green hosts are trying to better the environment and provide quality hosting, all in the same breath.
• Green hosters mainly use carbon offsetting to prove their level of commitment. Carbon offsetting represents greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and companies can purchase or trade these requirements.
• Some Green Hosts like ThinkHost will plant trees for every customer who purchases web hosting, which offsets some of the destruction we cause in the modern world.
• Energy conservation is possibly the biggest technique web hosting providers can use to be green, though don’t be fooled by companies that say they are Green Hosting but this is the only thing they’ve done for the environment. Energy conservation can come in many forms, such as reducing the air conditioning in data centers to the maximum temperature so servers will function properly or using energy saving lightbulbs and/or appliances. Closing down call centers half days to reduce energy consumption, offering recycling bins instead of trash cans, using only recycled goods instead of mass produced ones, and using solar energy are also big energy savers.

Green Hosting is not cheap, so often green web hosting companies cost a bit more. Luckily, one of the leading Green Web Hosting companies, ThinkHost, is also an affordable green web host, so you can rest assured you are protecting the environment as well as purchasing cheap web hosting that will last you a lifetime!

SPECIAL PROMOTION FROM THINKHOST GREEN HOSTING

The Best Web Hosting List has teamed up with ThinkHost to provide you with this very special offer. Who says earth friendly full featured hosting has to cost an arm and a leg - ThinkHost offers huge packages for $9.95 a month! And now you can get a $20 discount, just by clicking through any of our links and using the coupon code THD20

ThinkHost, based in Portland, has been providing quality web hosting services to the world since 1999.  Aside from providing everything most site owners would need, ThinkHost has a very serious commitment to progressive business principles and ensuring their services are as earth-friendly as possible. In fact, they are powered by 100% renewable energy - a solar and wind power mix!  ThinkHost also sponsors many non-profit organizations - 10% of their revenue value is plowed directly back into community projects!