So what does it mean to be an affordable web hosting company in 2008?
For most, it means you’re offering up to 10 times the bandwidth and server space hosts were offering 2 years ago. It also means that you’re probably offering a ton of value-added features like one click installs, free domains & advertising coupons. To top it all off you’re providing a cleaner, quicker & more reliable hosting solution than most of the hosting providers were back then.
Advances in technology, improvements to infrastructure, and changes in demand & competition have all converged to make web hosting cheaper, better and more reliable than ever. Which begs the question – “Is your current web hosting company rewarding you for your loyalty, or just pocketing the difference?”
Which brings me to why I have to research a new, more affordable web hosting company. The company I’ve been with for 3 years now gives me 100g bandwidth & 4500mb of space for $30 a month. For that same $30 today I could be getting 5-10 times that. So here I am, reviewing and choosing a new affordable web hosting company to move my sites to.
Affordable Web Hosting Company Quick Comparison
| Logo | Cost | Transfer | Space | Domains |
| $4.99 | 1200 GB | 120 GB | 20 | |
| $7.95 | 6000 GB | 600 GB | unlimited | |
| $7.96 | 3500 GB | 350 GB | ?? | |
| $5.96 | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | |
| $4.95 | 10 TB | 750 GB | unlimited | |
| $6.95 | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | |
Disclosure: The above table utilizes affiliate links
Affordable Web Hosting Company Reviews
1&1 web hosting
At 1 & 1, a reputable web hosting company from what I can tell, their smallest package offers 3 times the bandwidth and 20 times the server space as my current account, and costs in a year about what I’m paying in a month.
True to the current trend 1&1 web hosting costs far less than my current host and I would get more. The 1&1 home package (at $4.99 month) allows you to host up to 50 domains (unlimited if they are 1&1 registered domains). With 120 GB of web space and 1,200 GB of bandwidth/transfer it dwarfs my current service.
Along with the site-building tools & special features (website building tools, photo gallery software, ‘Spreadshirt merchandising’, easy blog & rss) each new account comes with a $100 in marketing vouchers for Microsoft adCenter, Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing and Citysearch.
HostGator web hosting
HostGator is a popular affordable web hosting option these days, and it’s not surprising considering the $7.95 a month Baby Plan provides 600 GB of space and 6,000 GB of bandwidth and the ability to control unlimited domains!
With cPanel and Fantastico as part of the HostGator hosting service, you have account management and tons of features at your fingertips. Easily customize your websites with simple one click installs of blogs, portals, forums, CMS platforms, stats and e-commerce features.
Easy CGI web hosting
Easy CGI is another affordable hosting provider that offers far more than my current web host. It’s a bit more expensive than the others, just a few dollars, and at $8 a month the Advanced Plan grants you 3,500 GB of transfer/bandwidth and 350 GB of storage.
With 50 MySQL databases, 500 POP3 emails, SmarterStats and proprietary website builder there’s plenty of reasons why this is a better hosting option than the one I’m rocking now.
StartLogic web hosting
The StartLogic web hosting package ProLogic offers unlimited disk space, unlimited transfer and the ability to control unlimited domains. At $6.95 a month that’s some pretty heavy lifting.
Like the other hosting companies listed here, StartLogic offers a number of value-added features including easy install scripts for blogs, forums, chat, photo galleries, e-commerce and more!
StartLogic has had a highly successful affiliate program over the years which adds to my respect for the serivce they provide. It seems a lot of users have been pretty happy with their service – which means a lot when it comes to web hosting.
Just Host web hosting
The JustHost web hosting company is a relative newcomer as far as I can tell, but they seem to have a lot to offer. with their web hosting solution you get 750 GB of space and a whopping 10 TB of bandwidth. Thats right – 10 terabytes!
I don’t know much about this web hosting provider, but you can’t ignore that bandwidth – especially if you have a web project that is bandwidth hungry.
BlueHost web hosting
The BlueHost site claims bandwidth & server space are both unlimited, although I’ve not utilized them yet to confirm that. At $6.95 a month, I’d pay in a full year, roughly what I pay in two months now – and I’d be getting way more space & bandwidth. Not only that, but you can control unlimited domains, which means you could presumably host your entire stable of websites on one account.
Like most web hosting companies these days, BlueHost offers a number of value-added services including a free domain, a number of website plug-in scripts (forums, CMS platforms, blogs, guestbook etc) and e-commerce features
Do you have any input on these web hosting companies?
all host links are to affiliates
I’ve uncovered the basics, but I’m still not sure how well these sites stand up to scrutiny. How is their customer service, server uptime, and reliability? Is it a pain to transfer to another host later? Are their billing issues? Broken features? unfulfilled expectations?
To me this sort of thing can matter as much or more than the technical features and price of the hosting service – so your input is valuable to me and very much appreciate.
Have you had any experience with these guys? Care to share?
Update: 2008.8.15
I’m also taking a look at ImHosted.com, another affordable web hosting company. Their service starts at $6.95 a month and you get 2,500 GB of space & 20 TB of bandwidth (yes, Terabytes) I love it!
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Very good and informative post! I have heard very good comments for BlueHost and HostGator. Several of my connections recommend them because they offer good features and options and just plain good web hosting providers.
Choosing a Web hosting provider is a very important step in creating, maintaining or moving a website. You want a web hosting provider that is affordable, competitive, good benefits, A1 customer service and most importantly, easy to use dashboard. Having those 5 main core values in a hosting provider, to me, matters on which provider I choose. You want one that integrates easy to use dashboards so you can easily create/delete databases, domains, ect.
I wish I would have seen this post a few weeks ago simply because having a quick review like this for several competitors is very important. Again, thanks for the post and all these selections seem to be very reputable.
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Have you checked out SEOhosting.com? It’s a division of Host Gator but hosting plans with multiple class C IPs.
Nice list and decent reviews – this site also has good web hosting comapny reviews
Finding a web hosting company that offers more than your current plan shouldn’t be a problem – you’re currently getting practically nothing!
Are you with A Small Orange? I see the banner in the footer.
@ Matt
Thanks! That looks promising. I run several websites and it might be a benefit to host them on servers with separate Class C IPs.
@Web Hosting Reviews
Yes I’m rocking A Small Orange (ASO) right now, and I know I’m getting a fraction of the space & bandwidth everyone is offering today.
But these guys have been a great host – I hate change, and I like longer term relationships so changing isn’t an easy decision for me, but given the economy it’s quickly becoming a necessary one.
Thanks for the link – I saw some of the user reviews & comments on there – that’s the kind of stuff I was looking for. Most of these guys are offering pretty much the same features, space & bandwidth options – I’m interested in more of the real experience & how the companies treat their customers – so thanks for including the link
HI,
Hosting Company serves as a pillar of a successful website of a particular company, So selection of it requires utmost importance.Here is one where you can get such details.
http://www.marblehost.com
Hello. And Bye.
For cheap web hosting, you should also look into Chimehost. They are currently offering unlimited space and bandwidth for only $4.95 per month.
You could apply this to 09 as well. Your picks are still considered some of the best in the industury. And they are surviveing the money crunch so…
Good pick then good pick now
When creating a website, choosing a web hosting is very important. I think you should choose GoDaddy. It’s the best and cheapest web hosting I have ever known.
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re: A Small orange
Good support is surely the vitally important part of web hosting – if no one will speak to you when a site goes down, cheapness suddenly becomes a false economy, isn’t it?
There are literally thousands of web hosting companies out there, scattered at every corner of World Wide Web. Today, even 10 years old could form a web hosting provider through a reseller plan. There is only one aspect that divides great web hosts for crappy ones, and this is the technical support that it is offered to the end users. If the response to the support tickets is fast, detailed and resolves the problem, then we have to do with a helpful personnel and a reliable web hosting firm. Secondly, the plans must be feature rich, with many characters and allowing even complex actions to be taken by the webmaster through the control panel of their web hosting account. Every server service must be updated to the latest version, security must be a priority and quality must always prevail quantity.
I also recommend the earlier mentioned GoDaddy solution. I have been more than satisfied with their products so far.