jonlee.ca

Perhaps the most asked question I get by e-mail and in comments is:

“Which web host should I use? Which web host is the best?”

Of course, there is no single answer because it all depends on what your needs are. As such, I have taken a look at many different hosts, read tons of reviews and have compared them on many fronts to try to find the best overall webhost.

Minimum requirements
In order for a web host to even be considered, it must meet these minimum requirements that are typically required by most people looking for a web host:

• PHP/MySQL Support (both PHP4 and PHP5 support)
• Reliable (99.9% uptime guarantee)
• Reputable (at least 2 years old and have over 10,000 existing clients)
• Affordable (at most $10/month)
• Linux/UNIX hosting server
• At least 30-day money back guarantee
• FTP and SSH access (even if you don’t use it often, it’s very handy to have available)
• Easy to use control panel
• Ability to hosted multiple domains on 1 account (at least 10, preferably unlimited)
• At least 1TB of bandwidth per month to ensure you never pay surprise fees
• At least 30GB of disk storage
• Detailed statistics
  
• Fast support (either phone or e-mail)
  
• Free setup and accepts Paypal

The Players
After filtering the HUGE list of web hosts based on these minimum requirements, I boiled it down to 5 web hosts that have fairly good reviews online. I also threw in the host that I use, mediatemple, into the mix:

• Hostgator
• Webhosting Pad
• Bluehost
• iPage
• Dreamhost
• mediatemple

The Comparison
Since all of the hosts have met the minimum requirements above, I will compare the hosts on points in which they vary. Blue fields are the best in that particular category.

The Winner
Judging from the comparison, it would appear that the overall winner for best web host recommendation is: iPage Hosting at $3.50 per month.

iPage has also been reviewed by web hosting search and ranks in the top 10 for their eCommerce hosting packages.

The only thing that iPage falls on is including privacy protection with their domain. However, it’s an option for $8.99 per year, which STILL makes them cheaper than the competition! Another great thing is there is only a 1-year minimum commitment, with a 30-day full money back guarantee of course (along with an unlimited anytime partial money back guarantee).

iPage Hosting beats out the other competition by offering more for less. Although WebHostingPad is also pretty good in terms of price ($4.95/month), WebHostingPad does not offer unlimited bandwidth and disk space.

Do you have experience with any of these hosts? Stories? Suggestions? Recommendations? Let me know!

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