Written by Sabrina Dougall Reviewed by Robyn Summers-Emler Updated on 13 June 2022 On this page Bluehost: Best for dedicated server hosting HostGator: Best for VPS hosting inMotion: Best for shared hosting 1&1 IONOS: Best for cloud hosting GoDaddy: Best for business growth services The different types of web hosting platforms Expert verdict FAQs Expand Our site is reader-supported – by clicking our links, we can match you with a potential supplier, and we may earn a small commission for this referral. Bluehost is the best choice for web hosting for small businesses, according to our expert research.Everything needs a place to call home – even a website. In this case, that home happens to be a server.Well, finding the right hosting provider can actually be a tad complicated. The one that’s right for you will depend on the type of web hosting you’re looking for, the size and complexity of your website, how much traffic it tends to get, and more.With all this in mind, we’ve decided to help you out by reviewing the UK’s best web hosting providers for small businesses, and noting which is the best solution for each different form of web hosting. We’ve also explained the different types of hosting, and defined a few key terms, so you can make the most informed decision possible.If you’re creating a new website or updating an existing one, check out our guide for the best web design companies for small businesses. What are the best web hosting providers for small businesses? Bluehost – Best for dedicated server hostingHostGator – Best for VPS hosting1&1 IONOS – Best for cloud hostingGoDaddy – Best for business growth servicesClicking any of the above links will take you to the provider’s website. Bluehost Best for dedicated server hosting Bluehost is our pick for a dedicated hosting service; best suited to complex websites with lots of functions, customer data and multimedia such as videos. It comes with a host of handy hosting features, including root access, real-time storage upgrades, and free backups – a rare benefit in the world of dedicated server hosting. Not to mention Bluehost’s impressive uptime performance (99.98%), and the fact that its customer support is some of the most friendly and efficient around. Add to this the fact that Bluehost is speedy – its team will build and deploy your server within 72 hours – and you’ve got a fantastic provider. Pros High uptime of 99.98% 24/7 customer support 30-day money back guarantee Cons Less bandwidth than some other providers Less RAM than some other providers Bluehost’s dedicated server hosting pricesPackagePriceStandard£63.52 per month – for 36-month termEnhanced£79.40 per month – for 36-month termPremium£95.28 per month – for 36-month term Bluehost has the features to help your small business grow online Try Bluehost HostGator Best VPS web hosting provider An incredible eight million domains are currently registered with HostGator – and we can see why! Promising 99.99% uptime, it’s the most reliable hosting provider on this list. And, if it fails on this front, it’ll refund you a month’s payment – which makes it a reliable investment for a small business.HostGator is affordable, with shared hosting plans starting at just $2.75 (roughly £2.08) a month, and its support team is available 24/7 via telephone or live chat. HostGator also offers a free website builder, and will happily transfer your site over from another hosting provider if needs be. All things considered, this provider certainly stands out as an excellent fit for the needs of a small business. Pros Guarantees 99.99% uptime Free website builder Beginner-friendly 24/7 support team available 45-day money back guarantee Cons Servers are located in the US Pricing information is only available in US dollars HostGator pricingHosting typePriceShared hosting$2.75 – $5.25 per monthCloud hosting$4.95 – $9.95 per monthVPS hosting$23.95 – $59.95 per monthDedicated hosting$89.98 – $139.99 per month HostGator is the best VPS hosting provider for small businesses Try HostGator inMotion Best for shared hosting While not the cheapest shared hosting provider on this list, inMotion’s shared packages have pretty much got it all. Unending bandwidth makes for a speedier website, while limitless disk space means it can be as big and content-heavy as it needs to be. They’ll also support multiple website hosting from a single account, which is extra convenient for business owners running multiple sites and a unique feature we haven’t seen from other similarly priced packages.inMotion goes above and beyond the offerings of most other providers, including a wider range of features for your money such as dedicated ecommerce tools. Alongside this, inMotion will also provide free marketing tools – such as advertising credits and visitor stats – and look out for your site maintenance and security, with automatic backups and hack protection included. It’s a much more comprehensive purchase than you’d really expect from a hosting provider. Pros Free domain and SSL 24/7 customer support 90-day money back guarantee Cons Slightly lower uptime of 99.97% More expensive than some other shared hosting providers Pricing information only available in US dollars inMotion’s shared hosting pricesPackagePriceLaunch$4.99 per monthPower$4.99 per monthPro$12.99 per month ▶ Read more: How Much Does a Website Cost? 2023 Definitive Guide 1&1 IONOS Best for cloud hosting As you’ll see in the extra-lengthy pros list below, 1&1 IONOS’ cloud hosting service comes with a big range of quality features. And it’s these benefits – not to mention the affordable price range – that make this provider our top choice for small business cloud hosting. You’ll always get oodles of processing power with a 1&1 IONOS cloud hosting plan, but best of all, you’ll also get the option to customise it: 1&1 IONOS’ Flex package lets you pick how much RAM and storage you want, and how many CPU cores, based on your business’ needs. Definitely ideal! IONOS (formerly 1&1) Review 2023: The Best Website Builder for Small Businesses Pros High uptime of 99.98% 24/7 customer support by phone 30-day money back guarantee You can customise your server to best fit your needs Cons Only allows one website, while other providers can host an unlimited number Doesn’t provide live chat support 1&1 IONOS cloud hosting pricingPackagePriceCloud hosting M£16 per month (exc VAT)Cloud hosting L£24 per month (exc VAT)Cloud hosting XL£50 per month (exc VAT)Cloud hosting XXL£100 per month (exc VAT) 1&1 IONOS is the best cloud hosting provider out there Try 1&1 IONOS GoDaddy Best for business growth services If you want the full package when it comes to getting online, look no further than GoDaddy. Its hosting plans are pretty strong – depending on the hosting type, they can offer benefits like unlimited bandwidth, immense disk space, and free SSL certificates. But beyond this, we like GoDaddy because it’s a one stop shop for all things internet. Its range of valuable services can really help supercharge your business – think domain name registration, CRM software, SEO support, and website building (using GoDaddy’s own simple site builder). For a busy small business, the ease of getting all this from a single provider can’t be understated. Pros Has servers located in Europe 24/7 customer support VPS plans come with unlimited bandwidth and email accounts, plus 200 GB storage Cons Slightly lower uptime of 99.97% Doesn’t provide cloud hosting Doesn’t provide live chat or ticket support GoDaddy’s web hosting pricesPackagePriceShared hosting£3.99 – £9.99 per month (exc VAT, with a 3-year term)Reseller hosting£30.99 – £68.99 per month (exc VAT, with a 2-year term)VPS hosting£3.99 – £54.99 per month (exc VAT with a 2-year term)Dedicated server hosting£99.99 – £329.99 per month (exc VAT with a 2-year term)Managed WordPress website hosting£4.99 – £9.99 per month (exc VAT with a 1 or 3-year term)Managed WordPress ecommerce site hosting£15.99 per month (exc VAT with a 1-year term) GoDaddy is known around the world for its domain and web design offerings Try GoDaddy The different types of web hosting platformsThere are five different types of web hosting to be aware of. The one you choose to go for will depend on the size of your website, how many visitors it gets each month, and – of course – your budget.The different types of web hosting platforms are:Shared hostingShared hosting, as you might guess, involves sharing a server with a number of other websites. Think of it like staying in a hostel: it’s super cheap as you all share the cost of the space, but it also means sharing a bathroom, kitchen, and bits like soap and toothpaste. In the context of web hosting, it means sharing processing power.Say another site is enjoying a traffic spike. As it sucks up bandwidth and other resources to cope, yours is left with less, making it slower. Much like when your bunkmate hogs the bathroom and ruins your morning routine.Of course, if your site is fairly small and doesn’t yet get regular crowds of traffic, the problems associated with sharing resources are unlikely to affect you badly. Plus, shared hosting’s tiny price tag makes it an excellent starting point.VPS (virtual private server) hostingThe next step up from shared hosting, VPS hosting still involves sharing a server with other websites. But the difference here is that these websites are housed across separate virtual machines, each running off their very own set of resources.Now, this is more like staying in a hotel. You share the building with others, but you live in your own suite – with your own kettle, bathroom, and tiny branded shampoos.While VPS hosting is more expensive than shared hosting, it’s what we’d recommend to the small businesses that can afford it. Even the cheapest VPS plans offer more reliability than the most expensive shared hosting.Dedicated server hostingIf VPS hosting is like living in a hotel, dedicated server hosting is like living in your own house. Put simply: you have a server all to yourself. There’s no risk that you’ll need to share processing power, or face a security risk from another site.And while the resources you can use up (like disk space and bandwidth) will still be capped at a certain amount, many providers will let you customise your plan and set these caps yourself.Needless to say, though, dedicated server hosting is not cheap. Plus, there’s the additional concern that if your server hardware fails, your site will go down.Cloud hostingSimilarly to VPS hosting, with cloud hosting, your site lives on a virtual machine – but instead of one single server, it feeds off a network of servers, from which it can pull the resources it needs as and when.Unlike a traditional VPS, which can only be scaled to the extent of its hardware’s capacity, a cloud-based system is incredibly scalable because it combines the power of several computers.A downside is that many cloud hosting providers charge with a combination of fixed prices and pay-as-you-go fees. So for example, if you experience a traffic spike, you’ll end up paying more than usual for the resources used.WordPress hostingPut simply, WordPress hosting uses servers that are performance-optimised for WordPress websites. It should be said that WordPress sites don’t have to use only WordPress hosting providers, but they’re certainly worth looking into for the benefits they can offer.There are two different types of WordPress hosting:Shared WordPress hosting – The WordPress-oriented version of traditional shared hosting.Managed WordPress hosting – Hosting with premium WordPress support and better hardware specs. You’ll benefit from tighter security, faster loading speeds, more uptime, regular maintenance, and more. Expert verdictHostGator is a fantastic all-rounder for small businesses, while InMotion’s shared hosting packages are great for new businesses with relatively small traffic. For larger, more popular websites that can’t afford to share resources, HostGator has proven a winner again for its VPS hosting, and for bigger websites still, Bluehost’s dedicated server hosting comes highly recommended.Meanwhile, businesses looking for near-infinite scalability should look into cloud hosting – and 1&1 IONOS in particular. And if your website is built on WordPress, Bluehost’s WordPress hosting plans are top notch.Of course, we’re also here to help you make the right choice. If you’d like to get on the phone with a web hosting expert, let us know what you need and we’ll match you with trusted suppliers. It’s free, unique to us and easy – why not give it a go? FAQsWhat are CPU cores? And what do RAM, disk space, bandwidth and uptime mean?We know – the world of hosting is filled with unfamiliar acronyms and puzzling jargon. Here’s our quick glossary:Bandwidth: In the context of hosting, bandwidth determines the amount of data transfer your site is able to handle. The more data transfer that happens (e.g. the more traffic your site gets, or the larger and more complex your site becomes), the larger your bandwidth needs to be to accommodate it all.CPU cores: CPU (central processing unit) cores are there to process incoming instructions on your site. The more CPU cores a server has, the quicker the site on it will respond to clicks, open new pages, load content, and more.Disk space: Also referred to as storage, disk space is just that – the amount of data storage a hosting provider allots to your website. How much disk space you’ll need depends simply on how large your site is – with data like images, videos, text and web pages all contributing to its size.RAM: Just like your personal laptop, a server has a certain amount of RAM (random access memory). RAM acts as a memory store that temporarily holds the data needed to run applications and programs.Uptime: The amount of time you can expect your website to be successfully up and running (i.e. not experiencing downtime). If a hosting provider guarantees 99.98% uptime, you can expect your website to be in operation 99.98% of the time.Why don’t any providers guarantee 100% uptime?The simple answer is: they can’t. Promising 100% uptime would be promising that nothing will ever go wrong – the server hardware will never crash, your site will never attract more traffic than your bandwidth can handle, and so on. In the unpredictable online world, that just cannot be guaranteed.It’d be like trying to claim that you’ll never, ever lose your keys, trip over a pavement, or drop your phone down the toilet. Even if these things seem unlikely to you, you just can’t say for certain that they’ll never happen. Written by: Sabrina Dougall Web Marketing Expert Sabrina is a business journalist whose career began in news reporting. She has a master's in Investigative Journalism from City University London, and her work has appeared in The Times, The Daily Express, Money Saving Expert, Camden New Journal, Global Trade Review, and Computer Business Review. She specializes in writing about SEO (search engine optimization). Having run her own small business, Sabrina knows first-hand how critical digital marketing is to building a client base and local reputation. Reviewed by: Robyn Summers-Emler Digital Growth Editor Robyn started working on Expert Market in 2021 as a specialist in business websites and digital marketing. As the Grow Online Editor, she ideates, commissions and optimizes content on Expert Market that helps businesses thrive in online spaces and maximize their ecommerce potential. Covering everything from choosing a website builder to scaling a social media marketing strategy - Robyn uses her expertise to help startups, SMBs, and larger businesses realize digital growth in an increasingly competitive landscape.