Top 5 Web Hosting Providers for Small Businesses in 2024: An In-Depth Review 

Building a small business is a tough job with a lot of moving parts. Good news—choosing website hosting doesn’t have to be one of the tricky parts. We’ve done the research for you, so you don’t have to spend hours on it. 

Once you’ve read this blog, you’ll have 5 excellent options for your business’s web hosting provider. Find one that ticks all the boxes for your business, and you’ll be off to a great start. 

Top 5 Web Hosting Providers for Small Businesses in 2024 

Running a small business? These are the web hosting providers we recommend if you’re in the process of setting up your website. Or switching if you’ve already got your site set up. 

1. Bluehost – The Beginner-Friendly Choice 

Bluehost is known for being easy to use, so beginners won’t be intimidated at all. A user-friendly control panel (cPanel) with single-click WordPress installations, simple for new small business owners who don’t have the luxury of a long learning curve. 

• WordPress hosting for easy management 
• 99.99% uptime guarantee 
• Built-in website analytics for racking 
• Free CDN and caching 
• Free SSL certificate 
• One-click installations 
• SEO toolkit (for an extra fee) 
• 24/7 customer support (live chat, phone, and email) 
• Premium plans include auto backups & one-click restores 

Bluehost is surprisingly affordable. Shared hosting starts as low as $2.95 a month, with renewals at $9.99 a month. You can up it to a Pro plan for $13.95 a month. 

You can pay month-to-month, but most of the plans ask for a 3-year commitment if you want to take advantage of those low prices. Another really handy feature is that if you spend $25 on advertising, they’ll give you $100 in Google Ads credits. 

2. SiteGround – The Performance-Driven Option 

SiteGround has long been known as a high-performance host. If you’re a small business that wants a host with no-so-small features, then you’ll like what SiteGround has to offer. 

It’s more powerful in terms of performance than BlueHost, but it might not be necessary for everyone. Here’s what this high-performance web host offers: 

• SSD storage for fast load times 
• Google Cloud infrastructure makes it reliable 
• Free CDN included for easier content sharing 
• E-commerce tools included 
• WordPress hosting with automatic updates 
• Daily backups for peace of mind 
• Built-in SuperCacher plugin for speed 
• Unlimited databases and email accounts for all plans 
• Perfect 100% uptime in TechRadar testing 
• 30-day money-back guarantee

SiteGround’s plans start at $2.99 a month for the most basic and increase from there. You’ll also get a GoGeek plan that gives you access to private DNS servers, as well as nice extras like a free WordPress and email migration tool and a one-click WordPress installation tool. 

3. WP Engine – The Managed WordPress Powerhouse 

This host is made for WordPress users who need high-scaling services. WP Engine features various core WordPress plans with respectable specs, but you can also choose customized, dedicated hosting if you want to match something a bit more specifically to your website traffic. 

• Free SSL certificates for secure data encryption (on all plans) 
• 99.95% uptime guarantee 
• 3-level staging environments for testing before going live 
• Annual SOC 2 audits and ISO 27001 certification 
• Customized server setups and caching settings 
• 10 fully functional, FREE StudioPress themes 
• Huge library of free WordPress plugins 
• A handy collection of resources for troubleshooting 

To be upfront, WP Engine isn’t the most affordable. Their plans START at $20 monthly, but if you’re a WordPress user, you’re getting a whole lot of valuable stuff locked into that price. 

4. A2 Hosting – Best for Speed-Critical Businesses 

A2 Hosting has a reputation for being FAST. If your small business relies on speedy web page loading, then they’re well worth considering. They also have some features that other popular hosts are missing. 

• Free SSL certificate 
• Extremely fast page load times 
• 99.9% uptime guarantee 
• Google Workspace integration 
• Optimized WordPress plugins 
• 30-day money-back guarantee 

Their $2.99 and $5.99 a month plans don’t come with the Turbo servers. You’ll get better speed and value for money with the Turbo Boost plan ($6.99 per month) or the Turbo Max ($14.99 a month). 

5. InMotion Hosting – Best for E-Commerce and Online Stores 

If your small business is an e-commerce store, InMotion Hosting offers managed WordPress hosting and e-com-specific plans for WooCommerce and Prestashop. 

• Free BoldGrid WordPress website builder (200+ industry-specific designs) 
• Shared, VPS, and dedicated plans 
• Customer-exclusive knowledge base 
• 100% on TechRadar’s uptime tests 
• Server response time of 0.34 seconds 
• 90-day money-back guarantee 
• 24/7 customer support 

Shared hosting plans (Core) start at $2.29 a month over a period of three years. There are a few more extra tiers, culminating in the Pro Plan, which goes for $12.99 per month for three years. They don’t offer backups, but you can add them to your package for a minimum of $2.50 a month. 

Bonus: HyperHost – Lifetime Access Hosting 

HyperHost is pretty unique in that it offers lifetime-access hosting, which eliminates monthly bills. Their service is on par with others, so they’re well worth considering! 

• SSD storage for increased speed and reliability 
• Unmetered bandwidth 
• Unlimited subdomains 
• Free CDN included 
• Automatic updates 
• 30-day money-back guarantee 

Their Starter Plan (1 website) goes for around $71 if you buy through DealFuel, while an unlimited plan will cost you around $716 once-off. 

Conclusion 

Choosing web hosting for small businesses is not just a point-and-click kind of thing. Your web hosting can make your store flourish, or it can ruin it (without you even knowing it). These are the top 5 web hosting providers for small businesses according to tests (with a little bit of personal preference), but there are others out there—do your own research and make sure the host you choose ticks all the boxes for YOUR business. 

About the Author 

Paul Wheeler runs a web design agency that helps small businesses optimize their websites for business success. He aims to educate business owners on all things website-related at his own website, Reviews for Website Hosting.