It’s easy to fall for what can otherwise be a trap when hearing the term “unlimited.” Unlimited or bottomless refills of your favorite soda does not mean an infinite amount of soda because there’s only so much your body can take in. If you’re on the lookout for the best hosting service for your website, you should of course know what to look for beyond the promise of an unlimited bandwidth. After all, your website isn’t going to run on bandwidth alone.
What does unlimited really mean in web hosting anyway?
“Unlimited” in web hosting can refer not only to the bandwidth, but also to disk space, data transfer, e-mail and FTP accounts, and even customer support. This means that the term you may or may not have come to be wary of in choosing which web hosting company to entrust your domain must be thoroughly inspected and explained, in all aspects necessary. To put it simply, there is more than what there seems to be when explaining “unlimited.”
In web hosting plans, when you see or hear the term “unlimited,” it may mean that you can host an unlimited amount of sites with provisions such as not “overusing” the resources, or that you will not be paying for any extra bandwidth and disk space you are using, after of course being provided what is usually more than enough for your website’s needs in regard to traffic, operation, etc. This means that, although it is an oxymoron to have a limited “unlimited” feature, it is, in fact, still possible to not feel these constraints, because it almost IS unlimited.
Before we explore the best names in web hosting, let’s first find out what it is you need to be keeping an eye on when checking the hosting plans that are offered. So what should you look for beyond the true meaning of unlimited when it comes to hosting your website? Let’s take a look,
1. Bandwidth – Your server transmits data so that visitors can access your website. Without this data transmission, not a single person can see what you have on your website which pretty much renders it useless. The amount of data transmitted is called the bandwidth, and every time your site has a visitor, this bandwidth is consumed. Ensuring that your hosting provides unlimited bandwidth is making sure that no amount of volume in traffic will significantly slow your site down. This is especially crucial in e-commerce websites who are after all aiming for lots and lots of visitors.
2. Storage – Any website will need somewhere their files can be stored in. An unlimited storage for your website basically means you can utilize high resolution images, videos, plug-ins and what have you on your website without worrying about exceeding your limits. Design is crucial for some websites, and storage is absolutely critical.
3. Domains – If you think you need more than just one (1) website running, having unlimited domains would also suit your needs best. These are commonly referred to as unlimited add-on domains, so you won’t have to limit the sites you want or need to set up for your growing business. This is especially useful if you’re building an empire with several different websites that need to be running at the same time.
Now that you’ve gotten a glimpse of what needs to be considered before that big jump, let’s explore our top ten favorite hosting plans today.
InMotion Hosting believes you should build your dream by helping you set up your website for only $99. Aside from their quality hosting services, they will also help you start building your website from scratch. After all, how can hosting services be useful without a website? That’s not to say their hosting services are in any way affected. After all, they’ve been C-Net Certified for 17 years. This Canadian hosting company offers several kinds of unlimited – unlimited websites and domains, unlimited bandwidth and storage, and unlimited email accounts in their $12.99 per month plan. If these are more than what you’re in need of, you can choose from any of their three (3) other plans available.
Aside from their super affordable plans, InMotion also provides easy and hassle-free migration handled by experts. Migration includes files, databases, domain records, email accounts, and even your cPanel settings. As a bonus for top tier plans, you are also given up to $150 credits for advertising to aid in your business’ success. Daily backups also ensure your files are safe. If you’re looking to build a website from scratch, InMotion’s free website builder will help you get your website up and running within the next hour with their drag and drop feature.
If budget is a huge factor in your decision-making, Bluehost makes it a lot easier for you. With plans that start from $2.95 per month, you get a free domain, 24/7 support, and 1-click installs for your WordPress sites. They stay true to the promise of making WordPress an easier platform. Trust us, that isn’t always the case. Don’t run WordPress? Not a problem! Bluehost also lets you choose VPS hosting starting at $18.99 per month, or Dedicated Hosting for your high-traffic site that also specializes in security and performance, starting at only $79.99 per month. Across all the plans available,
Bluehost gives you unlimited websites and domains, unlimited parked domains and subdomains, a 1-year complimentary domain name, free SSL certificate, and unlimited bandwidth and storage, among others. The 30-day money back guarantee also calms your unnecessary anxiety should you have second thoughts about what you’re getting.
For powerful and flexible hosting, Bluehost is an excellent choice. They help you customize your plan to help you achieve your goals on your site. If you’ve got a big website project going on, Bluehost also lets you add and utilize multiple servers or add more VPS, shared or dedicated hosting to your account. Managing each of these accounts is made super easy and smooth.
With plans from beginners, small business owners to large business owners, Namecheap has got your needs covered. Whether you have a blog or run a small or big e-commerce website, Namecheap’s shared hosting plans give you one of the most reliable hosting services to get your online presence started. Apart from their current half off for the entire first year, shared hosting plans start at $1.44 per month, to only $4.44 per month for their highest plan. Offered in these plans are unlimited bandwidth, unlimited storage (for the Stellar Plus plan), a free website builder, a domain name with free protection and privacy, SSL installation, free Supersonic CDN and a 30-day money back guarantee.
With their support team available and on the lookout 24/7, Namecheap lets you leave your site in good hands, protected and secured with backups and no downtime. Since you won’t be paying for site migration, if you’re considering switching from one hosting to another, you can place Namecheap among your top candidates. Namecheap guarantees premium services for less so it remains budget-friendly yet powerful. Their featured plans also lets you follow at your own pace as they’re grouped strategically to lessen the confusion- especially if you’re just starting out.
Anyone who has looked into hosting plans has come across Hostgator. Hostgator has been in the business for almost two decades, providing shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting among others. The company has since bagged numerous awards, which, quite honestly, is reason enough to take the plunge with them. Hostgator’s shared, reseller, and dedicated web hosting plans offer unlimited storage space and bandwidth on top of other inclusions that make each plan just as enticing as the next. These features include unlimited domains, free WordPress or cPanel transfer, free SSL certificate, a free domain, One Click WordPress Installs, etc. Getting started with Hostgator is easy and quick so you can start building your website and get it running in no time.
Hostgator is an award-winning hosting company, with bragging rights from being featured in Hosting Advice, PC Mag, and WP Beginner. If reputation is one of the key factors in your decision-making hosting services wise, Hostgator should make it on top of your list. Providing their world-class services means you can have confidence that your business venture will grow as much as you want it to grow. They’re probably one of the simplest platforms to use, be it a fresh website or migrating from a different hosting service.
Dreamhost does become your dream hosting partner as soon as you get to see their plans and the perks. Aside from the unlimited bandwidth and storage, you also get an easy-to-use panel for easy admin access should you want to make changes. Other perks of the shared hosting include a professional email address, privacy protection, an SSL certificate, and a domain, backups when you need it, and instant WordPress setup, among others, on top of their world class speed and reliability (100 percent uptime guarantee does sound dreamy, but they always deliver. If you want a website, and you want it bad, but can’t afford to let budget constraints affect your website quality, Dreamhost is what you’re looking for.
Dreamhost features a custom control panel that’s super easy to use and a tool suite packed with everything you need to manage your hosting. Their 24/7 support ensures your site has little to no downtime. Dreamhost is also committed to making sure your site and data are secure and that’s why they enable multi-factor authentication and auto-enabled sFTP and free Let’s Encrypt security. Whether it’s for your WordPress site, website, VPS hosting, Cloud Hosting or Dedicated Hosting, Dreamhost provides top notch hosting services equipped with tools to make it a seamless and easy experience for you.
A2 Hosting has come a long way since 2003. They were formerly known as Iniquinet in 2001 before they were rebranded in 2003. A2 Hosting is now widely known for their unmatched performance and features offered in their different available plans. These features include unlimited bandwidth and storage, being able to host unlimited websites, free SSL installation, and their optimized A2 security, among others. You can also choose your server location from their strategically placed servers across the globe – Michigan, Amsterdam and Singapore. For first time A2 customers, site migration is free of charge and easy. A2 Hosting offers shared hosting plans as well as VPS, cloud, reseller and dedicated hosting to suit your different kinds of hosting needs.
A2 Hosting has developed solutions in line with getting the fastest loading speeds and even settings to ensure site security. That is why they utilize Joomla’s power for their interface, Drupal’s excellent scaling for site loading, and Magento and OpenCart for optimum eCommerce website growth. With 20 times faster servers (choose the Turbo option to maximize), A2 Hosting is definitely in the game. These fast servers do not only offer super speed, they’re also super secure and guarantee uptime 99.9 percent of the time. A completely risk-free trial is available as A2 Hosting offers your money back guaranteed anytime you’re not impressed.
Your online presence can be optimized with the help of Hostinger experts. With most of their plans offering unlimited bandwidth and storage amongst several other awesome features including unlimited number of websites, WordPress Acceleration, free SSL Certificate & Domain, and twice as much allocated resources, Hostinger has made quite a name for itself as one of the leading hosting providers in the world. A 30-day money back guarantee helps you make that decision a little more easily.
Your success is Hostinger’s priority, that’s why they’re by your side as you start your website. Their powerful hosting backed by a handful of premium features will give your site the best performance you need to start building a successful online business. Each package is designed for the type of website you’re looking to set up and offers features such as DNS Management, 100 subdomains, Github Integration, 24/7/365 support, Litespeed Cache, subdomains, up to 4x allocated resources and so much more.
Hostinger promises reliability and speed, features you need to make your website as powerful as you want it to be, without costing a fortune. SEO rankings are optimized, management and development are easy with their user-friendly control panel, and professional support is ready 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to assist you in any challenge your website might face.
