Best Web Hosting For Beginners

Looking for the best web hosting for beginners?

If you’re just starting to build a website, reading some lists of hosting providers’ tips can feel overwhelming. People are listing features like the PHP version and HTTP/2, while you’re probably looking for a simple, beginner-friendly way to build a website.

To help, we’ve rounded up six of the best web hosting options for beginners based on the features that beginners care about, such as how easy it is to create and manage your website and your What convenient features the host has added to make life easier.

Best web hosting for beginners

We’ll start by sharing the criteria we used to create this list. Then, we’ll share our opinion on the best web hosting for beginners based on these criteria. Here are six hosts we’re looking at:

Blue host

Site ground

Hostinger

Dream Host

Flywheel

Wix (a bonus)

Host Gator

Host Papa

What makes the best web hosting for beginners?

Here are the criteria we were looking for when making this list:

• One-click website installers

A beginner-friendly host should make it easy to install WordPress, or whatever software you want to use for your website. Typically, you’ll find a one-click installer where you need to enter some basic details and then the tool handles everything else.

• User friendly dashboard

There’s more to managing your site than just a one-click installer – you can also use your host’s dashboard to control other parts of your hosting, such as email accounts, SSL certificates, backups, and more. will do

All the hosts on this list have built in custom hosting dashboards that are beginner friendly. You’ll be able to perform advanced operations like this without needing any technical knowledge – like installing an SSL certificate to secure your site’s data.

• Useful features like email hosting

There is more to web hosting than just hosting your website. For example, you’ll probably also want a custom email address like [email protected]. A beginner-friendly host should make it easy to create and manage email addresses, as well as other features such as domain management.

• Cheap price

If you’re a beginner, you probably don’t want to start with an expensive host. You can always upgrade as your site grows, but it’s best to start with the cheapest option until you learn the ropes and understand the resources your site requires.

Most of the hosts on this list cost less than $10 per month.

• Good documentation and support

No matter how user-friendly a host’s dashboard is, you’ll probably still run into situations where you need help. Ideally, a beginner-friendly host should have standard documentation so you can learn about key features, as well as 24/7 support if you need one-on-one help.

Best Hosting for Beginners

Blue host

BlueHost is a popular web host that makes it a great option for beginners thanks to its affordable prices and easy onboarding process.

Once you sign up for BlueHost, the BlueHost Website Wizard will guide you through setting up your website in minutes. Bluehost has also built its own custom hosting dashboard on top of the “standard” cPanel dashboard that makes it much easier to manage important parts of your hosting account, like creating your own custom email address.

Top Features for Beginners

• Simple Setup Wizard – Bluehost has created a super easy onboarding process that helps you get up and running with your first site quickly.
• One-Click Installers – BlueHost also includes a one-click installer if you want to create additional sites after going through the initial onboarding.
• Custom Hosting Dashboard – BlueHost built their own custom dashboard (on top of cPanel) that makes it easy for beginners to perform key actions.
• Automatic WordPress Updates – If you are using WordPress, Bluehost automatically updates the software for you to keep you up to date.
• Free Email Hosting – BlueHost makes it easy to create your own email account at no extra cost.
• 24/7 Support – Get help by phone or live chat whenever you need it.

Pricing

BlueHost offers affordable plans, especially if you’re willing to pay in advance for several years.

Basic – From $2.75 per month for one website.

Plus – From $5.45 per month for unlimited websites.

Choice Plus – From $5.45 per month for unlimited websites with extra features like Code Guard Backup.

Most beginners looking for a simple web hosting solution should at least go with the Plus plan as it gives you the flexibility to create multiple websites. Choice Plus is also a good option because it includes automatic backup, which will keep your data safe.

You also get a free domain name for your first year, which is a nice perk.

Note – You will receive a special discount for your first billing cycle (up to three years), the prices listed above. After renewing, you will need to pay the full price, which is listed on the pricing page by “Typically…”.

Site ground

Site Ground is one of the most popular web hosts with a first-class reputation spread far and wide, from Canada to Singapore. Do you know why? They tick all the boxes. Not only do they offer a customizable beginner friendly dashboard, but also an easy onboarding process, and excellent support.

Maybe that’s why SiteGround is a bit pricier than Bluehost, but they make up for it with some of the best support in the hosting industry.

Top Features for Beginners

• Website Setup Wizard – After you sign up, SiteGround offers a simple wizard to help you launch your website.
• User-Friendly Custom Dashboard – SiteGround has built its own user-friendly hosting dashboard that makes it easy to manage your website(s) and access key tools.
• Free Email Hosting – SiteGround makes it easy to create your own branded email address.
• Automatic WordPress Updates – If you are using WordPress, SiteGround automatically updates the software for you.
• Automatic Backup – SiteGround automatically backs up your data on all plans to maintain peace of mind.
• Excellent 24/7 Support – SiteGround offers 24/7 support via phone, live chat, online tickets, and has top-notch support according to the 800+ users who participated in our WordPress hosting survey.

Pricing

SiteGround offers three hosting plans:

Startup – $2.99 ​​per month for one website.

GrowBig – $4.99 per month for unlimited websites.

GoGeek – $7.99 per month for unlimited websites with more resources and preferred support.

For most beginners, we recommend the GrowBig plan because it gives you the ability to host unlimited websites and adds new features that speed up your site and give you more of your site. Helps to manage easily.

Note – As with Bluehost, you’ll get a special discount for your first billing cycle (up to three years). After that, prices return to the regular price, which is a big difference. If possible, we recommend paying up to three years in advance to lock in cheaper promo prices.

Hostinger

Hostinger offers affordable web hosting for beginners with a unique twist:

The same company behind Hostinger also offers a 100% free hosting service called 000webhost. With 000webhost, you can register for an account and create a website without opening your wallet. If you’re just starting out, free hosting can be the best web hosting for beginners while you learn the ropes.

Now, there are some limitations with free web hosting, so we don’t recommend 000webhost as a permanent option. However, it’s a great place to learn what it’s like to host a website in a risk-free environment. Once you feel confident, it’s easy to upgrade your website to a paid Hostinger service without losing any data.

Top Features for Beginners

• Free Hosting Option – You can get started with 000webhost for free to learn the ropes. Then, when you’re ready to get serious, upgrade to a paid Hostinger service.
• Cheap Prices – Hostinger is one of the cheapest web hosts on this list.
• One-Click Installers – Get easy one-click installers for WordPress and other website tools.
• Custom Hosting Dashboard – Hostinger built their own custom dashboard that is easy to use – the same dashboard you will get with 000webhost.
• Email Hosting – All Hostinger plans include easy and free email hosting.
• 24/7 Support – All Hostinger plans come with always available support.

Pricing

Again, Hostinger has the cheapest prices on this list, though you’ll need to buy several years in advance to get the best deals:

Single Shared – From $1.99 per month for one website and one email account.

Premium Shared – From $2.99 ​​per month for unlimited websites and email accounts.

Business Sharing – From $4.99 per month for unlimited websites, daily backups, and improved performance.

For most beginners, Premium is the best option to start a joint venture as it allows unlimited websites and email accounts.

Note – As with other hosts, be sure to pay attention to both promotional and renewal prices.

You may also be interested in:

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Dream Host

DreamHost is another affordable and beginner-friendly host that has a customizable dashboard and hosting experience. If you want to use WordPress, DreamHost even offers its own WordPress website builder that will guide you through setting up a custom WordPress website.

DreamHost also offers an affordable monthly billing option, while the previous three hosts force you to pay for at least a year at a time.

Top Features for Beginners

• WordPress Website Builder – In addition to installing the basic WordPress software, DreamHost will also set you up with a drag-and-drop builder and 200+ templates to help you quickly create a beautiful website.
• One Click Installer – In addition to WordPress Builder, there is also an all-purpose installer that lets you install WordPress or other content management systems.
• Customizable Hosting Dashboard – DreamHost has built its own user-friendly hosting control panel to help you manage your sites.
• Automatic WordPress Updates – If you are using WordPress, DreamHost will automatically update the core software for you.
• Automatic Backups – DreamHost automatically backs up your site to keep your data safe.
• Free Email Hosting – DreamHost will host your email for free and makes it easy to set up. Note – This does not apply to the cheapest tier – there is a small fee to add email hosting to the cheapest tier.
• 24/7 Support – You can get help whenever you need it.

Pricing

DreamHost offers two types of hosting, both of which are great for beginners and include a WordPress website builder.

If you want a really cheap entry point, you can use their shared plans:

Starter – From $2.59 per month for one website.

Unlimited – From $3.95 per month for unlimited websites.

One of the unique things about Dream Host’s cheap shared plans is that you also have the option to pay month-to-month. Month-to-month billing plans are $1.99/month for the first month and $7.99/month thereafter.

If you’re using WordPress and are willing to spend a little more, DreamHost also offers an affordable managed WordPress hosting service called DreamPress. This service will give you better performance and more features, such as on-demand backups or staging sites (which give you a safe place to test changes).

DreamPress plans start at $16.95 per month with annual billing or $19.95 per month with monthly billing.

You’ll also get a free domain name with any annual plan.

Flywheel

Flywheel is managed WordPress hosting, which means you can only use it to build a WordPress website.

Because it’s 100% WordPress-focused, Flywheel is able to create a great beginner-friendly experience for building and managing a WordPress site.

Top Features for Beginners

• Automatic WordPress Installation – When you sign up for Flywheel, they will help you install WordPress automatically according to your preferences.
• User-Friendly Hosting Dashboard – Of all the hosts on this list, Flywheel has the most user-friendly dashboard. It’s a pleasure to use!
• Automatic WordPress Updates – Flywheel automatically updates the core WordPress software for you, as well as any WordPress plugins you may be using.
• Automatic backups – Flywheel automatically backs up your site every day, giving you peace of mind that your site data is safe.
• Performance Optimization – Flywheel implements a number of performance optimizations for you, allowing you to focus on growing your website.
• Free Premium WordPress Themes – At no extra cost, you get access to the premium Genesis framework and 30+ Studio Press WordPress themes.
• 24/7 Expert WordPress Support – Because Flywheel only hosts WordPress sites, their support staff are all WordPress experts ready to help you.

Note – Flywheel does not offer its own email hosting service, which is a bit annoying if you want to easily set up your own custom email address. However, you can set up Google’s G Suite ($6 per month) or Zoho Mail (free) and use your own email address with Flywheel.

Pricing

Flywheel is a bit pricier than these other hosts, but includes an affordable option for smaller websites:

Small – $13 per month for 5,000 monthly visitors.

Starter – $25 per month for 25,000 monthly visitors.

Go to the flywheel.

Wix (Bonus)

Well, Wix isn’t technically a web host – it’s a hosted website builder tool. However, if you’re a beginner, this might actually be your best option because it completely removes hosting from the equation.

Instead, you simply sign up with Wix and you’ll be able to design your website using pre-built templates and a visual, drag-and-drop editor.

You’ll still be able to use your domain name and, depending on your plan, you can also use Wix to accept payments and create an e-commerce store.

If you like the idea of ​​Wix, there are many other great tools in the space, such as Squarespace and Weebly.

Top Features for Beginners

• Hosted Website Builder – To create a website, you only need to register for an account.
• Pre-Made Templates – Wix lets you choose from hundreds of professionally designed templates.
• Drag and Drop Editor – Once you choose a template, you’ll be able to customize it using Wix’s drag and drop editor.
• Apps – You can easily add new Wix apps to enhance the functionality of your website.
• Hand-off maintenance and security – Since Wix handles hosting for you, you never have to worry about security or maintenance.
• Easy E-Commerce – If you want to create an e-commerce store, Wix makes it very easy to start selling online.

Note – Like Flywheel, Wix does not offer its own email hosting service for creating custom email addresses. However, it offers integration with Google G Suite to help you easily create your own email address for $6 per month.

Pricing

Wix has a very limited free plan that you can use to test the service. This is a great way to play around with the builder and see if you like how it works, but it’s not a viable option for a serious website.

Paid plans start at $16 per month. However, for a serious website, we recommend that you go with the minimum $12.50 per month unlimited plan because:

It lets you use your own custom domain name (you’ll also get a free domain name for a year).

It removes Wix.com ads.

You will have access to the Site Booster app, which helps you rank your website in Google and other useful tools.

Host Gator

HostGator is one of the most beginner-friendly shared website hosting providers. It offers a hassle-free hosting experience with an intuitive cPanel and a great customer support team – all at competitive prices.

Here are the key strengths of HostGator for beginners:

• You’ll have a beginner-friendly cPanel and native interface for easy hosting management. All the basics of website setup, including domain, email, SSL certificate, and WordPress, are accessible from the main dashboard.
• You get a free domain, SSL certificate, and email regardless of which plan you purchase.
• If you need some hand-holding through your first experience, HostGator has many customers support options, video tutorials, and an extensive knowledge base.
• With tons of resources, cheap hosting plans, and an intuitive hosting management panel to offer, HostGator makes sure your initial experience is as fuss-free as possible.

HostGator performance

HostGator proved to deliver some commendable performance results. It scored a great >99.99% uptime and the largest content element took a little over 1 second to fully load. The stress test results of 50 virtual users were also something to celebrate. You barely notice a difference in performance and HostGator passes the test with flying colors.

Keep in mind that HostGator’s physical servers are all located in the US. This means that for an international audience, it may not be ideal, but if you’re planning to target visitors from North America, it’s a great option.

Overall, for setting up a small to medium-sized US-based website that can handle an occasional influx of traffic, HostGator is worth a look. Check out our full HostGator review to see all of its performance test results.

Pricing

HostGator offers 3 shared plans with prices ranging from $2.75 to $5.25 per month. Subscriptions are affordable if you’re looking for a comprehensive service.

All 3 plans offer a free domain, SSL certificate, email, unmetered bandwidth, and unlimited storage.

However, there are some differences between them:

Hatchling ($2.75/mo) – 1 website, making it a good option for portfolio websites and personal blogs.

Baby ($3.50/mo) – Unlimited websites, which allows you to host large websites that require more resources, such as medium-sized blogs or small businesses.

Business ($5.25/mo) – Everything in the Baby plan, plus a dedicated IP, SEO tools, and a free upgrade to Positive SSL. It is a perfect fit for large business websites that require high security.

Host Papa:

Although not as well-known as the other options mentioned here, HostPapa makes the list of best web hosting solutions for beginners. It’s affordable (starting at $3.16/mo) and offers standard cPanel management. Beginners will enjoy excellent customer service with free 1 on 1 training sessions for any topic.

Here are the main selling points of HostPapa:

• If you want a service provider that offers standard cPanel management, HostPapa is a good choice. For total newcomers, the original cPanel is easy to get to know and intuitive to use.
• Should you run into any issues, it’s nice to know that Host Papa’s customer service is fast and skilled. All support channels are available round the clock, and have a strong knowledge base.
• If you’re the type who prefers a mentor when learning something new, I’m sure you’ll appreciate that HostPapa offers free 1-on-1 training sessions. What you will be trained for depends on your level and specific needs.
• HostPapa proves that it is great for newbies.

Host Papa’s performance

HostPapa is fast but could do better to handle traffic surges. It coasted with a 100% uptime result in the trial period, a rare catch. The loading time was also very good as a fully developed website took 1.5 seconds to load. Regarding the stress test, the cheapest plan can only handle 15 visitors at a time, but, on the bright side, it reaches about 15,000 monthly visits.

The best thing about HostPapa is that its servers are located in the US, Canada and Europe. This makes it an excellent candidate when you want to host a website for an international audience.

That said, I would only recommend this hosting service for websites that don’t typically see a significant increase in web traffic, such as small business or personal websites. You can see how the provider performed in all tests in our detailed HostPapa review.

Pricing

Host Papa’s shared hosting plans come in 3 tiers ranging from $3.16 to $10.36/mo. – not the cheapest but still relatively affordable.

All plans come with domains, email accounts, SSL certificates, and unmetered bandwidth. Let’s see how the plans differ:

Starter ($3.16/mo) – 1 website with 100GB storage, standard SSL, and 100 emails.

Business ($3.16/mo) – Unlimited websites, standard SSL, unmetered storage, and unlimited emails.

Business Pro ($10.36/mo) – Everything Business plan, plus wildcard SSL and additional features for added security, such as daily malware scans, DDoS protection, automatic website backups (1GB), and domain privacy. For better performance, you get CDN, speed boost, and more.

Best Web Hosting for Beginners: Ultimate Recommendations

Many hostings options claim to be beginner-friendly, but only a handful live up to their word. A simple dashboard is not enough to make it easy for newcomers. Hosts should also offer reliable customer support and plans that include hosting essentials, such as a free domain and SSL certificate.

Choosing Beginner-Friendly Web Hosting: The Essentials

It’s easy to get lost in the hosting market when there are so many of them. It’s even easier when you don’t know how to identify the initial friendly host. That’s why in this section, you’ll find a summary of the key features you should consider when choosing a provider, including ease of use, customer support, performance and more.

Ease of management and additional features

Better not to waste time messing around with poorly designed control panels. For beginners, cPanel-based management is always a good choice because of its simple and intuitive approach. Additional features, such as the website builder, also make the process of creating a website much easier for those with little experience. If you’re looking for a site-building tool with hosting services, check out Bluehost and DreamHost.

Hosting essentials

Choosing the most affordable option is always tempting, however, you need to be aware of what the plan includes. If there are no free domains, SSL certificates, or other important freebies, you may pay more when purchasing them separately. For comprehensive plans, check out HostGator which offers a free domain, SSL certificate, unlimited bandwidth and storage resources.

Customer support

As a beginner just starting out with a new service, you want your hosting provider to be there for you at all times. That’s why you should look for hosts that offer a few customers support options for you to choose from. Providers who go the extra mile can come in handy whenever you’re in a pickle. If that’s just what you’re looking for, HostPapa offers some free 1-on-1 training to its users.

Performance

Even if you’re just starting your hosting journey, you want your site to handle whatever comes your way. When evaluating a provider’s performance, you should consider the following:

• Uptime – Although 100% uptime is rare, providers that offer a >99.9% guarantee are not that hard to find. The higher the result, the less time you have.
• Response Time – Faster response times lead to better experiences for your audience. For context, DreamHost’s 231ms is considered fast. However, anything faster than 600ms is considered above average.
• Loading Time – Largest Content Point (LCP) is the time it takes for the largest element of a web page to load. For example, a service provider should always be above the maximum recommended LCP of 2.5 seconds.
• Server Locations – If your audience is going to be international, you should consider checking out Hostinger or HostPapa, which have more server locations. However, if your audience is based in the US, you don’t need to worry about your site’s performance for people outside the country. For audiences in North America, you can check out Bluehost, HostGator, and DreamHost.
• In short, you want a service provider that can provide you with a positive experience, so be sure to keep these things in mind before purchasing a plan.
• Overall, with these factors it should be easy to find the right host for you. Just make sure the service provider can handle your vision, and start hosting.