When it comes to hosting, there are so. many. companies out there. It can get overwhelming pretty fast.
Prices range from a few dollars a month to $100+ and it can get confusing if you’re not familiar with the tech side of websites.
I totally get it!
Who should you avoid?
Unless you want to toss a coin on how your experience is going to be, I would recommend avoiding any of the Endurance International Group (EIG). They are a gigantic hosting company that buys smaller players and tends to make their support + product go down. This includes major hosting companies like:
- A Small Orange
- Bluehost
- Fatcow
- HostGator
- iPage
- Site5
- (See the full list here)
Because they have a really competitive affiliate program, you’ll see a lot of bloggers recommending Bluehost as a site host. I’ve heard too many complaints about that company to ever recommend them. And I don’t care to make more money via affiliate marketing to recommend a company I don’t believe in.
Which hosting company do we recommend?
The only hosting company I would recommend to new bloggers is SiteGround*
SiteGround* is the company we’ve been using to host our sites for a long time. They’ve been around for a while, have proven that they offer great customer service, and that their product is really solid.
When it comes to getting hosting from a reliable company that won’t let you down, SiteGround* is always my first choice.
The only thing with SiteGround* is that their pricing is a bit more confusing. Even though they offer a really great introductory deal, their price goes up quite a lot on renewal, which some people don’t expect.
The best way around it is to buy more years upfront at the introductory rate, and when your first renewal comes around, you’ll have enough cash from your blog to justify it.
Let’s do the math with their current price:
- If you get 1 year at their $3.95/month price, you’ll be paying $47 for your first year and $143 for every year after that. After three years, that’s a total of $333.
- If you get 2 years upfront, you’ll be paying $94 right away, and then your third year will cost you $143. After three years, that’s a total of $237.
- If you get 3 years upfront, you’ll be paying $142 upfront, and won’t have to pay again until your three years are up. After three years, that’s a total of $142.
By getting more years upfront, you can save hundreds of dollars, but you also have to make sure you have the cash flow to afford it and the drive to make your blog work long-term.
