A Comparison of Hosting Providers
Web Hosting is your website’s gateway to the world. The quality of a host is more than just their actual cost. The opportunity cost of time spent going around obstacles with your hosting provider can be greater than paying for the right solution.
A great way to examine hosts is by what your website or application actually needs to do.
Here are some hosts that are either in-use by us or have been vetted by colleagues:
ASmallOrange
ASmallOrange is an ideal solution for a lot of users. At $35 a year for the smallest tier plan it is a great entry point if you’re curious about web hosting or want to save money while waiting to get big. (They also offer business accounts for when you do!)
Advantages:
• $35/year for smallest tier
• Lots of great one-click software available
Disadvantages:
• Smallest tier doesn’t give immediate access to core system configurations
Cost:
• $35/yr
Linode
If you are creating and deploying an application or a website that has a lot of RESTFUL interactions, Linode is a real winner. Out of the box you have access to the most common Linux distributions with a single click.
Advantages:
• Fantastic for application-based development
• Open and immediate access to the system
Disadvantages:
• Not as user-friendly for setting up a website
• Not ideal for the small-business owner looking to set up WordPress or Drupal themselves.
Cost:
• $10 – $80/mo
WPEngine
WPEngine is a great place to host a WordPress site. They offer automatic WordPress version updates. (Be careful of this as that can break your site!) WordPress Engine also scans for hacking attempts to your website and even offers to fix the issue for free!
Advantages:
• Automatic WordPress upgrades
• Free security scans and a guarantee to fix hacked sites takes away a lot of the downsides of WordPress platforms
Disadvantages:
• Automatic WordPress upgrades (If your site is poorly coded!)
Cost:
• $29/mo for 1 site
Acquia
Acquia is the name in Drupal hosting. If you do not have an in-house team it’s certainly worth the extra cost to have them handle upgrades and stability of hosting your applications. $135/mo
Advantages:
• Acquia offers a fully set-up Drupal environment out of the box
• Automatic Drupal updates and a plethora of monitoring tools
Disadvantages:
• Acquia requires service plans, which is reflected in the cost below.
Cost:
• $135/mo
So which web host should you choose? That’s a harder question to answer. It’s one of the most important decisions a business can make. It’s worth the time to do research on your business needs and how they best match a host.