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A few years ago, cheap web hosting cost $10 or more per month. Heavy competition has driven these costs down substantially. Today, there are a number of cheap hosting options to choose from. However, not all cheap web hosts are the same. Below are key elements Web Hosting Report believes every cheap hosting company should offer:
1. Reliability, Reliability, and Reliability: While nearly all hosting companies promise 99.9% uptime, many fail to deliver. In compiling our rankings of the best cheap web hosts, we spent over three months gathering data from more than two years to isolate the most reliable hosts. As with any service, its easy to find complaints. However, we compare the number of positive comments to the number of negative comments to determine reliability.
2. Customer Service: Web Hosting Report spent a good deal of time calling various cheap website hosts. With some companies, most of that time was spent on hold. With others, our time was spent speaking with competent and knowledgeable representatives. The companies at the top of our ranking provide quality support to webmasters of all skill levels.
3. Unlimited Bandwith and Disk Space: Many of the cheapest, and some not so cheap web hosting companies limit the amount of bandwith and hosting space in your account. This can lead to downtime or trigger hidden fees if you exceed your quota.
4. An Anytime Money Back Guarantee: The best web hosts demonstrate confidence in their products by backing them with unlimited money back guarantees. When a company offers an anytime money back, you can feel confident that they will do their best to meet your hosting needs. These companies don’t want your business for a few months. They want to be your web host for years.
5. A Free Domain Name or Domain Transfer: If you have a domain, moving your website to a good cheap web host shouldn’t cost you a penny. And if you don’t, a free domain will save you a few dollars. Either way, this is a perk offered by the best cheap hosting companies.
Our rankings for the best cheap host heavily weight uptime reliability and customer service, as these are the most important elements of any good hosting company. As far as we’re concerned, everything else is a bonus. While it may be tempting to choose the cheapest webhost, the risk of downtime combined with lower quality service are not worth the ten of fifteen dollars a year you might save. |
