Simon Paul Thurston

One of the most important decisions that a business-owner can make when considering making their mark on the internet is which web host they choose.  Depending on which web hosting company you select, you can either experience fantastic success…or not.  Much depends on reliability, features, and performance.

The last thing you need is for your business website to be down 50% of the time, or for customers to be searching through your products and getting frustrated because the images take forever to load.  And most importantly, e-commerce transactions need to be secure, fast, and smooth.  Nothing will turn away a customer faster than a financial transaction getting interrupted because of technical glitches in the system.

The problem with most resources online that rate web hosting services is that they are centrally focused on driving traffic to those web hosts who’ve paid for the affiliate marketing on their website.  If a “web host directory” is receiving a per-per-click or a royalty for every person who signs up with a web host – how can their advice be considered unbiased?

Therefore – as a service to our loyal readership of entrepreneurs who need accurate information about web hosts, I will rate the top 5 web hosts based on performance, reliability and features.  The information drawn on for this analysis was from several market review websites that provide a comprehensive comparison of every aspect of the web host.

I simply focused on the three central strengths that matter the most to online businesses, and rate the web hosts accordingly.

Top 5 Web Hosts

Let the countdown begin – starting with the 5th best host:

#5 – IXwebhosting

This host has the entire range of features required for a valuable web host – except the MySQL Database, which is odd considering that most web hosts offer MySQL.  However, the storage capacity, allowing up to 100 subdomains, high bandwidth and  excellent reliability get this host onto our list, just under the wire.

#4 – Hostgator

Hostgator comes in at #4 only because there are more limitations on the hosting account than the others in the top 5.  Only 20 sub-domains are allowed, however unlimited MySQL databases are offered.  At the highest bandwidth of all, and good reliability, Hostgator would make a valuable web host for any business.

#3 – Lunarpages

Beside the fact that it has a very cool name, Lunarpages is also a webhost that excels in many ways.  At a rock bottom price of $6.95, you get fairly high bandwidth, unlimited sub-domains, unlimited MySQL databases, and unlimited E-mail accounts.  The only thing limited is that you can only host one site on an account.  But if you only want to run one business on one site – you can’t lose with Lunarpages.

#2 – BlueHost

Bluehost is also at the $6.95 mark, but with 20 sub-domains, 50 MySQL databases, up to 2500 e-mail accounts, and 6 sites on one account – this is a very heavy-hitter.  While set limits are rare among hosts, with BlueHost I believe it adds to the improved reliability they see above the competition.   

#1 – Host Monster

This is one of the few hosts where you can get an account for $4.95/month.  Beyond the above-par performance and reliability, the features are phenomenal.  Unlimited sub-domains and email accounts, and even unlimited sites on one account!  All around, Host Monster is clearly currently the leader in the web hosting market for services that matter most to internet entrepreneurs.