Web hosting comparison: these are the best hosting providers

Web Hosting Definition: What is Web Hosting and Why is it Needed?

Web hosting is a fundamental component of a successful internet presence and plays a crucial role, particularly for beginners in the field of web development. But what does web hosting mean? Our simple explanation of web hosting: Web hosting is a critical factor for any internet presence. It enables the storage and availability of websites on the World Wide Web. Internet Service Providers (ISP), also known as web hosts, provide the server-side technical basis required for the secure operation of an online presence. Websites and online shops, or their individual pages, obviously need to be stored somewhere. This storage space, or webspace, is at the heart of website hosting. This alone makes the importance of web hosting crucial: Without hosting and webspace, no website can be operated. This webspace and the websites stored there are then accessible over the web after linking with a domain and making a few other basic settings. In addition to general site hosting in webspace, ISPs offer web hosting packages with numerous additional services, some more and some less important for the operation of an online presence. Typically, web hosting and domain are offered together. But there are also, for example, web hosting CMS specifically for content management systems, web hosting mail expanded for businesses that need to organize many email addresses, and packages with various other web hosting software.

How Does Web Hosting Work?

Web hosting provides website operators, or those who wish to become one, with their own space on the internet (webspace) at the very foundation. This is done via a computer with suitable storage space that can be permanently reached online via the same address (server). Such servers are rented out by web hosts. The servers can then be used to allocate storage space and - depending on the web hosting package - use additional useful services. Customers usually get a freely choosable domain on top at low web hosting costs, such as example.com. This domain is the address that ultimately leads to the website. Choosing the right domain extension (e.g., .com, .net, .org) is important to make the website professional and appealing. It is generally largely automated by the web host to link this with the webspace and the websites stored there. Nowadays, webpages or corresponding code documents are generally no longer uploaded directly onto a webspace. The creation and management of websites usually takes place via a Content Management System (CMS), which is installed in the webspace and then used via a browser. Accordingly, many web hosts now offer CMS packages directly, such as WordPress web hosting, in which the setup of the respective system is largely automated.

What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Web Hosting?

The alternative to web hosting via a corresponding service provider is the purchase and self-maintenance of one’s own servers. The latter is always linked with significantly higher web hosting costs. Not only does the technology need to be purchased, it also needs to be maintained by professionals in the long run. The cost advantage and generally high efficiency offered by web hosting packages from external service providers are in the vast majority of cases not outweighed by the increased flexibility and independence offered by owning your own servers. Ideally, a web host provides everything needed for the long-term secure operation of a website or online shop. The services are available immediately, and webmasters can start setting up a web page right away. Many web hosts also provide user-friendly tools for creating a website and subsequently managing it or other web hosting software. There are generally no large barriers – even beginners, with a little background knowledge, find it not too difficult to set up an online presence via a web host. There are virtually no disadvantages. The only difficulty can be finding web hosting for your own website that optimally fits both in terms of price and functionality. It is essential to deal with the subject in depth and to carry out a comparison of web hosting providers, both German and international ones, which requires a lot of work but is unavoidable if you want to get the right services and not pay too much. Another disadvantage concerns the external storage of possibly sensitive data on the web host's servers. To avoid legal problems here, many companies rely on GDPR-compliant web hosting.

What Types of Web Hosting are There?

• Shared Hosting: Here, web pages are stored on servers that are also used by other website operators. Resources such as CPU and storage are shared by all accounts hosted on the server. This type of web hosting is generally quite cheap. However, sharing server resources can also lead to performance losses.
• Dedicated Hosting: Here, customers rent and use a private server, which is either managed by the host or organized by themselves. Webmasters can get access to all resources on the computer, and these are not shared with other accounts. Customers have full control and significantly more options when choosing software and infrastructure components. Dedicated hosting is more expensive, but also more flexible.
• VPS Hosting (Virtual Private Server Hosting): VPS hosting is a form of shared hosting. However, fixed areas are assigned to individual users here, which are not shared with others. This ensures consistent computing power and consistently good performance. VPS offers an ideal price-performance ratio for small and medium web projects.
• Cloud Hosting: With cloud hosting, websites and their data are not on a single server, but are organized on several interconnected computers. This opens up opportunities for almost unlimited resource access and extremely flexible scalability for growing projects. The hosting or performance can be quickly and flexibly adapted as needed.

How Do You Choose the Right Web Hosting Provider or What Should You Pay Attention to With Your Hosting Package?

Web hosting packages can include a variety of services and have different features. Of course, your own needs should be comprehensively covered. However, choosing a solution that can “do everything,” for the sake of simplicity would be highly inefficient. Many components would then not be needed, but naturally would still have to be paid for, which would quickly inflate costs. The most important factors to find exactly the right web hosting for your own requirements are as follows:

• Needs analysis: At first, it is essential to look fundamentally at what is intended to be offered on the net. A blog or a simple corporate website require fewer resources and services than a larger online shop. Some web hosting offers are even specifically designed for a certain area of application. The corresponding information can then be found on the product page.
• Server performance: Fastest web hosting! No web project should do without fast SSD storage and a powerful CPU. The bandwidth also plays a crucial role in the speed and accessibility of your website. The selected hosting package should provide sufficient bandwidth to handle the traffic on the site. The RAM affects the performance of your website and is important to ensure smooth processes.
• Operating System: When requesting an operating system, the one that best suits the website should be selected.
• Server location: Web hosting in Germany is the ideal choice for all those who primarily want to provide their website domestically, as the locations of the data centers of the hosting providers can influence a website's speed and reliability. A global network of data centers ensures fast loading times worldwide. German servers are GDPR-safe and offer the best performance for local website visitors due to their relative proximity.
• Server accessibility: In the commercial sector, inaccessible servers mean lost money. The server accessibility should be at least 99 percent here. Minimizing downtime is crucial. Web hosts should have reliable failover hosting to keep hosted websites online at all times.
• Storage space: The size of the webspace is highly dependent on the scope of the website project. A simple corporate presence can get by with one gigabyte. If product descriptions, media such as videos or audio, or regular blog posts need to be organized, such basic storage can quickly reach its limits.
• Email hosting: Many hosts also offer email hosting in their packages. In businesses, email addresses are often required for different employees, branches, or service areas. The need for email addresses should be covered by the selected web hosting without additional costs.
• Traffic: There are still restrictions on data transfer volume in some web hosting services. It would be better to opt for providers with a traffic flat rate or book one additionally.
• Web hosting including domain: A domain is required for the website to be accessible on the web. Including domain web hosting is standard with many providers. Sometimes entire domain packages are even offered. Some hosting packages can offer free included domains, which can be advantageous for beginners. If a domain is already available, it should be possible to link it to the new web hosting server.
• Databases: Modern CMS operates with relational database systems. At least five databases should be included for optimal CMS operation.
• Security and SEO relevance: An SSL certificate or the associated HTTPS encryption secures data exchanged between the browser and the server. This is relevant for GDPR and SEO. Ideally, such a certificate is included in the web hosting.
• Security features: Secure web hosting offers separate accounts, firewalls, and an integrated backup function. Regularly backing up your data is essential to prevent data loss. Automatic updates are also an important security aspect.
• Customer support and user interface: Good customer support is crucial, especially for beginners who might need help with configuration or problem-solving. The user interface or control panel of the hosting provider should also be user-friendly to facilitate the configuration and management of the web presence.

What Features Should be Available?

Depending on the size and type of the web project, as well as personal preferences, different service and functionality scopes in web hosting make sense. To find out what is needed or wanted, (aspiring) webmasters should ask themselves the following questions:

• How much webspace is really needed?
• Are subdomains necessary, and how many domains are included?
• What programming languages should be supported?
• How many databases should be available?
• How many email addresses are required?
• Can all required programs be installed?
• Are the contract term and cancellation of web hosting suitable?
• Can the tariff be expanded?
• Does e-commerce need to be supported?
• Which CMS or website builders are compatible?
• How is the web hosting paid – direct debit, credit card, PayPal, etc.?

The following minimum requirements should always be met by even inexpensive web hosting:

• At least one gigabyte of storage
• Web Hosting and Domain (Inclusive Domain)
• Website Hosting including SSL certificate
• PHP support
• At least one database (MySQL)
• Server availability of at least 99 percent
• Traffic flat rate
• Access via FTP
• Reliable, easily reachable support

Cheap Web Hosting or Rather Pay a Bit More - How Much Does Web Hosting Cost?

Web hosting costs can hardly be generalized. It always depends on what services are needed for the respective project. One important point for beginners is the setup fee and the minimum contract duration. Some providers charge a one-time fee for setting up your hosting, while others offer this free of charge. The minimum contract duration also varies and can range from months to years. Once the basic questions relating to optimal website hosting have been answered, it is important to perform a web hosting comparison in which all potential hosting offers are scrutinized. The web hosting prices are central points of reference here, but they should not be the deciding factor. Rather, interested parties are well advised to align their requirements. Here, for orientation, are three different basic directions: free web hosting offers, basic web hosting for self-employed individuals, and web hosting for companies or web hosting for online shops. It should be ensured that all costs have been understood, including possible surcharges for additional features or resources.

Is There Free Web Hosting? Those who want to get cheap web hosting quickly ask whether there are free web hosting offers. The short answer is: yes. But with most free web hosting providers, there are hidden costs and/or various limitations. Free web hosting is often financed by advertising. This means that ads are placed on the customers' websites. Of course, this is an absolute no-go for corporate presences and in general in the commercial sector. The services are generally severely limited with such website hosting: only a small amount of storage is provided, the servers are slow, certain file formats may not be uploaded at all, individual adjustments prove to be difficult, there is no SSL certificate and/or a full-fledged domain is not available. _Hosting a website is, after all, possible with such providers, but hardly recommended. For commercial purposes, free web page hosting is not an option.

How Much Do Cheap Web Hosts Cost? Cheap web hosts are generally a good choice for businesses that want to run a traditional website, perhaps with a small blog. Even in the private sector, bloggers or other hobby website operators should get cheap hosting rather than getting a domain and web hosting from a free provider. With cheap standard tariffs, it is often WordPress web hosting, which means that WordPress can be quickly installed as a CMS via the web host. Furthermore, the minimum requirements mentioned above usually apply quite accurately to such packages. _There are really a lot of web hosting providers in Germany who provide the corresponding performance packages. In the web hosting comparison 2022, the monthly costs here amount to between approx. two and six euros.

How Much Do the Best Web Hosting Providers for Businesses Cost? Web hosting for businesses should cover the minimum requirements mentioned above but usually need to do more. Extensive email services are often useful, for instance, to equip all employees with suitable addresses. Extensive web projects, such as online shops or larger user portals within a website, require significantly more resources than the typical online corporate presence of a small or medium business. Unlimited webspace does not always have to be the case, but the basic storage of one gigabyte, for example, when web hosting for online shops, quickly reaches its limits. Businesses offering many or very specific services directly on the net should not skimp on performance-strong web hosting packages: With good loading times and overall smooth processes, the bounce rate generally decreases. The traffic and conversions increase. In the web hosting price comparison, such premium web hosting averages between 20 to 50 euros per month.

What Web Hosting Providers are There?

We list a small selection of web hosting providers here. The full list of web hosting tools can be found in our category on the topic of web hosting:

• dogado
• Strato Web Hosting
• webgo

Web Hosting FAQ

What is an Internet Service Provider (ISP)? An ISP is the service provider that offers web hosting. It is often colloquially referred to as a web host.

What is a server? A server is a computer with storage space and a CPU where a website is managed.

What is webspace? Webspace is the term used to refer to the storage space available to customers in a web hosting package.

What is a Content Management System (CMS)? A CMS can be installed on a webspace. It then forms the technical basis for a website and the organization of content that should appear on it.

What is a shop system? A shop system is a type of CMS but specifically serves e-commerce needs. In addition to typical content management tools, it also offers product management, payment management, customer databases, and other important functions for online shops.

What is shared hosting? In shared hosting, several customers share central server resources. This makes this hosting model very cost-effective.

What is reseller hosting? In reseller hosting, companies resell rented webspace to their customers. This is useful, for example, for internet agencies that can then offer suitable storage along with the websites they deliver.

What is Virtual Private Server Hosting (VPS)? In VPS, several customers share a web hosting server but have their own areas or guaranteed resources.

What is dedicated hosting? In dedicated hosting, customers get their own server in a data center, which they either organize themselves or have managed.

What are colocation services? If you use a colocation service, you own your servers but put them in an external data center. Usually, external experts take care of the hardware management there.