A quality e-commerce web host can provide fast speeds, air-tight security, and tons of useful addons. But if you don’t choose carefully, you can also end up with a lackluster host that offers few features and poor support. Fortunately, it’s easier to find an excellent e-commerce web hosting provider when you know what to look for.
In this post, we’ll consider what you should look for when choosing an e-commerce web host. Then, we’ll explore five of the best hosting providers for e-commerce websites. Let’s get started!
What to Consider When Choosing E-Commerce Web Hosting
Here are some key factors to consider when choosing a web host for your e-commerce website:
- Uptime. It’s important to find a host that guarantees an uptime of at least 99.99%. Otherwise, you can lose out on traffic and revenue.
- Performance. Some e-commerce web hosts give you access to Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) and built-in caching to help you speed up your loading times.
- Resources. If you stock many products and expect high levels of web traffic, you’ll want to find a hosting provider that offers plenty of bandwidth and SSD storage.
- Pricing. While you might want to keep costs low, it’s also important to be able to scale up and down between plans easily. For this reason, you may even prefer a pay-as-you-go service over a fixed rate fee.
- Ease of use. If you’re a beginner, you might want to opt for a provider that includes WordPress installations and website templates. This can make it easier to build your e-commerce website from scratch.
- Security. Since you’ll be dealing with customer information like payment details, it’s important to avoid a security breach. Therefore, you’ll want to look for plans that offer features like automatic backups, frequent updates, and first-class support.
- Useful addons. Some web hosts throw in other useful tools as part of their hosting packages. For instance, with managed hosting, you can often access free SSL certificates and domain names.
When you consider all of these factors, you’ll be in a better place to find a web host that matches your exact e-commerce needs.
The Top 5 E-Commerce Web Hosts
Now that you know what to look for in an e-commerce web host, let’s take a look at five of the best providers.
1. Bluehost
Bluehost is one of the most well-known names in the industry, so you can expect reliable and powerful performance. When you sign up for a Bluehost plan, you’re promised 99.98% uptime. Plus, you can use Bluehost’s CDN for faster content delivery.
What’s more, Bluehost offers dedicated WooCommerce packages including tons of useful features like free domains, free SSL certificates, product search, and wishlists. Meanwhile, you can access custom WordPress themes to get your store looking exactly the way you want.
Additionally, you’ll be in safe hands with Bluehost thanks to automatic updates, daily backups, robust analytics, and secure online payments. With some of the higher-priced plans, you’ll even get access to free malware scans to prevent malicious traffic from reaching your site.
Key Features:
- Free domain and SSL certificate
- Dedicated WooCommerce hosting
- Secure online payments
- 24/7 support
Pricing: Bluehost’s online store plans start at $9.95 per month.
2. Hostinger
With Hostinger, you can create a secure shopping environment thanks to features like free SSL, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection, and automatic backups. For extra peace of mind, Hostinger also includes a Web Application Firewall (WAF) and hotlink protection.
You’ll also have plenty of choice when it comes to the type of hosting you’d like. For instance, you can choose between shared hosting, cloud hosting, VPS hosting, or dedicated WordPress packages.
Whichever plan you select, you’re guaranteed 100% uptime. Plus, you can take advantage of LiteSpeed caching that enables you to serve up your pages in record time.
One of the best parts about Hostinger is that the plans are super flexible. Besides web hosting, you can use Hostinger to set up a new domain, migrate an existing website, or create a Google business email.
Key Features:
- Dedicated WordPress hosting option
- Unlimited bandwidth and free SSL certificate
- Security features like a WAF and DDoS protection
- Website builder
Pricing: Hostinger’s shared plans start at $2.99 per month. However, for more complex stores, you might be better off with the cloud hosting option. These plans start at $9.99 per month.
3. Liquid Web
Liquid Web offers tons of web hosting options, including dedicated managed WooCommerce services. It’s a full out-of-the-box solution, giving you access to 1,000 e-commerce themes, a page builder plugin, and SEO optimization. Therefore, it’s an excellent choice for any e-commerce WordPress site, whether you sell digital or physical products.
With Liquid Web, you can take advantage of tons of e-commerce features like staff accounts, store management, product variations, and product image support. This way, you’ll get complete control over how you display your items.
On top of that, you’ll gain access to performance testing and advanced analytics. Plus, with abandoned cart recovery, it’s easier to boost sales on your site. Additionally, Liquid Web utilizes a Nexcess Cloud platform, enabling you to build a fast, scalable e-commerce site.
Key Features:
- Free SSL certificate
- A StoreBuilder to help you get your store set up quickly
- Easily upgrade between plans
- Advanced performance testing and analytics
Pricing: You can get a Liquid Web Managed WooCommerce plan for $19 per month.
4. SiteGround
SiteGround is ideal for beginners since everything on its platform is designed around simplicity. Plans include auto-installation, a free email migrator, and automatic updates. Plus, you’ll benefit from top-of-the-range security features like a WAF, SSL, daily backups, and an anti-bot system.
However, SiteGround is more than just a stable hosting provider. With SiteGround, you can supercharge your loading times with the Cloudflare CDN and advanced caching technology.
One of the features that sets SiteGround apart is its simple but powerful website builder. This tool enables you to get your e-commerce site up and running quickly. SiteGround also provides features like free eShop transfer, professional email accounts, and more.
Key Features:
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Free SSL and email account
- Cloudflare CDN and advanced caching
- 24/7 support
Pricing: SiteGround’s most affordable plans start at just $1.99 per month.
5. InMotion
Last but not least, InMotion is another quality web hosting provider that’s great for e-commerce. InMotion offers tons of hosting options, including a dedicated WooCommerce plan built on its VPS Cloud infrastructure. This option is reliable, WordPress-optimized, and scalable.
You might prefer to start out with a shared plan if you’re on a budget. Still, if your business grows, it’s easy to scale up to VPS hosting. This way, you can easily take your e-commerce site to the next level.
With any plan you choose, you’re guaranteed 99.99% uptime and super fast speeds, thanks to advanced caching technology. You can also choose from hundreds of WooCommerce themes, create custom discounts, and easily apply cart customizations.
InMotion also makes store management simple, giving you one less task to worry about. For example, you can generate detailed reports, check on order and payment status, enable low stock notifications, and hide unavailable products.
Key Features:
- Free SSL certificate and unlimited bandwidth
- Advanced performance features like caching
- Detailed reports and tracking
- Scalable e-commerce plans
Pricing: WordPress hosting plans start at just $3.99 while dedicated WooCommerce plans will cost you $20 per month.
Conclusion
Choosing the right web host is a crucial step if you want to run a successful online business. Fortunately, you can find hosting providers that ensure fast speeds, top-notch security, and easy store management.
Do you have any questions about an e-commerce web hosting provider? Let us know in the comments section below!
Image credit: Pixabay.
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