One of the most important decisions you will have to make when you are starting a new website is which web host you will use for it. The choice will depend upon the features you will want to have included in your package, and the budget you have to spend on your webhosting. It is important that all of the functionality you will need is included, but at the same time you don’t want to spend money on features that you aren’t going to use. You also want to be sure that you get full service and technical support right when you need, it to ensure that your website is live online for the maximum amount of time. This comparison of two of the top web hosting companies, Hostgator vs Bluehost, will help you to decide which sort of service will be best suited to your individual internet usage.
Hostgator
Hostgator provides a shared web hosting service that is offered at three different levels, to suit different kinds of Internet users. Their most basic package, the Hatchling Plan, provides webhosting for a single domain that is suitable for beginners or hobby bloggers. Even though it is restricted to a single website, it still includes performance features like unlimited data transfer and bandwidth, as well as all of the disc storage space that you can use.
With prices starting from $3.96 per month for the first year, Hostgator is among the least expensive services for basic webhosting that are available at the moment. This doesn’t mean they skimp on the important features, like website design tools, analytics software or internet marketing applications. This basic package can be upgraded at any time, if you want to add another website or subdomain to your hosting account. The next step up is the Baby Plan that starts at the still-reasonable price of $6.36 per month. This plan allows you to use an unlimited number of domains on a single account, and makes it possible to park as many domains as you own all in one place.
Their top-shelf webhosting package, the Business Plan, starts at $10.36 per month and provides an unlimited shared hosting service. This includes private SSL and includes a dedicated IP so that you can provide your customers with a secure environment, where they can make online transactions in confidence. The Business Plan also includes a free toll-free number as well as anonymous File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to ensure that your data is kept entirely private. All three shared hosting plans come with a full selection of simple-to-install web design scripts that make it easy to create your own website, with a minimum of experience.
Bluehost
In contrast to Hostgator, Bluehost provide a flat-rate service that is all-inclusive. For the base rate of only $6.99 per month, all shared hosting accounts come with unlimited bandwidth and disc storage included. Unlike Hostgator, they also include the use of unlimited domains and provide the first year of registration on any new domain that you purchase through Bluehost for free. On top of this, they also allow unlimited e-mail addresses and support e-mail forwarding, as well as full FTP access. Like Hostgator, cPanel is used to manage your internet properties all in one convenient place, but Bluehost does offer a slightly greater array of functionality, like a choice of shopping cart applications and several variations on your e-mail delivery.
Both webhosts provide a reliable service with 24/7 technical support that has earned them a good reputation in the industry. There is very little to differentiate between the quality of the services that they provide, and so it is more likely going to come down to the amount of internet service that you need to pay for. If you have a simple site and only intend to use a single domain, then Hostgator may offer the most cost-effective solution. Even stepping up to the Baby Plan to pay for the room to use and store multiple domains is competitive with Bluehost, but the Business plan is slightly more expensive for the top end user than the comprehensive, all-inclusive basic service from Bluehost. When you throw in the savings to be had from Bluehost, who provides a free domain and $150 of internet advertising credits with Google AdWords and Facebook, this may make it a slightly more attractive service for setting up a new website, especially if you plan to expand on your online properties at a future date.