Web hosting is a vital part of getting any business online, in fact it’s crucial. Everyone that wants their website seen and heard needs it. While some larger sites can host themselves on their own datacentres, smaller sites tend to use web hosting providers. Finding the best web hosting company for you however, is a different story entirely. Thankfully, we’ve narrowed the search down for you by cutting through the 1000’s of options out there and finding the ones we deem to be the best. We’ve pitted the features of leading hosting providers against each other and these are the ones we’ve chosen as the top UK hosting companies.
1. Pickaweb
Pickaweb was created in 1999. With decades in the industry, Pickaweb has become the choice for well over 20,000 companies here in the UK. They offer an incredible variety of products and services from UK based web hosting to VPS hosting, reseller hosting and much, much more. They’ve received countless awards during their 21 year reign too, from #1 Reseller Hosting and even #1 Unix Hosting service provider, awarded by the likes of WebHost Directory. Add these to their features in Entrepreneur, Business.com, SEJ (Search Engine Journal) and of course GlobalSign and it’s clear to see they are a huge contender when it comes to hosting providers. So what is it that makes them so special?
UK based hosting is perhaps one of the biggest advantages when it comes to using Pickaweb. Not only do many see a better performance when using UK based web hosting as internet traffic needs to travel to and from your host, but they often see better search engine rankings for Google when compared to other regions. There are also the benefits seen in terms of the UK’s superior data security and IT infrastructure as well as the ‘relatively’ stable government when compared to others outside the UK. Being UK based has also seen many find their customer service much better as it’s far easier to get in touch with them compared to overseas service providers in different time zones. There are no language barriers and communication is much easier.
2. Google Cloud
Google Cloud hosting is one of a multitude of services available on the Google Cloud platform. This secure platform, known for its consistency in its delivery and of course its intelligent monitoring and control systems is used by some seriously large names out there; Spotify, HSBC, Snapchat to name just a few. There are several reasons to join the Google Cloud platform when it comes to your hosting and flexibility is quite possibly one of the biggest reasons. The Google Cloud platform offers a range of services that can all be fine tuned to your specific business needs. It’s also worth noting that Google has been known for taking research projects that have essentially been fine tuned internally and making them available to their public cloud customers. While Google may not boast all the features, they carry some of the most flexible technologies out there.
Flexibility aside, Google is also proud to boast a status of being 100% green. Google is committed to buying enough renewable energy to match the consumption of all global operations. That means for each unit of energy Google uses, they’ll purchase the equivalent or more, of renewable energy in order to maintain and where possible, lower their carbon footprint even more. Considered the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the world, this is a big positive for the cloud based hosting giant.
3. DigitalOcean
Having launched its first server in 2011, DigitalOcean, an American cloud hosting company, focused its attention on enabling developers to launch more apps in a much more efficient manner. Their focus was speed and ease of use. DigitalOcean began as a small start-up company based in New York City however, has since grown to the point that it now serves over half a million developers and it does so with the very same mission statement it began with – simplicity.
The goal of the company’s founders was and still is a simple one: to make an easy to use platform. They wanted it to be super simple for people to scale up when needed, offering developers swift processes and easy to use interfaces and that’s exactly what they’ve created.
This is seen not only throughout the platform but more specifically within the main features themselves. Setting up your cloud server is done quickly and easily through the use of ‘droplets’ and the simple to use control panel. It’s then a simple step by step process to create your own droplet that’s fine tuned and customised towards your needs.
With a number of different types of hosting available, DigitalOcean has the ability to cater to a huge array of clients, making life that much easier.
4. OVH
OVH is a French cloud computing company. They offer Virtual Private Servers (VPS) as well as dedicated servers amongst a plethora of other web services. OVH is mostly known for offering cloud and dedicated hosting however, it also offers more personal web hosting packages at much lower prices. It’s perhaps its pricing that makes OVH outshine a number of other hosting companies.
While it does offer higher end pricing for its higher-value clientele, the hosting packages on offer begin from what can only be described as super-cheap starting prices of a measly $2. It’s then down to the individual to add on the likes of VIP support and other singular add-ons until they get the package they require.
While OVH isn’t for everyone, if you’re lucky enough to have a basic working knowledge that would allow you to problem solve a few things yourself, OVH could prove to be the perfect option; especially when you’re looking to cut costs. OVH offers a somewhat unusual set up but it works and it works well for a relatively small fee compared to a great number of other hosting companies.
5. Cloudways
Cloudways is a Malta-based company, founded back in 2011. They’re considered a serious hosting company for developers and advanced website owners who are on the lookout for automation within their applications. They specialise in managed cloud hosting and as a result can offer a variety of packages to suit your hosting needs including the likes of WordPress, Magento and Laravel to name a few. With more than 50 staff serving their customer base of around 20,000, they’ve built themselves a reputation for providing fast, reliable, secure and affordable hosting options but that’s not what we’re drawing attention to today.
First and foremost we want to draw attention to the intuitive and simple to use UI. It’s super easy to use Cloudways even if you’re brand new to it. Carrying out simple tasks such as spinning up a server or application can take mere minutes. Compare this to creating a ‘droplet’ with the likes of DigitalOcean and it’s easy to see just how simple and as a result, enjoyable the UI is to use. On top of its nice UI, Cloudways also boasts a rather unique platform. Their innovative platform has been built to help empower teams with managed hosting that allows you to go live in minutes, manage more efficiently and scale as you need to. While not the cheapest out there, their enjoyable UI and unique platform certainly puts them head and shoulders above a myriad of other big players.
Conclusion
These are the top 5 UK hosting companies, reviewed by us at Bird Marketing. Take a little time to read through the options, to decide which is the best one for you and your company. Do you have a hosting company that you recommend? We’d love to hear from you.