2017 Best Joomla Hosting Providers (Top 5 Choices)
I'm sure you already know the advantages of using Joomla, as a medium to create websites. The reason why this provider has been a recipient of a number of awards lies in the fact that it focuses primarily on being user-friendly.
If you still doubt that Joomla is doing something right, you should check out some of the organizations on this platform. We're talking about the Harvard, MTVs, and iHops of this world. If you too are planning to join these big names and start using Joomla, you'll want to continue reading this article on the five best hosting sites for Joomla that I have assembled here.
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In this article, I'm looking at the best Joomla web hosting sites this year. As you will know Joomla is supported by a developer community that isn't only large but also quite active. With different platforms offering service related to hosting Joomla, you'd want to invest the right amount of time in selecting the best web hosting for Joomla. Even though there are many hosting sites offering this service, I have been able to come out with my best five.
I'm sure you're already asking yourself how I came up with this list. I looked at a number of things as you can see in my comparison table. It's always best to try and look at the price in relation to what the site offers. This is what I call value.
I'm not just impressed by someone who offers a low price on a product. Experience has shown me that you generally get what you pay for. I look at the features you get, the support and how users are rating the service on the overall.
Comparison Chart
I know that comparing services can be a subjective undertaking. However, I try by all means to do it in such a way that I'm as objective as a human being can possibly be. To assess the sites I've come up with I looked at the price, features, and the overall rating the service gets from the users.
PROVIDER | Features | Rating |
|---|---|---|
User-Friendly, Affordable, Great Support, upfront about pricing | ||
SiteGround | security, speed, 24-hour customer support | |
Bluehost | affordable, reliable, 24-hour support | |
CloudAccess | Speed and servers optimized for Joomla | |
JustHost | reliability, 24-hour customer support |
#1 HostGator: Easy And Affordable
The HostGator by-line accurately represents what they are all about; web hosting made easy and affordable. This is exactly what I want to hear from a company that promises the best hosting for Joomla that the industry has this year. But, we won't just take their word for it. We'll look at their pricing options and the services they offer with those options. Only then will we know if they're able to walk the talk.
The Offer
With HostGator, it does not matter whether you're a seasoned professional when it comes to the internet or you're one of those starting out on your very first website. The company has assembled a group of professionals to help you every step of the way with your Joomla hosting. They have also assembled the right tools to help you move your idea from being just an idea to being a real thing on the internet.
Tools you can expect include those for building the site and thousands of templates to select from. Think an application installer that needs only one click, and you'll know that everything you need to get your site going can be found at HostGator.
If you're using another host and you're really tired of poor service, your migration to HostGator will be made quite easy. They have assembled teams that are always waiting to help you move your existing content without drama. Domain registrations can also be transferred from where you had initially registered them. Check out how to register a domain on this YouTube video I discovered:
There are a few other features which I considered before placing HostGator at the top of my list for the best hosting for Joomla. I was impressed by the 24-hour support that is available every day of the year. There is also no risk if you want to try their services, thanks to the 45-day guarantee which allows you to cancel if you are not completely satisfied. I think this indicates a certain level of confidence in their service.
Add all of this to a promise of 99.9% uptime and you know that they take the availability of your website seriously.
The Plans
From this service provider, you can expect to get your services in one of their three plans. The most basic plan is the Hatchling; costing $3.95 a month and coming into a single domain, one click installations, and unmetered bandwidth. Your second choice is the Baby Plan at a cost of $5.95 per month. This plan takes things up a notch higher by offering unlimited domains. The real deal is in the Business Plan for which you can expect to get all the things you get with the other two, plus a private SSL and dedicated IP starting at $5.95 per month.
If you're still in doubt that SiteGround should appear in the list of the best hosting packages for Joomla, then you should listen to their by-line; delivered by people who love Joomla. They're dedicated specifically to help anyone looking to either start a Joomla site or to migrate theirs to a place where they can receive a better service. They have come up with plans that incorporate special features dedicated to Joomla. You can also expect to be assisted by professionals who understand Joomla inside and out.
Their Offer
SiteGround sells its service based on a number of features including great customer support, great speeds, and security.
Customer Support. This site has assembled a group of professionals, fully proficient in Joomla. There is no waiting for office hours as you can receive help on a 24-hour basis on each day of the year. Anyone who is tired of waiting on the other end of phone lines will be glad that at SiteGround, this is something that will not be allowed to happen. Easier said than done, I know!
Great Speeds. The reason why SiteGround is one of the best Joomla hosting sites has to do with the speeds of their servers. Their infrastructure is built on SSD hardware, in order to provide a Joomla caching solution that is unique. When you purchase any of their plans you can expect to enjoy the most recent technologies when it comes to speed such as free CDN and PHP7.
Security. I think that any provider of Joomla hosting services should take the security of your site seriously. Every Joomla that SiteGround installs will come with built-in protection from hackers.
The Plans
SiteGround offers basically three plans. The StartUp is the plan for beginners and starts at $3.95 per month. The middle-level plan is your GrowBig, dedicated to small businesses and blogs. For this, you will pay $7.95 per month. The plan for developers and other established businesses is the GoGeek that comes at $14.95 per month.
#3 Bluehost: Powerful And Simple To Use
I will be the first to admit that sites vying for space in the best Joomla hosting sites top list are all quite good. However after looking at all the features that each one of them offers I can confidently put Bluehost in the third. I found this service quite powerful but at the same time simple to use.
Another thing that made me give it a second look is the fact that even though it offers all these features, it is still quite affordable. I think this is part of the features that make a product I can call the best for Joomla sites, or something close to that.
The Offer
So what exactly does Bluehost offer? They offer you the power you need to manage the hosting of your site. First of all, they ensure that when you have issues, you can access the help available from their team of experts on a 24-hour basis every day of the year. Some of the things that Bluehost is becoming known for is its reliability, affordability and ease of access to support.
One thing that I'll give to Bluehost is that setting up an online store with them is a breeze. The reason why they're so good at this, is that they offer unlimited storage space when you are at the Plus level of their plans. You can add as many products as you want.
The advantage of their unmetered bandwidth is that you can predict your costs in advance even if your traffics suddenly spikes. If you're a store owner, you will also like the $200 free credits you get for Google marketing.
The Plans
From Bluehost, you can expect to get at least four hosting plans. The most basic is the Shared Hosting plan which has three categories ranging from $3.49 in price to $23.99 if you want to use the business plan. The VPS hosting plan is divided into four subcategories with the cheapest being $14.99 and the most expensive being $59.99. The Dedicated Hosting plan has three subcategories and will cost between $74.99 and $124.99. If you want, you can go with the WordPress Hosting plan and this one costs between $12.49 and $85.00.
#4 CloudAccess: Free Stuff
The CloudAccess platform is specifically built for both Joomla and WordPress hosting. The one thing I love about this provider is that they offer a lot of free stuff such as tutorials and support. They also have a free plan. While I am not one to get excited about free plans, I will be first to admit that such plans do get useful to some users.
Their Offer
According to CloudAccess, their solution is built for speed. They also promise that their servers offer a state of the art solution specifically designed for Joomla and WordPress. When using their plans, you also receive off-site backup on a daily basis. I am not sure what to make about a 99.9 % network uptime experience as every other provider I have ever assessed will tell you that they offer this number; specifically 99.9%!
The Plans
There are four main plans on offer at CloudAccess. Each plan will include unlimited bandwidth and email addresses, 2GB RAM, 20GB disk space, and 2 CPU cores. The first plan you get is the Free Plan and it is quite limited. The first of the paid plans is the Mini. However, this plan does not include Joomla support and costs $5 a month. You could go for the Standard plan for $10 a month and get Joomla support. The top plan is the Business Plan which will cost you $50 a month.
#5 JustHost: Many Guarantees
There are a number of reasons why I have JustHost as the last in my list. It has some pretty impressive features yet is also has some that will disappoint you. I have great respect for so service that is prepared to give guarantees like JustHost. This indicates that they have confidence in their product. However, even with this being said, I still want to find out how easy it is to claim the guarantee. Offering a guarantee and eventually giving one are actually two different things.
Their Offer
The first thing that JustHost offers the customer is reliability. Isn’t this what we all love to hear? They promise that they are able to address issues as soon as they arise because they monitor the network on a 24-hour basis. Also, if you happen to have any problems at any time during the day, you can expect to have them resolved by real people who speak English and are able to answer all your questions.
The Plans
Their plans start at $3.49 per month. You can expect to get an unlimited GBs of hosting space, email accounts, data transfer, and domain hosting. Your site builder tools, the domain registration, and instant set up all come for free. I am not sure if there is anything that ever comes for free. Someone has to pay for it and it is usually you in the end.
Conclusion
If you started reading this article because you wanted to find out which is the best Joomla web hosting site, I hope your work is a little better now with the information I have made available.
I know that the competition is tough in this space but I still have the bulk of my trust placed in HostGator. The thing I like about HostGator is that what you see is what you get. Unlike other sites that lure you using prices that look low and later tell you what you really will pay, HostGator tells you upfront what the cost will be. This is the reason why they are trusted by millions when it comes to hosting Joomla sites.
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