Even though the Internet is packed with thousands of cheap web hosting providers, only the best web hosting companies survive and continually improve on customer satisfaction year-over-year.  One of those top cheap web hosting companies is BlueHost.com.

Cheap Web Hosting - Exceptional Features! 

BlueHost has been providing web hosting services since 1996 and has been giving users the highest level of support through their well-trained staff.  Whether you are new to web hosting or a seasoned veteran, you’ll find their staff qualified to handle the needs of your business.

Free Domain With $6.95 Hosting Package

BlueHost offers one standard package with everything you could possibly need for a single website or blog to a fully functioning affiliate network of websites.  Since many of my readers are affiliate marketers, and those aspiring to become one, I recommend looking for a cheap web hosting company that offers a package that supports hosting unlimited domains.  Why?  Simple.  One cheap web hosting package can allow you to create multiple affiliate websites for one low monthly price!

Affiliate marketing is all about finding a niche, creating quality content, and earning money.  Suppose you have ideas for multiple niches?  Are you going to purchase a separate web hosting package for each website?  Now way!  That would cost you a fortune and new affiliates just starting out don’t have the inflow of cash yet to support that method.

This is why finding a cheap web hosting company that provides unlimited domains to be hosted from your account is so important.  With BlueHost.com, you have one administrative login to work from and you can create, deploy and manage as many additional top level domains (TLD’s) as you want.  You also get the option to enable Secure Shell (SSH) capability which I highly recommend.  This secure shell will allow you to use free applications like Putty to open up a console screen to your virtual web server for administrative tasks not easily done via the c-Panel GUI.

Instant Websites and Blogs! 

If cheap web hosting wasn’t enough, BlueHost also offers the Fantastico set of plug-ins free as part of the web hosting package.  There are about 50 plug-ins that are available, but two of the more popular ones for those wishing to create websites and blogs are Joomla Content Management System (CMS) and Wordpress (blogging).  In about 2 minutes, you can have yourself a fully functioning CMS system or blog and instantly start creating the content for your website. Now that’s a time saver and you don’t have to be a web guru to have a gorgeous website.

So, if you’re looking for cheap web hosting with exceptional features, support and reliability, look no further than BlueHost.com.

The easiest and cheapest way for anyone to get started with their own personal or business website is with a shared hosting plan.  In general, web hosting is the storage and delivery of websites via the Internet.  Shared web hosting, which is also known as virtual web hosting, is the storage of files for multiple websites on a single server.  Each website is allocated its own amount of disk space, processor utilization, memory and bandwidth from the resources available on that single server.  Think of this as the slicing of an apple pie.  The pie as a whole is the server, and each piece cut is a unique website.

Advantages of Shared Web Hosting

The biggest advantage of shared web hosting is the cost.  Shared hosting is considerably less expensive than purchasing a dedicated server.  With a dedicated server, you are the only client on it, and all the resources are yours to do with as you please.  Also, with shared web hosting, the web host manages the server hardware and network resources.  Thereby, eliminating the need for the end-user to require technical staff to maintain the server.

Shared web hosting is a good idea for individuals and businesses with small web hosting needs and resources.  Some examples are blogs, home pages, and web sites with small to moderate web traffic.

Disadvantages of Shared Web Hosting

The biggest disadvantage of shared hosting is the lack of control over the server.  For those that have the technical expertise and want more control over the system resources, shared hosting can be a very difficult and frustrating experience.  Also, for those websites that do not want to chance another shared site causing the server to crash, probably wouldn’t want a shared service.  Larger e-commerce sites and high traffic sites should look to dedicated servers.

Recommendation

When looking for a web host, ask yourself what you need it for.  If you’re doing a blog, or an informational website, chances are a shared web host will be perfect for you.  If you need e-commerce or anticipate huge amounts of web traffic, you may want to look at a dedicated server.  Remember, you can always upgrade if the need arises.  So, if start-up money is an issue, start with a shared and grow your business as needed.

If you’re looking for a excellent award winning web hosting company that has been around awhile with a solid reputation, take a look at HostGator.com.  They have shared web hosting plans starting at $4.95 per month, offer cPanel control panel, free Fantastico scripts (Wordpress, Joomla, and dozens more), and of course, their 45-day money back guarantee.

I personally use them, after having tried many other hosting companies, and have found their service and tech support to be very knowledgeable, helpful and prompt.  Whatever your needs, you’ll find HostGator to be top notch. 

Wordpress is an extremely friendly and easy-to-use blogging system.  Depending on your needs and computer skills, there are a couple of methods you can use to setup your blog, and  some factors you should consider before you launch your Wordpress blog.

Method #1 - Free Wordpress Blog

Think about these questions:

1. Would you like to use your own custom domain name (ex. simplywebtastic.com), or a third-level domain name like myblog.wordpress.com?
2. Will you need to store lots of photos, music, or video files for your blog?
3. Do you like fiddling with the blog code to tweak your site just right?
4. Do you need to do lots of private blogs?

If you answered YES to any of them, you’re going to need to spend a little extra money if you host with wordpress.com because the features mentioned above are paid upgrades.

You should visit their site to get an idea of the extra costs involved.  Take some notes on the costs and compare them to the costs for a full hosting site. 

Method #2 - Paid Web Hosts

Your probably already thinking, “Why would anyone pay for a blog when they can get one for free?” The answer is simple; space, flexibility and lots of customization!  With most paid hosts, you’ll be able to do what you want, when you want, for a small monthly fee.  Depending on the goal of your website, these monthly hosting fees may afford you more flexibility and less headaches in the future.

I’ve dealt with many web hosting providers over the years.  Please DO NOT base your choice of web hosts solely on cost alone.  This can be very misleading.  You need to compare the services they offer, their reputation, and then their fees.

I personally like and have had success using the web hosts listed below:

1. Host Gator (read review)
2. 1&1 Internet, Inc.

There are literally thousands of web host providers out there.  Do your homework and read others comments about their compliments and complaints about various web hosts.  Not all web hosts are created equal.  You may never need help from your web host provider, but if you do, you’ll want to make sure there’s someone available, who’s competent enough to handle your problem, to assist you.

 HostGator - Web Hosting Provider

Webpage: HostGator.com
Owner: Brent Oxley
Date Founded: October 2002
Data Centers: Dallas, Texas
Phone Number: 1-866-964-2867
Plans Offered: Shared, Reseller, and Dedicated Accounts
Support Offered By: 24/7 Phone, Live Internet Chat, and Ticket Service

About the Company:

Host Gator is a privately held web hosting provider that has been in business since 2002. They have several data centers located in Dallas, Texas and provide service for over 700,000 websites. They claim to be the world-wide leader in reseller accounts with over 10,000.

Host Gator not only offers very competitive pricing for their packages, they also give you quite an assortment of options with them. However, I think their biggest advantage is their commitment to customer service. Their team has over forty support veterans that are ready to assist you 24/7/365 by chat, phone, and ticket system.

Here’s a quote from their site:

“We welcome you to give us a test call at 1-866-964-2867. Are you still not sure if Host Gator is the right choice? What if you had a special hookup? Well you do! Our owner Brent Oxley is at your disposal for any problems you may have. While Brent might not be reachable by phone all the time you are welcome to request your ticket be assigned to him for the extra TLC you deserve!”

Their Linux Web Hosting packagesrun from $8.95 (Hatchling), $9.95 (Baby), and $14.95 (Swamp) per month and they offer quite a selection of standard features and plenty of disk space. If you choose to pay quarterly, or for a full year, their prices are even cheaper! They also have Windows Web Hosting coming soon.

One of the best features that I like about Host Gator is the Fantastico DeLuxe package that comes standard with all Linux packages.  Fantastico allows you to instantly install over 50 scripts, including Wordpress.

They are currently running a promotion for 20% off web hosting by using the coupon code: NEWYEAR

In conclusion, if you’re looking for a web host that offers plenty of services and top-notch support, take a closer look at Host Gator.