Selecting a web hosting company is the first step to setting up your website and is the first expense that you will incur. Combined with this is the task of choosing your domain name (the address of your website e.g. peweb.com.au). Must hosting companies also provide a service for you to choose and pay for a domain name.
There are lots of web hosting companies out there, and choosing the right company can be daunting – it is always a balance of price, performance and service. I will work with any web hosting company that you select. But if you don’t know where to start, following are some web hosting companies that I have used either used and I have found to be good, or they are globally recognised as quality web hosting companies.
Hostinger
Hostinger is one of the big global web hosting companies, and they good for small projects that have a limited budget. They have very cheap plans with great features and a good renewal price. Their entry package gives you the following features, and only costs about AU$4.50 per month if you sign for a 4 year plan. This gives you the following features:
- Create up to 3 websites
- 20 GB of storage (SSD)
- 2 mailboxes per website - free for 1 year
They have a web hosting management panel (hPanel) that has good functionality, and I have found that when I contacted support on the online chat about a problem their responses were excellent. I have never had a performance problem with them.
Ventra IP
Ventra IP are an Australian company that provide a good quality, good value service. I particularly like the fact that they allow you to customise the disc space, memory and CPU sizing, without upgrading to different package levels (which some other major Australian companies require). I have found their site security and other features to be very good, and the times that I have chatted with their support staff I have had to wait in the queue for a while, but when I did get to chat with someone they were always very knowledgeable and able to resolve my question/issue quickly. They are more expensive than Hostinger, but they are my favorite Australian hosting company.
Black Label Hosting
I am currently in the process of setting up a site using Black Label Hosting, who provide a premium hosting service. They are based in Brisbane, and should be considered if you need a premium or managed service.
Who not to use
Crazy Domains
Crazy Domains are an Australian hosting company that is owned by a Singapore based company. One of my customers used them and was badly hacked (twice), and the Crazy Domains team did not show any knowledge or support in identifying that there was an issue, or providing any guidance or support. In fact, their solution was to just reset the .htaccess file each time, with no mention of a possible hacking. I will not use them again.