A Practical Checklist for Comparing Hosting Providers Side by Side
Brings the Host Compare series together into one checklist you can use while comparing hosting plans, covering pricing, features, fine print, reviews, and red flags.
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hosting basics
Every hosting basics article and review we've published, most recent first.
Getting Help When You Need It: Why Customer Support Matters More Than It Looks
Uses common real-world situations to show when hosting customers need help from their provider, what good support looks like, and how to judge a provider's support before you sign up.
Where Is Your Data Actually Stored? Server Location and Data Sovereignty
Explains how the physical location of your hosting affects website speed and which laws may apply to your data, and what to ask a provider about where your website is stored.
Bundles and Add-Ons: When Extra Features Add Confusion, Not Value
Explains how bundled hosting offers and add-ons can make plans harder to compare, and how to work out which extras are actually worth paying for.
What Should Come Standard: SSL, Backups, and Email Hosting
Looks at three features that most websites need and that many hosting plans include, and what to ask when they are sold as optional extras instead.
Comparing Apples to Apples: Currency, Billing Cycles, and Total Cost
A practical guide to putting hosting prices on the same footing, covering billing periods, currency, GST, and how to work out what a plan really costs per year.
Introductory Pricing vs. Renewal Pricing: The Oldest Trick in Hosting
Explains why the advertised price of a hosting plan often applies only to the first term, how much renewal prices can differ, and how to find the real ongoing cost before you sign up.
Uptime Guarantees: Why 99% and 99.9% Aren't Basically the Same
Converts common hosting uptime percentages into actual hours and minutes of downtime, and explains what an uptime guarantee usually covers, excludes, and compensates.
Understanding "Unlimited": What Storage and Bandwidth Claims Really Mean
Explains why "unlimited" storage and bandwidth on shared hosting always has practical limits, where those limits are usually written down, and what to ask a provider before relying on the claim.
cPanel vs. Plesk: What a Control Panel Actually Does
Explains what a hosting control panel actually does, and what genuinely differs between cPanel and Plesk, the two most common options.
Linux or Windows Hosting: Does the Operating System Actually Matter?
Explains what choosing a Linux or Windows hosting environment actually controls, and the narrow set of situations where the choice genuinely matters.
Free vs. Paid Hosting: What You're Actually Trading Off
Explains what free hosting typically leaves out compared to paid plans, so you can weigh the trade-off deliberately rather than assume "free" comes without a catch.
Web Hosting vs. Managing a Server Yourself: Why Most Sites Don't Need the Extra Work
Compares standard web hosting to self-managing a VPS, explaining the ongoing technical work a VPS requires that standard hosting takes off your hands.
Domains vs. Hosting: Two Separate Things You Both Need
Clears up the most common beginner mix-up in web hosting — a domain name and a hosting plan are two separate products that both need to be in place before a website works.
What Web Hosting Actually Does (and Why You Need It)
Explains what web hosting actually is and how it delivers a website to visitors, so you understand what you're buying before you compare providers.