Best E-Commerce Hosting Services
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If your e-commerce platform or website builder does not include a hosting service as part of its plan, you will need to select a reliable e-commerce web host. There are many options available, so we did the research to help you find the best solution for your needs.
Here are the best e-commerce hosting providers of 2024. We chose these services based on multiple factors, including pricing, features, uptime guarantees, ease of use, popularity and customer reviews.
- Featured Partners
- The Best E-Commerce Hosting Providers of 2024
- IONOS
- Hostinger
- Bluehost
- HostGator
- DreamHost
- InMotion Hosting
- TMDHosting
- SiteGround
- Forbes Advisor Rating
- How To Choose the Best E-Commerce Hosting Service
- How Much Does It Cost To Host an E-Commerce Website?
- Featured Partners
- Methodology
- Next Up In Business
Featured Partners
1
BlueHost
Price per month
INR 169 onwards
Features
Affordable hosting plan, free domain name, free CDN
Free trial
30 days
2
IONOS Hosting
Average Uptime
99.9%
Price starts from
INR 82/month ($1)
Features
Free domain, free SSL certificate, daily backups
3
Hostgator
Price starts from
INR 219/month ($2.64/month) onwards
Uptime guarantee
99%
Benefits
Free SSL and domain for 1st year
4
DreamHost
Starting at
INR 216/month ($2.59) with WordPress pre-installed & Free SSL certificate available
Uptime guarantee
100%
Customer service
24/7 support
The Best E-Commerce Hosting Providers of 2024
- IONOS: Best Overall
- Hostinger: Best for Beginners and Professionals
- Bluehost: Best for Booking Appointments
- HostGator: Best for Businesses on a Budget
- DreamHost: Best for a 100% Uptime Guarantee
- InMotion Hosting: Best for One-Click Installation
- TMDHosting: Best for Large Websites
- SiteGround: Best for WordPress
BEST OVERALL
IONOS
Starting price
$8 (INR 662) per month
Free domain
For the first year
Templates
Yes
Starting price
$8 (INR 662) per month
Free domain
For the first year
Templates
Yes
IONOS is a top choice for e-commerce web hosting because of its focus on speed and performance. Its dual platform technology allows for faster performance by hosting web servers and storage on the same platform. You get scalable performance, allowing for easy adjustments to handle increasing traffic. Additionally, the use of the HTTP/2 protocol helps to ensure fast page load times, which is essential for an e-commerce site.
IONOS places a strong emphasis on security, including DDoS protection and automatic backups of up to six days of data. You’ll also get a Wildcard SSL certificate and site scan for extra protection. In terms of state-of-the-art features, IONOS includes a content delivery network and a mobile admin app. It also supports the latest version of PHP, including a JIT compiler and a 768MB memory limit.
Who should use it:
IONOS is an ideal choice for anyone looking for reliable e-commerce web hosting that places a strong emphasis on performance and security.
- Fast performance due to dual platform technology and HTTP/2 protocol
- DDoS protection
- Automatic backups
- Content delivery network (CDN)
- Social selling
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Can manage your shop via its mobile app
- No free trial
- No free plan
BEST FOR BEGINNERS AND PROFESSIONALS
Hostinger
Starting price
INR 149 per month plus 3 months free and INR 249 per month at the time of renewal
Free domain
Yes
Templates
Yes
Starting price
INR 149 per month plus 3 months free and INR 249 per month at the time of renewal
Free domain
Yes
Templates
Yes
Hostinger offers three plans, each plan comes with specific features for hosting your ecommerce website. You can analyze and choose the plan that suits you the best. For instance, if you wish to build a simple website, the Simple web hosting plan will work fine for you. But, if you want more functions and capacity like a WordPress staging tool, daily backups and unlimited data then the best choice for you would be Hostinger’s business plan. You can run up to 100 websites.
The hosting services of Hostinger includes cloud hosting, VPS hosting, WordPress hosting and the Minecraft server. The range of use cases help you to make a better choice in scaling your website with the precise features you require. Hostinger currently has over 1,597,691 website owners. It provides top-notch security features like Cloudflare protected nameservers, automatic backups and with 99.9% uptime guarantee so, you cannot miss a customer.
Hostinger eCommerce website is time-saving as it is effortless order management and inventory. It gives you the leverage to sell almost everything from products to services, be it physical or digital. It is a beginner-friendly setup where no coding is required. It has designer eCommerce templates with a responsive and automatic design that fits any screen be it a laptop, tabloid or mobile phone. The list is endless as Hostinger also offers the host a great suite of resources that includes custom domains, low-rate regular backups, email accounts and unlimited free SSL certificates.
Who Should Use It:
Hostinger is one of the best ecommerce hosting services available in India. It’s on a custom-built hPanel with advanced features that makes it ideal for beginners and professionals.
- Minecraft server
- Customer support in multilingual setup
- Accessible website builder for all plans
- No telephone support and cPanel
- Nonstandard refund terms
- Just one email account on the single shared hosting plan
BEST FOR BOOKING APPOINTMENTS
Bluehost
Starting price
INR 449 per month
Free domain
The first year
Templates
Yes
Starting price
INR 449 per month
Free domain
The first year
Templates
Yes
Bluehost is an ideal choice for businesses that want to offer booking and appointment services through their online store. It provides a range of features powered by YITH, including a user-friendly dashboard that allows you to easily sync your calendar with your store. This makes it convenient for customers to schedule appointments or reserve services.
Other notable features of Bluehost include website analytics, 100GB of SSD storage, a free domain for the first year, free SSL and Yoast SEO. In addition to booking and appointment capabilities, Bluehost also offers gift cards, store creation with the Wonder Theme, wishlist, product search and filtering, and more. You’ll also get daily backups from Jetpack, automated WordPress updates, secure online payments and the ability to sell an unlimited number of products.
Who should use it:
Any business that wants to offer booking and appointment services through an online store should consider Bluehost.
- It uses WooCommerce
- Comes with a theme
- Daily backups
- Comes with Yoast SEO
- Unlimited products
- Customers can create wishlists
- Storage limits
BEST FOR BUSINESSES ON A BUDGET
HostGator
Starting price
INR 199 per month (three-year term, renews at INR 99 per month)
Free domain
The first year
Templates
Yes
Starting price
INR 199 per month (three-year term, renews at INR 99 per month)
Free domain
The first year
Templates
Yes
HostGator offers many levels of service for its e-commerce store owners. These are Shared Web Hosting, Website Builder, WordPress Hosting, Dedicated, VPS and Reseller. Within each tier are multiple plan options, depending on your business goals and the level of service you need. Brand-new store owners should choose the Shared Web Hosting option’s Hatchling Plan, Baby Plan or Business Plan.
Even if you’re an established e-commerce business, there’s an option for you. The highest tier is perfect for Enterprise-level needs and is much cheaper than other e-commerce hosts for the same level of service. The drawback to having so many options is you may have a difficult time choosing which plan you need. If this is the case, chat with its sales team right from the feature menu.
Who should use it:
With HostGator, you pay for what your business needs, which makes it perfect for businesses on a budget. After you’ve outgrown your chosen hosting option, you can upgrade to a higher level of service.
- Free email
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Unmetered bandwidth and disk space
- 99% uptime guarantee
- cPanel access
- SEO tools
- Low prices only last for the first year
- Clunky user design
BEST FOR A 100% UPTIME GUARANTEE
DreamHost
Starting price
$16.95 (INR 1,402) per month
Free domain
With a yearly plan
Templates
Yes
Starting price
$16.95 (INR 1,402) per month
Free domain
With a yearly plan
Templates
Yes
DreamHost is one of the most popular e-commerce hosting companies and offers a 100% uptime guarantee. It’s older than Google and is one of the three host companies recommended directly by WordPress. Its e-commerce plans include WooCommerce software. Choose from three plans for e-commerce hosting: DreamPress, DreamPress Plus and DreamPress Pro.
Enjoy unlimited email, a minimum of 30GB of SSD storage, unmetered bandwidth, one-click staging and free automated WordPress migrations. All plans also come with a website builder, a storefront theme and WooCommerce included.
If you pay annually for your plan, you can save up to 17%. One of the best features is its 24/7 expert WordPress support. If your site breaks, or you mess up any of the coding, an expert can walk you through how to fix it. Other host companies charge hundreds of dollars for this service.
Who should use it:
If you desire a 100% uptime guarantee, you’ll want to choose DreamHost for your e-commerce hosting.
- Unlimited data storage and bandwidth
- Uptime guarantee
- Offers dedicated hosting
- Responsive chat support
- Free automated WordPress migrations
- WordPress website builder
- Must use a third-party tool for e-commerce features
- Storage limits
- No phone support
- On the pricier end
BEST FOR ONE-CLICK INSTALLATION
InMotion Hosting
Starting Price
$20 (INR 1,654) per month
Free domain
Yes
Templates
Yes
Starting Price
$20 (INR 1,654) per month
Free domain
Yes
Templates
Yes
InMotion Hosting is a good option for businesses of all sizes that are looking to host an e-commerce website. It offers a variety of hosting plans to meet the needs of different types of online stores, including those that are just starting out and those that are well-established and have high levels of traffic.
InMotion Hosting has a strong focus on customer support and offers a range of features specifically designed for e-commerce, such as unlimited products, unlimited storage and a free SSL certificate. Additionally, it offers a range of security features to help protect your store and your customers’ information, such as suPHP, which helps keep your website even safer. It’s like a special set of rules that makes sure only certain people can do certain things on the website.
Who should use it:
Businesses that want a simple setup process and reliable customer support should consider InMotion Hosting.
- Free SSL certificate
- SSD storage
- Works with PrestaShop, Magento, OpenCart, WooCommerce and others
- Uses Softaculous for one-click installation
- 24/7/365 support
- Storage limits on base plan
BEST FOR LARGE WEBSITES
TMDHosting
Starting Price
$2.95 (INR 244) per month
Free domain
Yes
Templates
Yes
Starting Price
$2.95 (INR 244) per month
Free domain
Yes
Templates
Yes
TMDHosting’s e-commerce plans offering unlimited storage are ideal for larger websites because they allow for the storage of a large amount of data, including product images, customer information and other website assets. This is particularly useful for larger websites that have a large inventory or that expect to experience high levels of traffic.
In addition to unlimited storage, TMDHosting’s e-commerce plans also offer unlimited bandwidth, which is the amount of data that can be transferred to and from your website in a given period of time. This is important for larger websites because it ensures that your website can handle a large volume of traffic without slowing down or crashing.
Who should use it:
TMDHosting’s e-commerce plans are ideal for larger businesses with a significant amount of inventory or that experience high levels of traffic.
- cPanel access
- 60-day money-back guarantee
- Unlimited storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- No add-on domains with its base plan
BEST FOR WORDPRESS
SiteGround
Starting price
$3.99 (INR 330) per month
Free domain
With a yearly plan
Templates
Yes
Starting price
$3.99 (INR 330) per month
Free domain
With a yearly plan
Templates
Yes
SiteGround’s e-commerce hosting plans are powered by WooCommerce and offer a range of features to support the needs of online stores. Its cheapest plan includes the ability to host one website, with 10GB of web space and the capacity to handle up to 10,000 visits per month. The plan offers unmetered traffic, meaning there is no limit on the amount of data that can be transferred to and from the website.
SiteGround also includes a range of tools and services to help set up and manage your online store, including free WordPress installation, a WordPress migrator tool and automatic WordPress updates. While the regular price appears steep compared to competitors, it seems that discounts are often offered.
Who should use it:
Tech-savvy e-commerce site owners who want to run their business via WordPress and WooCommerce.
- Uses WooCommerce via WordPress
- The e-commerce plugin comes preinstalled
- Sell digital or physical goods
- CDN
- Staging tool
- Requires a little more tech knowledge to maintain than other tools
Forbes Advisor Rating
How To Choose the Best E-Commerce Hosting Service
There are many e-commerce host companies to choose from. To find the best fit for your business, carefully consider costs, availability of customer support, customer reviews and how easy the software is to use. There are also several features you should ensure the platform provides.
Essential Features
- PCI compliance. Since 2006, companies that process or store credit card information have been required to adhere to payment card industry (PCI) standards. These regulations help ensure that customer data is protected from unauthorized transactions and fraudulent activity when they input their data on your site.
- Adequate storage. When you are uploading inventory, you need to be able to also include photos that showcase your products. Make sure the platform gives you enough storage to hold any photos and videos you need.
- Emergency backups. Even when you have layers of security in place, things can go awry. If someone hacks into your shop or an update breaks the layout you’ve put in place, restoring a site backup can help you get things up and running again quickly.
- Accessible support. Customers can purchase from your store any time, day or night, which means you may also run into issues outside of normal business hours. Choose a provider that offers support with hours that work for you—ideally, with multiple methods of contact (phone, email and live chat).
- A simple interface. Unless there’s a web developer on your team, you’ll likely need a user-friendly system that doesn’t use a lot of technical jargon. Research customer reviews to see what users think about the service and how easy it is to use, to ensure you have smooth sailing going forward.
Security and Encryption
When choosing an e-commerce hosting service, it’s important to consider the level of security and encryption that the service provides. Here are some factors to consider:
- SSL certificates: Look for a hosting service that offers SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates to encrypt data transmitted between your website and your customers’ browsers. This is especially important for online stores that handle sensitive information, such as credit card numbers.
- Data centers: Choose a hosting service that has secure data centers with multiple layers of physical security, such as biometric scanners and security cameras.
- Network security: Look for a hosting service that has robust network security measures in place, such as firewalls and DDoS protection.
- Payment processing: If you will be accepting payments on your website, make sure that the hosting service has secure payment processing options, such as PCI DSS compliance.
Types of Hosting Services
There are several types of hosting services available, each with its own set of features and benefits. Here is a bulleted list of some of the most common types of hosting services:
- Shared hosting: This is the most basic and affordable type of hosting. With shared hosting, your website is hosted on the same server as many other websites, and you share resources such as bandwidth and disk space.
- VPS hosting: VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting is a type of hosting that provides you with your own virtual server, with resources that are dedicated to your website. It is more expensive than shared hosting, but offers more control and flexibility.
- Dedicated server hosting: With dedicated server hosting, you have an entire physical server dedicated to your website. This is the most expensive type of hosting, but also the most powerful and flexible.
- Managed hosting: Managed hosting is a type of hosting where the hosting provider handles all the technical aspects of running the server, such as security, performance and updates. This is a good option for businesses that don’t have the resources or expertise to manage a server themselves.
How Much Does It Cost To Host an E-Commerce Website?
The cost of hosting an e-commerce website can vary widely depending on the size and complexity of your website, the amount of traffic you receive and the resources you need. There are several factors that can impact the cost of hosting an e-commerce website, including:
- Type of hosting: As mentioned earlier, the type of hosting you choose will have a big impact on the cost. Shared hosting is generally the cheapest, while dedicated server hosting is the most expensive.
- Resources: The amount of resources (such as bandwidth, storage and CPU) that you need will also impact the cost of hosting.
- Length of contract: Many hosting providers offer discounted rates for longer contracts. For example, you may be able to get a lower monthly rate if you sign up for a two-year contract instead of a one-year contract.
- Add-on features: Some hosting providers offer additional features, such as SSL certificates or premium support, for an additional fee.
There may be price changes after a promotional period, so it’s important to carefully read the terms of service and understand any renewal pricing before signing up for a hosting plan.
To reduce the cost of hosting, you can try the following:
- Choose a cheaper type of hosting: If you don’t need a lot of resources or advanced features, you may be able to save money by choosing a shared or VPS hosting plan instead of a dedicated server.
- Negotiate a better rate: Some hosting providers are willing to negotiate prices, especially if you are a long-term customer or if you are willing to commit to a longer contract.
- Shop around: Don’t be afraid to shop around and compare prices from different hosting providers. You may be able to find a better deal by switching to a different provider.
- Look for discounts: Many hosting providers offer discounts to new customers or for certain events, such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Keep an eye out for these promotions to save money on your hosting plan.
Featured Partners
1
BlueHost
Price per month
INR 169 onwards
Features
Affordable hosting plan, free domain name, free CDN
Free trial
30 days
2
IONOS Hosting
Average Uptime
99.9%
Price starts from
INR 82/month ($1)
Features
Free domain, free SSL certificate, daily backups
3
Hostgator
Price starts from
INR 219/month ($2.64/month) onwards
Uptime guarantee
99%
Benefits
Free SSL and domain for 1st year
4
DreamHost
Starting at
INR 216/month ($2.59) with WordPress pre-installed & Free SSL certificate available
Uptime guarantee
100%
Customer service
24/7 support
Methodology
When considering which are the best e-commerce hosting companies of 2024, we wanted to make sure they were cost-effective, easy to use and had features important to e-commerce business owners. We also considered real customer reviews and added benefits rarely found in a hosting company.
- Ease of use. Do business owners have to do any coding? Or does the host have a website builder that makes it easy to set up a storefront?
- Cost and fees. Fees are unusual for e-commerce hosts, aside from a monthly service plan and per-transaction fees charged by the payment provider. These costs should be minimal, and the monthly price reasonable.
- Customer support. Many host companies have 24/7 support 365 days per year. This is the standard because downtime costs an e-commerce store money.
- Features and functionality. Does the host company have a 100% uptime guarantee? If not, do they have to pay extra to get help from tech support? What standout features does the company have?
- Customer reviews. What do e-commerce business owners think of the e-commerce host?
Next Up In Business
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