In a rush? Here are the top best web hosting options for developers:
In today’s digital age, a developer’s toolkit isn’t just about knowing the right code—it’s about having the right infrastructure. Just as a craftsman needs a sturdy workbench, developers need a reliable web hosting solution.
The best hosts don’t just ‘house’ your website, they can enhance performance, ensure uptime, and offer essential tools that streamline the development process. Choosing the right one is like investing wisely—it can pay dividends in the form of better user experience and smoother development workflows.
With all the options out there, from shared hosting to dedicated servers, finding the perfect fit can seem daunting. That’s where this guide comes in.
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Let’s dive in to discover the top web hosting choices for developers and why they matter.
| Web Host | Price | Key Features | Money-back Guarantee | Trustpilot Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean | $6/month (VPS-style Droplet) | -Scalable droplets, managed Kubernetes clusters, managed cloud hosting-Automatic weekly backups-Secure and scalable SSD-based block storage-Predictable cloud pricing-Advanced server management and control | $200 credit for 60-day money-back guarantee | 4.2 (743 reviews) |
| A2 Hosting | -$11.99/month for shared hosting (or $2.99/month when buying 1 year)-Same starting price for WP hosting | -Web hosting, WP hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, reseller hosting, managed hosting-Out-of-the-box preconfigured WP installs-Turbo servers-Affordable plans | 30-day | 4.3 (2.1k reviews) |
| SiteGround | $2.99/month Discounted for shared hosting (normally $14.99/mo) | -Web hosting, WP hosting, WooCommerce hosting, Reseller hosting, Cloud hosting-Award-winning customer support-Free site transfer, SSL, CDN and daily backups on all plans-White-label access to site tools for clients-Easy and intuitive site creation/migration | 30-day | 4.7 (13k reviews) |
| Krystal Hosting | $9/month for shared hosting (or get 2 months free with annual purchase and 6 months free with biennially purchase) | -Web hosting, Business Hosting, Managed WordPress, Reseller Hosting, Specialist Hosting (WordPress, Magento, etc), Cloud VPS-Unlimited bandwidth, databases, email addresses, parked domains and subdomains on all shared plans-Free SSL and website builder-Award-winning in-house support-Affordable plans | 60-day | 4.9 (1.6k reviews) |
| Liquid Web | $149.25/month (dedicated managed hosting) | -Dedicated server hosting, VPS hosting, cloud dedicated, private VPS parent, managed specialty hosting, windows hosting-System-level control of websites and servers-Dedicated IP-Hardware guarantees-MIgration assistance | 30-day | 4.5 (1.1k reviews) |
Identifying the Ideal Host for Developers
Many web hosts cater to a more general user audience, highlighting user-friendly features. But for developers, it’s not just about simplicity. It’s more about offering robust resources, like bandwidth, storage, and RAM that are up to the task for complex web applications.
It’s also about having the flexibility to bounce between projects with varied demands – scale up, scale down, and only pay for what’s in use. Throw in pre-configured frameworks like Python or PHP, and you’re talking time saved. Top it off with security and reliability, especially in shared or VPS environments, and that’s what a developer-centric host looks like.
These are the types of hosts we’ll be focusing on, each specializing in different categories, like WordPress hosting and best value.
Top 5 Web Hosting for Developers
Let’s get into the meat of it! After digging deep and comparing several hosts, we’ve shortlisted the top five that really stood out for various reasons. These aren’t just popular picks- they truly deliver on things like developer-centric features, user experience, and reliable support.
1. Digital Ocean
Unlike other hosts on this list, DigitalOcean specializes in cloud computing and doesn’t offer your typical shared hosting products. They’re well-known however for their “Droplets”, which are essentially their version of Virtual Private Servers (VPS).
The platform offers a range of products and features for developers including managed databases, object storage, and Kubernetes-based container hosting.
DigitalOcean host boasts features like 99.99% uptime, cloud firewalls, global data centers, and an intuitive API. They also offer DNS management, monitoring & alerting tools, and enterprise-grade SSDs for enhanced performance.
This is a great option for developers who want full control over their VPS. Just know that it does require some technical knowledge, like familiarity with Linux and the command line, and doesn’t offer the same hand-holding of traditional web hosting platforms. In fact, the learning curve is listed as one of the Cons in a recent G2 DigitalOcean review.
With that said, DigitalOcean has come a long way in the hosting world. Originally they only offered their powerful Droplets solution but they’ve now expanded to offer so much more, attracting a broader range of developers looking for more complex infrastructural needs. Plus, with a 60-day money-back guarantee, don’t be afraid to dive in and take a look around.
Features
- Scalable Droplets, managed Kubernetes clusters, managed cloud hosting (WordPress, Magento, Woocommerce), app platform, databases
- You can choose your server location
- Monitor droplet performance
- Cloud firewalls
- Automatic weekly backups (20% of the cost of the Droplet)
- Team management with unlimited users and two-factor auth
- Secure and scalable SSD-based block storage for Droplets
- Reserved IPs
- S3-compatible Spaces Object Storage with a built-in CDN
Pricing
What’s great about DigitOcean’s pricing is that you’re paying for exactly what you want and need, as opposed to traditional hosts that offer packages at set prices without the ability to customize.
The basic Droplet pricing is based on the combination of CPUs, memory, storage, and bandwidth. For example, a configuration with 1 CPU, 1 GiB of memory, 25 GiB of storage, and 1,000 GiB of bandwidth is priced at $6.00 per month, and this cost already includes the bandwidth fees.
For users who need extra support, there’s a Developer Support Plan that guarantees response times within 8 hours for an additional $24/month.
Pros
- 99.99% SLA
- Predictable and affordable cloud pricing
- Impressive documentation and technical content
- Advanced server management and control
- $200 credit for a 60-day free trial
Cons
- Not much technical support
- Not for beginners
Best Suited For
DigitalOcean is ideally suited for developers and tech-savvy individuals looking for reliable and affordable VPS cloud solutions. DigitalOcean’s Droplets cater to those who want granular control and scalability for their projects.
2. A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting is a strong contender for developers looking for a solid web hosting solution. Known for their lightning-fast speed, easy-to-use tools, and great support, they offer a nice variety of products, like shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting and other specialized hosting.
A2 Hosting is also known for offering optimized hosting plans for WordPress on their Turbo platforms, resulting in fast speeds and excellent performance in addition to tools and features that simplify the setup and maintenance of WordPress websites.
They pledge industry-leading security, a 99.9% uptime commitment, and 24/7 support from their “Guru Crew”. You can also benefit from free website migration, solidifying A2 Hosting as a reliable choice for both newcomers and established developers.
Overall, A2 hosting is one of the most popular and recommended hosts if you check subreddits like r/webhosting or r/EverythingWeb, and not just for their WordPress hosting solutions. They have a solid lineup of offerings at a great price point and they’re constantly working on their speed and performance features, having added turbo servers for even faster site speeds. Performance and speed is what you’ll find on pretty much any Pro/Con list for A2.
Features
- Web hosting, WordPress Hosting, Managed WordPress Hosting, VPS Hosting, Managed VPS Hosting, Dedicated Hosting, Managed Dedicated Hosting, Reseller Hosting, Email Hosting, Turbo Hosting, cPanel Hosting
- 24/7/265 “Guru Crew” support via phone, Live Chat, and email
- Free website migration, free SSL, website staging
- Out-of-the-box pre-configured WordPress Installs with high speeds
- Turbo Servers for faster WordPress hosting
- Global servers
Pricing
A2’s cheapest hosting is their shared web hosting services, which all come with unlimited email accounts, unlimited transfer, website staging, and some more freebies. Their shared hosting starts with the Startup Plan priced at a discounted $11.99/month (or get 75% off if you pay yearly). It’s tailored for beginners and includes a single website, 100 GB SSD Storage, and a free site migration. From there, they have 3 additional plans equipped with more resources, like multiple sites, enhanced storage, automatic backups, faster speeds, and more.
Since we recommend A2, particularly for WordPress hosting, here are some quick prices if that’s what you’re looking for. Plans start at their affordable $11.99/month Run plan hosted on their fast Turbo servers. This includes 1 WordPress website, 50 GB NVMe SSD Storage, onsite backups, simple staging/cloning, and more. There are four WordPress hosting plans, which cap off at their Sell plan for $41.99/month and include unlimited sites, unlimited storage, premium RapidSSL, expert site migration, traffic surge protection, and more extra features.
Pros
- Some nice freebies, like website migration, SSL, website staging
- 99.9% Uptime Commitment
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Super fast Turbo servers
- Affordable plans for Turbo
- Affordable plans when bought annually
- Easy-to-use WordPress hosting
Cons
- Monthly plans are a bit pricier for what you get
- The cheapest plan doesn’t come with a free domain
Best Suited For
A2 is popular for many of their products, like shared hosting, but it’s a particularly great solution for WordPress hosting. These plans are optimized for speed and performance on their Turbo platforms. They’re easy to manage and it’s affordable to get started even with their lowest tiered plan. And if you don’t want to manage your own WordPress site, they do offer managed WordPress hosting plans as well.
3. SiteGround
SiteGround stands out as a versatile web hosting provider, offering solutions from basic web hosting to specialized platforms like WordPress and WooCommerce hosting. But what really sets them apart is their top-tier, award-winning customer support. Not to detract from their other quality offerings, but customer service is SiteGround’s standout attribute in online reviews. This feature (yes, it’s a feature!) is a major boon for developers, ensuring efficient project execution, whether using the service themselves or setting it up for clients. With 24/7 live chat, an extensive knowledge base, and rapid ticket responses, getting help is easy and quick.
Customer service aside, this is another host that’s constantly evolving, and not just when it comes to their hosting services. In 2020, they gave their hosting infrastructure a boost by migrating all their domains to Google Cloud, which enhanced their scalability, reliability, and performance.
Balancing quality offerings with affordability, SiteGround is an optimal choice for developers who value reliable support and performance.
Features
- Web hosting, WordPress hosting, e-Commerce hosting, Reseller hosting, Cloud hosting
- Award-winning customer support
- All web hosting plans come with a free site transfer
- WordPress and Weebly website builder
- Google Cloud infrastructure with multiple speed optimizations
- Free SSL and daily backups
- Custom PHP setup
- White-label access to site tools for clients
Pricing
SiteGround kicks off its shared hosting offerings with the StartUp plan at a discounted $2.99/mo (normally $14.99/month), which includes one website with 10 GB of web space and traffic for ~10,000 monthly visits. It bundles essentials like free SSL, CDN, daily backups, and managed WordPress. For those needing enhanced resources and features, you can upgrade to their higher-tier plans.
These advanced plans offer more storage, support for unlimited websites, increased traffic capacity, and additional tools like staging, faster PHP, and priority support.
Pros
- Easy and intuitive site creation/management
- Good value on higher-tier plans
- Easy staging tools and Git integration
- Great occasional discounts on hosting
- Excellent customer support
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Nice freebies like CDN, SSL, daily backups, and email
Cons
- No uptime guarantee
- Pricier web host when not on discount
- Lower storage compared to competitors
Best Suited For
Siteground is a great overall hosting option, especially for developers prioritizing standout customer support and easy-to-use features. Whether you’re managing the service directly or setting it up for a client, SiteGround ensures a smooth experience with its award-winning support and intuitive dashboard. It might not be the best option if you’re looking for shared hosting with a lot of resources, but it’s great for small to medium-sized sites and a top choice for those who value efficiency and ease.
4. Krystal Hosting 
Born from a drive to offer an “Honest, Reliable & Personal” touch in the world of web hosting, Krystal has been serving users with top-tier hosting solutions since 2002, which is evident given their solid reviews.
Their willingness to resist acquisition by larger firms like GoDaddy and Newfold Digital—companies known for buying out smaller competitors and often reducing quality—is pretty commendable. According to their own creed, they have no plans to sell. It’s refreshing to see a web host that prioritizes delivering a quality product people love over sheer profit motives, particularly in an industry landscape where consolidation is common.
And while they’re not some gargantuan hosting company, don’t let that fool you. They’re still the biggest independent host in the UK and have an impressive lineup of hosting services, like shared hosting, managed WordPress hosting, Cloud VPS, and more. It also doesn’t hurt that they’re committed to green practices by using 100% renewable/clean energy to power their data center.
While Krystal Hosting started off as a UK-based host over 20 years ago, they now offer global data centers, which means you can run your site in the US, UK, or Europe without worrying about latency.
Top Features
- Web hosting, Business Hosting, Managed WordPress, Reseller Hosting, Specialist Hosting (WordPress, Magento, cPanel, Shared, Joomla, Opencart, Drugap, and PHP Hosting), Cloud VPS
- 99.99% uptime guarantee
- Unlimited bandwidth, databases, email addresses, parked domains, and subdomains
- Free SSL certificates
- cPanel and Softaculous script auto-installer with over 200 apps
- Free no-code website builder
- Global data centers (US, UK, and Europe)
- File management, Domain management, and Email management
- Award-winning customer support via email, Live Chat, and phone support
- MySQL/MariaDB databases and phpMyAdmin Management
- Git version control
Pricing
Krystal’s shared hosting services kick off with the Amethyst plan at $9/month, tailored mainly for personal sites. It comes with hosting for a single site, 10GB NVMe storage, daily backups, and free SSL certificates. In terms of performance, you’ll get 1 CPU core, 2GB RAM, 25 processes.
There are four shared plans total, ending with their “business Swiss Army Knife” Sapphire plan, and as you go up the pricing ladder, each tier offers incrementally more features and benefits, like an increase in the number of sites hosted as well as storage, among more robust features.
You can save more by switching to an annual plan or even a biennial plan which essentially gets you 6 months free.
Pros
- Guaranteed 99.99% uptime
- Fast servers
- Free SSL and website builder
- Award-winning in-house support
- 60-day money-back guarantee
- Great features for all their hosting plans
Cons
- The cheapest plan only comes with 1 site
- No CDN
Best Suited For
Krystal Hosting is best for developers wanting an affordable hosting solution. While not the absolute cheapest option out there, this host offers great value for its price. It’s an optimal choice for developers seeking a balance between cost-effectiveness and reliable performance. With a robust set of features accompanying its affordable plans, Krystal stands out as a budget-friendly solution without compromising on essential developer needs.
5. Liquid Web Hosting
For those looking for a hands-off hosting experience without skimping on quality, Liquid Web emerges as a strong contender. They’ve been around for over 25 years serving customers in over 150 countries, and have 10 global data centers. While they started out with mostly just dedicated hosting, they now offer a robust suite of managed hosting options as well.
Over the years, they’ve added specialized hosting solutions for popular CMSs like WordPress and Magento, and they’ve enhanced their security features substantially.
With features like auto-updates, backups, and top-notch monitoring, it’s clear Liquid Web caters to developers who appreciate streamlined operations. In combining robust, hassle-free hosting with responsive support, Liquid Web is a solid choice for developers and businesses seeking a balance of performance and convenience.
If you check out their reviews online, a lot of the positives have to do with Liquid Web’s customer service response and uptime. While some users might find the pricing on the steeper side, the general consensus suggests that the value delivered more than justifies the cost.
Features
- Dedicated server hosting, VPS hosting, cloud dedicated, private VPS parent, Cloud sites, server clusters, managed WordPress, managed WooCommerce, VMware private cloud, Windows hosting solutions
- 24/7/365 support
- Standard DDOS protection
- SerrverSecure advanced security
- System-level control of websites and servers
- Cloudflare CDN
- Root access
- Business-grade SSD Storage
- Dedicated IP
- Migration assistance
- Hardware guarantees
Pricing
Liquid Web’s dedicated hosting begins with the INTEL XEON 1230V6 plan, optimized for high-traffic sites and small apps, starting at a promotional $149.25/month. This plan comes with 4 cores @ 3.5 GHz, 16 GB RAM, 5 TB bandwidth, 2 x 240 GB SSD primary disk, and 1 TB SATA Backup Disk.
As needs evolve, they offer more advanced plans with boosted resources and added security features.
Pros
- Robust dedicated managed hosting
- 100% uptime guarantee
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- White-glove treatment plans
- Powerful servers and specs
- Great customer support
Cons
- No shared hosting
- Pricey hosting
Best Suited For
For developers keen on streamlining their workflows, Liquid Web’s dedicated managed hosting stands out. It offers the convenience of hands-off server management, paired with performance optimizations that matter. Dive into coding, while Liquid Web’s experts handle backend nuances. With scalability and dedicated support, it’s a top pick for developers seeking reliable managed hosting solutions.
Summary
When it comes to web hosting solutions tailored for developers, the landscape is diverse and specialized. And there are a lot of options to choose from.
SiteGround emerges as the go-to for unmatched customer support, ensuring developers or their clients always have assistance when they need it. A2 Hosting shines for its tailored WordPress offerings, making the content management process smoother. Krystal Hosting offers affordability without compromising on features, a balance not easily struck.
For developers looking for VPS hosting, DigitalOcean offers “Droplets”, a technical yet powerful approach to virtualized environments. Lastly, for dedicated and managed hosting, Liquid Web is a reliable platform with a keen emphasis on performance and support.
FAQs
How do hosting platforms differ?
Hosting companies, while often offering similar core services like shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting, can still differ in other ways. These distinctions can arise in their server performance, customer support responsiveness, pricing structures, security measures, additional integrated tools, user interface design, and much more. These kinds of nuances can make a significant difference in user experience, even when the fundamental offerings might look similar at first glance.
What are some popular developer tools some web hosts offer?
Web hosts cater to developers by offering tools that can enhance their workflow, like Git integration for version control, staging environments for testing, one-click installers for easy application setup, web-based IDEs, custom PHP configuration, SSH access, and integrated APIs. These kinds of tools ensure flexibility, ease of management, and optimization for web projects, so its important to look out for when choosing a host.
What kind of customer support can developers expect from these hosting services?
You can expect varied customer support from hosting services, ranging from convenient 24/7 live chat and phone support to extensive knowledge bases and forums. Some hosts offer dedicated technical support for complex issues, while others have community-driven platforms where developers can seek peer advice. The quality and responsiveness of the support team can be a big factor for developers, especially when managing critical projects.
How do these platforms accommodate both beginner and advanced developers?
Hosting platforms cater to a broad skill range by offering user-friendly interfaces alongside advanced tools. For beginners, they might have drag-and-drop website builders, one-click installations, and guided tutorials. And your more tech-savvy developers can benefit from direct server access, customizable configurations, staging environments, and integration capabilities. By balancing simplicity with depth, the best hosts ensure that both novice and experienced developers can effectively manage and deploy their projects.
How easy is it to migrate existing projects or websites to these hosting platforms?
Migrating projects or websites to a new host is generally streamlined, with many hosts offering migration tools or services. While automatic migration tools can handle common setups, more complex projects might need some manual adjustments. It’s important to check compatibility, ensure data backups, and test the site post-migration. Some hosts also offer free expert migration assistance to ensure a smooth transition which of course can help minimize downtime and potential issues.
Jessica Cotzin is a Senior Engineer at a global digital agency. She is also a freelance writer in the tech industry, offering insights into the ever-evolving digital landscape.
