Ultimate Cheap Web Hosting Guide: Get A Good Host Without Breaking Your Wallet

alt="Ultimate Cheap Web Hosting Guide: Get A Good Host Without Breaking Your Wallet" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/cheap-hosting-price-500x421_c.jpg" />

Intro/background: My experience with cheap web host

class="border" alt="Cheap Hosting Deals" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2011/0728-1.jpg" />

I have always wanted to write a practical guide for those who are searching for cheap web hosting. Reason? One, you don’t see many articles (that actually help) on this topic so it makes perfect sense for me to tackle on it; two, it’s simply because I hate seeing uninformed webmasters being overcharged year after year.

I was a real dumb when I first started my Internet business – I stuck in not one, but two, extremely overpriced hosting deals. First it was with Network Eleven, where I kept paying .99 monthly for a reseller hosting account that I don’t need – it took me a while to cancel it because they refused to accept my cancellation (can you believe that?); then comes Gate Hosting, where I was charged on a very high price tag for a hosting account that allows me to host just one domain with awfully limited features.

Those experiences suck. And I do not want it to happen on you.

Alright, enough history. This article is not about me, it’s about you. I am here to teach you style="text-decoration: underline;">how to take advantage of cheap web hosting services and how to get a good web host without breaking your wallet.

First thing first, define “Cheap Web Hosting”

How cheap a hosting plan needs to be in order to fall into the ‘cheap web hosting’ category?

Quick answer: style="text-decoration: underline;">Below /mo, with adequate features.

By adequate features, I mean web hosting plans that come with hosting features that match current market standard. In brief, these hosting plans should (at least) cover features of hosting unlimited domains, basic web statistics, unlimited email and web mail accounts, auto script installations, updated PHP and MySQL, basic after-sale technical support, 99.5% server uptime and a stable server network.

Cheap web host (under /mo) I reviewed

Here is the list of hosting services I reviewed that cost under per month. Some of them are good, some are bad; and they are all listed here because of the cheap price tag (under /mo subscription fees).

class="border" width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="1">class="table" bgcolor="#CCCCCC" width="160">Cheap Web Host class="table" align="center" bgcolor="#CCCCCC" width="160">Featuresclass="table" align="center" bgcolor="#CCCCCC" width="100">Price/moclass="table" bgcolor="#CCCCCC">Detailswidth="160">href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/ipage.php">iPagehref="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/ipage.php">
alt="iPage hosting" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/home/ipage-a.jpg" width="150" height="34" border="0" />
width="160">Bandwidth: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Addon Domain: Unlimitedalign="center" width="100">.50alt="" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/bullet.gif" border="0" /> href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/ipage-review/">iPage Review
alt="" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/bullet.gif" border="0" /> href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/ipage.php">Visit Onlinecolspan="4">size="1px" />width="160">href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/fatcow.php">FatCow href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/fatcow.php">
alt="Fatcow Hosting" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/home/fatcow-a.jpg" border="0" />href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/fatcow.php">
width="160">Bandwidth: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Addon Domain: Unlimitedalign="center" width="100">.67alt="" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/bullet.gif" border="0" /> href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/fatcow-review/">FatCow Review
alt="" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/bullet.gif" border="0" /> href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/fatcow.php">Visit Onlinecolspan="4">size="1px" />width="160">href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/justhost.php">JustHosthref="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/justhost.php">
alt="JustHost Hosting" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/home/justhost-a.jpg" border="0" />
width="160">Bandwidth: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Addon Domain: Unlimitedalign="center" width="100">.95alt="" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/bullet.gif" border="0" /> href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/justhost-review/">JustHost Review
alt="" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/bullet.gif" border="0" /> href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/justhost.php">Visit Onlinecolspan="4">size="1px" />width="160">href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/hostpapa.php">HostPapahref="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/hostpapa.php">
alt="Hostpapa Hosting" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/home/hostpapa-a.jpg" border="0" />href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/hostpapa.php">
width="160">Bandwidth: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Addon Domain: Unlimitedalign="center" width="100">.95alt="" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/bullet.gif" border="0" /> href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/hostpapa-review/">HostPapa Review
alt="" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/bullet.gif" border="0" /> href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/hostpapa.php">Visit Onlinecolspan="4">size="1px" />width="160">href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/powweb.php">Pow Webhref="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/powweb.php">
alt="Pow Web" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/home/powweb-a.jpg" border="0" />href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/powweb.php">
width="160">Bandwidth: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Addon Domain: Unlimitedalign="center" width="100">.88alt="" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/bullet.gif" border="0" /> href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/powweb-review/">PowWeb Review
alt="" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/bullet.gif" border="0" /> href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/powweb.php">Visit Onlinecolspan="4">size="1px" />width="160">href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/webhostingpad.php">Web Hosting Pad href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/webhostingpad.php">
alt="Web Hosting Pad" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/home/webhostingpad-a.jpg" border="0" />href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/webhostingpad.php">
width="160">Bandwidth: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Addon Domain: Unlimitedalign="center" width="100">.99alt="" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/bullet.gif" border="0" /> href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/web-hosting-review-web-hosting-pad/">W.H.Pad Review
alt="" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/bullet.gif" border="0" /> href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/webhostingpad.php">Visit Onlinecolspan="4">size="1px" />width="160">href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/lunarpages.php">LunarPageshref="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/lunarpages.php">
alt="Lunarpages" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/home/lunarpages-a.jpg" border="0" />href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/lunarpages.php">
width="160">Bandwidth: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Addon Domain: Unlimitedalign="center" width="100">.95alt="" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/bullet.gif" border="0" /> href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/web-hosting-review-lunarpages/">Lunarpages Review
alt="" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/bullet.gif" border="0" /> href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/lunarpages.php">Visit Onlinecolspan="4">size="1px" />width="160">href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/dot5.php">Dot 5 Hostinghref="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/dot5.php">
alt="Dot5 Hosting" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/home/dot5-a.jpg" border="0" />href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/dot5.php">
width="160">Bandwidth: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Addon Domain: Unlimitedalign="center" width="100">.95alt="" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/bullet.gif" border="0" /> href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/dot5-hosting-review/">Dot5 Review
alt="" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/bullet.gif" border="0" /> href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/dot5.php">Visit Online

Reviews and opinions are all written based on my own experience (yes, I tested most of them by myself) and personal reference. I always try to write from an unbiased angle but it should be clear to you that I receive compensation from most of these hosting companies.

Catch-22 behind the low price tags. And, how to counter these problems and take advantage of cheap hosting deals?

Before you draw your old conclusion that all cheap hosting suck, you need to understand that these hosting companies are in business for money as well. There will be drawbacks and pitfalls when you go cheap – No doubt about it.

But hey, that’s the norm in every industry around the globe! So what do you do then? Sit back, rant all day, and do nothing? No! style="text-decoration: underline;">Our task here is not to complain, but to tackle these unavoidable drawbacks and save some bucks.

Given below are some “standard catch-22” and my solutions.

Problem: Unnecessary software charges

[Solution]: Cheap hosting companies make money by recommending additional add-ons and software to their customers. Some will find these add-ons useful; while some will find them wastes of money. The solution to this is pretty simple: Be sceptical with every emails and suggestions you receive from your hosting companies. Avoid clicking blindly and do your research before signing up for any add-ons in your account. In short, be a smart Internet shopper, problem fixed. ;)

Problem: Rushed Servers, Overselling

[Solution]: Check server uptime and read href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/web-hosting-review/">meaningful hosting reviews before signing up a cheap web host. If a hosting company keep receiving complains on server outage and slow network speeds, chances are the web host has some rushed server blocks and it’s best to avoid them.

*A little extra on server uptime: No one wants to host their website with a faulty web host. Go search for uptime record and experts’ comment on the shortlisted web hosts. There are various free services available online for this purpose and href="http://uptime.besthostratings.com/" target="_blank">BestHostRating.com for example, runs a huge database of web host uptime record (see examples below). Personally, I also use href="http://www.pingdom.com/" target="_blank">Pingdom and href="http://www.uptimerobot.com/" target="_blank">Uptime Robot for uptime tracking – these tools are easy to use and completely free.

border="0" cellspacing="15" cellpadding="5">width="160">InMotion title="Visit InMotion Hosting online" href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/inmotion.php" target="_blank">alt="Visit InMotion online" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/home/v.png" width="13" height="13" border="0" />alt="InMotion Uptime Record" src="http://www.besthostratings.com/images/uptime/inmotion_hosting.png" width="160" height="131" />width="160">Hostgator title="Visit Hostgator online" href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/hostgator.php" target="_blank">alt="Visit Hostgator online" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/home/v.png" width="13" height="13" border="0" />alt="Hostgator Uptime Record" src="http://www.besthostratings.com/images/uptime/HostGator_com.png" width="160" height="131" />width="160">FatCow title="Visit FatCow Hosting online" href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/fatcow.php" target="_blank">alt="Visit FatCow hosting online" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/home/v.png" width="13" height="13" border="0" />alt="Fatcow Uptime Record" src="http://www.besthostratings.com/images/uptime/fatcow_web_hosting.png" width="160" height="131" />width="160">Bluehost title="Visit Bluehost online" href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/bluehost.php" target="_blank">alt="Visit Bluehost online" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/home/v.png" width="13" height="13" border="0" />alt="Bluehost Uptime Record" src="http://www.besthostratings.com/images/uptime/BlueHost.png" width="160" height="131" />width="160">WebHostingPad title="Visit WebHostingPad online" href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/webhostingpad.php" target="_blank">alt="Visit WebHostingPad online" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/home/v.png" width="13" height="13" border="0" />alt="WebHostingPad Uptime Record" src="http://www.besthostratings.com/images/uptime/webhostingpad.png" width="160" height="131" />width="160">PowWeb title="Visit PowWeb online" href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/powweb.php" target="_blank">alt="Visit PowWeb online" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/home/v.png" width="13" height="13" border="0" />alt="PowWeb Uptime Record" src="http://www.besthostratings.com/images/uptime/powweb.png" width="160" height="131" />

Problem: Bad neighbourhood in the shared server

[Solution]: These days hosting companies have quite strict policy against spammers and hackers; thus I don’t worry too much about bad neighbourhood. The only way to deal with a bad neighbour is to request your host to suspend his/her account.

Problem: Black-Holed IP

[Solution]: Cheap web hosts are often exploited by spammers to send out junk mails. It’s recommended to check your web host IP on href="http://www.spamhaus.org/sbl/isp.lasso" target="_blank">SpamHaus Block List as soon as you got your account. If unfortunately your server IP is on the list, request a relocation. If your web host refuse to do so, the only other solution is to switch host.

id="floatright">alt="Lunarpages Price Structure" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2009/0222-2.jpg" width="180" height="191" />