Planning to open an online store? One of the things you’ll need is ecommerce hosting.
This type of internet hosting service provides individuals and companies with all tools and features they need to set up and run a commercial website.
An ecommerce hosting company may offer shopping cart software, payment processing services, SSL, database support, and more as part of their service. Besides, you’ll get the standard web hosting features like webspace, plugins, and security.
So who’s the best ecommerce hosting provider out there? That’s what we’re here to help you discover.
In this post, we’re going to list 9 of the most popular ecommerce hosting providers and what they’re each particularly known for. These are the companies that can help you take a slice of the $4.891 trillion ecommerce pie.
(Disclaimer: Oberlo is a part of Shopify inc. media properties. We strive to publish accurate, factual, and objective content, but may give biased opinions in some circumstances.)
The 9 Best Ecommerce Hosting Providers
The best ecommerce web hosting is reliable, easy to use, and capable of matching your budget. With that in mind, here’s a look at the top ecommerce website hosting vendors and what they offer in terms of service.
1. Shopify
You’ve probably heard of Shopify, the ecommerce platform that makes it easy to build an online store. Did you know that most of its plans include ecommerce site hosting with unlimited bandwidth? Well, no kidding. Shopify users get hosting at no additional cost — it’s included in the price you pay to access the platform.
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Start a free Trial todayShopify maintains 99.99% and hosts its stores on blazing-fast servers, meaning your site and its content will load fast. It also uses a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to ensure people worldwide can access your online store as quickly as possible.
Another great aspect of Shopify’s hosting is that all online stores are PCI DSS Level 1-compliant by default. This means you don’t have to worry about keeping your customers’ payment info and business data secure. Shopify invested significant money and time to achieve PCI compliance, and their certification covers your online store, web hosting, and shopping cart.
So with Shopify, you can create an ecommerce store without worrying about hosting — it’s already provided for you.
Shopify also offers other compelling perks, including:
- Free SSL certificate
- Unlimited email forwarding
- Instant platform updates
Pricing: Starts from $29/month for an all-in-one ecommerce solution
2. Bluehost
A WordPress-friendly ecommerce host, Bluehost promises a simple and affordable way to grow your business. Upon signing up, you get access to domain naming, site analytics, and regular technology backups to protect your product data.
Bluehost’s mid-tier plans are extremely generous, featuring unlimited SSD storage, unlimited domains, and unmetered bandwidth, so your hosting can grow as fast as your store. Bluehost also supports a one-click setup if you have a WordPress website through a dedicated WooCommerce plugin.
The host’s backend is simple, flexible, and ideal for beginners creating their first website. Plus, Bluehost offers a free SSL certificate, hotlink protection, Secure Shell access (SSH), and Spam Assassin protection to keep your site secure.
Other perks of Bluehost include:
- Automatic data backups
- Free CDN (Content Delivery Network)
- Custom themes
- Free domain – 1 year
Pricing: Starts from $2.95/month with a 36-month commitment
3. SiteGround
One of the best e commerce web hosts for WooCommerce integration, SiteGround comes with a one-click installation solution, so you can get your store running in minutes. There’s access to domains and subdomains, as well as templates and various customization options.
SiteGround currently supports more than 2 million domains with reliable web hosting optimized to suit your store-building needs. WooCommerce hosting is the recommended choice for ecommerce, but you can also integrate with Magento and PrestaShop. SiteGround users love how easy it is to install apps and gain ecommerce functionality with the platform.
Committed to keeping you and your customers secure, SiteGround features a fully PCI compliant system (though you will have to pay premium prices to access it). There’s a free encryption certificate, daily backups, and 24/7 customer support.
SiteGround’s ecommerce capabilities are further enhanced by:
- Free shopping carts
- Cloudflare CDN
- Out-of-the-box caching
Pricing: Starts from $6.99/month
4. Hostinger
Popular with entrepreneurs on a budget, Hostinger is an affordable and feature-rich choice if you’re looking for the best web hosting for small business. Hostinger’s server stack is custom built to deliver the fastest possible page loading speeds, and customers also benefit from Cloudflare CDN.
One of the things people love most about Hostinger is how easy it is to use. You can easily integrate WooCommerce with your hosting provider, set up a WordPress ecommerce site in minutes.
Although WooCommerce hosting is the most popular option from Hostinger, there’s also support for Magento and PrestaShop. Hostinger offers Magento functionality through Google Cloud for absolute reliability. WooCommerce optimized hosting features multi-tier caching, and PrestaShop has built-in caching functionality too.
The optimized ecommerce environment on Hostinger ensures that companies can maintain fast, effective product pages, without compromising on budget. Another interesting feature is the access manager system, where you can collaborate with other team members on your online store. Creating multiple accounts is easy.
All of the Hostinger’s plans are equipped with:
- Drag-and-drop builder
- Free domain name
- SSL certificate
- Regular backups
Pricing: Starts from $1.39/month
5. A2 Hosting
Performance is the main selling point of A2 Hosting. Among ecommerce hosting platforms, A2 Hosting claims to be one of the fastest and most reliable options for store owners. You can access page loading speeds up to 20 times faster than regular servers, along with unmetered disk space and unlimited SSD storage.
Specially optimized for ecommerce businesses, A2 Hosting has a range of packages that offer powerful storage options, good uptime, and state-of-the-art customer support. The “Guru crew” from A2 is constantly available via live chat and over the phone.
For companies concerned about security and privacy, an SSL certificate is included with every plan so that shoppers can feel safe and secure. A2 Hosting also has a perpetual security plan which includes free scanning of your system to protect against attacks, along with DDoS protection and a firewall for blocking unwanted visitors.
A2 Hosting delivers speed and reliability for your eCommerce store, with some of the best support on the market if you need help getting online. And it comes with the bonus of being very affordable for beginners.
A2 Hosting also boasts:
- Website builder
- Cloudflare CDN
- Unlimited emails
- Unlimited data transfer
Pricing: Starts from $10.99/month
6. Dreamhost
Among the best web hosting for small business and mid-sized companies, Dreamhost is an easy-to-use and intuitive hosting solution. Perhaps the most attractive thing about Dreamhost is that it comes with a powerful site builder that makes it easy to create customized websites. There’s a WooCommerce hosting package known as DreamPress, which gives you all the tools you need for an ecommerce site.
Dreamhost offers PCI-compliant servers for peace of mind, pre-installed SSL certificates, and a one-click access system to get you started with WooCommerce. There’s a 100% uptime guarantee, which you don’t get from most hosting providers. The web host also offers unlimited traffic on every plan, so your store can grow naturally. And with daily backups included for free on all plans, you’ll always have the support you need in place if something goes wrong with your store.
Using Dreamhost comes with some additional benefits, including:
- Free migrations
- Custom control panel
- 1-Click WordPress Install
- Reliable customer support
Pricing: Starts from $2.59/month
7. InMotion Hosting
InMotion Hosting promises ecommerce hosting that grows at the same speed as today’s agile companies. Every hosting package comes pre-optimized for your selected platform, so you can start selling faster. Although the shared hosting plans don’t support PCI compliance, upgrading gets you that peace of mind, as well.
Like many of the top ecommerce hosting solutions, InMotion strives to offer excellent performance and speed without compromising security and privacy. The Power Shared plan comes with things like one-click shopping cart installations to get you up and running quickly. There’s also easy integration with many of the world’s favorite tools, like WooCommerce, OpenCart, PrestaShop, and Magento.
If you’re a WordPress fan, InMotion Hosting includes things like advanced caching, access to Jetpack (the top WordPress plugin), and unlimited bandwidth and email access. Advanced caching is available on most plans, along with dedicated IP addresses if you’re on a higher-tier plan. For support purposes, InMotion staff constantly undergo extensive training to give you the best guidance. There are also automatic backups to secure your information and malware protection, just in case.
InMotion Hosting also provides:
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Free site transfer
- Automatic backups
Pricing: Starts from $6.99/month
8. Hostgator
Hostgator is slightly less flexible than some other e-commerce web hosts when it comes to optimizing for specific platforms. There’s a dedicated Magento hosting and WordPress plan, but no dedicated plan for other systems. You can install WordPress-compatible platforms for ecommerce, like WooCommerce, through the simple one-click installer.
Hostgator hosting is scalable and effective, with a 99.99% uptime guarantee and a free SSL certificate with every purchase. You’ll also get a free domain included with all plans. Every plan comes with free site transfers for those who need migration support to get their store running and unmetered bandwidth, so you can bring in all the customers you like.
Hostgator servers aren’t PCI compliant by default, but you can request this functionality with help from the HostGator team. Users also get unlimited FTP (file transfer protocol) accounts, making it easier to move files between a computer and network. Excellent 24/7 live chat and phone service should mean that even beginners can make the most of their new ecommerce host with minimal confusion.
Hostgator also offers:
- 24/7 server monitoring
- Instant backups and encryption
- Dedicated IP addresses
Pricing: Starts from $2.75/month
9. Cloudways
As you may have guessed from the name, Cloudways stands out as a dedicated cloud-based solution for ecommerce hosting. If you’re looking for site hosting that’s flexible and scalable, the fully managed pay-as-you-go offerings from Cloudways are excellent. Intended to simplify ecommerce growth, Cloudways also supports a range of ecommerce platforms, such as OpenCart, Magento, PrestaShop, and WooCommerce.
All Cloudways ecommerce hosting plans come with access to a range of applications and integrations, an innovative control panel, and automated backups for peace of mind. You get a built-in CDN and auto-healing servers for excellent performance. Built-in SSL certification is delivered as standard, and real-time monitoring keeps your customers safe.
Cloudways goes above and beyond for security and reliability, with firewall access and automated protection against DDoS attacks. However, there’s no native support for PCI compliance.
Cloudways also offers:
- One-click installations
- Reliable uptime
- 24/7 customer support
Pricing: Starts from $10/month
Summary: The 9 Best Ecommerce Hosting Providers
Good web hosting is crucial to ecommerce success. You need to host your site on servers that respond to your visitors’ requests fast. Meanwhile, the hosting provider should have a strong track record in malware, hacking, and security protection. Whether you’re searching for ecommerce hosting to launch a new online store or a reliable provider to accommodate your growing business, you can be sure to find something that caters to your business from these excellent web hosting options.
In summary, here’s a list of ecommerce hosting providers to consider in 2021:
- Shopify
- Bluehost
- SiteGround
- Hostinger
- A2 Hosting
- Dreamhost
- InMotion Hosting
- Hostgator
- Cloudways
Note that none of these hosting providers offer an all-one-one ecommerce platform — except Shopify. This means that you’ll first need to install ecommerce software, then create an online store using the features available. If you’d prefer to start from the store building phase and bypass the technical aspects of running ecommerce software, Shopify is a perfect choice.
Which of these ecommerce hosting providers appeal to you and why? Let us know in the comments below!
