The journalists on the editorial team at Forbes Advisor Australia base their research and opinions on objective, independent information-gathering.
When covering investment and personal finance stories, we aim to inform our readers rather than recommend specific financial product or asset classes. While we may highlight certain positives of a financial product or asset class, there is no guarantee that readers will benefit from the product or investment approach and may, in fact, make a loss if they acquire the product or adopt the approach.
To the extent any recommendations or statements of opinion or fact made in a story may constitute financial advice, they constitute general information and not personal financial advice in any form. As such, any recommendations or statements do not take into account the financial circumstances, investment objectives, tax implications, or any specific requirements of readers.
Readers of our stories should not act on any recommendation without first taking appropriate steps to verify the information in the stories consulting their independent financial adviser in order to ascertain whether the recommendation (if any) is appropriate, having regard to their investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs. Providing access to our stories should not be construed as investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any security or product, or to engage in or refrain from engaging in any transaction by Forbes Advisor Australia. In comparing various financial products and services, we are unable to compare every provider in the market so our rankings do not constitute a comprehensive review of a particular sector. While we do go to great lengths to ensure our ranking criteria matches the concerns of consumers, we cannot guarantee that every relevant feature of a financial product will be reviewed. We make every effort to provide accurate and up-to-date information. However, Forbes Advisor Australia cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of this website. Forbes Advisor Australia accepts no responsibility to update any person regarding any inaccuracy, omission or change in information in our stories or any other information made available to a person, nor any obligation to furnish the person with any further information.
Published: Jul 11, 2023, 2:58pm
Edited By
Edited By
Today’s leading cloud hosting platforms offer customers a unique and affordable way to scale up their websites, apps or whatever else they need to host. The best systems on the market offer features like fast-loading solid-state drive (SSD) storage, top-shelf processors and the ability to scale your hosting plan as you grow.
Forbes Advisor looked at the best systems on the market for Australian businesses and compared them based on pricing, features and usability.
Featured Partners
1
Bluehost
On Bluehost.com’s Website
Starting price
$2.95 per month
Standout Features
Free domain name & SSL for a year
Money Back Guarantee
30 Day
2
DreamHost
Bandwidth
Unlimited
SSL Certificate
Free
SSD Storage
Available
3
HostGator
On HostGator’s Website
Starting price
$US2.75 ($4.20 AUD) per month
Storage and Bandwidth
Unmetered
Extras and inclusions
Free domain registration for a year, free website and domain transfer, free SSL certificate, free email
4
Ionos
On Ionos’s Secure Website
Starting price
$US1 ($1.50 AUD) per month
Storage and bandwidth
10GB of storage and unlimited traffic
Extras and inclusions
Free domain, free SSL certificate, daily backups, one email account
We researched 54 hosting services and analysed factors such as reliability, pricing, customer support, storage and ease of use. These are the top 5 providers we recommend.
Unlimited
Free
Available
Unlimited
Free
Available
DreamHost is one of the only services to provide both cloud computing (DreamComputer) and cloud object storage (DreamObjects).
They also offer a zero-risk, 97-day money back guarantee, along with a 100% uptime guarantee.
The server can be used on a range of operating systems, including Linux, BSD, and MS Windows. Users have full root access, can scale their apps both vertically and horizontally and all code is open source, allowing the cloud to grow as needed.
Pricing structure is unique and based on usage on an hourly basis, so you only pay for what you use. Rates start at $US4.50 ($6.75 AUD) per month for 512 MB of RAM Server, and max out at $US48 ($72 AUD) per month for 8 GB of RAM Server.
Who Should Use It: Website owners looking for high-quality, lightning-fast uptime along with plenty of extra features.
Unlimited
Free
Available
Unlimited
Free
Available
HostGator is a great choice for sites hosting blogs, with simple one-click WordPress installation and free server monitoring. It offers a 45-day money-back guarantee for basic hosting services, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee.
HostGator is a user-friendly, one-stop shop for your hosting needs. It conveniently provides everything in one place, including hosting, domains, email, website builder and storage.
Users get automated failover for hardware issues, unlimited storage and an intuitive dashboard that tracks the site’s performance and metrics.
There are 3 pricing options: Hatchling at $US3.75 ($5.62 AUD) per month, Baby at $US4.50 ($6.75 AUD) per month, and Business at $US6.25 ($9.37 AUD) per month. Users should note that all of these are introductory offers, and pricing will increase when it is time to renew.
Who Should Use It: Beginners who want a fast, responsive host, while also staying on budget.
Unlimited
Free
Available
Unlimited
Free
Available
SiteGround offers scalable cloud hosting for websites and businesses of all sizes. Cloud hosting plans offer a 14-day money-back guarantee and a refund if they fail to meet a 99.9% uptime rate.
SiteGround plans offer easy onboarding, fully managed service, a powerful hosting stack and an ultra-fast platform. Users can build a customised cloud based on needed CPU, memory and SSD space.
SiteGround hosting starts at $100 AUD per month for 8 GB and offers 3 higher plans ranging from $200 AUD to $400 AUD per month.
Who Should Use It: Anyone ready to move up from a shared server and wants a host that can handle all the IT components.
Unlimited
Yes
Available
Unlimited
Yes
Available
HostWinds is a newer service, offering free migration, the Weebly website builder and solid support. It’s a budget-friendly option that boasts customer excellence and a 99.9999% uptime guarantee.
HostWinds plans include full management, custom templates, SSH key management and instant scalability.
Users are offered firewall protection, object storage and root access, although not as many extras as other plans include.
HostWinds dubs their cloud hosting billing, dubbed “pay the way you prefer.” Plans start at a few cents per hour for 30 GB, and offers ten total options, going all the way up to 750 GB.
Who Should Use It: Users who need a reliable, no-frills, budget-friendly option
Unlimited
Free
Available
Unlimited
Free
Available
A2 Hosting isn’t as widely known as some of its competitors on our list, but it’s a solid contender for cloud hosting services. They offer a hassle-free money-back guarantee not typically seen, as well as a 99.9% uptime commitment.
A2 is an independently-owned service that offers both managed and unmanaged hosting. Users can also choose to add on “turbo boost,” which features up to 20 times faster page loads, according to the company.
A2 users get root access for control and customisation, as well as the choice of operating systems and command-line management.
Unmanaged VPS hosting starts at $US2.99 ($4.48 AUD) per month for 1 GB, and goes up incrementally until 16 GB, which runs $US59.99 ($90 AUD) per month.
Who Should Use It: Users in search of excellent customer service, overall cloud hosting and enhanced security features.
In order to choose the best cloud hosting options for this ranking, Forbes Advisor compared each service based on important factors that include ease of use, value for the money, popularity and features. We ranked each hosting service based on a 5-star rating system, with the highest score being 5 stars.
Here’s what we looked at in order to compile the rankings in each category.
When you first launch a website, you will more than likely start with a shared host. This type of hosting means that a single server has multiple users, and each user gets a certain amount of bandwidth.
For those just starting out or who have a small website, this is generally the default choice, as it is the easiest and most cost-effective solution.
The downside of shared hosting is that it’s, well, shared. There is only so much room on a server, which means you may experience slower performance depending on what the other hosted sites are doing. There is also an increased security risk, since one hacker would be able to access multiple sites.
Eventually you will probably start to feel the constraints of shared hosting, which will prevent high-traffic sites from optimal performance.
Cloud hosting takes care of these problems, because users are supported by several different servers. Switching to a cloud host means that sites with heavy traffic will always perform with consistent reliability.
Since you are no longer confined to one server, there is no limit to how much users can scale and expand.
Cloud hosting allows websites and apps with heavy traffic to avoid downtime, errors or slow page loading. If one server goes offline, another one will instantly pick up your site and keep it running seamlessly.
Cloud hosting also offers increased security, since your files will also be spread out over a variety of servers, and not stored in only one location.
Additional Australian research by Anna Rey
Featured Partners
1
Bluehost
On Bluehost.com’s Website
Starting price
$2.95 per month
Standout Features
Free domain name & SSL for a year
Money Back Guarantee
30 Day
2
DreamHost
Bandwidth
Unlimited
SSL Certificate
Free
SSD Storage
Available
3
HostGator
On HostGator’s Website
Starting price
$US2.75 ($4.20 AUD) per month
Storage and Bandwidth
Unmetered
Extras and inclusions
Free domain registration for a year, free website and domain transfer, free SSL certificate, free email
4
Ionos
On Ionos’s Secure Website
Starting price
$US1 ($1.50 AUD) per month
Storage and bandwidth
10GB of storage and unlimited traffic
Extras and inclusions
Free domain, free SSL certificate, daily backups, one email account
There are three main types: IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service), and SaaS (Software as a Service). IaaS provides a pay-as-you-go, on-demand infrastructure. PaaS allows organisations to rent the needed infrastructure, saving on costs. SaaS permits users to lease applications and host software on their own servers.
A backup organisation copies cloud data and stores it in another system, allowing for quick access in recovery cases.
You should upgrade when it is imperative that your website or app runs reliably, no matter when or where it is being accessed. If you are looking for fast performance, scalability, and better security, it’s probably time to make the switch.
While most sites will start out with a traditional shared host, making the switch to cloud hosting allows users to truly scale their sites and take them to the next level.
Laura is a freelance writer specializing in ecommerce, lifestyle, and SMB content. As a small business owner, she is passionate about supporting other entrepreneurs, and sharing information that will help them thrive.
Rob is an SMB writer and editor based in New Jersey. Before joining Forbes Advisor, he was a content producer at Fit Small Business. In that role, he was responsible for writing, editing, and strategizing content geared toward small business owners. Before that, he worked at PCMag as a business analyst.
source
