Having a website for your business or personal project means ensuring a permanent online presence, without relying solely on a social media network. Your own website is also useful for referring clients to a clear portfolio, and to present any other key information. Above all else, you need visitors to your website to have a good experience, which is why choosing the best web hosting service is vital.
I’ve been using different web hosting companies for over 20 years. In that time, I’ve encountered very intuitive web hosts as well as some that I’d only rely on for a short period of time – so I know the top features to look for. You want speedy performance for your visitors and a dashboard and control panel that makes it easy to implement updates. Ideally, the web hosting service you use won’t require advanced technical knowledge, either.
Ultimately, when you factor in cost, features and customer support, different web hosting services have their own pros and cons. After extensive research, I’ve rounded up the best web hosting services to sign up for in 2026.
The best web hosting services in 2026 are:
- Best web hosting overall – Hostinger: From £2.99 per month, Hostinger.com
- Best budget web hosting – Ionos: From £1.20 per month, Ionos.co.uk
- Best website builder: Wix – From £9 per month, Wix.com
- Best UK-based web hosting – Krystal: From £7 per month, Krystal.io
How I tested
I’ve used a lot of different web hosting services over the years. I spent many days with each of the entries below. During this testing time, I set up a basic website to test out the functionality of each hosting provider and do some tweaking to check out ease of use.
In addition, I evaluated other features included with each web hosting service and whether you’d need to pay extra to get everything you need. I also looked at how simple it was to get started and how intuitive the web host was, ensuring you don’t need expert technical knowledge. You can see my full testing criteria at the bottom of this article.
Read more: Hostinger review: An affordable web hosting service
Hostinger web hosting
Best: Overall
Plans: Web hosting, website builder, Cloud hosting, VPS hosting
Storage: 20GB to 400GB
Backups: Daily, weekly, and on demand depending on plan
Domain included: Yes, for one year
Why we love it
- Extensive options and functionality
- Easy to use
- Well-designed website builder
- Affordable plans
Take note
- There are easier control panels out there
- Best prices involve committing for a long time
Hostinger is incredibly versatile which is a huge strong point. Its web hosting plans will suit most people, although you can get a VPS or cloud-based server if you prefer the ultimate wealth of options. Whatever you go for, the custom hPanel is your new home. It’s fairly intuitive if not the most attractive of interfaces. It guides you through things you may want to set up starting out before making it simple to tap on your new website.
As someone who used to code websites from scratch, I appreciated being able to upload files via the hPanel’s file manager, but it’s also good to see that Hostinger has plenty of website design options. You can easily set up a WordPress-based site via some useful prompts which include relevant plugins. There’s also an AI-based website builder and the powerful Hostinger Horizons, which makes it simple to create a website simply by typing in your vision and seeing what it comes up with.
All plans come with a free domain for the first year, along with SSL, regular backups, and free email mailboxes. There are ecommerce features bundled in as well, courtesy of WooCommerce, so it’s a good option for anyone looking to launch an online store. That all means you don’t really need to pay for much extra on top of the standard plan you sign up to, which is always appealing.
There’s a comprehensive knowledge base for any queries you may have, along with an AI bot to assist with most solutions. Hostinger only really lacks the option of phone support, but that isn’t a dealbreaker.
It all makes Hostinger an appealing option for web hosting. I’d happily recommend Hostinger to any friend looking for web hosting, as I know it’ll grow with them. Whether you want to launch a small personal project or you have bigger business aims, Hostinger has a solution available.
Buy now £3, Hostinger.com
Ionos web hosting
Best: Budget web hosting
Plans: Shared hosting, website builder, VPS, Cloud, dedicated hosting
Storage: 100GB to 500GB
Backups: Daily, weekly, and on-demand depending on plan
Domain included: Yes, for one year
Why we love it
- Some cheap plans available
- Visual control panel
- Great support options
Take note
- Not the prettiest of interfaces
- Additional costs may make it pricier
Ionos has been around in some form for a long time and its expertise is pretty strong. Even better, it’s possible to sign up to a cheap plan – with options starting from just over £1 per month. You’ll need to tie yourself in for a while, but – as with most web hosting – you may want a site for a long time, so it makes sense.
I found the control panel to be fairly clear and focused on a few more visual elements than some others. Besides standard hosting, you can sign up for a VPS or cloud server as well as a dedicated solution, so there are plenty of ways to upgrade.
Rather than AI-based solutions, Ionos focuses on making it easy to set up a site using WordPress. It only takes a few minutes and there are plenty of ways to develop your site further. Alternatively, you can use its file manager to upload the site directly. There’s also free SSL, a malware scanner, regular backups, and DDoS protection as standard.
Ionos goes above and beyond with its support. There’s a good knowledge base, and a support ticket system – but the highlight is being able to seek direct advice over the phone. That’s perfect for inexperienced users who need some guidance. In a similar vein, Ionos is keen to hook you up with a design team if you’d prefer someone else to develop your site.
Ionos keeps its prices low by offering a handful of things for an additional fee, so you’ll want to keep an eye on what you actually need. On the other hand, that means you never pay for anything you don’t require, so if you’re shrewd, it can work out great value.
Buy now £1, Ionos.co.uk
Wix web hosting
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Best: Website builder
Plans: Website builder
Storage: 2GB to unlimited
Backups: Automatic
Domain included: Yes, for one year on all but the Light plan
Why we love it
- Drag-and-drop website builder is fantastic
- Extensive ecommerce tools and plugins
- Incredibly beginner friendly
Take note
- Fairly limited as it’s only a website builder
- Expensive
Wix is the simplest way you could possibly create a website. I’m convinced anyone who has ever used a PC could figure out how to make a good-looking website with it. It has a drag-and-drop website builder which is as simple as it sounds. Just move an element around on the screen and Wix does all the coding in the background.
It also offers some powerful AI tools – so if you don’t want to drag things around for yourself, Wix comes up with some templates that can be customised according to your needs, choice of colour scheme, and so on. You can make a site within a matter of minutes, although you’ll likely want to adjust things as you go along.
Wix is particularly good for businesses as it has many plugins and add-ons for booking systems, enquiries, and buying online directly. It takes out all the hard work and also deals with important factors like security, so you won’t have to worry about doing anything wrong. Its SEO tools and AI insights should help you be noticed, too.
The downside? Wix is powerful as a website builder but if you have any other plans, it’s very restrictive. It’s not conventional web hosting so you can’t upload your own website via a file manager and nor can you use it as a regular server. It’s also a little more expensive than other web host providers, although I found a deal landed in my inbox after signing up a day earlier.
Buy now £9, Wix.com
Krystal web hosting
Best: web hosting that's UK-based
Plans: Web hosting, website builder, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting
Storage: 10GB to unlimited
Backups: Daily or 4 hourly depending on plan
Domain included: Yes, on Ruby and Emerald plans
Why we love it
- UK-based and powered by renewable energy
- Neat social media tools
- Useful hand-picked WordPress plugins
Take note
- More expensive than others
- Website builder only on separate package
I’ve used Krystal Hosting a lot over the years and I really appreciate its more ethical approach. It’s powered 100 per cent by renewable energy and one tree is planted somewhere in the world every month that you’re signed up for. It’s also based in the UK which is nice to see. Somewhat understandably, it costs a little more than other options – but if you’re considering sustainability, it’s worth spending the extra.
Its control panel is fairly logical, sticking to a more traditional layout – which is still welcoming enough. For the standard web hosting, your first port of call for a quick design is to set up WordPress. That doesn’t take long at all and Krystal suggests the best plugins to get you started. It’s a good opening gambit. If you want to use Krystal’s dedicated website builder, you’ll need to sign up to the specific plan that uses it.
I’ve found WordPress is more than good enough throughout. You can also upload files via the file manager and there’s free migration between web hosts if you’d prefer someone else does the hard work for you.
Support is via submitting an online ‘ticket’, live chat or a knowledge base and these options work well. Ultimately, Krystal’s biggest selling point is its environmental impact – but that’s an important thing to consider with any kind of technology.
Buy now £7, Krystal.io
The verdict: Best web hosting service 2026
All of the above web hosting services made the cut because they have great features. My personal favourite is Hostinger because it covers so many areas of web hosting. I love how easy it is to create a website using Horizons, and I also appreciate being able to set up a VPS server (for a price) and have even more control over my online presence. Ionos offers a very similar service, although I did find it slightly less clear when it came to costs and I generally preferred Hostinger’s control panel. I did like its cheap prices though.
Wix is almost my guilty pleasure as it’s pricier than regular web hosting, but it’s so convenient and makes building a website a lot of fun. Its results are generally some of the prettiest website builder-based sites around too. For a small business, its bookings plugin is a huge bonus. And then there’s Krystal, which makes the ethical part of me very happy to see. It isn’t the cheapest but I know it’s doing its best to offset my contribution to environmental issues, plus it offers speedy websites.
With all things considered, you can’t go wrong with any of the options listed here. Hostinger is my go-to for most people. But if you can afford more, Wix is great if you have limited technical knowledge and want a good-looking site with minimal effort, while the other two are also strong options too.
How the best web hosting services were tested
When testing these web hosting services, I considered a range of different things – from ease of use and price to how long you need to commit to a plan, as well as extra features and speed. With each web hosting service, I looked at the following:
Why you can trust our reviews
Jennifer Allen is an expert in tech and websites, and writes gaming and console reviews for IndyBest. During her testing process, Jennifer evaluated everything from website design and AI features to ease of use and value for money.
