Top E-Commerce Web Hosting Providers
If you have an excellent idea, service, or product that you'd like to sell, it has never been easier to build a professional web store using any of these top e-commerce web host providers. They can help you diversify your customer base and get you selling to the masses quicker than you might think. Many of the cheapest web hosts often include easy-to-use templates for website creation as well as full support for online sales transactions, PayPal integration, and popular shopping carts.
Many of the very best web hosts also have a number of benefits for those looking to start their own eCommerce website. Choosing the right provider really depends on your particular website's space requirements, sales volume, site traffic, budget and web development experience. There are many included standard and advanced features for both new and experienced web developers.
Website security is even more important when you begin to process online credit card, PayPal, and other popular payment methods. Many plans include Firewalls, SSL certificates, DDoS protection, virus protection and domain name privacy. The best eCommerce web hosts should be able to upgrade your software, add patches when available, and keep their own server software secure. Many of the most sought after features on these providers also happen to be available on top-quality web hosts for beginners.
Index#1BlueHost
Pros
- Solid e-commerce plans
- Free site SSL certificates
- Competitive pricing
- Great for new users
- Helpful customer service
- Endorsed by WordPress
Cons
- Renewal rates are higher
- No monthly payment plans
- Lots of upselling
Among the friendliest web hosts for beginning bloggers and newer online retailers, the plans are also helpful for existing e-commerce businesses. Plans include Microsoft 365 access, a free domain for 1-year, automated WordPress updates, secure logins, and Google My Business verification. For those who are in the market for some advanced features, there are also a variety of shared hosting options, VPS hosting with SSD storage, and even dedicated hosting plans. While shared hosting is the most popular choice for business owners, having a dedicated server gives you complete customization options, unlimited storage space, and full control to configure the setup however you'd like. These types of dedicated plans are more than most online retailers will likely need.
In the area of application usage, there are a number of very popular apps that work perfectly via the Mojo marketplace. The cPanel layout lets advanced users tweak the interface and features to get the most out of the offerings here. Those who are very new to website creation and development are in excellent hands, as Bluehost provides Weebly software in order to help you make your website get online quickly. This browser-based software helps you design and launch a professional looking website of up to six pages. While there aren't site templates included, the Weebly system is so intuitive and easy-to-use that it's certainly not a deal breaker.
Security and speed are two critical aspects of any e-commerce websites, and Bluehost takes high marks in both categories. The platform offers 1 free SSL certificate, which allows you to facilitate safe eCommerce transactions and keep sensitive data secure. In addition, Bluehost includes a free CDN for each website they host for you, in order to block malware that might attack your site, as well as just improving overall site security. The customer support team consistently gets high marks, and you can reach helpful professionals 24/7 via phone, email, live chat, and support chat. There's a technical support team to help with any and all technical issues, a sales team with helpful insight about included and available products, as well as an account management team for service terms, account verification, and billing.
Specifications
Compatible Platforms
Hosting Types
Customer support
Hosting Packages
Add-on options
#2iPage
Pros
- Free domain name
- Supports AgoraCard, OpenCart, OSCommerce
- WordPress 1-Click Installer
- Free SSL certificate
- Unlimited storage
- Multiple e-commerce options
- Excellent security options
Cons
- SSL certificates can cost extra
- Only has data centers in the USA
- Limited availability
Although iPage offers really affordable plans in their shared hosting department, the better options for e-commerce sites are with the iPage VPS plans. They are a bit more expensive, but they give you improved site security, and improved performance all the way around. iPage works with e-commerce platforms including ShopSite, osCommerce, or AgoraCart. If you would rather use WooCommerce as the basis for your online store, there are many affordable WordPress hosting plans and they've got more than enough to help you create and launch a successful e-commerce site. Beginners and those with limited experience will appreciate the intuitive and helpful interface on iPage.
It's important to note that these plans don't include any private SSL certificate. This added layer of security is available for purchase separately, and for ecommerce stores the recommended option is pricey. However, upgrading to one of these SSL options also gives you PCI compliance, a feature which helps secure credit card and other online payment options. If your goal is to launch a serious ecommerce online store with iPage hosting, you’ll be best served selecting from at least the VPS Basic plan. The shared hosting plans are quite cheap, but these don't offer you all the security and performance upgrades that online stores need in order to convey security and professionalism.
A template-based website builder and free web store make it easy to design your shop and get selling in very little time. iPage also has support for accepting PayPal payments. This e-commerce provider also includes a free domain for the first year as well as round the clock phone, live chat, and email support to handle any tech issues or urgent problems that may arise. Though the website builder is helpful, it is limited to six pages, for instance. And, while many customers might expect that payment by credit cards would be the default, this is not the case here. iPage opts instead for PayPal as the standard here. You can set up an option to pay by credit card, but that process is left to up to you. There is solid pricing for a wide range of plans, though the best security features are found in the more expensive options.
Specifications
Compatible Platforms
Hosting Types
Customer support
Hosting Packages
Add-on options
#3Hostinger
Pros
- Easy-to-use drag-and-drop builder
- Includes a domain name
- SSL certificate
- Backups are standard
- Security & spam blocking
Cons
- Payment gateway
- Storage can cost extra
- Inconsistent website speed
Hostinger is not just one of the best, but it's easily among the cheapest e-commerce web hosting providers available. There's shared hosting, WordPress specific hosting, and cloud hosting services at great prices. And, this is not some stripped down version that comes with just the minimum, there are many excellent benefits here. The servers consistently provide reliable uptime and page loading speeds that are faster than the industry average. Hostinger also includes a solid collection of 1-click installations for most content management systems.
Ease of use is among Hostinger’s biggest benefits, getting even brand new users online with a WordPress website in a matter of minutes, not hours. WooCommerce is the most popular choice for online stores here, but you can just as easily choose to set up your online shop with Joomla, PrestaShop and Magento. All e-commerce hosting plans include SSL certificates, scheduled regular backups, and a domain name tossed in at no extra charge for good measure. There are 7 data centers run by Hostinger around the globe, and you can have your site and online shop hosted close to your intended audience. This proximity helps to increase the website's loading speed, making it far more likely that your website visitors will explore your pages and ultimately make a credit card or PayPal purchase.
To ensure the best security for your online business, you get SSL and weekly backups together with firewalls and Bitninja on all plans. It's an all-in-one protection system against malware, hacking attempts and much more. There's also site caching with easy configuration. These enhancements can have a tremendous impact on how quickly your site loads, and even a second's delay has a demonstrated negative impact on site traffic and engagement, not to mention the potential lower ranking from Google in search results, as it always looks to connect to the best and fastest resources first. Should you have any customer support questions, you can reach out 24/7 via live chat, phone, and email/ticket submission.
Specifications
Compatible Platforms
Hosting Types
Customer support
Hosting Packages
#4A2Hosting
Pros
- Variety of e-commerce plans
- Excellent Turbo site speed
- Anytime money-back guarantee
- Responsive customer service team
- Servers on 3 continents
Cons
- Expensive ecommerce plans
- Uptime only 99.95%
- No shared ecommerce plans
A2 Hosting offers a number of exceptionally speedy e-commerce web host solutions for individuals and businesses of all levels, including beginning bloggers and professional developers. The provider works very well with WordPress and similar platforms including Magento, Drupal, Joomla and OpenCart. In addition, you can easily pick from a number of available enhancements including premium turbo servers for faster hosting, 99.9% uptime commitment, automatic backups and unlimited SSD storage. A2 Hosting offers a number of the most popular plans including options for shared hosting, VPS, WordPress, dedicated and even reseller hosting plans.
The fastest turbo plans are designed for eCommerce projects with a brilliant combination of top-quality software and hardware. If you have an existing e-commerce shop, and need service that hits the highest quality and speed levels, these lightning fast turbo options are the best path to get you there. This upgrade ensures that all of your websites are hosted on AMD-driven Epyc servers with NVMe disks, a combo that yields very high server uptime percentages, fast website loading speeds, as well as many other benefits. As if this weren't enough, A2 Hosting also adds in its own caching engine, making sites hosted here among the fastest anywhere.
You can also use the available tools to dramatically reduce image size without impacting the display, as well as optimizing the code. A2 Hosting has servers located in the USA, Europe, and Asia, and you can choose from any of these locations to host your website. As always, it is best to host the page as close to your anticipated site visitors and engaged customers as is possible. This is an easy option to pick, and it can really improve the site loading speed for your customers. New users and advanced website developers will find the tools and available options easy-to-use. A2 Hosting offers plenty of customer support options, including a ticketing system, phone support, and live chat.
Specifications
Compatible Platforms
Hosting Types
Customer support
Hosting Packages
Add-on options
#5SiteGround
Pros
- Auto install ecommerce apps
- Automatic WordPress updates
- Easy to use website builder
- 99.8% uptime guarantee
- Cloudflare CDN
Cons
- Lacks VPS or dedicated plans
- Minimal WordPress support
- Base plan has weak 10GB storage
SiteGround is an eCommerce friendly web hosting platform that also offers Weebly, the best website building software for beginners as well as easy management of your website. There are a variety of plans available, and a many of these options are ideal for individuals as well as small to medium-sized businesses. SiteGround is among the top eCommerce platforms to offer you access to managed cloud hosting. All of the plans here include Softaculous, which is a very popular development tool that makes it a breeze to install and use PrestaShop, WooCommerce, Magento and other online shopping and eCommerce tools.
Your page loading and site surfing speeds are enhanced by SiteGround's HTTP/2 enabled servers and their global CDN brilliantly powered by Cloudflare. These combined features significantly reduces the chance that customers will abandon your site due to delayed page loading, a common complaint among all online shop owners. In order to further enhance your customer's confidence in your site, the included Let's Encrypt SSL certificates let your customers submit payment details knowing that they are secure and encrypted. There is also an AI system in place to block malicious traffic and counter many types of of online security challenges. SiteGround is proud to offer 99.996% uptime, excellent news when you're running an online retail website.
As one of the only web host providers to be officially recommended by the WordPress platform itself, there is clearly a lot to appreciate here. There are included daily site backups for easy site restoration, should you find that you prefer a previous version of your pages. There's also 24/7 support should you need to reach out for any technical or other related questions. The websites hosted here load swiftly, and the industry-leading server uptime of very nearly 100% allows you to end your day comfortably knowing that customers have access to surf and make purchases on your site, even while you're sound asleep.
Specifications
Compatible Platforms
Hosting Types
Customer support
Hosting Packages
#6HostGator
Pros
- Includes website builder
- Automatic migration by HostGator staff
- Award-winning, industry-recognized platform
- Variety of economical and feature-rich plans
- Customer service options
- Excellent server uptime
Cons
- Some plans lack Windows servers
- Limited free security tools
- Only offers servers in the USA
- Not automatically PCI compliant
HostGator occupies a great spot in the world of e-commerce web hosting providers. You can choose from among a broad range of shared, cloud, VPS, and even dedicated hosting plans for those who need near total control of the server and the website. There are many features here that make it ideal for both beginners and experienced website developers. The included Gator Website Builder software is effective and easy-to-use, and will have your website live and available in very little time. There are three main levels of shared hosting plans to choose from. These charmingly entitled Hatchling, Baby, and Business plans, are each tailored to satisfy the needs of new, existing, and well-established online retail shops.
The highest tier to select from here is perfect for Enterprise-level business needs, while still coming in with a lower price tag than many e-commerce web hosts for an equivalent or superior level of services and features. While having such flexibility and the ability to really grow and develop your website as it goes from brand new to thriving is awesome. With so many options, it can become overwhelming to make solid choices. Luckily, HostGator includes the option for you to speak with their knowledgeable and helpful sales representatives right from the feature menu.
With unlimited disk space, emails and bandwidth, as well as MySQL databases and simple 1-click installation of the most popular projects and apps, as well as a 99.9% uptime guarantee on all of HostGator's shared hosting plans, this site does a brilliant job of combining helpful features, excellent performance, as well as competitive pricing. Make sure to check out all of the terms and pricing plans available, as their introductory rates are especially alluring, while their renewal prices are significantly higher. If you pick from a 2 or 3-year plan, you can get monthly costs close to the special intro rates offered by HostGator.
Specifications
Compatible Platforms
Hosting Types
Customer support
Hosting Packages
Add-on options
#7GoDaddy
Pros
- Easy to use interface and cPanel
- Free domain
- 75+ premium WooCommerce extensions
- Generous server resources
- Choice of servers in USA, Europe & Asia
- Fast and reliable server performance
Cons
- Premium plans can be expensive
- Website migration costs extra
- Average-quality security features
Among the most recognizable names in the e-commerce web hosting world, GoDaddy originally gained popularity offering domain registration services. And while they do still offer this stand alone service, they also feature among the lowest transaction fees in the industry when your customers make a payment via GoDaddy Payment. Beyond shared hosting options, which are a great choice for many new and beginner website developers, there are also and dedicated VPS, WordPress and Cloud plans for those with increased website needs. The signup process is super-easy and account activation is easily completed.
Selecting the targeted e-commerce plan includes a free custom domain name for the life of your plan, an SSL certificate at no extra charge, daily scans for malware, 1-click installation for popular tools and a CDN boost for faster site loading and surfing speeds. Though there are a significant number of add-on upgrades available, even those who have never created nor launched an online shop before can easily do so using only the basic-level website building software included here. Simply answer a few questions, and then choose from hundreds of sleek and professional templates to finish setting up your website, with no technical skills needed.
GoDaddy stands behind the quality of their services by offering a 30-day money back guarantee, and their server uptime stats and page loading speeds are difficult to beat. If you need to migrate a site, you'll need to pay extra here to do so, as this is an add-on option. Yet, with such blazing fast speeds and 75 premium WooCommerce extensions, you can easily sell physical products as well as subscriptions and digital goods, as well as having your customers directly book appointments on your site. With automatic updates and included WordPress installation, it's easy to see why professionals and amateurs alike flock to GoDaddy.
Specifications
Compatible Platforms
Hosting Types
Customer support
Hosting Packages
Add-on options
#8IONOS
Pros
- Unlimited monthly traffic & visits to your site
- Affordable pricing for WordPress hosting
- Storage starting at 25 GB
- Unlimited plans available
- Solid server uptime and site loading speeds
Cons
- Annoying marketing ads
- Average quality user interface
- Additional SSL certificates cost extra
Among the very cheapest e-commerce web hosts, IONOS, originally known as 1&1, has a number of very attractive shared, VPS, WordPress, and dedicated hosting packages for beginner website developers as well as more experienced users. Well-established businesses and enterprise-class customers can have their website's needs more than adequately satisfied by the IONOS cloud hosting plans. Even with some of the most competitive pricing of all web hosts, the IONOS entry-level managed plan emerges as the victor when compared to competitor plans, by offering faster page loading speeds as well as higher server uptime rates.
Beginners will find the powerful IONOS eCommerce website and online store builder exceptionally intuitive and effective. This template-based site builder includes a number of professional features and functionality that are easy to activate on your website. There are fewer of these templates than on some of the best web host platforms, but these ones do display beautifully and they can easily be customized to suit your particular needs and desires. The pre-installed plugins and automated updates are a huge bonus to both beginner and experienced website managers alike.
Security is a clear priority at IONOS, and these plans feature excellent protection including Wildcard SSL as well as malware scanning powered by SiteLock. Those looking to accept payments via credit card, PayPal or other method will certainly appreciate having the security features required by credit card companies and preferred by shoppers looking to complete an online purchase. While IONOS is an excellent web host and serves a diverse assortment of website needs, it does have limited international availability. The IONOS customer service team is available via phone, email, and live chat 24/7. The highest available commerce plan makes it easy to sell on eBay and Amazon and more, a welcome option, even if its not particularly relevant for all types of e-retailers.
Specifications
Compatible Platforms
Hosting Types
Customer support
Hosting Packages
#9DreamHost
Pros
- Excellent uptime & page load speeds
- Uunlimited storage
- WordPress migrations included
- 97-day money back policy
- Cheap web host plans
Cons
- Only US-location servers
- Base plans charge for email accounts
- Variable customer support knowledge
While DreamHost lacks the name recognition associated with the largest e-commerce web host providers, it certainly offers an excellent assortment of plans designed to fill the needs of new and experienced website developers alike. It's certainly no slouch, with well over 1.5 million websites hosted. Based in perpetually-sunny Los Angeles, this web host provider attracts many beginner eCommerce clients with WooCommerce as their dedicated storefront theme, an included and fully functional website builder, as well as attractive introductory pricing. Three different competitively priced plans are available for online merchants. They all offer a strong value with unlimited email, SSD storage of at least 30 GB, unmetered bandwidth, as well as migration of your WordPress sites.
While these premium servers and data centers are spread throughout the USA, if your website visitors and customers are located outside of America, you'll be better served by selecting from any of these top eCommerce web hosts who have servers located in closer geographic proximity. As even websites hosted on the very best of servers will suffer from slower page loading speeds if both the server and the customer are on the other side of the planet from each other. Security and privacy are also handled well on DreamHost. These plans include SSLs, automatic backups, domain privacy protection, as well as a web application firewall to add enhanced protection for your site and online store.
With an included 100% uptime guarantee, you can be certain that any glitches or technical problems that may occur will be swiftly remedied. There is customer support available around the clock in via phone, email, or live chat channels. If you happen to break the site by making alterations to the code, or it simply breaks for an unknown reason, an expert staffer can walk you through how to fix it at no extra cost. Additionally, the WordPress specific support available here is simply unmatched. In a rare move, the WordPress team itself issued a clear and unambiguous recommendation for DreamHost as one of the very best for WordPress integration.
Specifications
Compatible Platforms
Hosting Types
Customer support
Hosting Packages
BlueHost | iPage | Hostinger | A2Hosting | SiteGround | HostGator | GoDaddy | IONOS | DreamHost | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Domain & Website migration | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free | ||||
Compatible Platforms | |||||||||
WordPress Hosting | |||||||||
Joomla Hosting | |||||||||
Magento Hosting | |||||||||
WooCommerce Hosting | |||||||||
Reseller Web Hosting | |||||||||
Hosting Types | |||||||||
Dedicated Servers | |||||||||
Virtual Private Servers | |||||||||
Shared Hosting | |||||||||
Customer support | |||||||||
Live chat | |||||||||
Phone | |||||||||
E-Commerce Websites Need a Good Web Hosting Service
Online stores often have heavy storage requirements, with loads of images, embedded videos, high-resolution photos and sleek PDF documents. While all of these are great, the very last thing you want is to have a sluggish site. Do ensure that your hosting plan can fully support your site's bandwidth and storage needs. Many of these excellent e-commerce facilitators also offer WordPress web hosting, letting even the least-experienced user enhance their website with little or no website development experience needed.
Online retailers must abide by PCI DSS, which is the formal name for the set of digital standards that were put in place to protect private information when completing an online credit card payment transaction. PCI compliance is a must-have for nearly everyone who takes online payments, and many web hosts will handle this for you. Some providers let you take care of it yourself, and offer helpful tools and instructions to do so. The best e-shop web hosts offer multiple lines of defense against spam, viruses, and potential hackers as well as access to trained technical support staff.
There are also a number of back-up options on these top e-commerce plans, and the 9Ranks team wholeheartedly recommends automated back-ups for most users. While website developers with the technical knowledge, inclination, and resources can handle this critical process themselves, newer users will be happier with systems that take care of it for you. Daily backups are reasonable for most websites, and these back-up files should be stored on a different server from your website, and you should have easy access to them if you need.