Cloud hosting has improved the hosting industry, allowing for greater reliability and resilience for customers. Signing up for a simple web hosting package would usually buy you a defined block of resources on a single server: register your domain name, then choose as much web space, as much bandwidth, perhaps a defined amount of RAM or processor cores. While it works well for many websites, having fixed resources can be a problem for large projects. There's usually no way to temporarily allocate extra RAM or bandwidth if you see a spike in traffic, and even a simple plan upgrade can require your website to be offline for a while. . Cloud hosting plans are very similar to virtual private server (VPS) web hosting products, where you will initially pay for a set amount of web space, RAM, CPU time, and bandwidth. But these resources are spread across multiple devices rather than just one, and changing your plan later - adding another gig of RAM, for example - is usually as easy as dragging a slider, with the extra power being needed in line in a few moments. There are also additional web hosting options for small businesses, such as green hosting. Additionally, cloud hosting is scalable and can offer a good alternative to needing a dedicated server with a colocation provider, and there are options for managed web hosting services. You can use cloud hosting for everything from hosting your emails to replacing your corporate server. However, if you want a hands-on experience, expect the virtual servers to run Linux, not Windows. Cloud hosting still won't be for everyone, and small, simple websites will probably do better with regular packages. But the technology has a lot to offer everyone with bigger or more ambitious plans, and many hosts run free trials that make it easy to explore its capabilities on your own.
- Would you like your business or services to be included in this buyer's guide? Send your request by email to [email protected] with the URL of the shopping guide in the subject.
Best Cloud Hosting - At a Glance
Microsoft AzureHostgatorCloudwayswatchDigital ocean
![Microsoft Azure]()
(Image credit: Microsoft)
1.Microsoft Azure
Cloud hosting for corporate websites and data Powerful platform Business dataset Multiple features Too much for just one website If you're looking to move your corporate hosting to the cloud, one of the first places to consider is one of the big platforms cloud computing, such as Microsoft Azure. It's not a solution for small businesses looking to simply host a website, but it's a great place to go if you also have additional IT needs and want to put everything in one place. The benefit is that you can move all your business data and applications to the cloud and run them from a single, unified platform. Plus, by sticking to a single provider, you can avoid all the hassle of cloud management for hybrid clouds and on-premises data. On top of that, Azure offers more compliance and security certifications than any other cloud provider. However, moving to a major cloud platform is not for the faint of heart, but if you have in-house IT skills or if you can use third-party cloud support services, the move could make a lot of sense for even the smallest. companies with a lot of data. And for small and large to medium and large enterprises, moving to a cloud platform like Azure may be a case of "when" rather than "if."
![Cloud Hostgator hosting]()
(Image credit: Hostgator)
2. Host Gator
Website-only cloud hosting Easy to use Solid plan range Attractive price with upfront discounts. If you only need to host a website instead of additional business data, HostGator cloud platform might be a more ideal choice. Unlike regular web hosting, Hostgator cloud hosting platform spreads your website's load across multiple virtual server instances for more reliable and scalable hosting, yet it's just as easy to use as standard shared hosting and costs only $2. little more. For example, the Hatchling Cloud base plan allows you to support unmetered domains, bandwidth and storage, up to two cores and 3.13GB of RAM, and distributed varnish caching to speed up loading static content. You can start for as little as €2.50 (£8.95) per month if you buy three years in advance, though the price drops to €6.40 (£6) when you renew. If you need something more powerful, the high-end Business Cloud plan supports an unlimited number of domains, offers up to six cores and 6.28GB of RAM, and includes private SSL and dedicated IP. Another big launch reduction means you can pay as little as €5.10 (£17.95) per month for three years, but after that, you'll pay €12.80 (£8) per month. Benefits of cloud plans include (up to) double fast load times, as well as more site stats, and because your site is mirrored across multiple devices, the ability to switch your site to another server in the event of hardware failure. But the main advantage of all cloud hosting schemes is scalability. If your site can't keep up with the demand, you can scale up to eight cores and XNUMX GB of RAM with a single click. There's no waiting for someone to process your order and no downtime while your web space is reallocated - you get additional resources immediately. Also, although the prices increase after the initial discount promotion, they are still extremely competitive.
![Cloudways]()
(Image credit: Cloudways)
3.Cloudways
A good compromise between power and ease of use. Friendly yet powerful Highly configurable Try free At first glance, cloud hosting products seem to fall into two clear groups: enterprise-grade technology from Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, and more, or simpler, easier-to-use products from hosts like Hostgator. . Cloudways represents an interesting middle path. The company offers managed cloud hosting that works with your choice of the best providers: Amazon, Google, DigitalOcean, Kyup, Linode or Vultr are supported, and it comes with plenty of features, but it's configured from a simple web console that's just as easy. easy. to use as the most basic competition. It's an awesome platform. Cloudways ThunderStack covers all your basic performance needs: Nginx, Apache, Memcached, MySQL/MariaDB, Varnish Cache, PHP 7, PHP-FM, and Redis. There are one-click clone, backup and restore tools, built-in Git and team collaboration tools for developers, and no less than 60 strategically located data centers around the world (25+ locations). Despite all these high-end features, Cloudways products are generally easy to use and prices start at €10 ($7.15) per month for a core, 1 GB of RAM, 25 GB of storage and 1 TB of tape. busy. Everything is extremely configurable and a free trial allows you to verify the product, without the need for a credit card. Also, there is a referral system available, where you and your friends can receive free hosting credits.
![Servidores en la nube gestionados por Clook]()
(Image credit: Clook)
4. Cloud servers managed by Clook
A UK Independent Hosting Leader Excellent Support Solid Material Reliable & Worry Free Clook is one of the UK's leading independent web hosting providers, offering managed cloud servers as part of their various hosting services. Again, it's meant for the most basic web hosting needs, but if you're looking for that in the UK market, Clook is right up there with the best. Unlike many other web hosts who seek the lowest prices while cutting back on services, Clook invests in one of the best media in the business. This means you're paying more, but it also means you get peace of mind, because if something's wrong, you can be sure Clook is already working hard to fix it. Also, if you have additional support questions, Clook is quick to respond, and instead of front-line scripting support, you're actually talking directly to people who have direct system administration experience. from your server network. This avoids the frustration of going around in circles and rather means that the job is just done. Since this is a company run by sysadmins, it also means that the hardware and network are very robust and their managed cloud servers are no different. It's also a managed service, which means you don't have to worry about a thing. While other vendors may aspire to high availability, Clook ensures that their customers really benefit, resulting in headache-free service. There are usually cheap hosting providers and complicated cloud platforms out there, but if you just want solid web hosting and are looking at the UK market, Clook is one of the best options you can go for.
![DigitalOcean]()
(Image credit: DigitalOcean)
5. Digitalocean
Hosting for the most demanding user. Beautifully presented Very flexible Transparent pricing DigitalOcean emphasizes cloud hosting on both data and websites, providing a pool of cloud services that make it the perfect place to host and run your own cloud applications. While cloud hosting systems always involve pooling resources from multiple devices, most go to great lengths to keep you away from low-level details. You might be able to upgrade your plan by adding processor cores, RAM, or storage, for example, but the console will present it to you as a single system. DigitalOcean Droplets are based on similar, resizable and customizable virtual machines, but this is just the beginning – the technology has so much more to offer. For starters, the system supports drops of different types. If the standard plans aren't enough, priced at $5 ($3.55) per month for one core, 1GB of RAM, and 25GB of storage, the optimized drops aim to boost your performance using the best Broadwell and Skylake processors. , and provides more RAM and storage space. The individual droplets have more features than you might think, including performance monitoring and alerts, snapshots, and automatic system-level backups. There are several great ways to work with your Droplets as a group, including setting up a cloud firewall and using a load balancer to distribute incoming traffic through your infrastructure. DigitalOcean's transparent pricing is a strong point. You're billed hourly, with monthly limits, making sure you only pay for the resources you use. Many features are free (monitoring, cloud firewalls), while others follow very simple pricing rules. Snapshots are $0.05 per gigabyte per month, for example, while backups are 20% of the cost of the virtual machine, it's easy. If all you want to do is host a scalable WordPress site, this will probably be overkill, but more demanding developers, sysadmins, and other users will appreciate the power and flexibility that DigitalOcean offers. Browse the long list of tutorials (numbering over 3,300 at the time of writing) on the DigitalOcean site for more information. You can also check out our other shopping website buying guides: Roundup of the best deals of the day.