Bitcatcha's content is reader-supported. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

The 7 Best Web Hosting for Australia Websites 2022 (Server Speed Tested!)

Avatar
WRITTEN BY
Tony Leong
REVIEWED BY
Tony Leong
UPDATED
May 11, 2022

 

best host australia

The best web hosting provider for Australia is fast, reliable, and feature-packed at a great price. Most importantly, they can serve both local & global audiences below a blazing 200 ms!

 

Looking for the best web host for Australian websites? Our #1 pick goes to Hostinger, with fast speeds in Sydney AND top-end features at affordable prices.

 

We’ve bought web hosting accounts and set up 85 test sites to measure their speed & uptime thoroughly. We then shortlisted the 7 best web hosts with fast response time for your website – no matter where your target audience is!

 

Best Web Hosting Australia

 

  1. Hostinger – Best overall value web hosting
  2. SiteGround – Best premium web hosting for businesses
  3. Bluehost – Best for blogs or small websites
  4. HostPapa – Best value WordPress hosting
  5. Kinsta – Best premium managed WordPress hosting
  6. DreamHost – Best WordPress endorsed hosting
  7. Crucial – Best Australian web hosting

 

Best Web Hosting Australian Websites

 

Note

  1. All prices shown are based on 12-month plan introductory rate.
  2. We use an exchange rate of 1 USD to 1.4 AUD.

 

World Speed Score

A+

Speed In Sydney

93 ms

Price (AUD)

A$8.40/mo

Key Features

  • 100GB SSD
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • Free domain & SSL
  • hPanel
  • 24/7 support

“Hostinger offers premium features & fast speeds at affordable prices - making it one of the best all-round web hosts.”

 

Topping our list today is the international web host Hostinger.

 

We love watching web hosts evolve, and Hostinger’s a brand that’s come a long way from humble beginnings.

 

In fact – we recently conducted some brand research and found Hostinger to be the most sought-after web host of 2020, out of 20 big names (Read the full report here).

 

Why all the hype? Our guess is that Hostinger is proving themselves more and more to be a very well-balanced host. They offer a solid combination of premium-level speed, features, and tech support – yet have managed to keep their prices surprisingly affordable.

 

From our own performance tests, Hostinger didn’t disappoint. We built 3 test sites hosted on Hostinger servers in 3 different continents.

 

By running the Singapore-hosted test site through our server speed checker, we could review how well Hostinger performs both globally and in Australia itself. And the results aren’t to be scoffed at!

 

US (W) US (E) London Singapore São Paulo
179 ms 250 ms 216 ms 3 ms 347 ms
Bangalore Sydney Japan Canada Germany
58 ms 93 ms 78 ms 248 ms 217 ms
Singapore Datacenter Average Speed: 168.9 ms – See full result

 

With a worldwide average of 168.9 ms, Hostinger’s Singaporean data center proved its mettle with this speed test. In Sydney, their servers clocked in with a very respectable 93 ms, showing the world that Hostinger can easily serve Australian customers while providing the surrounding regions with the speeds that they need.

 

At a really competitive price of AUD 8.40/month, the amount of features you’ll receive is crazy.

 

100GB SSD storage, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited emails, 99.9% uptime guarantee, all the goodies you’ll find in a premium web host, but at a fraction of the price! To wrap it up nicely, they’ve even thrown in a free domain name with each new account!

 

The cherry on top is Hostinger’s customer service. Their helpful support team will guide you step-by-step to solve any issues you come across, in 13 different languages. It’s great news for beginners!

 

Learn more about Hostinger

 

 

 

World Speed Score

A+

Speed In Sydney

3 ms

Price (AUD)

A$12.59/mo

Key Features

  • Google Cloud
  • 20GB SSD
  • 25,000 visits /mo
  • SuperCacher
  • 24/7 techn. support

“A versatile, premium web hosting powered by Google Cloud infrastructure.”

 

We gotta say – we have a solid respect for SiteGround. They offer fantastic server performance and all-round quality hosting.

 

Our test site is hosted with SiteGround’s Sydney datacenter (they’re one of the only 2 providers on this list to actually have servers in Australia), so they perform pretty dang well when pinged from Sydney, at only 3 ms. Worldwide, they did pretty well too, with the slowest results coming from London (295 ms) and São Paulo (330 ms).

 

They’re ranked A with a worldwide average of 196.8 ms!

 

US (W) US (E) London Singapore São Paulo
156 ms 233 ms 295 ms 24 ms 330 ms
Bangalore Sydney Japan Canada Germany
192 ms 3 ms 135 ms 238 ms 290 ms
Sydney Datacenter Average Speed: 196.8 ms – See full result

 

Their support team is simply excellent. Throughout our entire time hosting with them, they’ve never failed to answer a question to our satisfaction, no matter how silly it may be. We believe that they may be one of the reasons why SiteGround is one of WordPress’s highly recommended hosts!

 

They’ve also recently taken the liberty to move part of their structure to be hosted on the Google Cloud Platform, which brings plenty of benefits for their users (speed being one of them). This dedication to constantly improve their speeds and services are commendable.

 

When it comes to datacenters, they’ve got 6 state-of-the-art buildings located across 4 continents. Pick one that’s closest to your customers to optimize your site’s speed (in this case, pick Australia).

 

Other web hosting companies might rank slightly better in speeds, but SiteGround has a local server, outstanding international performance, excellent support, 99.99% uptime guarantee and lots of features.

 

Given the higher market price, SiteGround is probably best suited for websites who have more resources to play with (e.g. business websites).

 

If you’ve got a slightly higher budget and are in the market for more premium features – go check SiteGround out.

 

Learn more about SiteGround

 

 

 

World Speed Score

A+

Speed In Sydney

168 ms

Price (AUD)

A$10.43/mo

Key Features

  • Linux & cPanel
  • Unlimited resources
  • CodeGuard Basic
  • Resource protection
  • CloudFlare CDN

“One of the oldest brands around - highly recommended for WordPress site!”

 

Bluehost is the oldest web hosting brand to make it onto this list, and with more than 17 years (since 2003) of experience under their belt, they know what people are looking for – fast and reliable web hosting.

 

At only AUD 10.43 with their Choice Plus plan, we get unlimited storage and unmetered bandwidth, with unlimited domains. Pretty decent eh?

 

When it comes to speed, Bluehost’s worldwide average is actually comparable to most of the brands on this list, and they’re pretty fast in the land down under too! If you’re targeting Australian customers, you’ve got nothing to worry about.

 

Ranked A+ with a worldwide average of 153 ms, with pings from Sydney coming in at 168 ms (our test site is hosted in their US data center), Bluehost performed pretty well!

 

US (W) US (E) London Singapore São Paulo
23 ms 78 ms 183 ms 193 ms 164 ms
Bangalore Sydney Japan Canada Germany
330 ms 168 ms 125 ms 92 ms 174 ms
US Datacenter Average Speed: 153 ms – See full result

 

We also like that they’ve got CDN built directly into their account. If you need a boost of speed, it’s available at the flick of a button.

 

They’re not perfect (their support could use some improvement) but for blogs and small online businesses, Bluehost is as good as it gets.

 

Learn more about Bluehost

 

 

 

World Speed Score

A+

Speed In Sydney

206 ms

Price (AUD)

A$11.10/mo

Key Features

  • Free domain & SSL
  • Unlimited websites
  • Unlimited SSD
  • 99.9% uptime guar.
  • cPanel

“Great for WordPress sites targeting a global audience!”

 

HostPapa took us by surprise, as we didn’t really expect to put them on the list. We initially had another provider planned out for this, but after putting HostPapa through our server speed checker and actually using their services, we felt that they were definitely more deserving of this coveted spot.

 

HostPapa has 3 data centers, spread out across the US, Canada and Europe. You’ll find that they’re sorely lacking data center presence anywhere near Australia, yet they’re on this list.

 

Why, you ask?

 

Well, HostPapa’s customer-first approach to web hosting is a sight for sore eyes. They offer a LOT for their price point, and their award winning support team, named the PapaSquad, makes sure that all issues are resolved efficiently.

 

It helps that their servers are superb, scoring a staggering 130.4 ms global average on our server speed test! In Sydney, the pings came back at 206 ms – not the fastest, but serviceable enough to satisfy Web Vital requirements.

 

US (W) US (E) London Singapore São Paulo
11 ms 62 ms 129 ms 167 ms 172 ms
Bangalore Sydney Japan Canada Germany
241 ms 206 ms 105 ms 67 ms 144 ms
US Datacenter Average Speed: 130.4 ms – See full result

 

Our HostPapa test site is hosted on their US data center on the Optimized WP Business plan, at only A$11.10/mo. With it, we get unlimited SSD storage, unlimited websites, free SSL with Let’s Encrypt, and a free domain.

 

So far, HostPapa seems to be the bee’s knees with their excellent spread of features and speed, it’s just too bad they don’t have a data center closer to Australia.

 

Note

If you’re not planning to use WordPress, we’d recommend using their regular Web Hosting plans – at lower price with similar features and free website builder!

 

Learn more about HostPapa

 

 

 

World Speed Score

A+

Speed In Sydney

172 ms

Price (AUD)

A$35.00/mo

Key Features

  • Google Cloud
  • 20,000 visits /mo
  • Daily backups
  • WP expert as support
  • Hack fix guarantee

“Premium WordPress hosting powered by Google Cloud platform.”

 

Next on our list of fastest web hosts for Australia is Kinsta Managed WordPress Hosting.

 

The best thing about Kinsta is that their infrastructure is built exclusively using Google’s very own cloud platform! This allows them to leverage Google’s always improving tech and whopping 24 data centers, giving Kinsta the potential to be the FASTEST web host around, full stop.

 

With more than 10 years of experience with WordPress, Kinsta has the ability and know-how to create the best, snappiest Managed WordPress Hosting solution for the market.

 

Utilizing their next-gen architecture and infrastructure (we’re talking NGINX setups, PHP7 compatibility, MariaDB, KeyCDN – just to name a few) Kinsta is able to load hosted sites faster than most people can blink.

 

US (W) US (E) London Singapore São Paulo
41 ms 29 ms 100 ms 190 ms 139 ms
Bangalore Sydney Japan Canada Germany
233 ms 172 ms 125 ms 30 ms 111 ms
US Datacenter Average Speed: 117 ms – See full result

 

Between all our US hosted test sites in this list, Kinsta actually performed the fastest with pings from Australia coming in hot at a very respectable 172 ms!

 

Kinsta is a WordPress host, it means you can only host WordPress with them. They are also in the premium category, all the great support and speed comes with a hefty price; from A$35 a month, for their entry-level plan.

 

Kinsta might be pricey, but if you can afford it, you will have top-notch support in the industry.

 

Learn more about Kinsta

 

 

 

World Speed Score

A+

Speed In Sydney

210 ms

Price (AUD)

A$4.10/mo

Key Features

  • Unlimited SSD
  • Unlimited traffic
  • Free domain & SSL
  • 100% Uptime Guar.
  • 97-day money back

“World-famous hosting service endorsed by WordPress and with an 100% uptime guarantee.”

 

Headquartered in California, DreamHost has powered over 1.5 million sites since their founding in 1997. They’ve been very popular amongst both big bloggers and the WordPress community, and have remained something of a household name.

 

Naturally, we decided to host a test site with them, then run it through our speed checker. Here’s what came back:

 

US (W) US (E) London Singapore São Paulo
70 ms 2 ms 77 ms 242 ms 117 ms
Bangalore Sydney Japan Canada Germany
194 ms 210 ms 169 ms 16 ms 87 ms
US Datacenter Average Speed: 118.4 ms – See full result

 

Thanks to their use of speed-boosting tech, like SSD servers, DreamHost scored a solid A+ ranking!

 

Now, something that’s really important to talk about is their data centers: DreamHost currently operates 2 data centers which are both based in the US. As expected, speeds got significantly slower when serving regions further away from the North American continent. Pings from Sydney came back at 210 ms, which obviously isn’t ideal. However, they DID score an incredible average worldwide speed of 118.4 ms due to their lightning fast speeds from the rest of the locales.

 

What’s that mean for you? Well, if your website is aimed at audiences in Australia or Asia, we’d say DreamHost probably isn’t the best option for you. BUT, if your website is serving readers all around the world – especially if they’re in the US or Europe – DreamHost is one of the fastest hosts around.

 

DreamHost is especially ideal for WordPress websites. They’re actually 1 of only 3 web hosts who are ‘officially’ endorsed by WordPress. For them – it’s a great vote of confidence. For you – it means WordPress runs beautifully, you’ll have access to a support team of WP experts, and you’ll be able to use their nifty drag-and-drop WP Website Builder.

 

In all, DreamHost might not be the fastest web host in Australia, but they’re still a bloody great web host. We can’t help but wish they had some data centers closer to us, but their powerful features and solid performance have still won us over.

 

Learn more about DreamHost

 

 

 

World Speed Score

A

Speed In Sydney

1 ms

Price (AUD)

A$19.08/mo

Key Features

  • Truly Australia host
  • 50GB storage
  • 24×7 Aussie support
  • Unlimited emails
  • Green hosting

“Best for website targeting audiences within Australia.”

 

We actually tried our hardest to include Australian web hosting brands into this list, but let’s face the facts – Australian web hosting doesn’t offer good enough value, yet.

 

We tested Ventraip and were pretty disappointed with their results (Worldwide average of 249 ms, ranked C+) and NetRegistry didn’t fare much better either, at a worldwide average of 246 ms (also ranked C+).

 

Crucial however, managed to impress us with their customer friendly service and speed. They’re passionate about helping Australian businesses succeed, and their small but efficient customer service team reflects that.

 

We used their Web Hosting plan (AUD 19.08/mo) and were treated to 50GB of storage, unlimited bandwidth, and with 10 domains. It may feel a little pricey especially since they’re limiting your storage and domains, but this could work in our favour – limited resources in shared hosting means no single client will get to hog the server, which results in stable servers for everyone.

 

Their server speeds are pretty decent, but not as good as the rest of the web hosts on this list with a worldwide average result of 192 ms (A).

 

They’re just okay if you’re targeting international customers, but if you’re going to only have Australian viewers / customers, you’ll be happy to know that pings from Sydney came back at breakneck speeds – at only 1 ms!

 

US (W) US (E) London Singapore São Paulo
149 ms 204 ms 283 ms 98 ms 320 ms
Bangalore Sydney Japan Canada Germany
234 ms 1 ms 114 ms 205 ms 312 ms
Sydney Datacenter Average Speed: 192 ms – See full result

 

They’ve also recently implemented support for PHP7, which provides a major speed boost for their users!

 

We like that Crucial really means it when they say they care, they are actively looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint on the planet. They also regularly contribute to charities and initiatives that are looking to preserve Australia’s natural beauty.

 

If we’re only targeting Australians, we’d be happy to host with Crucial and their team of experts.

 

See Crucial official site to find out more!

 

 

Australian Web Hosting Is Not Connected Enough Getting More Connected To The World!

 

UPDATED 18 SEP 2020: You see, even in this age where everything is going wireless, the internet is still largely dependent on undersea cables.

 

Everything you use the internet for (video streaming, gaming, shopping, business, etc) all utilize undersea cables that are able to transmit terabytes of data at the speed of light.

 

As of now, Australia seems to be sufficiently connected to most internet points in the world, as evident in Wikipedia’s list of international submarine communications cables.

 

australia is connected to most part of the world

 

There’s more good news – with RTI Consortium’s new JGA-S cable landing in Sydney in 2019 (with plans for more undersea cables in the pipeline) internet speeds ought to fare slightly better.

 

Data centers in Australia are also advancing quickly, especially since Google Cloud announced their presence in the region. This would potentially provide more opportunities for Ozzies looking to tap into the digital world, with easier and cheaper access to resources!

 

Unfortunately, Australia is one of the least connected countries in the world.

 

Australia is connected to only 21 submarine cables but 11 of those are not working (10 decommissioned and 1 under construction ), and the ones that are still in use are old and prone to cuts and damages, which can cause major outages such as this one right here.

 

How submarine cable outage affects your small business

 

We mentioned before in Best Host Singapore that Amazon could lose up to 1.6 billion USD per year if their site is slowed by just 1 second. Now imagine that situation but with excruciatingly slow loading times for days on end – they will lose customer confidence as their reliability is compromised, and shoppers will bring their business elsewhere.

 

This is what it’ll be like with submarine cable outages.

 

This situation is very real, especially true for online small businesses hosted in Australia that needs round-the-clock uptime. Slow loading speeds will cause customer frustration and you won’t sell as much as you’d like or as much as you potentially can.

 

This is why we strongly recommend hosting your sites with international web hosts with datacenters in Singapore.

 

You’ve gotta to remember that online businesses are global businesses and this way, the rest of the world will still have access to your site if the cables are busted, and you’ll still have decent speeds in Ozzieland when everything is up and running.

 

Should I Use A Local or International Web Host?

 

It’s only natural for Australians to want to support local businesses, web hosting included. Networking tech has made plenty of advancements in recent years, we can expect more world-class web hosting companies popping up all over the place.

 

But for now, our humble opinion is that we prefer international hosting providers, namely Hostinger, for the very simple fact that they provide a much better price to value ratio.

 

Hostinger has a nearby Singapore data center, so you know your site will satisfy Core Web Vitals requirements (more below). They’ve also got 7 kick-ass data centers worldwide, allowing you to target different regions if you ever choose to do so. And somehow, they’ve managed to stay one of the most affordable hosts on the market – with prices starting from AUD 8.40/month!

 

Unless Australian web hosts can beat that sort of value, we’d strongly recommend going with international brands, especially Hostinger.

 

Why Web Hosting Speed Matters?

 

To set foot into the global market with your website, you’ll need a speedy web host to back it up.

 

You might think that people can wait a second or maybe 5 for your site to load, but that sort of thinking will have you waking up everyday regretting your poor life choices.

 

Why?

 

Core Web Vitals.

 

For the uninitiated, Core Web Vitals will soon play a very important part of Google’s ranking criteria. It focuses on 3 different aspects of page experience – Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), and First Input Delay (FID).

 

core web vitals

 

Out of the 3, the latter 2 are highly dependent on server speed!

 

If your site is slow to load, people will just get bored and swipe away, which in turn tells Google that your site doesn’t fulfil their search intent, inevitably causing you to lose precious search rankings.

 

According to Think with Google, you want to keep site load speeds below 1 second, because up to 32% of people visiting your site will bounce if it takes 1 – 3 seconds to load.

 

32% of users will bounce if page load time takes up to 3 seconds

 

This is the equivalent of losing 30% of your business due to slow site load speeds, and that’s just from 1 – 3 seconds of delay!

 

In other words, if your small business is running on slow web hosting, you’re gonna lose customer confidence, sales will drop drastically and web vital metrics are affected, causing you to lose ranking in search engines.

 

You’ll potentially be missing out on thousands of dollars in sales!

 

You should also be aware of the untold interactions between your website speed and customer behaviour:

 

  • First Impressions Matter
    Customers will form their opinions of your brand in the first few seconds they load up your site. If your site loads up quickly, they’ll feel happy and continue browsing. If it’s too slow, they’ll feel disgruntled and that feeling will stay with them every time the see your brand.
  • Customers get bored easily
    If your site fails to capture the customer’s attention either via slow loading speeds or unattractive content, they’ll move on and won’t bother looking into your webstore again.
  • They are insecure
    People are wary of online shopping. Slow sites are viewed as not dependable, their orders might go missing or get mixed up, etc. A faster site helps people perceive your brand or site as professional and dependable, which helps with sales.

 

How We Test For Web Host Speed

 

You’ll need to get acquainted with Bitcatcha’s unique server speed checker. We created it to check server response times across the globe. You can use it to see how fast your server performs when responding to requests from different countries.

 

What’s our benchmark?

 

Here’s how we rank the web hosts we tested:

 

  • Anything below 180 ms is ranked A+
  • 181 ms -210 ms is ranked A
  • 211 ms – 220 ms is ranked B+
  • 221 ms – 240 ms is ranked B
  • 241 ms – 280 ms is ranked C+
  • 281 ms – 360 ms is ranked C
  • 361 ms – 520 ms is ranked D+
  • 521 ms – 840 ms is ranked D
  • 841 ms – 1480 ms is ranked E+
  • Anything above 1480 ms is ranked E

 

Ideally, you’ll want your website to at least rank B. The faster your server response times are, the better your website will perform against Web Vital Core metrics.

 

What else makes a good web host for Australia?

 

Aside from speed, there are a few other things that a web host must have for us to consider them good – here are a few so you’ll know what to look out for.

 

1. Price

 

We want to strike a nice balance between low prices and good web hosting. Pick a host that can provide you with the features you need at a price you’re comfortable paying!

 

2. Customer service

 

Complications can occur when you’re dealing with websites, and it’s nice to have a team of experts dedicated to helping you solve your problems. Be sure to pick a web host that has a good track record in customer support.

 

3. Uptime guarantee

 

Your site will be useless to you and your audience if it constantly goes down. We want to look for a web host that can least provide us with a 99.9% uptime guarantee.

 

4. Security

 

If your web hosting has poor protection against malware and hacks, you’ll be leaving your website and data wide open for attacks. Pick a host that has a strong track record in security, malware and hacking protection.

 

5. Features

 

It’s always nice to get more than you paid for in terms of features. Some web hosting brands might provide more features but they might not be the fastest. Pick a web host that has a nice balance of essential features, speed, and price.

 

What Are The Types Of Web Hosting?

 

You’re this close to knowing everything you need to know about web hosting! All that’s left to do is to learn all about the differences and nuances of the types of hosting services available, and you’re practically a bona fide expert on the topic.

 

This might all sound mundane, technical and even boring, but believe me it’s highly important. If you select the wrong type of hosting service, you probably won’t realize it until much later when your site starts picking up traffic.

 

Then, you’ll realize that you’ll need different sorts of resources for your website, but it’s too late to back out and you’re stuck paying for a service that doesn’t quite do your business justice.

 

Take it from us, because we’ve made that mistake before.

 

Let’s jump in and have a look at the different types of web hosting services available, so you don’t make the same mistake we did.

 

1. Shared hosting

 

Shared web hosting is exactly what it sounds like. You’ll be sharing server space with a bunch of other users on the same server, with the resources split evenly among everyone.

 

This is by far our most recommended web hosting type, as it’s great for general purpose use, and actually performs surprisingly well if you go for a reliable brand that takes no nonsense from errant users.

 

It’s simple, uncomplicated, perfect for first timers thinking about dipping their feet in building a website. Most of them are really quite affordable too, which is always a plus in our books.

 

The only problem with shared web hosting is that rogue users might (intentionally or not) take up too much resources, causing slowdowns for everyone else sharing that same server.

 

However, as mentioned earlier, pick a reliable brand that takes no nonsense from their users (like Hostinger), and you’ll be fine!

 

2. Cloud hosting

 

While shared web hosting hosts multiple websites on a single server, with cloud web hosting, your website will exist across multiple servers – a cluster of servers, to be exact, in the cloud.

 

This means that the provider can literally choose other servers to load up your site from, if a particular one is under stress or is facing performance issues, which ensures stable, consistent, site load speeds!

 

Users usually upgrade from shared hosting to cloud hosting once they feel that their website has outgrown the resources that shared web hosting provides.

 

How would you know if it’s time to upgrade?

 

Well, when you’re allocated bandwidth is constantly being used up due to heavy traffic, or if your web hosting provider straight up complains and TELLS you to do it, then yeah it’s time to upgrade.

 

Aside from it’s obvious speed benefits, cloud web hosting provides users with a whole lot more features than shared hosting, such as balanced load, better security and easy scalability.

 

However, the downside is the price. Good things don’t come cheap, and cloud web hosting is unmistakably, good.

 

3. VPS hosting

 

VPS servers, otherwise known as Virtual Private Servers, are actually quite similar to the abovementioned cloud hosting.

 

The key difference between these two is that while cloud hosting utilizes several different machines on the cloud, VPS hosting uses one massive physical server which is then partitioned into several different servers.

 

Each one of these partitions act as a dedicated server on its own with its own resources, but at a much larger scale than what a shared hosting server would provide.

 

Faster and highly reliable compared to shared hosting servers, VPS hosting is typically very customizable, easily upgradable, and the partitions can be configured however you want to suit your needs.

 

Since each partition acts as a dedicated server, you’ll enjoy greater privacy and security – you won’t have to worry about resource hogging, traffic surges or privacy breaches from other users.

 

If you’re experiencing heavy traffic spikes on your ecommerce site, or if the website you’re running is particularly resource heavy, you should consider upgrading to a VPS account from your shared hosting server.

 

You’ll have to pay quite a bit more, but we personally feel that the damage to the wallet is actually worth the trade off in performance, stability, security and resources.

 

4. Dedicated hosting

 

For those of you looking for complete control over your servers, or if you just have deep pockets and a deep dislike for sharing, you might want to look into dedicated hosting plans.

 

With dedicated web hosting, you’ll practically be renting an entire server with ALL of its resources, dedicated just for you or your business. That’s the equivalent of booking out an entire restaurant or movie theatre, just for a date.

 

Better make damn sure that date is worth it!

 

Best suited for large enterprises or successful sites with consistently high daily traffic, dedicated web hosting users will have full access to the server, with the ability to configure it to support the exact amount of web traffic required to keep the site running.

 

Its uses include being able to install alternative operating systems for the webserver, or running performance-enhancing utilities like advanced page caching systems which require specific server hardware that only dedicated servers can provide.

 

With its superior speeds, reliability, resources, and most importantly, customizability, they are typically used to support extremely high levels of traffic for ecommerce, media, or publishing sites.

 

However, be prepared to get your kidney familiar with the black market to pay for its services. Dedicated Web Hosting does not come cheap and rightly so, considering you’re literally renting out an entire server for yourself.

 

It might even come with unexpected expenses too, such as licensing for software that are required to get the server running, i.e. Windows, or maybe even cPanel.

 

5. Managed WordPress hosting

 

Managed WordPress hosting is just the bees knees of… well, hosting WordPress sites.

 

If you’re running an enterprise site based on WordPress (and if your wallets are deep enough) we’d always recommend using managed WordPress hosting services.

 

It has all the benefits of WordPress Hosting, but MANAGED!

 

Okay, I realize that doesn’t say much. Let me elaborate.

 

First up, Managed WordPress Hosting isn’t all that much different from regular shared hosting, except that you’ll get to enjoy all of the perks and none of the drawbacks – always fast, backed up, and secured!

 

All you have to do is sort out the initial set up, and since it’s literally managed, you can just kick back and sip on a cocktail while the experts work on keeping your site well oiled and running smoothly.

 

You won’t need to worry about WordPress updates, because they’ll manage that for you. Security concerns are forgotten because, well, they’ll manage all your security updates. You won’t even need to lose sleep over optimizing your site because it’s… managed!

 

If something goes wrong, don’t panic – these services usually will have WordPress experts as support to sort everything out for you because… managed!

 

You get the idea by now.

 

The only note about managed WordPress hosting is that you might not be able to install the plugins you want, and it’s kinda damaging to the ol’ wallet.

 

Which Type Of Web Hosting Is Best For You?

 

So, we’ve covered how to determine a good web hosting service, the types of web hosting available, and the benefits of picking a provider with a data center in Australia.

 

Before you go bragging to all your friends about your newfound expertise in web hosting, let us do you the favour of stopping you right there, cause we’ve yet to talk about which type of web hosting is suitable for YOUR website.

 

First up, you’re going to need to know what kind of website you’re looking to build. By doing so, you’ll know what sort of features you’ll need, the amount of resources required, and all the little extras that are required to run your website.

 

Decide if the website you want is going to be a:

 

  • Professional blog
    Looks like you’re trying to build a name for yourself in a niche with a specialized blog. Maybe you’re looking to build an income from a blog through affiliate marketing. Perhaps all you want to do is start a blog to trash talk your most hated celebrity.
     
    Keep an eye out for web hosting providers with dedicated WordPress support, 1-click WordPress install, WordPress site optimization, and really anything and everything WordPress related.
     
    If you’re looking to go BIG with your blog, managed WordPress hosting would be great for you, like Kinsta; if you’re just looking to build a simple blog, a WordPress-optimized shared hosting provider would do just fine, like Hostinger and Bluehost.
  • Online store
    Ecommerce is all the rage these days, and you’ve got the perfect product that will revolutionize life as we know it! Start an online store and before you know it, BAM, instant billionaire!
     
    You’ll want to consider reliable web hosting services with added security, payment integrations with services like PayPal, shopping cart software, the likes of that. Most importantly, your eCommerce website must be fast!
     
    Depending on the traffic you’re expecting, established web hosts like Hostinger or SiteGround should be able to cover all your needs – in fact, they are our top choices for best eCommerce web hosting!
  • Digital portfolio
    So you produce amazing work. So what? Everybody knows that you’re not a true professional in your craft unless you have a digital portfolio for your business, whether it be in photography, music, woodworking, or even miming.
     
    Think about stuff like whether the provider has enough space for you to host all of your work. If we’re talking about something like videography, you know it’s gonna be resource heavy, especially in regards to storage and bandwidth.
     
    Some shared web host services like DreamHost offer Shared Unlimited plan that unlock unlimited storage AND bandwidth!
  • Personal website
    Some people just want to build personal sites to keep friends entertained, or to journal their precious memories without depending on a certain social media platform that eats your privacy for breakfast.
     
    If that’s you, that’s totally cool. You’ll want a provider that has easy setup, inexpensive, yet still provides you with all the resources and support you need.
     
    Look no further than shared hosting offered by Hostinger. They’ve also got a kickass site builder that’s really easy to use!
  • Public or private forum
    Looking to gather like-minded people to discuss everything under the sun regarding your favourite passion? Reddit not doing enough for you?
     
    Build a forum! You’ll get to invite friends and get them to drag their friends to discuss topics about motorcycling, gardening, DIY projects, or anything that enters that ol’ noggin of yours.
     
    Look out for a hosting provider that allows you to easily upgrade your plan or purchase resources separately in the future. Forums can start out small, but they can grow really fast if they pick up traction, so best find a web hosting service that can cater to those demands and keep your forum up and running at all times!
     
    You can start off with shared web hosting, but might want an option to upgrade to cloud/VPS hosting in the future – Hostinger would be a good choice here.

 

So, which type of web hosting is best for you?

 

Quite frankly, we don’t have the answer to that. Each one of these services serve a different purpose, and there really is no “best” web hosting service, only the one that works better for your business or website.

 

For those that are just starting out or are looking for an affordable option to host your website, you just can’t go wrong with a shared web hosting plan. Just make sure that the service comes with good features, knowledgeable support, and is able to handle the traffic you’re expecting for your site.

 

Verdict: Which Web Hosting is Best for Australia?

 

The web hosting brands we’ve tested are all pretty kick-ass, with a minimum ranking of A. Basically, you can’t go wrong when you host with any of these brands, and it all comes down to personal preferences.

 

To recap, here is our top 3 web hosting providers for Australia websites:

 

Speed
Rating

Speed in
Sydney

Price
(AUD/MO)

Hostinger

A+

93 ms

A$8.40

SiteGround

A+

3 ms

A$12.59

Bluehost

A+

168 ms

A$10.43

 

Personally, we’d go with Hostinger (hosted in Singapore) – it promises excellent speeds globally, as opposed to just being fast in Australia.

 

Hostinger appears to be constantly evolving their technology and expanding their support team – which speaks volumes about how dedicated they are at providing their customers damned good hosting.

 

Pair that with their blazing-fast speeds, affordable pricing and a truly global customer service team, we’re happy to hand Hostinger the crown as best #1 host for Australia.

 

Pop over to Hostinger’s official website to learn more!

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

1. Can I host a website for free?

 

Yes. There are plenty of free web hosting services around that you can utilize for your website. However, they come with performance restrictions, handicaps, and ads displayed on your website (which you have no control over). If you’re looking to actually build traffic and generate revenue through your site, we would strongly advise against going for these free services.

 

2. How much does web hosting cost?

 

Expect to pay an average of AUD50 to AUD300+ per year for shared web hosting services, excluding domain and SSL. Domains would typically cost you AUD14 – AUD100 a year, while SSL can cost anything from as little as AUD15 upto AUD250 per annum. These can build up to cost quite a bit, so we highly recommend a web hosting service that offers both domain AND SSL for free, like Hostinger and SiteGround.

 

3. What kind of hosting do I need for my website?

 

Figure out the purpose of your website, and find out which kind of web hosting would be best to fulfil that purpose. Generally, for small business or personal sites, shared hosting should be enough to cover all the bases. If it’s for a large to medium website, go for something that provides you with more resources like VPS hosting.

 

4. What kind of hosting do I need for WordPress?

 

Make sure the web host meets the minimum requirements for running WordPress. We recommend going with Hostinger – they offer optimized WordPress hosting environment, with LiteSpeed WebServer, accelerator, and 24/7 dedicated WordPress team as support.

 

5. Which is the best web hosting for the UK?

 

Hostinger would be our web hosting provider of choice for the UK. They’ve got a UK datacenter, terrific speeds, premium features and are great for all sorts of websites at a fair price!

 

6. Which is the best web hosting in Australia?

 

We recommend Hostinger for web hosting in Australia. They’ve got great speed from Sydney, excellent features, and they’re priced lower than their local counterparts.

 

7. Does it matter where I host my website?

 

Where you host your website definitely matters, because the sites are hosted on data centers – physical servers that are used to house all your website data. The location of these data centers will affect how fast your website loads up for your readers in certain regions. The closer the data center is to your audience, the quicker your site will load for them.