When it comes to website domain hosting, there are hundreds of options and the process of selecting a host can be overwhelming and daunting…especially if you’re not super tech savvy or familiar with this process.
Often times, you can host your website’s domain through the same platform you are building your site. For example, if you are building a website on Squarespace, you can also host your domain through them, too!
But – this won’t be the case for every website platform and if you are using website building platforms like WordPress or Showit, you’ll need to configure your domain through another third party.
In this post, we’ve compiled a list of recommendations based on personal experience and general, popular recommendations we have found. Keep in mind, while we haven’t tried every single one of these options, we still chose to include them as they are popular choices for photographers (or business owners in general).
What to look for in a website domain host?
There are a few key things we look for in a quality website domain hosting solution, these include:
- Reliability and uptime. Are websites hosted on these platforms typically going to be hosted reliably? A big fear for someone running a website, and especially a business one, is that the site won’t be accessible because domain-side servers go down.
- Performance and speed. Are websites hosted through this platform going to perform well in this area? A good performing domain host will help your website run quicker, providing you better SEO performance and giving your users a better experience, too!
- Customer support. How easy is it to get in contact with someone if I need help? We’ve all struggled with tech support systems that seem like they don’t care about us, so we want to recommend options that make getting support easier.
- Reviews and reputation. Is the platform reputable? We are recommending in this post platforms we personally use or that we have found to be well received by our respected peers in the photography industry!
- Security features. Does the platform offer security features (like SSL certificates) and take extra steps to ensure our information is safe? The last thing we want is to be missing really essential security measures and having our site’s get hacked (or worse).
- User interface. Is the domain hosts platform easy to navigate and work in? Let’s face it, we’re photographers, not necessarily computer tech wizards. We want navigating through our domain hosts UI to be as easy and painless as possible.
- Pricing and value. Does the price point of what is being offered make sense for what you’re getting?
- Additional features. Are there any additional features being offered that are worthwhile?
5 Types of Website Domain Hosting – Key Things to Know
Website domain hosting comes in various types, each designed to cater to different needs and technical requirements.
As a general guideline, most photographer’s websites will be fine to be set up on a shared hosting plan, and upgrading to a different form of hosting will be something to consider if you start receiving higher volumes of traffic or are looking to further optimize your websites performance (such as in page load speeds).
With this said, understanding the different types of hosting plans you can buy can help you make a more informed decision when choosing the best hosting solution for your photography website.
Here are the main types of website domain hosting available:
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is the most basic and affordable type of web hosting.
Multiple websites share the same server resources, such as CPU, RAM, and storage. This makes it cost-effective, but it also means that high traffic on one site can affect the performance of others on the same server.
Shared hosting is ideal for small websites, blogs, and personal sites with low to moderate traffic.
For most photography business websites, using a shared hosting plan will be absolutely fine!
Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting
VPS hosting offers a middle ground between shared and dedicated hosting (which we’ll cover in the next point). It uses virtualization technology to divide a single physical server into multiple virtual servers. Each VPS has its own dedicated resources, providing more control, flexibility, and better performance compared to shared hosting.
VPS hosting is suitable for websites that have outgrown shared hosting but do not yet require a dedicated server.
Dedicated Hosting
Dedicated hosting provides an entire server exclusively for one website. This offers maximum control, performance, and security, as you do not share resources with any other sites.
It is ideal for large websites with high traffic, e-commerce sites, and businesses requiring robust security and customization. Dedicated hosting is more expensive than other types due to its exclusive nature.
Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting uses a network of virtual servers in the cloud to host websites. This setup provides scalability, flexibility, and reliability, as resources can be adjusted on-demand, and data is mirrored across multiple servers. Cloud hosting is ideal for websites with fluctuating traffic, as it can handle spikes without performance degradation. It is also beneficial for businesses looking for high uptime and redundancy.
Managed Hosting
Managed hosting involves the hosting provider taking care of all the technical aspects of running a server, including maintenance, updates, security, and backups. This allows website owners to focus on their business or content without worrying about server management. Managed hosting is available for various types of hosting, including shared, VPS, and dedicated. It is suitable for users who prefer to outsource technical management to experts.
With these things in mind, let’s look at our website domain hosting recommendations for photographers now!
4 Website Domain Hosting Recommendations for Photographers
1. Bluehost
We currently use Bluehost (on this website, actually) as well as on another site we operate.
There is a bit of “mass appeal” that comes from Bluehost (you’ll hear about it often if you search for recommendations for website domain hosting), in part because many people recommend it due to their very lucrative affiliate program.
With that said, we’ve had positive experiences using Bluehost over the years without anything particularly notable to mention as downsides.
From our perspective, Bluehost is an excellent choice for photographers seeking a reliable and user-friendly web hosting provider. One of the main advantages of it is its ease of use, which is particularly beneficial for those who may not have extensive technical expertise. The platform offers a straightforward control panel and a one-click WordPress installation process, making it easy to set up and manage a website quickly if you’re wanting to build one with WP.
Performance is another strong suit of this domain host. The hosting provider ensures good uptime and fast load times, which are crucial for image-heavy photography websites. You may see that mileage may vary if you read through reviews online in this area, but our experience has been positive for years.
Bluehost also includes free SSL certificates with all plans, securing data transmission and building trust with your audience.
Overall, Bluehost’s combination of ease of use, reliable performance, strong customer support, and scalability makes it a compelling choice for photographers looking to establish and grow their online presence.
2. Squarespace
A few years ago, Squarespace acquired Google Domains (which was a previous recommendation of ours).
We used to have a website built and hosted with Squarespace, and have since migrated our website to Showit – but kept our domain hosted with Squarespace.
To date, there have been no recognizable problems with this other than an initially confusing migration.
It’s worth mentioning here, Squarespace is an “all-in-one” company that includes the ability to build your website in addition to hosting through their platform. While it’s not our preferred website builder, it can be a great solution for some photographers wanting simplicity as it requires zero knowledge of coding or backend website design to get started.
If we were to start over, Squarespace would be a good natural domain host for a site being built on the platform, too. If you are using a different website builder, it may not be worth setting up shop with a domain through Squarespace as the other options on this list may be better featured and priced for your needs.
3. Siteground
SiteGround stands out as a web hosting provider that is particularly well-suited for photographers’ websites due to its high performance, robust security features, and user-friendly tools. Leveraging Google Cloud infrastructure, SiteGround ensures reliability and speed, which is crucial for image-heavy sites that need fast load times. The use of SSD storage and their proprietary SuperCacher technology further enhances website performance, allowing high-resolution photos to load quickly and smoothly.
Security is a top priority with this domain host, providing free SSL certificates to secure data transmission and daily backups to safeguard your work. Their AI-driven anti-bot system offers additional protection against malicious attacks, ensuring your website remains safe and secure. For those who might not be technically inclined, SiteGround’s intuitive Site Tools control panel simplifies site management. Additionally, one-click installations for WordPress and other CMS platforms make it easy to set up and maintain your site.
As your business grows, they have flexible hosting plans, including shared, cloud, and dedicated options, provide the scalability needed to meet increasing demands without downtime or technical headaches.
SiteGround also includes a free Cloudflare CDN, improving load times for visitors worldwide, and offers basic SEO tools to enhance your website’s visibility in search engines.
These features collectively make SiteGround an excellent choice for photographers who need a reliable, fast, and secure hosting solution to showcase their portfolios and run their online businesses effectively.
4. Cloudways
Cloudways is a great web hosting provider for photographers seeking a balance of performance, flexibility, and ease of use. Known for its high-performance hosting, it operates on a managed cloud hosting platform, utilizing infrastructure from leading cloud providers like DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud, Vultr, and Linode. This ensures that your photography website benefits from robust speed and reliability, which is critical for image-heavy sites where fast load times are essential.
Security is a standout feature of Cloudways, with free SSL certificates included to protect data transmission, regular automated backups to safeguard your site, and platform-level firewalls to prevent unauthorized access. Additionally, the platform employs real-time monitoring and auto-healing servers to maintain optimal uptime and performance.
For photographers who need to focus on their creative work rather than technical management, it also offers a user-friendly interface that simplifies the process of managing and deploying applications.
Cloudways also provides a Content Delivery Network (CDN) via its CloudwaysCDN service, enhancing global load times for your visitors. The platform’s staging environment feature is particularly useful, allowing photographers to test changes before making them live, thus ensuring a seamless user experience. These features make Cloudways a highly recommended choice for photographers who need a reliable, high-performance, and secure hosting solution to effectively showcase their portfolios and manage their online businesses.
How does domain hosting pricing work?
One thing to mention when it comes to pricing for domain hosting is that it can be a little tricky to navigate – especially if it’s your first time. While every company will have different pricing structures – including price points, what’s included, etc., many use similar tactics.
In general, domain hosts will have a introductory promotion to “get you in the door.” Often, these will be promos to sign up for a set period of time (usually 1-3 years, sometimes more). You can lock in a rate that will typically be significantly discounted for the duration of that time period.
Once the promo period expires, you will be renewed at a higher price point.
If your budget allows, the best thing to do is pay up front for multiple years of hosting to reap the most benefits.
Conclusion
As a small-business owner and entrepreneur, you are faced with a ton of decisions to make everyday. Trying to choose the best website domain host for you, as a photographer no less, is just a drop in the bucket.
We explore website hosting (and much, much more) in our Websites for Photographers course, which is a part of our larger business course suite.
Chris is a SEO professional with a passion for helping photography businesses succeed online. With years of experience in the industry, he has a proven track record of increasing website traffic, improving search rankings, and driving revenue growth for his clients.
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