Joomla is a powerful and flexible content management system powering thousands of websites world-wide. It is considered the most popular CMS after WordPress. The first version of the Joomla CMS was released in 2005 and it was a result of a fork of Mambo.
Initially Joomla was supported only on Linux web servers but with the release of Joomla 3.x now works on Windows servers too. Joomla 3.x requires PHP 5.3+ and MySQL 5.1+, Apache 2.0+ web server with mod_mysql, mod_xml and mod_zlib or Ngnix 1.0 webserver or Microsoft IIS 7 web server.
Now the question is which web hosting is the best for hosting your Joomla website. Before I’m going to recommend any hosting company, you should know that in my opinion there no “best web hosting”. There are many great hosting providers that offer excellent hosting service, feature rich hosting plans and top notch support, but the most important is if the chosen company or plan suits your needs.
If you do a quick search on Google, looking for Joomla hosting providers, you will find thousands of websites. With so many options to choose from, it is very hard to decide which company to sign up with. Having no experience makes it even harder to make the right decision. But I’m here to help!
How to find a good Joomla hosting provider?
Any web hosting company that has PHP and MySQL on their web servers can host a Joomla website. But this is not enough. The plan you are going to pick for building and hosting your Joomla site should provide you with plenty of disk space and bandwidth.
Although the Joomla system does not require much disk space, but the images, videos and documents you are going to upload to your website, can quickly eat up a significant amount of disk space. Ideal would be to pick a hosting plan that has no limit on disk space and bandwidth. This way you don’t have to worry about using too much space or consuming all your allowed monthly bandwidth.
Beside all the technical aspects of the hosting plan, customer support is also very important. Choosing a hosting provider that offer Joomla oriented technical support can save you a lot of time and effort.
Server speed is also very important factor to consider. The core Joomla system does not require much server resources to run, but if you plan adding extensions or a highly customizable template, you might need that extra power that is not provided by every hosting company. Choose a hosting provider that has options to upgrade or downgrade your plan easily.
Joomla web hosting that I recommend
I have been developing Joomla websites for years and have tried out many web hosting companies. The following 3 hosting companies worked the best for me.
HostGator Joomla Compatible Hosting
My favorite host is HostGator. They offer a wide range of hosting plans including shared, virtual and dedicated servers, reseller and cloud hosting as well.
At HostGator you can easily install Joomla, they have a one-click installation tool, that allows you to set up Joomla to your website in less than 5 minutes. In the control panel just click the Joomla icon, choose the domain you want to install the system to, set up admin login info and hit the install button. Few minutes later, your Joomla site is ready to be used.
For small websites you can purchase the Hatchling plan, however I recommend going with the Baby plan. This offers the best value for your money. It allows you to host as many Joomla websites you want. This plan will cost $5.95 per month if you subscribe for a 36 months period.
The good thing about HostGator is that you can establish and grow your website without the need to switch hosting company. You can upgrade your plan anytime as your website gets bigger. If you are planning to build an online shop using Joomla, you can purchase dedicated IP as well SSL certificate for your website.
HostGator is currently running a promotion offering huge discounts on their shared hosting plans. However I found a coupon code that will give you an even bigger discount. Try using the coupon code BINGO before finishing the purchase.
InMotion Joomla Optimized Hosting
Another web hosting that I like and use is InMotion. They are also offer various hosting plans for different website needs. Although their most popular hosting plan is the Power plan which is the top choice among small businesses, InMotion also have solutions for enterprises. Multiple virtual servers and dedicated plans are available and also custom setups.
InMotion offers Joomla optimized hosting, which is great for hosting Joomla websites. They tech support has great experience with Joomla and are trained to help customers that run their website with this system.
InMotion has a huge database of Joomla related articles and tutorials which can provide lots of great information to new as well advanced Joomla users. In fact InMotion’s knowledge base is running on Joomla. At WebHostingMedia you can find out more information about InMotion hosting.
BlueHost Joomla Hosting
BlueHost is another great hosting for Joomla websites. BlueHost also versitily having plans for personal website through small business hosting to enterprise level hosting.
Certainly, BlueHost also offer Joomla hosting along with great technical support. The technicians are trained and can help with most Joomla related issues.
Although I’m using BlueHost for about eight months (at time of writing), I’m very pleased with the performance of the website which is hosted with them. I recommend BlueHost as well, it is a great alternative to HostGator and InMotion.
Wrapping it up
So if you are looking to create a personal blog or a professional website for your business I recommend using Joomla. To get out the most from your website, use a hosting plan that is made for Joomla. Using one of the above mentioned hosting companies you can ensure that your site will be in good hands.
If you liked my tutorial please share with your friend on social media. If have any question regarding Joomla please leave a comment bellow. Also if you are looking for a professional Joomla template please choose from the designs that I have created. All of them are free to use.