When searching for your first hosting provider you are confronted with a very basic question. Which can be quickly made difficult by the plethora options and terms in the field, a simple thing to keep in mind is; if you dont understand it, you probably dont need it.

So,What are the best hosting companies?

I will imagine you arrived here with that question in mind, and that you realize their are hundreds of options and dozens of top contenders.

Im sure your here because you are making your own blog or site

and that you have already selected and purchased your own domain names

If your upgrading your current hosting or selecting your first host, you are in the process of making probably the most expensive of all your online marketing decisions. I feel its important that your prepared for the growth in your internet efforts but are not overpaying for options you do not require.

So, dedicated servers hosting, managed hosting, sql server hosting, virtual dedicated hosting and hundreds of other upscale and private hosting options you encounter are most likely outside of your needs and budget.

You have two simple questions:

Which hosting will I purchase ?

Will I use Linux or Microsoft Server technology ? The answer is Linux, more of your web hosting applications are compatible.

To keep it simple, I am comparing the two companies that I use the most frequently and have had lots of personal contact with.

dedicated servers hosting, managed hosting, sql server hosting, virtual dedicated hosting

Although, I will break down the options and explain the reasons, for those with short attention spans, I will cut to the chase.

HostGator Wins as best Hosting Company, most options, easiest to use interface plus reliable and intelligent customer service.

Try Hostgator Hosting Now: and use one of my tricks, use the coupon code "Garfield" for the first month for free

HostGator has 3 levels of Hosting

All of their hosting allows for unlimited levels of storage and bandwidth and unlimited subdomains, this effectively means you can manage an unlimited amount of sites via their hosting. They also allow for unlimited MySQL databases, which means you can install as many installations of Wordpress as you like.

All hosting plans come with a $50.00 voucher for Adwords. Between the coupon code for Hostgator I provided and the voucher you effectively get the first 6 months of hosting for free.

MySQL databases are a required part of a fresh Wordpress Install, this is a major factor in Hostgators superiority over Godaddy...GoDaddy's basic and premium plans limit the number of MySQL databases to 25.

3 Plan Level..differences

Hatchling: 4.95 per month only allows for one domain, but unlimited subdomains are still allowed.

Baby: 7.95 per month, adds unlimited domains and unlimited parked domains to the deal.

Business: 12.95 per month, adds free dedicated IP, Private SSL and your own free Toll free number.

If you have ever researched the cost of you own toll free number, you will have found that it always costs quite a bit more than 12.95 per month!

My experience with Hostgator:

The purchase an order forms are straight forward, unlike GoDaddy where you have to go through and uncheck all the extraneous services they automatically pad onto your order.

Customer Service staff is knowledgeable and quick to the phone, you can use chat to talk with them instantly without calling. Unlike GoDaddy, when you speak to them about a technical issue they resolve the issue and then say goodbye, in contrast with GoDaddy who resolve the issue than try to upsell you new services and hosting.

The dashboard and control panel is very simply arranged and everything you need can be manged from one icon based dashboard, the Hostgator interface totally blows away Godaddy's labyrinth like interface, after two years I still get lost trying to make small edits via Godaddy dashboard.

Although I clearly recommend  Hostgator over GoDaddy, I have had nothing but good experiences with their service. They were my first host and as I learned new tricks in hosting and domain management their customer service was always there to help me quickly.

But when it comes down to it, comparing plan options and prices, GoDaddy just doesnt cut it. The interface is very clunky and non-intuitive, you are always exposed to upsells and in order to get the best prices you have to have a coupon code supply.

So my final recommendation wont even include a breakdown of GoDaddy Hosting options, the only positives I can think of are related to domains, you can get domains for 7.49 from GoDaddy which is the cheapest consistent price I have ever seen, you do need a promo link but I can help you out with that.

7.49 Domain Purchase Link, discount will be reflected at checkout make sure to change all options to 1 year and cut off the extras they add during the checkout process, your final price should be 7.49 plus a .19 cent ICANN fee. Bookmark this page or link and use it for all your domain purchases, I do!

Read about their hosting plans while your there, the other positive to Godaddy is they provide free hosting with all domains, it includes a Godaddy banner across the top but so does every other other free host on earth, might be a good learners site for you.

If you have any trouble with the lingo, use the Internet marketing Lexicon