We extensively research the key competitors within an industry to determine the best products and services for your business. Our experts identify the factors that matter most to business owners, including pricing, features and customer support, to ensure that our recommendations offer well-rounded products that will meet the needs of various small businesses.
We collect extensive data to narrow our best list to reputable, easy-to-use products with stand-out features at a reasonable price point. And we look at user reviews to ensure that business owners like you are satisfied with our top picks’ services. We use the same rubric to assess companies within a particular space so you can confidently follow our blueprint to the best VPS hosting services of 2024.
Expert score (10%): Each provider we surveyed was assigned an expert score based on four main criteria: features, value for money, reputation and ease of use. Each of these categories was weighted equally and ranked numerically from “terrible” to “excellent” to determine a quantitative score.
Value (32%): The first thing our research team checked when determining value was whether pricing was publicly available for a given provider. For business owners trying to budget, knowing costs upfront is a must. We also assessed whether there was a free trial available (rarely the case for VPS hosting services). We then looked at actual prices, considering monthly, annual, biennial and tri-annual plan costs, as available.
Features (47%): Based on our research, we determined a number of core features to compare VPS hosting services on, including storage and bandwidth limits, cPanel availability and security features like automatic backups and SSL certificates.
We also considered assets that would make life easier for small business owners, like a free business email, free domain name and website builder. Since WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) used to build websites, we also considered whether one-click WordPress installation was offered.
Finally, we looked at extras like the presence of a content delivery network (CDN), which improves speed and security and free domain name privacy, which can help protect the personal identities of website owners. Uptime guarantee, which determines how reliably the server will be online, was another consideration.
Service and support (8%): If something is amiss with your website’s hosting, you want to know who you can turn to for help. We looked at the service and support options and availability for each provider surveyed. First, we checked if a self-help knowledge base (with resources like video tutorials and written guides) was available. We then looked for three unique support options: live chat, phone and email.
Customer reviews (3%): When comparing tech products of any kind, it’s worth seeing what real-world users are saying in reviews and ratings forums. Popular platforms for user feedback include Capterra, G2 and Trustpilot. For our research, we looked at Trustpilot ratings, prioritizing providers with a 3.5 rating or higher.
