TL;DR GoDaddy is by far the most popular web hosting provider in term of search popularity and social media followings. However popularity does not equal to quality. We highly recommend you to also check out A2 Hosting and InMotion Hosting – both offer similar plans to GoDaddy's at cheaper price and better performance.
We know that there are hundreds of web hosting companies available to us. Out of all them, some are more popular than others and have amassed quite a following.
But which one of them is the most popular?
Well, in this article we take a look at two factors that we believe determines the popularity of a hosting company’s:
- Social media following (Twitter and Facebook), and
- Google Trends
For social media followings, we’ve created and curated a list of 100 hosting companies and put it all in this huge spreadsheet. Then, we compared the hosting companies with the most followers with Google Trends to see how often they get searched on Google.
But Wait… Popularity Does Not Equal Quality
Popularity has always been the shorthand for people to help make decisions.
Want to get new sports shoes? Go for Nike or Adidas.
Buying a new phone? It’s either an iPhone or a Samsung.
While popularity can be a good barometer in some instances, it doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story about the company’s quality of its products and customer supports.
Out of the top 10 most popular hosting brands in our list, those that we highly recommend – A2 Hosting, Kinsta, InMotion Hosting – and they were miles away from our #1 GoDaddy.
To make an informed decision when searching for a web server – you'll need to first understand your hosting needs, look up and compare, and select the host that is the best for your websites.
Part #1: Most Popular Web Host on Social Media
1. GoDaddy
Website: https://www.godaddy.com
It shouldn’t be a surprise that GoDaddy is on this list. The domain registrar/hosting company has been around a long time and has smartly established its brand to consumers.
As of today, GoDaddy has around 316,000 Twitter followers and 1,863,919 Facebook followers. Out of all the hosting companies, Godaddy is definitely leagues above the rest when it comes to social media.
Social Network Statistics – [icon twitter] Twitter: 316,000 . [icon facebook] Facebook: 1,863,919
2. HostGator
Website: https://www.hostgator.com
HostGator is another name that’s been around in the hosting industry for quite some time. While not as big as GoDaddy, they’ve still managed to amass quite a following.
For starters, they have a bigger Twitter following at 732,000 followers while their Facebook numbers currently sits at about 214,991 followers.
Social Network Statistics – [icon twitter] Twitter: 732,000 . [icon facebook] Facebook: 214,991
3. Bluehost
Website: https://www.bluehost.com
A hosting company that’s been around since the 2000s, Bluehost is definitely a well-known name in the hosting industry and has been reviewed by many sites (including ours!).
Despite being acquired by EIG (Endurance International Group), Bluehost manages to build a steady stream of followers. In Twitter, they currently have about 478,000 followers with Facebook sitting at 151,748.
Social Network Statistics – [icon twitter] Twitter: 478,000 . [icon facebook] Facebook: 151,748
4. SiteGround
Website: https://www.siteground.com
SiteGround might not be a household name but they’ve been steadily building up their reputation as a quality hosting provider. Jerry Low has been using their server for his personal blog which speaks volumes to how good they are.
But in terms of social media following, SiteGround doesn’t necessarily stack up with about 231,000 Twitter followers and 30,593 followers on Facebook
Social Network Statistics – [icon twitter] Twitter: 231,000 . [icon facebook] Facebook: 30,593
5. DreamHost
Website: https://www.dreamhost.com
Another company that’s been around in the hosting industry, DreamHost has been in server renting and website hosting business since 1997. The company now hosts over 1.5 million websites and has a healthy user base of over 400,000.
As for social media, DreamHost does a sizeable following on Twitter with 344,000 followers but for Facebook, they only have about 21,429 followers.
Social Network Statistics – [icon twitter] Twitter: 344,00 . [icon facebook] Facebook: 21,429
6. Name.com
Website: https://www.name.com
Similar to GoDaddy, Name.com might not be the company you think of when it comes to web hosting. But, the domain registrar company does offer a number of hosting plans in addition to domain name registration services.
When it comes to social media, Name.com pulls in a healthy 553,000 followers on its Twitter account. Their Facebook account, however, doesn’t fare too well with only 48,464 followers.
Social Network Statistics – [icon twitter] Twitter: 553,000 . [icon facebook] Facebook: 48,464
7. WPEngine
Website: https://www.wpengine.com
WPEngine has grown exponentially since its humble beginnings in 2010. The WordPress managed hosting site has been making waves with its focus on being the best place for WordPress hosting.
But how do they fare in social media? For Twitter, they stand at about 375,000 followers. But Facebook they have a considerably smaller following with only 38,658 followers.
Social Network Statistics – [icon twitter] Twitter: 375,000 . [icon facebook] Facebook: 38,658
8. A2 Hosting
Website: https://www.a2hosting.com
A2Hosting has been breaking grounds in the speed department by using technologies such as Railgun Optimizer and pre-configured caching to be the fastest hosting provider in the industry.
Despite being an industry leader in terms of loading speed, A2Hosting doesn’t necessarily command the same presence in social media. At Twitter, they only have about 102,000 and manages slightly better on Facebook with 49,233.
Social Network Statistics – [icon twitter] Twitter: 102,000 . [icon facebook] Facebook: 49,233
9. InMotion Hosting
Website: https://www.inmotionhosting.com
InMotion Hosting is an absolutely fantastic hosting provider. We reviewed them and gave them high marks for their hosting plans. Heck, we even use them to host WHSR, which says a lot about how good their hosting services are.
But, do great customer support and server performance translate well to social media following? Not necessarily. Currently, InMotion Hosting only has about 124,000 Twitter followers and a paltry 11,394 followers on Facebook. Compared to the rest of hosting provider, InMotion Hosting definitely ranks lower in the popularity scale.
Social Network Statistics – [icon twitter] Twitter: 124,000 . [icon facebook] Facebook: 11,394
10. Kinsta
Website: https://www.kinsta.com
Another great hosting company that flies below the radar, Kinsta is a managed WordPress hosting company that offers top-notch performances and exceptional WordPress hosting solutions.
Just like InMotion Hosting, we’ve rated Kinsta quite highly compared to other managed WordPress companies. But did their excellent customer support helps their social media game? Apparently not, as they only have 126,000 Twitter followers and fares slightly better than InMotion in Facebook with 19,153 followers.
Social Network Statistics – [icon twitter] Twitter: 126,000 . [icon facebook] Facebook: 19,153
Part #2: Being Part of The (Google) Trend
When it comes to popularity on the internet, social media is only one half of the equation. The other half we need to look at is through Google Trends.
Using the “Interest over time” graph, we can get an idea of how popular and how often a certain term (or company) is used in the search engine platform over a certain period.
While GoDaddy clearly holds the biggest social media following among the ones we’ve listed above, would they also have the biggest market share in Google Trends?
Spoiler alert: They absolutely do.
Take a look at the Interest over time comparison between GoDaddy, Hostgator, Bluehost, SiteGround, and DreamHost. GoDaddy easily eclipsed all of them by consistently remaining in the 75 to 100 points of popularity from last November.
Hostgator, Bluehost, SiteGround, and DreamHost all placed within the 25 points or below range with SiteGround being the lowest among all five.
When compared to better rated hosting providers such as InMotion Hosting, Kinsta, A2Hosting, and even WPEngine, GoDaddy still holds a considerable lead in Google’s search demand popularity.
In fact, InMotion Hosting, Kinsta, A2Hosting and WPEngine ranked even lower compared to Hostgator, Bluehost, SiteGround, and DreamHost.
Are Popular Web Hosts (On Social Media) The Best?
When it comes to the quality of a hosting provider, there are a number of factors that can affect them. Are you hosting a simple site blog? Is there any custom program running? Do you need to have an online store? All these and more can affect the quality of a hosting company.
According to our tests and reviews, GoDaddy is okay for people who just want to have a simple blog or website but there are apparently better alternatives in market.
In case you’re thinking of creating a complex WordPress site or eCommerce store, hosting providers such as Kinsta or InMotion Hosting offers better server features and hosting performances.
At the end of the day, it’s all about what you want and need for your website as different hosting providers cater to different website needs. If you’re a simple blog, then maybe GoDaddy is more than enough. Need more server resources? Maybe it’s better to go for Kinsta or InMotion Hosting.
