Arvixe

Arvixe - Creating a website isn't easy, and neither is picking a good Web hosting service. Fortunately, Arvixe (starting at $7 per month, or $4 per month with a two-year commitment) stands out from the very crowded pack with a number of user- and wallet-friendly Web hosting plans that let you create multiple domains, quickly set up e-commerce, and, if necessary, get a refund within a rather lengthy 60-day money back guarantee window. Arvixe could use some improvements to its telephone tech support, but overall it's a great Web hosting service and PCMag's Editors' Choice. I tested Arvixe's basic Linux Web hosting (Windows hosting is also available) and e-commerce plans, which cost a total of $7 per month and didn't include a set-up fee.

PersonalClass and BusinessClass Hosting Packages
Arvixe, like competing Web hosting services 1&1$4.99 at 1&1 and GoDaddy$3.99 at GoDaddy, offers a standard monthly Web hosting charge, but kicks savings your way if you commit to a multi-month or annual package. Unlike GoDaddy, Arvixe lets you choose a one-month plan with any package tier; GoDaddy requires you to sign up for its pricier Deluxe or Ultimate plans (starting at $8.99 and $14.99, respectively) to receive a one-month option. If you're looking to pay for Web hosting on a month-to-month basis, Arvixe is an attractive solution.

The service's PersonalClass shared hosting package (in which your website shares servers with many other websites) includes a free domain name that you can keep as long as you use Arvixe, a free domain transfer, unlimited storage, and the ability to host a whopping six domains—1&1 and GoDaddy limit you to just one domain with their most basic services. If you plan on building multiple websites, Arvixe is the way to go.

Arvixe also offers BusinessClass hosting (starting at $30 per month, or $22 per month with a two-year commitment) that increases your website's reliability and uptime by decreasing the number of sites with which you share your server. It also gives you a dedicated IP address, a free SSL certificate, and the ability to host six domains. BusinessClass Pro (starting at $42 per month, or $35 per month with a two-year commitment) adds unlimited domain hosting.

VPSClass and DedicatedClass Servers
Arvixe's VPSClass virtual private servers plan starts at $30 per month, or $20 per month with a two-year commitment. The DedicatedClass dedicated server plan starts at $130 per month, or $1,296 per year with a one-year commitment. Both offer more server power than the shared hosting servers. If you expect high traffic volumes, these are the Web hosting packages that you should check out.

If you decide to go the Arvixe dedicated server route, you should know that they come in a variety of CPU, RAM, RAID, and storage configurations. Arvixe's high-end dedicated servers start at $719 per month (dual 2GHz Intel Xeon CPUs, 32GB of RAM, four 240GB SSDs, Raid 10 alignment). The highest-end 1&1 dedicated server starts at $599 per month (dual 2.1 GHz, six-core AMD Opteron 6272 CPUs, 64GB of RAM, 2,400GB HDD, RAID 6 alignment). GoDaddy's most-powerful dedicated server starts at a relatively low $299 (four-core Intel i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, two 2TB hard drives), but as you add RAID, Control Panel, and other features, the total cost quickly rises.

Arvixe has an impressive 60-day money back guarantee that bests 1&1's 30-day money back guarantee. Read Arvixe's terms of service for full details.

Setting Up a WordPress Blog
Arvixe makes it incredibly simple to setup a WordPress blog. I did so by visiting the Softaculous app library, installing WordPress, selecting the superfuntechax.com URL from a drop-down menu, entering my WordPress username and password, and clicking the Install icon. That's it!

Setting up WordPress on an Avrixe server was a bit easier than doing so on a GoDaddy server. For some unexplained reason, GoDaddy required that I first delete a database before installing WordPress. It was simple to do, but I could imagine less-skilled users being intimidated to execute such a drastic-sounding action.