If you’re launching or expanding your online business, finding the right web host provider should be your top priority. While most people don’t give much thought to picking a web host, this task is directly linked to your ROI as it affects page loading speed, Google ranking, and your website security, among other things. That’s why we made a collection of website hosting statistics to paint a picture of the impact web hosting has on businesses. Let’s jump right into some stats and facts.
Website Hosting Statistics (Editor’s Choice)
- Each year, ecommerce websites lose about $2.5 million due to slow websites. (The Drum, Website Builder Expert)
- The global cloud computing market should be worth $947.3 billion by 2026. (MarketsandMarkets)
- In the second quarter of 2021, Google Cloud earned $4.6 billion. (Statista, Datanyze)
- GoDaddy, AWS, and Google Cloud are the world’s largest web hosting companies. (Datanyze)
- More than 42% of websites in the world run on WordPress. (W3Techs, WordPress)
- WordPress accounted for 90% of all CMS websites hacked in 2018. (ZDNet, Maryville University)
Web Hosting Industry Statistics
1. The web hosting industry market was valued at more than $55 billion in 2019.
According to Grand View Research, the global web hosting market size stood at $56.7 billion, and projections indicate that its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is forecast to rise by 15.5% between 2020 and 2027.
(Grand View Research)
2. GoDaddy is the most popular web host in the US, with a market share of 20.02%.
If you haven’t decided which host to use, checking out which web hosts are preferred by the majority of people in your location is one place to start. Website hosting demand statistics show that GoDaddy is a favorite in the US, while 1&1 takes the crown in Germany. Aliyun, meanwhile, rules in China.
(HostAdvice)
3. The Virtual Private Server (VPS) market is expected to have a value of $2 billion by 2025.
VPS hosting lets you have your separate server, only it is a virtual rather than a physical one. It’s a combination of shared and dedicated hosting services, so you will reap the benefits of both. In the last few years, managed VPS hosting dominated the overall private server market and is expected to keep growing.
(Global Market Insights)
4. The global cloud computing market was worth $445.3 billion in 2021.
Cloud computing has become a popular buzzword, and it certainly dominates the market. The industry is booming, and web hosting statistics further reveal that the global cloud computing market is expected to reach 947.3 billion by 2026.
(MarketsandMarkets)
5. During the work-from-home shift in 2020, 75% of IT professionals were concerned about public cloud security.
The popularity of cloud computing is accompanied by some serious security headaches. The 2020 Cloud Security Report reveals that 68% of companies use two or more different cloud providers which makes it even more complicated to enforce security.
(Continuity Central)
6. Google Cloud earned $4.6 billion in the second quarter of 2021.
Website hosting statistics reveal that Google Cloud holds an 8.09% market share, ranking third, right behind GoDaddy and AWS Web Hosting. To better demonstrate what an 8.01% market share means, there are currently over 1.1 million domains using Google Cloud hosting.
(Statista, Datanyze)
7. By 2025, only 1% of cloud security incidents will be due to the provider’s fault, and the rest will be due to customers’ mistakes.
Not long ago, Gartner updated its cloud security assessment and warned that 90% of organizations that fail to control the use of the public cloud will share sensitive data by 2025. One shocking cause of cloud data breaches is former employees. Research reveals that these “insiders” account for at least 33% of all data breaches.
(Gartner, Business Wire)
8. Web hosting statistics show that email services comprise 20% of confidential data that passes through the cloud.
The privacy and security of company data continues to be one of the main cloud issues. Businesses that use cloud technology to deliver their emails should ensure that their provider is compliant and consistent in providing customer data protection.
(CloudStandards)
9. Over 30,000 websites get hacked every day, while 43% of cybercrimes worldwide are committed against small and medium businesses.
Web hosting statistics like this one illustrate the importance of security in this industry. Not only do you need to have proper web hosting protection, but you also need to make sure your visitors and customers are safe.
(FinancesOnline)
10. Ecommerce websites lose around $2.5 million a year due to slow websites.
With your web hosting company determining the functionality of your website, it is important to choose the right one. Two out of 5 customers will leave the website if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. In fact, ecommerce websites that make $100,000 a day can lose up to $2.5 million a year due to low site loading speed, as confirmed by website hosting statistics.
(The Drum, Website Builder Expert)
11. There are nearly 1.2 billion hostnames registered online as of September 2021.
The number of hostnames registered online used to be a good indicator that the content provided to individuals is actively managed. However, the situation is quite different now. The number might be large, but it doesn’t mean that hostnames are active.
(Netcraft)
Hosting Providers Statistics
12. The largest web hosting companies are GoDaddy, AWS, and Google Cloud.
You can look at many sources on the web, but they will all tell you the same thing — the largest and most popular web hosting company is GoDaddy. AWS Web Hosting ranks second on the list of the biggest web hosts, with a market share of 10.22%.
(Datanyze)
13. Hosting providers statistics show that more than 1.4 million companies in 190 countries use Amazon Web Service.
AWS is easy to use, scalable, flexible, reliable, and it’s no surprise that so many people actively use it. It was launched in 2006 and in no time became one of the largest players in the cloud computing industry.
(Datanyze, Amazon)
14. Over 42% of websites are WordPress-powered.
Not only is WordPress the most widely-used CMS, accounting for 42.7% of websites, but it is also the fastest-growing one, according to website hosting demand statistics. While you can download it for free, you’ll have to buy a custom domain and hosting. WordPress hosting is extremely popular and used by some of the most famous brands. Well-known sites that are powered by WordPress include Forbes, The New York Times, and Sony.
(W3Techs, WordPress)
15. WordPress accounted for 90% of all hacked CMS sites in 2018.
With 1.9 billion personal information being compromised between January 2017 and March 2018, Google Chrome has begun to label non-HTTPS websites as “not secure.” To inspire sites to switch to HTTPS, Google Chrome has even promised a rating increase. Hosting trends, therefore, suggest that offering HTTPS is becoming a must-have and not just for the best web hosting providers.
(ZDNet, Maryville University)
16. Over 12 million domain names are hosted by 1&1, and they have 90,000 servers worldwide.
1&1 is a web hosting provider founded in Germany in 1998. They certainly have come a long way — from an online ad seller to a web hosting provider that operates internationally. They are known for offering a range of web services, strong customer support, and affordable prices.
(IONOS by 1&1)
17. Web hosting statistics show that around 5,000 of the world’s web host providers come from North America.
Although most internet users come from Asia, most web host providers call North America home. The USA dominates the hosting market with a 51.5% share, followed by Germany (11.5%). In the Czech Republic, web hosting is mostly local.
(Digital Information World, HostAdvice)
18. 38.6 million websites, including Spotify, Snapchat, and Coca-Cola, use the Google Cloud Platform.
Google Cloud and AWS are quite similar, managed by two of the largest companies in the world, and they both offer cloud web hosting services. Although AWS has a larger web hosting market share, Google Cloud is becoming extremely popular, according to website hosting industry statistics.
(BuiltWith)
19. With a market share of 35.54%, Apache holds first place among web server technologies.
Apache and Nginx are currently the most popular open-source web servers powering the internet today. These two web servers together have a market share of 60.43%, and OpenResty ranks third, with 6.49%.
(Netcraft)
20. Website hosting statistics show that the most popular top-level domain is .com.
We can’t talk about hosting without mentioning domains. Since they are closely related, many companies offer both. The .com domain is the most popular one and accounts for 52.3% of all registrations.
(Statista)
21. WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, Wix, and Joomla are the top 5 content management solutions.
If you are just starting out, or you run a small business, these platforms will come in handy, being among the best website builders, CMS, and online store platforms. Most of them don’t require coding knowledge to help you build an amazing website.
(W3Techs)
Web Hosting Uptime Statistics
23. The average downtime costs per minute for small businesses range from $137 to $427.
In layman’s terms, uptime represents the number of hours a server is running and available, meaning customers can see and access a website. Downtime is the reverse and proves pretty pricey, especially for small businesses, with only half of these businesses living up to 5 years and more, according to the most recent small business statistics.
(Data Foundry)
23. A one-second delay in page load leads to an 11% loss in page views.
Web hosting uptime statistics further reveal that 88% of online customers are less likely to return to a website after a bad experience. You can spend time, and money building your website, but it won’t mean much if it’s not running when people arrive. Every second your website is down directly impacts its success.
(Sweor, Crazy Egg)
24. Conversion rates go down by 7% for every 100-millisecond delay in website load time.
A two-second delay in website page load time meanwhile increases bounce rates by 103%. In the age of instant gratification, a fast-loading website is crucial for your business. According to web hosting statistics, 47% of website users expect any webpage to load in under two seconds.
(Unbounce, Nexcess, Cloudflare)
25. 60% of Fortune 500 companies experience a minimum of 1.6h of downtime every week.
Web hosts usually guarantee 99%, 99.99%, or 99.999% uptime, but mathematically, 99% uptime can mean a lot of downtime. If you’re experiencing uptime below 99.0%, you should find a new web host.
(Globalscape)
Web Hosting FAQ
What is web hosting and how does it work?
Web hosting is the service provided by businesses that own warehouses of web servers. These servers are used for storing all the files that comprise your website. When someone types the URL of your website into their browser, these servers provide the space required for file storage and the mechanism for making those files available to viewers.
(Hostinger)
Can web hosting be changed?
Yes, website hosting statistics confirm that you can easily switch your website to another host. Since the web hosting industry is quite competitive, many companies also offer website migration services to new customers.
(Digital)
What web hosting should I use?
It all depends on your business. Shared hosting is perfect if you run a small or new business since it is the least expensive option. Dedicated hosting is for high-traffic sites, and it requires you to manage the server yourself. Hosting trends show that VPS is a nice middle ground, although it’s still shared.
(PC Mag)
Is web hosting free?
Web hosting is usually a service you have to pay for. However, there are web hosting providers that offer free plans with limited features.
(WP Beginner)
How to build a self-hosted website?
Self-hosted websites are websites that you have to pay for, but they also give you the freedom to control your servers and design, build and optimize your blog or website. To create a self-hosted website, you have to sign up for paid hosting and host your blog and domain name for yourself.
(Medium)
Sources: The Drum, Website Builder Expert, MarketsandMarkets, Statista, Datanyze, W3Techs, WordPress, ZDNet, Maryville University, Grand View Research, HostAdvice, Global Market Insights, Continuity Central, Gartner, Business Wire, CloudStandards, FinancesOnline, Netcraft, Amazon, IONOS by 1&1, Digital Information World, BuiltWith, Statista, Data Foundry, Sweor, Crazy Egg, Unbounce, Nexcess, Cloudflare, Globalscape, Hostinger, Digital, PC Mag, WP Beginner, Medium
