The Australian Web Hosting landscape is constantly changing and evolving as new companies start and larger companies acquire smaller companies.

Brand reputations can change after mergers or acquisitions or after the success or failure of system upgrades and it can be difficult to keep up to date with who is in favour and who is out of favour at any given time.

Some excellent free resources with the latest information about Australian Web Hosting are:

Based on my own experience building and looking after hundreds of websites with various hosting arrangements over the last 10 years or so and from keeping up to date with industry forums there are certain web hosting companies I have learned it is best to avoid.

I should also point out that price is not always a good indicator of web hosting quality. Some of the most affordable Australian Web Hosting companies have excellent products, services and support whereas some with the highest prices have inferior products, inferior services and poor support.

Poorly performing Web Hosting Companies seem to survive through a combination of strategies such as:

  • regularly acquiring smaller companies to expand their customer base
  • paying generous affiliate commissions which help to generate positive but misleading reviews and comparisons
  • relying on clients who believe it will be difficult to move to a better Web Hosting Company (in reality it is usually straightforward to move between hosts and many hosting companies will transfer your website from your old host for free)

The following web hosting companies are best avoided.

Webcentral and associated brands

  • AussieHQ
  • Domainz
  • Ilisys
  • Jumba
  • Melbourne IT
  • NETantics
  • Netregistry
  • PlanetDomain
  • SmartyHost
  • TPP Wholesale
  • Uber Global
  • WebCentral
  • WME Group
  • Ziphosting

Webcentral (formerly known as Arq Group and Melbourne IT Group) have been around a long time. Their products and pricing have not kept up to date with their competitors and their strategy seems to be to acquire smaller companies instead. Once acquired, products, services and support often deteriorate and complaints escalate to the point where better informed and desperate clients move elsewhere.

As an example of over pricing in October 2022, MelbourneIT are charging AU$77.00 for a .com.au domain name for one year. Compare this to UpTime Web Hosting who are charging AU$14.00 for a .com.au domain name for one year.

Internet Service Providers

Many Internet Service Providers such as Telstra and Optus offer business web hosting but this is not their core business and the products tend to be inferior and overpriced.

For example, you may not be able to host a WordPress website because no database option is included.

GoDaddy, SiteGround and HostPapa

GoDaddy, SiteGround and HostPapa have no server infrastructure in Australia. Note: it looks like this may have chaged since this article was originally written.

Regardless of the location of their servers, I do not recommend any of these companies due to issues with their products, services, support and/or misleading advertising.

Newfold Digital (includes EIG, Web.com, Dreamscape and Hostopia brands)

Web.com entered the Australian market when they acquired Dreamscape Networks in 2019. Dreamscape brands include Aust Domains, Cheap Domains, Crazy Domains, Enetica, Net Logistics, Quadra Hosting, Vodien and Webcity.

Newfold Digital was formed from EIG and Web.com in 2021.

Newfold Digital acquired Hostopia Australia in 2022. Hostopia brands include Anchor, Digital Pacific, Crucial, Panthur and Web24.

EIG, in particular, has a history of acquiring smaller web hosting companies and the products, services and support tend to deteriorate after the acquisition.

You won't find any Newfold Media / EIG brands promoted on this website and all of these brands are best avoided.

Newfold Media / EIG brands include, but are not limited to:

  • Anchor
  • Aust Domains
  • Bluehost
  • Cheap Domains
  • Crazy Domains
  • Crucial
  • Digital Pacific
  • Dreamscape Networks
  • Enetica
  • HostGator
  • Net Logistics
  • Panthur
  • Quadra Hosting
  • Vodien
  • Web24
  • Webcity

For the full list of Newfold Media / EIG brands (and there are approximately 100 of them as at June 2022), see:

Yes!

The primary purpose of this website is to provide unbiased, honest and up to date information about the best Australian web hosting companies.

It's certainly reasonable to question the integrity of web hosting comparison websites especially ones that promote Bluehost, Hostgator and GoDaddy as Australian web hosting companies. None of these companies have any server infrastructure in Australia but are often promoted in Australian web hosting comparisons because of the generous commissions that they pay. I don't recommend any of these hosting companies for local websites and they are not included on this website.

Hosting companies are included on this website based on merit rather than any commission they might or might not pay. I judge web hosting companies based on my own experience building and maintaining websites for hundreds of clients over the last 15 years, opinions of trusted web professionals, trusted industry forums, genuine reviews and other web resources.

For transparency, all "Visit Website" affiliate link buttons on this website are prominently displayed in orange with an "Affiliate Link" tooltip shown when you hover over the button.

Purchasing web hosting via an affiliate link here is much appreciated as it helps cover the cost of running the website and motivates me to keep the information up to date.

For tips on choosing a hosting provider, please read the Hosting Provider Tips and Tricks articles on this website: