Multiple domain hosting plans - what are they?
Generally, whenever you purchase a domain or launch a website, that domain or URL is all you have, and you have just one website that is hosted (or, in other words, is visible from and is live) at that specific address.
But what happens if you want to have additional websites from the same server without having to lock in a new plan for the new website you want to launch (whether it's a different version of the same website, a new website for the same company, or something new altogether)?
This is where multi-domain hosting plans come in. They are essentially plans that provide convenient tools for setting up different domains with one host on one server or one plan, complete with separate disk space, processing resources, bandwidth, and file transfer limits or quotas.
What's the typical user profile for multi-domain hosting services?
Anyone can sign up with all of the multi-domain web hosts listed above. However, to be more specific about who can or should sign up for these types of services, anyone who wants to expand an existing website in any way would benefit greatly from this hosting arrangement.
So, for example, one model customer for multi-domain hosting might be a company that wants either separate web pages for its different departments, or different versions of the same site for different users.
Even bloggers, vloggers, artists, and small businesses can make use of multi-domain web hosting by launching different websites for different user bases, or for different countries and people with different language backgrounds.
Multiple domain hosting vs. reseller hosting
Multiple domain hosting is very similar to reseller hosting: both involve the rental of server resources, and then partitioning those resources to different websites.
However, with reseller hosting, the rate at which you rent from your host needs to be considerably low for you to be able to sell downstream to other customers, whereas with multiple domain hosting, you are not selling to anyone else but are only hosting your own sites. Keep this cost difference in mind before locking yourself into a plan with your host.
How we found the best multiple domain web hosting sites
The people who have webpages that need hosting are the clients of web hosting service providers. The final end user may be a private person sitting at home, or a company, or another type of public or private concern, but the folks who rent out server resources are the ones who have websites that need hosting. These are the people who need to be satisfied with multi-domain hosting services, and theirs are the reviews that we give the most weight to when evaluating and ranking the best multi-domain hosting plans out there.
Furthermore, we took into consideration price, customer support, the ease with which multiple domains can be setup, launched, managed and maintained, as well as server speeds, data security/encryption, and supported platforms (both hardware as well as software) when coming up with the top multi-domain web hosting companies we recommend.
Work smarter, not harder
If you do some research into all of the different hosting plans available and choose the lowest-cost providers of web hosting services, you may be able to save a few dollars per month with the cheapest plans.
However, there are costs to running a business and being online beyond dollars and cents. The time it takes to set things up, to migrate your domain or domains from one host to another, getting the right name and having your site up all the time, and being able to quickly resolve customer issues - all of these things represent actual costs that affect your bottom line, and you should only go with a top multi-domain web hosting provider to take care of your needs on the web.