People today are increasingly concerned about their environmental impact. People also spend several hours online each day, and the Internet grows by well over 400% each year. As users discover that green web hosting is one of many ways to reduce their carbon footprint, green hosting providers are becoming more common and accessible. Following are the top five green web hosting providers.
1. iPage
iPage is an EPA Green Power Partner. Their data centers and web servers are 100% wind powered. Furthermore, iPage purchases Renewable Energy Certificates to offset their energy usage with wind energy by 200%. When a company purchases Renewable Energy Certificates from a given green energy company, the purchased amount of energy is added to the shared electrical grid. This allows a company to say that they use renewable energy. Hosting with iPage instead of a traditional web hosting provider prevents approximately 1,144 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
Their hosting services currently start at $1.99/month. This includes free domain registration for one year, unlimited storage space, a customizable email address, and a $100 Google AdWords offer. iPage also offers 24-hour customer support and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
2. GreenGeeks
GreenGeeks is also an EPA Green Power Partner. They purchase wind energy certificates to offset their energy usage by 300%. Each year, they replace 615,000 kWh of energy with green energy. They also use energy efficient equipment in their data centers. Users who host with GreenGeeks can download a Green Hosting accreditation banner to post on their site. This shows visitors that the website is eco-friendly, which is particularly important to online shoppers.
Their hosting services currently begin at $3.96/month. This includes free domain registration or transfer, free nightly backups, unlimited email accounts, and Google Apps integration. GreenGeeks offers a WordPress hosting plan for the same price, which features 1-click WordPress installation and site migration. Users can migrate a WordPress site using the basic web hosting plan. The WordPress plan is designed specifically to make WordPress migration and installation more straightforward for users. For the more elaborate websites, GreenGeeks offers Reseller, VPS, and Dedicated hosting plans. GreenGeeks.com provides tutorials on how to create and transfer websites, how to start a blog, and how to start a web hosting business. The site also features several video tutorials. GreenGeeks offers 24-hour customer service and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
3. HostGator
HostGator purchases wind power certificates to offset their shared and reseller servers by 130%. They purchase all of their Renewable Energy Certificates from Texas-based wind companies. As a Houston-based company, this is an investment in their area’s economy. Their hosting services currently start at $3.95/month. This includes one domain, a $100 Google AdWords Credit, and WordPress hosting. They offer a variety of other WordPress hosting plans, Cloud, Reseller, and Dedicated hosting plans. Users can also purchase, register, and manage domains on HostGator for an annual fee. Unlike many other hosting providers, they offer a 45-day money-back guarantee.
4. HostPapa
HostPapa purchases wind and solar energy certificates to fuel the equivalent of 100% of their energy consumption. Renewable energy therefore powers their web servers, data center, office computers, laptops, and office space. Many of the green energy providers they support are in Oregon and Washington. Their Starter and Business hosting services currently start at $3.95/month. The Starter plan includes two websites, 100 email accounts, HostPapa’s Starter Edition Website Builder, and $200 in marketing offers. The Business plan includes unlimited websites and email accounts, HostPapa’s Unlimited Pages Edition Website Builder, an unlimited number of domains, and $200 in marketing offers. The Business plan includes a free 30-minute training session, and both plans include 24-hour support and a 30-day money-back guarantee. HostPapa also offers Reseller and VPS hosting.
5. FatCow
FatCow is an EPA Green Power Partner. Their services are powered entirely by wind energy. They purchase Renewable Energy Certificates to offset their web servers, data centers, and offices by 200%. Their hosting services currently begin at $1.99/month. The rate increases in the second month. This includes one GB of cloud storage, one free domain for one year, a web analytics tool, and a $100 Google AdWords credit. Their regular hosting plan is compatible with WordPress platforms, but they also offer a WordPress Blog hosting plan. This includes the benefits of the Original FatCow plan, but it incorporates a customized control panel, pre-installed plug-ins, and some integrated WordPress themes to combine the experience of using WordPress with the experience of using FatCow. Like many other website hosting providers, FatCow offers VPS and Dedicated hosting plans for more complex websites. All hosting plans include 24-hour support and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
There are many different ways that green web hosting providers may work to reduce their environmental impact. Some use green marketing. Some use renewable energy. Some may install efficient cooling and heating systems in their offices. These are only a few methods that green hosting providers can contribute to the green movement while still providing excellent web hosting service for creating your website.