How we compared the best web hosting companies for France

This test was carried out in order to analyze in depth the different French web hosting providers, in order to better understand the differences that separate them from international providers.

You have probably noticed that many web host comparison studies have already been carried out. Most of them are made from the elements provided by the hosts, from their own sites. So why consult ours?

We were more methodical! To distinguish ourselves, we have decided to deepen our research and provide you with concrete examples. Instead of just reviewing the info provided on their sites, we decided to create our own sites and form our own opinion on the matter.

Each host has been evaluated on the basis of 5 criteria : functionalities, level of performance, ease of use, price and customer service. During the tests, we communicated a lot with customer service, to be sure of the quality offered and their level of competence.

Finally, we compared the best French websites to the biggest foreign competitors! We wanted to know how the hosts of websites made in France compete against their foreign competitors.

How the test was performed

In order to better understand the differences between web host sites and to provide a viable test, we decided to be their customers. The different stages of our test are described below. The aim of our test is to determine the strengths and weaknesses of each host.

The first step was to create a domain on each platform, and to take out a web hosting subscription . Our site consists of large images in WordPress. These elements are decisive because the larger the images, the longer the loading time. If the servers are efficient, they should be able to provide decent load times.

The second step is to test customer service. The goal is to measure the response time but also the level of service and the quality of response of each company. Each customer service has been tested repeatedly.

The third step was to gain access to their control panels . This allowed us to look in detail at how each of them worked and to draw our own conclusions. We have also set up the WordPress CMS via the services offered by each platform. The test consisted of measuring the performance of the various web hosts and their ease of use.

Step 4 was to perform several performance tests : site availability on each server, loading time on mobile and PC. For this, we used external tools such as Gtmetrix and Uptime Robot.

What are the best web hosts available in France?

To find the companies to test, we first determined which were the top web hosting companies in France. For this, we did extensive research by consulting Google, blogs and forums on the subject.

Our first step was to simply use Google by doing research on specific keywords such as “web host”, and considering paid ads.

Our second approach was to search blogs and forums related to the topic and select the names that come up most often. The comments were particularly interesting and allowed us to find a larger list of suppliers.

We then used our own experience and tested web hosts who appear regularly in searches and blogs , but who weren’t necessarily described as the best.

After sorting out, we finally chose 8 French web hosting providers:

Planet Hoster

Easy Host

All of the providers in the above list have been thoroughly tested. You can read our analyzes for each host by clicking on their name.

If you want to test a web host, you need to create a real website

autonomous-shoes-France

When testing different web host providers, we needed to test some support. So we decided to buy a domain and a web host on each host. We also tested the domain transfer to see how web hosts respond and whether the manipulation is straightforward or not.

We chose the cheapest subscriptions, with the option to install WordPress when it did. The cheapest subscription was chosen because it is often the most convenient, especially when launching a new website.

Regarding “test sites”, we used a website completely designed by our team of designers for the launch of standalone smart shoes in France. The website contained various images and texts, like many sites on the web.

The site was provided in Zip format and downloadable via WordPress as a new theme. We also used the new article creation feature with Lorem Ipsum content to make the test as real as possible.

Creation of identical sites

In order to achieve comparable results, we installed the same site on each site host and made no changes after the site was installed. This allowed us to test the performance on the sites immediately, without any form of optimization on our part.

Results and analysis: how do the hosts differ?

Now that the test is over, we are forced to note that we were pleasantly surprised by most of the suppliers on the French market. Although we have limited website building experience, we have managed to set up a WordPress website with all providers!

The platforms were evaluated based on several factors. For each provider, we looked at the services and features, website usability, control panel, WordPress installation, load speed and uptime, customer service response time and level. quality, as well as the starting price to host a small site.

Particularities of the hosts

Within the services and their functionalities, we tried to identify what the different players put forward in order to stand out from their competitors. Usually, we found the location of servers, free SSL, additional tools to optimize the website, or site creation services with lessons in coding as distinctive features.