Affiliate Disclosure
Last Updated: January 1, 2024
At HostingWebsites.com, we believe in full transparency with our readers. This page explains how we earn money, how our affiliate relationships work, and why you can trust our reviews to be honest and independent.
How We Earn Money
HostingWebsites.com is a free resource for anyone looking for web hosting information. We earn revenue primarily through affiliate commissions. Here's how it works:
- Many of the links on our website to hosting providers are "affiliate links"
- When you click an affiliate link and sign up for a hosting plan, the hosting provider pays us a referral commission
- This commission comes from the hosting provider's marketing budget — it does not cost you anything extra
- You pay the same price (and often a lower promotional price) whether you use our link or go directly to the provider
- We may also earn revenue from display advertising on our site
This affiliate revenue is what allows us to run HostingWebsites.com, purchase hosting plans for testing, and dedicate the time needed to write thorough, helpful reviews.
How Affiliate Relationships Do NOT Affect Our Reviews
We understand that affiliate relationships could create a conflict of interest. That's why we've established strict editorial guidelines to ensure our content remains trustworthy:
- Reviews are based on testing, not commissions: Our ratings and rankings are determined by real-world performance testing, feature analysis, and support evaluation — never by how much a provider pays us.
- We review providers we don't partner with: We include and recommend hosting providers regardless of whether we have an affiliate relationship with them.
- Negative feedback is included: Every review highlights both pros and cons. We don't hide flaws to protect affiliate relationships.
- Rankings reflect genuine quality: The order in which we rank providers is based on our testing results and overall value assessment, not commission rates.
- Editorial and business teams are separate: Our content team makes editorial decisions independently from any business relationships.
Our Commitment to Honest Reviews
Your trust is the most important asset we have. Without it, our recommendations mean nothing. We commit to the following principles:
- Independence: No hosting provider can pay for a positive review or higher ranking on our site.
- Accuracy: We regularly re-test providers and update our content to ensure information remains current.
- Transparency: We clearly identify affiliate links and disclose our financial relationships.
- Objectivity: Our testing methodology is consistent across all providers, whether or not we have an affiliate relationship.
- Reader-First: Our primary goal is to help you find the best hosting for your needs, even if that means recommending a provider with a lower (or no) commission.
FTC Disclosure
In accordance with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising (16 CFR Part 255), we make the following disclosures:
- HostingWebsites.com is a participant in various affiliate marketing programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to hosting provider websites.
- The opinions expressed on HostingWebsites.com are our own. We provide honest opinions, findings, and experiences based on our testing and research.
- Any product claim, statistic, quote, or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the hosting provider directly.
- We are compensated for referring traffic and business to hosting companies. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear).
Affiliate Programs We Participate In
We participate in affiliate programs with various web hosting companies, including but not limited to:
- Hostinger Affiliate Program
- Bluehost Affiliate Program
- SiteGround Affiliate Program
- HostGator Affiliate Program
- A2 Hosting Affiliate Program
- DreamHost Affiliate Program
- Various other hosting provider affiliate programs
This list may not be exhaustive and may change over time as we join or leave affiliate programs.
Questions About Our Disclosure
If you have any questions about our affiliate relationships, how we make money, or concerns about the independence of our reviews, we'd love to hear from you:
We take transparency seriously and are happy to answer any questions about how our site operates.