About HostPick
HostPick is an independent UK web hosting review site. We test and evaluate hosting providers so UK businesses and website owners can make informed decisions without wading through biased or outdated information.
Who We Are
HostPick was founded with a straightforward mission: to provide honest, independently tested web hosting reviews for a UK audience. Most hosting review sites are owned by the hosts themselves, or are thinly veiled affiliate pages that rank providers based on commission rates rather than merit.
We do things differently. Our editorial team tests hosting accounts hands-on, monitors real performance data, and publishes findings regardless of whether they reflect positively on a provider. Our ratings are based on measurable criteria, not on which affiliate programme pays the most.
We cover UK-relevant considerations — server locations, performance for British visitors, pricing in GBP, support availability in UK time zones, and compliance with UK data protection norms.
Our Review Methodology
1. Account Setup
We purchase real hosting accounts using our own funds (or evaluate accounts provided directly by vendors, clearly disclosed). We set up a standardised WordPress installation on each host.
2. Speed Testing
We run speed tests from UK-based testing locations using GTmetrix and Pingdom. Tests run at multiple times of day over a minimum 30-day period to account for time-of-day variation.
3. Uptime Monitoring
Automated uptime monitoring checks each host every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, throughout the testing period. We calculate actual observed uptime — not just the advertised guarantee.
4. Support Testing
We contact each host's support team at least 5 times per testing cycle, across different channels (live chat, phone, ticket), at different times of day including evenings and weekends.
5. Feature Analysis
We evaluate the control panel, one-click installers, backup systems, SSL certificates, email hosting, staging tools, and any other advertised features by actually using them.
6. Value Assessment
We compare introductory and renewal pricing, calculate the true cost of ownership over 2 years, and assess what features are included vs. paid extras.
Scoring Criteria
Our overall rating is a weighted average of four scored categories:
| Category | Weight | What We Measure |
|---|---|---|
| Speed & Performance | 30% | Server response time, TTFB, Core Web Vitals from UK locations |
| Customer Support | 25% | Response time, quality, availability, channel options |
| Value for Money | 25% | Introductory vs renewal price, features per pound |
| Features & Tools | 20% | Control panel quality, one-click installers, backups, SSL, email |
Uptime is treated as a pass/fail gate: any host that fails to maintain 99.5%+ uptime during our testing period is not recommended, regardless of other scores.
Hosts We Currently Review
Affiliate Disclosure
HostPick participates in affiliate marketing programmes. When you click a link to a hosting provider on our site and subsequently make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the provider. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.
We are required by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to clearly disclose when content includes affiliate links. All such links on HostPick carry rel="nofollow sponsored" attributes as per Google's guidelines.
Our editorial integrity policy: Affiliate relationships do not influence our ratings, rankings, or written reviews. We do not accept payment for positive coverage. We do not allow providers to review or approve content before publication. Our rankings are determined solely by our testing data and scoring methodology.
If a provider performs poorly in our tests, we say so — even if they offer us a higher commission rate. If a provider we do not have an affiliate relationship with outperforms one we do, we rank them accordingly.
Prices listed are correct at the time of publication (April 2025) but may change. Always verify the current price on the provider's website before purchasing.
Contact
For editorial enquiries, factual corrections, or to request a review of a hosting provider not currently covered, please contact us at hello@hostpick.co.uk.
© 2025 HostPick. All rights reserved. Registered in England and Wales.