A company once known for selling names now wants to manage the work that gives them a purpose. Its bet is that the scarce resource in AI coding is no longer code, but a trustworthy way to supervise it.
The company behind Bluehost, Network Solutions and Yoast made a business of putting small businesses online. Its next test is giving them enough reason to stay.
The 23-year-old host built its name by making WordPress less intimidating. Now it is trying to turn domains, stores, support and AI agents into a single small-business operating panel.
HostPapa built its name by making web hosting feel less intimidating. Now the Canadian company is using acquisitions, AI tools and a $130 million credit facility to become something much larger: the operating layer for small-business internet life.