Hostgator will always be a great choice for a wordpress-based site, because the hostgator control panel makes it unbelievably easy to install wordpress. The $4.95/mo hatchling plan gets you the most reliable hosting and the best customer service of any hosting provider online. That comes highly recommended for first-time wordpress users.

The only drawback from the $4.95/mo hatchling plan is that it will only allow you to host one domain. If you need to host more sites, you can get the $7.95/mo baby plan and host unlimited domains with unlimited bandwidth and unlimited web space. From hostgator that means flawless shared hosting for multiple sites; it’s extremely popular among developers or more advanced publishers.

EDIT (February 2010): Hostgator has a new wordpress hosting promotion. Check it out below:

1&1 is great for both beginner and advanced wordpress users. There is an automatic blog builder that installs a simplified version of wordpress; it’s ideal for a first-time blogger.

Of course, the control panel in 1&1 also makes it easy to create mySQL databases, so if you want to have the full functionality of wordpress, you can easily do the manual installation.

1 & 1 makes up for their sub-par customer service with impeccable server reliability, a vast array of extra services, and unbeatable prices. You can host unlimited domains for only $3.99/mo–an outstanding deal.

Bluehost is a good solution for those who need hosting for multiple domains. It has a great dashboard (which you can preview here), and for $6.95/mo, you basically get unlimited everything.

It isn’t the most competitive in terms of pricing, but bluehost is going to give you great customer service and you’ll never have a complaint about the hosting.

Bluehost  isn’t recommended for those who will only be hosting one domain, because you would end up paying for more services than you need. It is, however, an extremely reliable solution for web developers, small businesses, or anyone with more than one website.

ix Webhosting is always a viable host for wordpress-based sites. The Expert hosting ($3.95/mo) comes with unlimited everything (except e-mail accounts), and you even get one free domain registration.

Simply put, this host is going to give you the cheapest unlimited hosting, but that comes at a price–less reliability and sub-par customer service. For that reason, ix Webhosting makes a good host for those bold wordpress publishers willing to take a risk for the sake of cutting costs.

The bottom line is that ix Webhosting has the best deals in hosting, but you aren’t going to get the same server quality or customer service as Hostgator or 1&1.

GoDaddy is perhaps the most famous of all webhosts. Their commercials are infamously off-topic, but it’s the actual hosting that we’re interested in.

GoDaddy would love for you to host your wordpress blog with them. They have a lot of services geared towards wordpress sites, but the simple fact is that GoDaddy isn’t going to give you high quality servers, stellar customer service, or unlimited disk space. The webhosting industry is exceedingly competitive, and GoDaddy’s cluttered dashboard, mediocre features, and limited disk space can’t really compete.