HostGator review: A solid choice for web hosting

Best Prices Today: HostGator

With over 20 years of expertise underneath its belt, HostGator has grow to be a family title within the webhosting business, particularly within the Shared Hosting space. HostGator’s uptime is unmatched, and the service affords first rate options at an reasonably priced worth throughout its numerous plans. However, the corporate isn’t as clear about its charges as Bluehost or InMovement Hosting.

HostGator: Pricing

HostGator affords numerous internet hosting plans with completely different options and pricing choices to swimsuit numerous wants and budgets. Like its opponents, it affords a big low cost in your first-time cost. 

One of the most important annoyances about how HostGator handles this in comparison with Bluehost or InMovement Hosting is that it hides the renewal charge. Where the competitors is express about their pricing on their respective plan pages, HostGator doesn’t present the renewal charge till you’re at checkout—and it’s in very tiny print.

Regardless of this main flaw, HostGator’s pricing continues to be aggressive. It doesn’t provide reductions for its one-month and six-month choices for the Shared Hosting plans, however you may get a pleasant low cost starting from 60 p.c to 73 p.c for the one-year and three-year choices.

Here’s a breakdown of HostGator’s pricing and subscription tiers for the Shared Hosting bundle.

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HostGator additionally affords a Dedicated Server bundle for these operating small- to medium-sized enterprise. The costs are way more costly than the Shared Hosting plans, however the efficiency makes it value it. There are additionally extra versatile subscription plans for Dedicated Server subscribers. These costs are simply a place to begin, however they will change a bit relying on which working system and arduous drive sort you choose.

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HostGator’s Shared Hosting costs are fairly commonplace, whereas their Dedicated Server packages could also be seen as a bit pricier than the competitors—although it does provide extra subscription plans to satisfy numerous wants.

HostGator: Setup

HostGator’s setup course of is about as straightforward because it will get. HostGator affords a user-friendly management panel that makes it straightforward to handle your web site and internet hosting account.

In the management panel, or cPanel, you’ll discover a vary of instruments and options that you should use to handle your web site. These embody instruments for creating e mail accounts, putting in apps like WordPress, and managing your web site’s recordsdata and databases.

One of the nice issues about HostGator is that it affords a free web site builder that you should use to create your web site with none coding expertise. This builder is a drag-and-drop instrument that makes it straightforward to create professional-looking web sites with little to no expertise.

Customer assist is at all times fast to help you, whether or not you name or use the dwell chat service. If you favor to determine issues out your self, HostGator has some useful content material on getting began, in addition to an entire data base that covers some other points it’s possible you’ll be dealing with. It additionally affords an honest library of video tutorials, although that hasn’t been lively for over a yr.

HostGator: Features

HostGator affords a aggressive function set throughout even its most elementary plans. Regardless of your expertise stage and desires, HostGator doubtless has what you want for an inexpensive worth. Depending on which plan you subscribe to, you may count on issues like unmetered bandwidth, free SSL certificates, area transfers, and extra.

As with its pricing pages, although, HostGator makes it obscure what you actually get. For instance, discover how within the “Top features” tab on the plan comparability web page, it reveals the Hatchling Plan as providing “Chat Only” assist.

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But when you change to the “Support” tab on the identical web page, which supplies extra particulars concerning the assist the plans provide, it states that you simply get 24/7 dwell chat and telephone assist throughout every plan, together with the Hatchling Plan.

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These conflicts make issues a bit complicated for potential clients, and will dissuade them from utilizing the service all collectively. But, when you’re not deterred by the inconsistencies on the official web site, right here’s what HostGator claims comes with every plan.

Each plan additionally comes with a free area for the primary yr, however provided that you subscribe to 12 months or extra. The Baby plan comes with a $500 Google Ad spend match credit score and $100 Microsoft Advertising credit score, which is a unbelievable deal when you’re seeking to get the phrase out about your new web site.

Overall, HostGator gives first rate options, particularly with its Business plan. Hopefully the web site can be up to date to make issues a bit simpler to know what’s supplied, and at what worth.

HostGator: Backup and safety

HostGator affords a couple of choices that guarantee the protection of your web site and its information. One of the first backup choices they supply is CodeGuard, a cloud-based backup answer that takes every day automated backups of your web site’s information. CodeGuard additionally affords options like web site monitoring, malware detection, and straightforward restore choices. 

This function is crucial for companies, nevertheless it’s not free. You’ll have to fork out between $2.75 to $8.33 per 30 days, relying on which CodeGaurd plan you go together with. If it is a bit out of your price range, HostGator additionally gives weekly backup choices for its clients, however this isn’t advisable for companies. These backups are saved on a separate server, which gives added safety to your web site’s information, nevertheless it solely retains one backup. Once a brand new backup is made, the previous one is deleted.

HostGator additionally affords SiteLock, a strong safety instrument that helps defend your web site from malware and different cyber threats. SiteLock performs every day scans of your web site and alerts you in case of any safety points. It additionally gives a firewall and different security measures to forestall assaults in your web site. Like the backup choices, SiteLock isn’t free, and you’ll count on to pay between $5.99 to $24.99 per 30 days, relying on the plan you go together with.

HostGator: Reliability

HostGator ensures a 99.9 p.c uptime for its internet hosting providers, which signifies that your web site can be up and operating virtually on a regular basis. This stage of uptime is crucial for companies or people who depend on their web site for producing leads, gross sales, or income. Downtime = cash misplaced.

HostGator has a number of information facilities positioned across the U.S., which helps make sure that your web site’s information is saved securely and that your web site is well accessible to guests from completely different areas.

We ran an internet site hosted by HostGator for roughly 15 months and skilled no main outages and little or no downtime. As you’ll count on operating an internet site on a shared server, there have been moments the place the location would run sluggish once we had giant spikes of site visitors, however this situation may be fastened by utilizing a devoted server. Overall, HostGator offered a dependable webhosting service with excessive uptime.

HostGator: Customer assist

HostGator affords buyer assist via numerous channels, together with telephone, e mail, and dwell chat. Its buyer assist group is offered 24/7, which implies that you would be able to get assist with any points or questions you will have at any time. If you want quick assist, the dwell chat service is the best way to go.

Confusingly, as talked about above, it was unclear if telephone assist was accessible for Hatchling Plan subscribers, as there may be conflicting content material on the location. We reached out to Support for affirmation, and so they confirmed that telephone assist is offered for all plans.

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HostGator additionally affords a ticketing system the place you may submit a assist request, and the assist group will get again to you inside 24 to 48 hours. This ticketing system is useful for non-urgent points or when you favor to speak by way of e mail.

Finally, HostGator gives a fruitful data base with detailed articles and tutorials on numerous matters associated to webhosting. This data base is accessible via the web site and can assist you troubleshoot widespread points or be taught extra about webhosting.

Overall, HostGator affords complete buyer assist via numerous channels, is fast to answer, and is at all times useful in offering assist, no matter what it’s possible you’ll be combating.

Should you employ HostGator webhosting?

HostGator is a superb alternative for internet hosting your web site, providing a spread of internet hosting plans with completely different pricing choices to swimsuit numerous wants and budgets. 

The pricing is aggressive, with reductions accessible for one-year and three-year choices. However, one main flaw is that HostGator hides the renewal charge till checkout, in contrast to its opponents who show it transparently on their pricing pages. 

HostGator’s setup course of is user-friendly, with a free web site builder, cPanel, and a spread of instruments and options to handle your web site. It affords 24/7 dwell chat and telephone assist, with useful content material on getting began and an entire data base that covers any points it’s possible you’ll face. 

HostGator additionally affords a aggressive function set, however its presentation of options may be complicated for potential clients. Despite this, HostGator stays a strong alternative for these searching for dependable webhosting.