HOSTGATOR REVIEW: EATS OTHER HOSTS FOR BREAKFAST

 

Finding a simple-to-use web host that won't break the bank but won't crash when the website's traffic spikes appear to be nearly impossible.

Often it seems that the only option is to overpay for hosting or settle for a subpar provider.

By promising fast, inexpensive, and efficient web hosting services, HostGator hopes to reach the sweet spot.

In this post, we'll show you if HostGator can offer a blogging product that works for you — or whether you should look for a blog hosting package elsewhere.

HostGator’s Affordable Plans Can Meet Any Blogger’s Needs

You can't go wrong with HostGator when it comes to blogging.

If you're just getting started or have a huge following, HostGator has a plan for you.

• On HostGator, you can start a blog right now with a low-cost shared hosting plan, a custom WordPress plan, or a simple drag-and-drop website builder.
• Every package comes with a free domain and fair pricing, as well as hosted email.
• You have 45 days to try out HostGator's hosting. You will get your money back if you don't like what you see.

Contents

HostGator’s Affordable Plans Can Meet Any Blogger’s Needs Origins of HostGator Web Hosting Options Get Blogging With HostGator’s Website Builder Email Domain Names Website Performance Site Security Windows Hosting Monetization Customer Service and Technical Support Migrations Trials, Refunds, and Money-Back Guarantees HostGator vs. Bluehost Conclusion

Origins of HostGator

HostGator got its start in a Florida dorm room (which explains why the company's name includes the word "gator" — the gator is the mascot of the University of Florida). HostGator is a leading provider of web hosting solutions, including shared, reseller, VPS, and dedicated web hosting. It was founded in 2002 by Brent Oxley, a student at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. HostGator was purchased by the Endurance International Group (EIG) in 2012, along with other well-known web hosting companies including Bluehost and iPage, as well as companies that provide website and marketing software resources.

The company's headquarters are now in Houston and Austin, Texas, but it retains the following offices around the world to serve its foreign clientele:

• Santa Catarina, Brazil's Florianópolis
• Toronto, Ontario, Canada

About 850 people work for HostGator, which hosts over 8 million domain names.

Web Hosting Options

HostGator provides a range of web hosting options, including shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting. HostGator also provides WordPress-specific hosting, as well as cloud and reseller hosting. (Keep in mind that regardless of the plan you select, you can always host blogs if you don't choose a WordPress-centric plan.) Let's look at each choice in more detail.

Shared Hosting for Bloggers

HostGator's shared hosting plans are ideal for those looking for a cost-effective all-in-one solution for their blog. There are three options available when buying a shared hosting service.

Plan	Hatchling	Baby	Business
Price/Month	$2.75	$3.95	$5.95
Description	Shared Hosting - Tier 1	Shared Hosting - Tier 2	Shared Hosting for Business
Domains Included	One	Unlimited	Unlimited
Main Features	Unmetered bandwidth & storage space, 1-click installs, unlimited subdomains	Same as Hatchling	Same as Baby
E-commerce	SSL Certificate	Same as Hatchling	Same as Baby, plus upgraded SSL certificate, dedicated IP address
Marketing	$100 Google AdWords & Bing credits	Same as Hatchling	Same as Baby, plus SEO tools
Support	Phone & live chat, automatic backups, free site & domain transfer, 99.9% uptime, 45-day money-back guarantee	Same as Hatchling	Same as Baby
Website Builder	Included	Included	Included

The entry-level package includes unlimited bandwidth, a free SSL certificate, and support for a single domain/website. One-click installs, which are useful for installing open-source blogging platforms like WordPress, Joomla, Magento, and Drupal, are also supported. (HostGator gives you the option of using whatever platform is best for your blog.)

If you require a little more (and we usually advise against having the bare minimum so that your blog can grow), the mid-range package provides coverage for unlimited domains and unmetered bandwidth (as well as a free SSL certificate and one-click installations). The top-tier shared plan, which includes everything in the mid-tier plan plus a stronger SSL certificate, a free dedicated IP address, and SEO software, is HostGator's recommended choice. These are the kinds of items that will keep your blog safe and help it rank higher in search engine results (more followers, anyone?).

Your package comes with a 99.9% uptime guarantee, regardless of which choice you select. You'll also receive:

• The HostGator Website Builder is available to you (which comes with over 100 mobile-friendly templates and a stock image library).
• If you already have a website or blog, HostGator offers a free website, domain, info, and script transfer, making it simple to get back up and running.
• You'll have access to 52 scripts that can be enabled with a single click, allowing you to
• easily add as many features to your blog as you want. Each Google Adwords and Bing Ads account will receive a $100 credit.

You'll have access to the industry-leading cPanel control panel to handle your website or blog's hosting. This is the control panel for your web hosting account.

WordPress Hosting From HostGator

Consider one of HostGator's WordPress Cloud Hosting options if you're starting a blog with WordPress (or searching for a new hosting platform for an existing WordPress site). These plans are somewhat close to shared hosting plans for general use, but they have a few features that WordPress bloggers can appreciate.

Plan	WordPress Starter	WordPress Standard	WordPress Business
Price/Month	$5.95	$7.95	$9.95
Description	WordPress Only - Tier 1	WordPress Only - Tier 2	WordPress for Business
Domains Included	One	Two	Three
Main Features	Average 100k site traffic, unmetered storage space, 1-click installs, unlimited subdomains, 99.9% uptime, 45-day money-back guarantee	Same as Starter except for 200k site traffic	Same as Standard except for 500k site traffic and 5x compute power
E-commerce	SSL Certificate	Same as Starter	Same as Standard
Marketing	$100 Google AdWords credits	Same as Starter	Same as Standard
Support	Phone & live chat, automatic backups & malware removal, 99.9% uptime, 45-day money-back guarantee, free site migration for 1 site	Same as Starter, except free migration for 2 sites	Same as Standard, except free migration for 3 sites
Website Builder	n/a	n/a	n/a

Due to the following, HostGator estimates that its WordPress plans would see speeds up to 2.5 times faster:

• Cloud architecture as a foundation
• Servers with a low density
• Network for delivering content (CDN)
• Several layers of caching

Both of these innovations work together to give you faster page load times — visitors are impatient, and you want your content to be available for viewing as soon as possible. What's the first step to increasing website interaction and time spent on the site? Prevent them from leaving in the first place due to slow page speeds! There are three different plans from which to choose, and the best one for you is determined by:

• The number of blogs you need hosting for
• How many monthly visitors do you anticipate for your blog?
• What size do you anticipate your blog backups to be?

Furthermore, HostGator provides a specially built platform for WordPress customers that focuses on usability and reduces the hassle of hosting a WordPress account. (If you've ever used cPanel, you'll recognize this interface.) If traffic spikes, features such as auto-backups, one-click restoration, and simple scalability are available. You can also connect your email accounts and other hosting accounts so you can access everything from one location. If you need assistance transferring an existing WordPress site from another host to HostGator, HostGator provides consulting services from its WordPress experts for those plans.

👉 Also, you can read : Gator Website Builder Review of 2021

Premium Web Hosting Options For Larger Blogs

In addition to shared and WordPress hosting, HostGator provides several more costly options that are normally not suitable for new bloggers.

• Cloud Hosting: Cloud hosting plans are fast, provide a larger resource allocation, and provide near-instant scalability, allowing you to use more or less of those resources as needed. Notice that unless you have a lot of traffic, these plans aren't necessary.
• Reseller Hosting: Reseller hosting is aimed at those who choose to repackage the included services into smaller, more affordable web hosting plans. These plans' multi-account management features are ideal for those who run multiple websites or blogs.
• VPS (Virtual Private Server) Hosting: If your blog is already developed and growing, a VPS hosting plan is a cost-effective way to upgrade from shared hosting. You get dedicated, premium services when the virtual server is totally dedicated to your site.
• Dedicated Servers: If you have a resource-intensive and/or heavily trafficked site, you might benefit from having it hosted on a dedicated server. Dedicated servers are similar to virtual private servers in that you have direct control over the entire physical server as well as the added protection that this provides.

Get Blogging With HostGator’s Website Builder

Do you want a website? HostGator offers a Website Builder, which is a do-it-yourself tool for building a website or blog. This is an option for those who haven't made up their minds about using WordPress. The Website Builder has a drag-and-drop GUI that is easy to use. A domain name and hosting are included. You'll also get over 100 customizable models, analytics to track your website's efficiency, and marketing ad credits to help you promote your new site. Upgrade your Website Builder kit to get priority support, more social media integrations, e-commerce features, and the elimination of all HostGator ads from your site.

Plan	Website Builder Starter	Website Builder Premium	Website Builder E-commerce
Price/Month	$3.95	$5.99	$9.22
Description	Website Builder Only - Tier 1	Website Builder Only - Tier 2	Website Builder For Business
Domains Included	One	One	One
Main Features	Drag-and-drop website builder with customizable templates	Same as Starter	Same as Premium
E-commerce	Not included	Not included	E-commerce features like shopping cart & checkout
Marketing	Marketing ad credits	Same as Starter	Same as Premium
Support	Regular support	Priority support	Same as Premium
Website Builder	Included	Included	Included

Building a Blog the Drag-and-Drop Way

Although the website designer has over 100 different models to choose from, not all of them are suitable for a blog. Nonetheless, HostGator hasn't forgotten about bloggers, claiming that using the Website Builder, you can add a blog to your website in just five minutes. To begin, select a website template (which will be the same template your blog uses).

The Website Builder from HostGator includes hundreds of professionally built website models. It also uses interactive "show me how" buttons to guide you through site development.

Click the Blog button on the left-hand side to connect a blog to your website.

Using the HostGator website creator, adding a blog is a breeze. Simply press the remote!

You will then be given several options for customizing the appearance of your blog.

Blog Templates from HostGator You'll then be guided to your blog dashboard, where you can begin blogging. Demo posts are provided by HostGator to give you an idea of the types of posts you can make.

The Blog Post Type on HostGator That's what there is to it! Your blog has gone online!

Email

HostGator didn't sell email with its hosting packages until recently. However, all of their hosting plans now include email hosting, which is fantastic news for bloggers. Instead of having to incorporate an email plan from somewhere else, you can now get all of your hosting needs from HostGator.

Domain Names

Most HostGator plans include a free domain name, but if yours doesn't (or if you need additional custom domains for one or more blogs), you can buy domains from HostGator separately. You may also migrate an existing domain to HostGator if you already have one registered elsewhere.

Website Performance

The output of your site, as with all hosting services, is determined by the type of hosting you buy. You may, however, request that HostGator make minor adjustments to individual options to ensure that your site performs at its best. The easiest way to ensure that your blog runs smoothly and loads easily is to purchase the kit that best meets your needs. Although you can be tempted to save money anywhere you can, keep in mind that skimping on items like storage or RAM for your site would have an effect on its overall efficiency. The majority of readers would not wait for slow-loading posts.

There are also steps you can take to ensure that your blog loads quickly, such as:

• Use content delivery networks (CDNs) to cache your site and serve your files to users from the closest CDN point.
• Optimize your content (for example, compress your photos to reduce file sizes). You can do this for free using a site like tinypng.com).
• Set thresholds that, if exceeded, trigger alerts so that you can scale up your resources as needed. Instead of simply checking for errors, set thresholds that, if exceeded, trigger warnings so that you can scale up your resources as needed.

Blog Performance – Our Research

You don't have to take HostGator's word for it when it comes to uptime. Let's take a look at the uptime and response time for the hosts we study. The most recent month for which we have complete data is December 2018. The response time in milliseconds is fairly constant during the month, but it improves toward the end. Throughout 2018, HostGator's average response time was around 599 milliseconds. For comparison, Bluehost's cheapest plan has an average response time of about 477 milliseconds.

When we look at reaction time across the globe, we see that the United States, Canada, and the majority of Europe all have positive results. Surprisingly, Italy's answer time lags behind that of its neighbors.

Site Security

Anyone who runs a blog should be concerned about protection. You put a lot of effort into your material, whether it's blog posts, videos, podcasts, or photographs. HostGator offers a range of security-related features to its users to avoid unauthorized access to your account and keep your website online as much as possible.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks

Extensive firewalls and a broad collection of rules to cause additional security events to defend HostGator from distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. For example, if the first line of defense detects localized flooding, the data center would activate network-level defenses to prevent your blog from exploding when a large number of people attempt to access it.

Secure Datacenters

Only those with the requisite access rights are allowed to join HostGator's datacenters.

Malware Scanning and Removal

HostGator has teamed up with SiteLock to provide free malware scanning regularly. SiteLock will give you an email with its results if it detects any problems. After that, you're in charge of resolving the issue.

Audits

Daily audits are conducted by HostGator to ensure that its customers are following security best practices. If you use a weak password, for example, HostGator will ask you to correct the problem; if you do not, the company will suspend your account before the problem is resolved.

SSL Certificates

HostGator includes SSL certificates with all of its hosting packages to help prove that your website is legitimate and to help ensure that data exchange between you and your visitors is secure.

HostGator has videos to help you with almost every job, including how to get started blogging quickly.

Windows Hosting

Linux-based website hosting is appropriate for many bloggers. If, on the other hand, you built your website or application using Windows technologies, HostGator offers Windows-based hosting. Windows hosting is marginally more costly than Linux hosting for a blog server. This is because Linux is open-source software that can be downloaded for free, while Windows server software needs a Microsoft license.

Monetization

When it comes to monetizing your blog with a HostGator hosting package, the sky is the limit — the company sets few limits on what you can do with your hosting package. You can use affiliate marketing in addition to Google AdSense. You can either put supported ads on your blog or include affiliate links for specific items you suggest to your users. (Keep in mind that HostGator has an affiliate scheme, so you might receive commissions to help defray the cost of hosting your blog.)

You may even want to try your hand at e-commerce. HostGator will help you grow your online shop, whether you sell digital products (like ebooks or audio) or physical products (like branded swag).

Customer Service and Technical Support

Customers can get help from HostGator 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you have any questions, remarks, or complaints, you can contact HostGator at the following address:

• Live Chat
• Telephone
• Support Ticket

Self-Help Resources

When you have a basic question, you don't always want to go through the whole seek-customer-service routine. HostGator provides a variety of self-help tools to help with this, including:

• Forums for asking and answering questions
• Tutorials on video
• Articles from the knowledge base that can be searched by subject

The Self-Help and Support Portal from HostGator has a variety of ways to find the knowledge you need and is fairly simple to use.

Migrations

HostGator may assist you with transferring your blog, website, or domain. All new accounts, as well as accounts that need a server update, get free content migrations from HostGator. However, you must finish it within thirty days of signing up or upgrading. Per hosting account, HostGator also provides one free domain name transfer.

Trials, Refunds, and Money-Back Guarantees

While HostGator does not have a free trial, all new accounts come with a 45-day money-back guarantee. You can cancel your account and receive a full refund of all funds spent if you are dissatisfied for any reason.

HostGator vs. Bluehost

If you're looking for blog hosting and you're considering HostGator, you may also want to consider Bluehost, HostGator's sibling business. How do these two stack up?

	HOSTGATOR	BLUEHOST
WordPress	1-click install, optimized, value-priced	1-click install, optimized, value-priced
Website Builder	In-house builder free with all plans	Weebly free with all plans
Scalability	Can upgrade with a click	Sometimes customer support is required
Cost for Cheapest Plan	$2.75	$2.95
Response Time Average	599 ms	477 ms

WordPress

When comparing HostGator and Bluehost for WordPress hosting, there are a few things to keep in mind. Though Bluehost claims to be the most recommended WordPress hosting provider, you'll notice that HostGator's services are very similar. If you're looking for a low-cost hosting alternative, both companies have solutions that are completely compatible with the WordPress platform. If you're looking for a WordPress-specific solution, both companies have plenty of choices.

Bluehost does, however, offer a premium WordPress alternative that, although more costly, promises better WordPress site performance. If you want to expand your website but don't want to commit to VPS hosting, this might be a good option for you. To make it as simple as possible for you, both companies offer one-click WordPress installation.

Website and Blog Builder

Do you have a blog that isn't powered by WordPress? Both organizations have ways for you to get started. HostGator has an in-house Website Builder that allows you to add a blog to your domain. Bluehost, on the other hand, collaborates with Weebly to provide similar features. Weebly's blogging features, especially its drag-and-drop editor, elevate it above the competition. Bluehost's entry-level shared hosting plans, on the other hand, are a little more costly than HostGator's.

Scalability

In general, HostGator and Bluehost have the same forms of premium hosting (with the exception of reseller hosting, which is only offered by HostGator). This means that if you update in the future, you'll be able to keep your current host. This sort of upgrade seems to be a little simpler with HostGator, based on what we've seen (and in some cases, you can do this without seeing any website downtime). In addition, both hosts have some scalability within individual hosting arrangements, but Bluehost takes a little more effort.

Cost

Although both companies provide similar services at comparable prices, Bluehost is slightly more costly and tends to provide fewer discounts. HostGator is the winner. Although it's a tight contest, HostGator's cheapest shared plan costs less than Bluehost's.

Conclusion

HostGator has a wide range of blog hosting options to fit both new and experienced bloggers. The firm straddles the line between strong and accessible, making few concessions in the process.

You can't go wrong with HostGator if you're a writer. The company provides a wide range of full-featured web hosting services at competitive prices, all of which are backed by excellent customer support.