HostGator Reviews

 

HostGator has been working to provide simple-to-use web hosting services with a variety of affordable plans that appeal to small businesses and companies alike since its inception in 2002. HostGator advertises low-cost plans, high uptime, a generous money-back guarantee, and excellent customer service. Is it, however, effective? The response came from our study, which was backed up by HostGator feedback on the internet.

Key Features

Free SSL and cPanel migration

Unmetered bandwidth

45-day money-back guarantee

Convenient website builder

Unlimited disk space

Free website & cPanel migration

Strengths

•  Dependable uptime
•  Fast cloud hosting
•  Beginner-friendly

 Weaknesses

•  High renewal prices
•  Basic security
•  Slow support

Product demo

Quality Servers & Affordable Prices

HostGator provides a diverse range of hosting services, as well as some unique features that place it among the best web hosting services. Any package you select will give you access to a slew of features that will make website upkeep a breeze.

Top-Notch Performance

HostGator prioritizes website availability and provides the consistency and reliability that top web hosting companies are known for. If a shared or reseller server fails to meet the vendor's 99.99 percent uptime guarantee, you will get a month's credit for the package on your account. Many HostGator reviews we found to confirm that the web host has consistently maintained 99.98-99.99 percent uptime. Users say that their uptime record is exceptional and that they have never seen anything like it before.

Excellent Cloud Hosting Server Response Times

HostGator makes use of a number of data centers. The majority of them are in Utah and Texas. There's a choice to switch on that sends the content to 23 more data centers across the world. Data centers have several security layers, sophisticated cooling systems, redundancy power generators, and strong physical security.

The efficient servers are powered by AMD Opteron Processor 6376 or Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2630 v3 processors with 32 cores. They come with SSDs and a total of four RAID 1s.

On the other hand, HostGator lags behind other industry leaders in terms of speed. According to many HostGator customer reports, users have had issues with server speed for no apparent cause. According to them, the average page loading time is consistently poor. This is mostly a problem with shared plans because if you're willing to pay a little extra for cloud storage, you'll get twice the pace and twice the resources.

HostGator Website Builder: Professional Features Made Affordable

HostGator offers its own website builder with drag-and-drop functionality. There are 20 different types of themes to choose from, and some of them also come with pre-built parts to help you get your website up and running quickly.

One-click installs are available, making it simple to set up your favorite CMS such as WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, b2evolutions, Tiki, and Mambo. Meanwhile, the File Manager allows you to transfer files to the cloud. This tool improves on simple FTP by allowing you to edit files directly or via a separate editor.

Our HostGator website builder analysis reveals that plans are reasonably priced and provide benefits such as free hosting, site analytics, social media integration, and a free SSL certificate.

Only if you sign up for at least one year of pooled, cloud or WordPress hosting will you get a free domain name. Keep in mind that the free duration lasts only one year, and the domain will only have the extensions.com,.net, and.org. If you already have a domain name with one of these companies, HostGator can pass it for free.

The site builder also includes an eCommerce plan (starting at $9.22/month) that allows you to create a fully functional online store with payment gateways, plugins, inventory management options, and more.

Beginner-Friendly Web Host

The process of creating an account is easy, and payments are processed quickly. However, some HostGator hosting reviews claim that the service takes longer than average to become accessible. This isn't a deal-breaker, but it is inconvenient, particularly because the process is supposed to be automatic. Even so, once you're inside, things start to improve.

HostGator's the user interface is simple and easy to use, making it ideal for beginners. All have been optimized for a pleasant user experience.

We compared DreamHost and HostGator to see how easy they were to use. DreamHost has a proprietary web-based control panel that takes some getting used to. Meanwhile, HostGator employs the industry-standard cPanel. It's been tweaked much more than the default edition to make it even more beginner-friendly.

Unlimited Disk Space & Unmetered Bandwidth

HostGator is unique in that all of its plans provide unrestricted storage space and unmetered bandwidth, which is uncommon among competitors. However, you must limit your use to a level that does not tax the server's resources.

Free Email Marketing

For the first three months, HostGator provides free email marketing with up to 500 contacts. This can be an excellent asset to support your marketing campaigns, with tools for constructing your email list, designing email messages with ready-to-use templates, and segmenting lists.

Free Site Migrations

Free site and cPanel migrations are available from HostGator. You can contact the support team 30 days after signing up to have your cPanel, databases, scripts, files, or domain name transferred.

45-Day Money-Back Guarantee

HostGator has a 45-day money-back guarantee on shared, VPS, and reseller hosting plans. HostGator does not refund administrative costs, custom program installation fees, or dedicated servers. This is a standard practice in the web hosting industry, although there are a few exceptions. There is a $15 non-refundable domain charge, and if you have a newly registered domain, you will only be able to pass it after 60 days.

Basic Security Features

HostGator offers free SSL certificates, automatic malware removal, and backup service which runs once a week. Aside from that, SiteLock is available for an additional fee of $1.99 per month. Malware scanning and elimination, TrueShield web application firewall, TrueSpeed CDN, application scanning, blacklist tracking, trust seal, SQL injection scanning, and other advanced security features are included in the service.

Although SiteLock offers a high degree of security, HostGator reports indicate that users are unhappy with the price they had to pay for security features. Our HostGator vs. InMotion comparison revealed that what HostGator charges extra for, InMotion offers for free.

Extra Services

HostGator has a few extras, such as updated security and marketing services. These come at an extra cost, so let's see if they're worthwhile.

Daily Backups

Once a week, on a random day, the vendor performs automatic backups. If you want to update, you'll need to buy CodeGuard, an automated tool that backs up your website every day and defends it from hackers, viruses, and other threats. You can quickly restore a file or the whole site to a previous version from the user-friendly dashboard. For up to five websites, CodeGuard Basic costs $2 per month. It comes with 1GB of storage and three monthly restores. While this is a nice improvement from the simple weekly backup, some users may be hesitant to pay for a service that other web hosts provide for free.

SEO Services

You can hire an SEO expert to create an SEO plan, but HostGator provides this service in-house. You may schedule a meeting with them and be assigned to a dedicated marketing project leader who will inspect the website, perform expert keyword analysis, and start the campaign. The SEO services also provide content development and on-page optimization. You can choose between a start and a development plan for $2.95 per month. According to HostGator SEO reviews, both provide good value for money.

PPC

HostGator offers yet another excellent extra service. You can hire a full-fledged team of PPC consultants and managers to handle keyword analysis, maximize your ad budget, and provide end-to-end AdWords management services starting with a simple consultation.

After spending $25 on ads, new HostGator plans are eligible for a $100 AdWords credit as well as $100 worth of Bing Ads. This benefit enables you to begin promoting your website right away and gain decent visibility.

Web Design

To get you started, HostGator provides professional web design services with templates and up to three pages of SEO-friendly content. A personal team of experts, including an SEO strategist and account manager, is assigned to you. You can also create an online store with up to ten product pages, as well as payment processing and shipping solutions, using the eCommerce integration.

HostGator Support — Knowledgeable Team but Long Waiting Times

HostGator offers live chat, internet, and fax support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The support team passed our initial tests with flying colors. The agents are well-informed and ready to help with any problem that might occur. They usually answer queries within minutes.

When you dig further into the HostGator ratings, you'll find concerns about long wait times and bad customer service. Some users have claimed that they had to exert considerable effort to get the issue resolved. In search of an alternative, we compared FastComet and HostGator. FastComet provides prompt customer service, and many customers have had good experiences with the company.

HostGator Pricing — Industry-Standard Plans & Discounts

HostGator is one of the most cost-effective web hosts. Keep in mind that hosting companies often advertise low introductory rates. As a result, HostGator's renewal fees will be higher as well.

The first billing period is covered by the initial discount, which is a HostGator voucher that is immediately added to the real amount. On rare occasions, a HostGator coupon code is made available on the official website, allowing for even greater savings. There was a valid promo code for 70% off hosting plans at the time of writing this HostGator analysis.

Overall, HostGator is a reasonably priced web host, and many users believe you get good value for your money. However, some reviews show that users believe you can get better value for your money elsewhere.

HostGator Prices by Hosting Type

HostGator provides a number of hosting options, each with its own collection of unique features and pricing options. We give you a high-level summary of the plans, with a focus on the features and pricing details.

HostGator Shared Hosting Review

HostGator's shared hosting packages are reasonably priced and cater to low-maintenance websites. Month-to-month plans are available, but there are also options for longer periods. Free SSL certificate, unrestricted storage, unmetered bandwidth, unlimited email accounts, sub-domains, FTP accounts, and a free domain for the first year are all included with all plans.

Many HostGator web hosting reviews highlight the plans' affordability as well as the features' usability. The basic plan cannot accommodate more than 5,000 real-time users, according to users. Bear in mind, however, that shared hosting plans are designed for low-maintenance websites.

HostGator Shared Hosting Pricing

• $2.75/month for the Hatchling Plan (supports one domain)
• Baby Plan — $3.95/month (includes unlimited domains, private SSL, and a dedicated IP for an extra $4/month).
• $5.95/month for the Business Plan (supports unlimited domains and includes a free upgrade to positive SSL, a dedicated IP, and SEO tools)

👉 Also, you can read:How To Sign Up For Hostgator Hosting

Hostgator Cloud Hosting Review

Cloud hosting is a significant improvement over shared hosting. Its low-density servers, caching layers, and top-of-the-line hardware promise increased reliability and load times. Three copies of your data are automatically spread through different computers for added security, and in the event of a hardware failure, your account will be switched to another server immediately. You'll still be able to scale in real-time because your site won't be physically constrained.

Links to statistics and real-time resource management are two other prominent features. The simple dashboard provides an overview of page download speed, use, global reach, and more so you can keep track of your website's results.

Hostgator Cloud Hosting Pricing

• Hatchling Cloud is a monthly subscription service that costs $4.95. (1 domain, 2 cores, 2GB memory)
• Baby Cloud costs $6.57 a month (unlimited domains, 4 cores, 4GB memory, unlimited parked domains)
• $9.95/month for Business Cloud (unlimited domains, 6 cores, 6GB memory, dedicated IP)

Hostgator WordPress Hosting Review

WordPress hosting from the provider promises 2.5X faster load times and better site efficiency. Cloud infrastructure, a CDN, low-density servers, and several caching layers are all included. Files, email addresses, and database restores are all accessible via the unified portal. You'll also have full control over the consumption distribution. Both plans include a free HostGator SSL certificate and automatic malware removal.

Although HostGator claims to be “light years ahead of the competition,” our HostGator vs Bluehost comparison revealed that the latter is the best WordPress hosting provider. Bluehost reviews laud the web host's wide range of features and functionality, which is unsurprising given that Bluehost is one of the three WordPress-recommended hosting providers.

HostGator WordPress Hosting Pricing

• $5.95/month for the starter package (one WordPress site, up to 100,000 visitors monthly traffic, free migration for one site, 1GB automated daily database backups, and file-level restore)
• $7.95/month for the basic package (two WordPress sites, up to 200,000 visitors per month, free migration for two sites, 2GB automated daily database backups, and file-level restore)
• $9.95/month for the business plan (three WordPress sites, up to 500,000 monthly visitors, free migration for up to three sites, 3GB automated daily database backups, and file-level restore)

HostGator Dedicated Hosting Review

You can switch between semi-managed and managed plans by using HostGator dedicated server hosting. CentOS, Ubuntu, Windows, and Debian are among the operating systems available for the former. Customer-managed data backups and migration are included in the plans, as well as constructive device maintenance and software patching.

You can switch between CentOS and Windows for managed dedicated hosting. Aside from proactive and reactive device monitoring, HostGator's managed dedicated hosting offers advanced software patching, cPanel or Plesk control panels with automatic updates, and offsite backup and data migration options. On-demand, server optimization is available.

Dedicated hosting plans ensure optimal efficiency by allowing you to choose between an HDD and an SSD hard drive to get the best performance for your website — a function that users appreciate, as shown by numerous HostGator dedicated server reviews. DDOS support and an IP-based firewall are included in the security package.

Advanced control features are included in the plans. cPanel and WHM are available on Linux servers, while Plesk control panel and WebMatrix are available on Windows dedicated hosting plans. RAID-1 setup, full root access, and three dedicated IPv4 IPs are among the other notable features.

HostGator Dedicated Hosting Pricing

• $89.98/month for a value server (8GB RAM and 1TB HDD)
• $119.89/month for a powerful server (16GB RAM and 2TB HDD or 512GB SSD)
• $139.99/month for an enterprise server (30GB RAM and 1TB SSD)

HostGator VPS Review

HostGator's virtual private servers are housed in data centers with redundant network and HVAC units and provide all of the advantages of a dedicated server at a lower cost. Furthermore, optimum reliability is ensured by the RAID 10 disk setup, multiple network protection layers, and multiple bandwidth providers. With HostGator VPS plans, you can easily scale and only pay for what you use.

HostGator VPS Hosting Plans

• Snappy 2000 costs $19.95 a month (2 cores, 2 GB RAM, 120 GB disk space, 1.5 TB bandwidth, 2 IP addresses)
• Snappy 4000 costs $29.95 a month (2 cores, 4 GB RAM, 165 GB disk space, 2 TB bandwidth, 2IPs)
• Snappy 8000 costs $39.95 a month (4 cores, 8 GB RAM, 240 GB disk space, 3 TB bandwidth, 2 IPs)

HostGator Reseller Review

Reseller hosting from HostGator allows you to make money by offering web hosting to third-party clients. WHMcs, which allows you to build cPanels for your clients and deploy billing tools to manage payment operations, is one of the many features you'll get access to.

You'll be able to monitor any aspect of your website using the WHM panel, including resource distribution, payment methods, and the additional services you want to offer your customers. It also allows you to keep track of server status and customize client panels with your company's logo.

The free reseller club account, which aims to simplify domain management, is a noteworthy feature we discovered during our HostGator analysis. Account access, domain registration/deletion, domain forwarding system management, DNSSEC, domain restoration, and more are all available. It also comes with fantastic bulk action tools that make managing multiple accounts a breeze. It's totally free to create an account, and you can integrate it with your WHMCS.

People appreciate how easy it is to use and how inexpensive it is. On the other hand, HostGator reviews reveal a less-than-flattering aspect of reseller hosting. Some users claim that the plans have limitations that prohibit them from implementing more complex backend operations.

Hostgator Reseller Hosting Pricing

• $19.95 a month for aluminum (60GB disk space, 600GB bandwidth)
• Copper costs $24.95 a month (90GB disk space, 900GB bandwidth)
• Silver ($24.95 per month) (140GB disk space, 1,400GB bandwidth)

Is HostGator Good?

For beginners and semi-technical webmasters, HostGator is an excellent web hosting option. Unmetered bandwidth, unrestricted disk space, free site migration, and a 45-day money-back guarantee are among the platform's many features. Our in-depth analysis and HostGator reviews indicate that the company provides dependable uptime and reliable results. However, there are a few items that could be changed, including customer service. A2 Hosting or InMotion is also worth considering if you require a high level of protection.