HostGator Review — Updated May 2021
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HostGator Review | |
OVERALL RANK: | Rated # 2 Overall(See Our Full Ranking) |
SPEED: | 989ms (2 Year Average) |
UPTIME: | 99.94% (2 Year Average) |
SUPPORT: | Live Chat, Fax & Phone Support |
APPS: | WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Magento & More |
FEATURES: | Unmetered bandwidth and storage, email accounts, 24/7 support, Instant backups, free SSL certificate, free domain (on initial purchase term) |
HOSTING PLANS: | Shared, VPS, Cloud, Dedicated, & WordPress Hosting |
SITE MIGRATION: | 1 Free Migration |
PRICING: | Starting at $2.75/mo (Renews at $6.95/mo) |
Benefits and Features of HostGator Hosting
Finding the right web hosting company for your website can be difficult. There are a plethora of options available, and it appears that each hosting company has something unique to offer.
The functionality and advantages that a web host can provide you are some of the things you'll want to look for. If a hosting service offers a lot of functionality that you can't use, you might consider switching to a different provider so that you can get the most out of your web host.
We looked at HostGator hosting and discovered some of the reasons why you should use them as your web host in this HostGator analysis. Here's what we discovered:
1. Impressive Uptimes
When you're looking for a hosting company, you'll want to make sure they have a good track record of uptime. This is critical because if your hosting server is down for whatever reason, your website will suffer.
Your audience members will try to find you online, but if they can't because your server is down, they'll quit, and you'll most likely lose their company.
Since HostGator has such high uptime rates, you can rest assured that your website will almost always be up and running when you use their services. HostGator has maintained an uptime record of over 99 percent for the past two years, which is remarkable.
HostGator also offers an uptime guarantee, which means you can get a refund if they don't meet their minimum uptime criteria for any duration.
2. Strong Customer Support
When you use HostGator, you can rely on their knowledgeable support team to assist you with any problems that arise. You can contact their customer service team at any time, so you won't have to wait long to have your issues resolved.
We believe that customer service is a significant thing to consider when selecting a hosting partner, so we put the HostGator support team to the test and discovered that they are hosting experts. Their customer service team is polite, fast, and knowledgeable, which are three qualities we look for in a customer service representative.
We were able to contact a support member in under a minute, who was pleased to assist us in resolving our issues.
If you have no experience with technology, I recommend looking for a hosting service with a good support team, such as HostGator, to rely on for assistance.
3. Free Website Migrations
If you already have a website and want to switch hosting providers, you'll need to migrate your site. Website conversion can be a difficult process, so unless you know what you're doing, it's typically a good idea to enlist the assistance of a professional.
Many hosting companies charge for website migrations, with some charging as much as $150 per website migration. Since this can be costly, it's great when a hosting partner offers this service for free.
When you move your hosting to HostGator, their experts will migrate your website for you at no charge. This is a great added bonus that makes the transition to a new web host a lot easier.
4. Cheap Hosting Plans
One of the reasons we like HostGator is that they have some reasonably priced hosting plans that are ideal for small businesses. For just $2.75 a month, you can get started with a simple hosting package.
If you use HostGator's shared hosting plans, you'll be able to easily expand your website without breaking the bank on hosting fees. They also offer higher-tier hosting plans, which we find to be reasonably priced and in line with the industry standard for website hosting.
While these simple hosting plans aren't suitable for larger websites, they are ideal for those with less than 10,000 monthly visitors. This is a great deal because it costs less than a cup of coffee every month.
5. Great Website Builder
A website builder could be the right option for you if you don't know how to design a website but want to create one without hiring an expensive web developer. A website builder is a platform that allows you and customizes pre-built website templates to create your own website in a matter of hours.
For as little as $3.84 per month, you can get access to HostGator's website builder. This will enable you to choose the best site for your company from hundreds of different templates. After you've chosen a template, you'll be able to easily modify it for your own business.
You'll also have access to e-commerce themes, which will allow you to begin selling goods and services online. Since you'll be able to create and host your website on the same platform, this is a very useful feature to have with your web host.
6. Fast Cloud Hosting Speeds
If you require a fast website, you should choose a fast hosting provider so that you have a solid base on which to develop. There's just so much you can do to speed up your website if your web host is slow.
Your website's speed is becoming increasingly important, and you'll find that your audience expects it to be fast. They will become impatient and quit your site if it does not load within a few seconds, which can damage both your company and your search rankings.
We looked at the load times of over 30 different hosting companies and discovered that the average was 700ms. When we tried HostGator Cloud Hosting, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the load time was just 428ms.
This is an impressive time, and we suggest HostGator if you need your website to be quicker than the competition.
7. Scalable Hosting Plans
If you want to expand your website, you'll want to make sure your hosting company has scalable hosting plans. This will allow you to easily upgrade or downgrade your hosting plans based on your website's needs.
If you don't have enough flexibility for your hosting plans, you might find yourself stuck with one that is far too limited for your needs. This will restrict the amount of growth that your website can achieve, so choosing a scalable web host is critical.
You can upgrade or downsize your hosting plan with HostGator by simply clicking a button. You'll be able to ensure that your website has the necessary hosting services while still using the most cost-effective hosting alternative.
8. Money-Back Policy for 45 Days
A good refund policy is something else we look for in a hosting company. A good refund policy would allow you to create a small website and then test the hosting services before signing a long-term contract.
Good return plans will save you a lot of time and money by allowing you to try out a company to see if you want to work with them on a long-term basis.
If you contact the HostGator sales team within 45 days of buying your web hosting, you will be eligible for a full refund.
This return policy is more generous than most hosting companies, allowing you more time to consider whether or not to use them.
Disadvantages of Using HostGator
Choosing the ideal hosting company can be difficult because each web host seems to have its own set of problems. Although some hosting services are better than others, selecting the right web host for your website is entirely up to you.
In our HostGator analysis, we discovered some drawbacks that you should be aware of before choosing HostGator as your hosting provider. What we discovered was as follows:
1. Common Renewal Schemes
If you've looked at HostGator's pricing plans, you've probably found that they have low-cost hosting options. This incredibly low pricing is intended to persuade you to sign a long-term contract with their hosting company.
This is how the scheme works. To be eligible for the low hosting price that they advertise, you must buy a 36-month contract, and you will only be eligible if this is your first hosting contract with HostGator.
When your initial contract expires and you go to extend your hosting package, you'll have to start paying the standard hosting fee.
Although this is a popular scam, you should be aware of it to avoid being locked into a costly hosting contract.
2. Fees for Additional Features
Working with HostGator has its drawbacks, one of which is that if you want to use extra features for your website, you'll have to pay for them. Most HostGator plans don't have any of the bells and whistles that other hosting companies do, but they do include secure web hosting.
HostGator makes it simple to use the extra features for your website, but some of these features, such as Sitelock, a security app that costs $19.99 per year, will be charged to you.
If you're looking for a decent hosting provider without a lot of bells and whistles, HostGator may be the right fit for you.
HostGator Hosting Plans and Pricing
Before you buy hosting, make sure that the plans you'll be able to choose from include the features you want at a price you can afford.
You can also ensure that they have a variety of hosting plans so that you can easily scale your hosting to give your website a better chance of success.
You can select from five different styles of hosting when you work with HostGator. The following are the various hosting options available to you:
- Shared Hosting
- VPS Hosting
- Cloud Hosting
- WordPress Hosting
- Dedicated Hosting
We'll go through each of these hosting tiers and the various plans available within each tier so you can make an informed decision about which hosting plans are right for you.
If you're not sure which hosting plans are right for you, contact HostGator customer service, and they'll assist you in finding the best hosting plans to suit your needs.
HostGator Shared Hosting
Shared Hosting is the most popular type of web hosting because it is less expensive than other forms of hosting and many websites do not need more data than shared hosting plans can offer.
When you use a shared hosting package, you'll be sharing a hosting service with other websites, which means you'll have to share the server's resources as well.
Although sharing a hosting server can save you money, it can also cause problems because there is no guarantee of the amount of data your website will receive each month. This means that a defective webpage on your server will eat up all of the resources on the server, leaving little room for your website. This is a common issue that can cause a significant drop in site results.
If you chose to use a shared server through HostGator, you can choose from three different tiers:
- Hatchling Plan — As low as $2.75 per month
- Baby Plan — As low as $3.95 per month
- Business Plan — As low as $5.95 per month
These hosting tiers are relatively inexpensive, and they provide more than enough data to host a small website with few visitors. You can start with their hatchling plan and then upgrade your hosting as your site expands and needs a more powerful plan.
If your website receives less than 10,000 monthly visitors, you can take advantage of HostGator Shared Hosting Plans. When you know that hosting your website costs less than a cup of coffee per month, this is a pretty good deal.
👉 Also, you can read: HostGator Web Hosting – Ultimate Review 2021
HostGator VPS Hosting
A Virtual Private Server is another choice for hosting your website with HostGator (VPS). Since you'll be sharing a domain with other websites, a Virtual Private Server is close to shared hosting. With a VPS, on the other hand, you'll be given a set amount of server resources that are dedicated to your site. Other websites on your VPS server will not be able to influence the efficiency of your site. This is advantageous because you would not have to be concerned with your website loading slowly as a result of other websites or a heavy server load. You can select from three different hosting plans if you use HostGator's VPS Hosting:
- Snappy 2000 — As low as $29.95 per month
- Snappy 4000 — As low as $39.95 per month
- Snappy 8000 — As low as $49.95 per month
HostGator Dedicated Hosting
- Value Server — As low as $118.99 per month
- Power Server — As low as $138.99 per month
- Enterprise Server — As low as $148.99 per month
Keep in mind that only a few websites would necessitate such a large hosting package. Always double-check before purchasing a dedicated hosting plan to ensure that your site requires one; otherwise, you will be wasting money on hosting.
If your website receives more than 500,000 monthly visitors, you should consider upgrading to a dedicated hosting package so that your visitors have a seamless browsing experience while on your platform.
HostGator Cloud Hosting
If you want your website to load faster, consider upgrading your hosting plan to HostGator Cloud Hosting servers. This is due to the fact that cloud hosting is much faster than other types of hosting and is almost as inexpensive as shared hosting plans.
HostGator's cloud storage is quicker thanks to the use of low-density servers and cutting-edge technology, as well as numerous caching layers. This alone will provide hosting speeds that are two times faster than a standard setup.
When you use HostGator's cloud hosting, you can choose from three different hosting plans:
- Hatchling Plan — Just $4.95 per month
- Baby Plan — Only $6.57 per month
- Business Plan — From $9.95 per month
The cloud hosting plans come with a slew of extra features that you can use with your website without paying extra. SSL Certificates, Free Domain Names, Dedicated IP Addresses, and SEO software will all be available at no additional charge.
If your website receives less than 100,000 monthly visitors, you can take advantage of HostGator Cloud Hosting Plans.
Do We Recommend HostGator Hosting?
Yes, we strongly recommend HostGator because they have an excellent uptime record for the past two years and their hosting speed is far superior to that of many other hosting providers.
We also appreciate the fact that the HostGator support team is dependable, knowledgeable, and eager to assist their customers with any problems they might be having.
Another feature we like about Hostgator is that they make it simple to get started by offering free website migrations and access to a website builder so you can get started quickly.
Though HostGator's hosting plans lack the "bells and whistles" that other hosting companies provide (unless you use cloud hosting), this isn't a deal-breaker for us because we can still pay a fair fee for the extra features.
Overall, we believe HostGator is one of the best hosting companies to work with, and we will recommend them to anyone looking for a trustworthy hosting partner.
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