An Unbiased Review of HostGator
HostGator advertises itself as a world class supplier of reseller hosting, shared web hosting, dedicated website hosting services, and VPS hosting. This privately owned company has its' headquarters in Houston, TX. In 2002, the company was established by current CEO and President Brent Oxley, who set up the company while attending Florida Atlantic University. Ever since, the company has expanded from a tiny hosting provider, with only a few servers, to an industry leading hosting provider that manages over 12,000 servers. On its' website, HostGator states that it hosts more than two million domains, which comprise roughly one percent of all web traffic.
Although HostGator provides month to month hosting plans, it tries to persuade you to register for a longer period, beginning at six months. The longer you register for, the more you save. While the basic half year and monthly plan begins at $8.95 per month, there are price reductions for those options too. HostGator use the Planet Network and modern data centers, which boast cutting edge power, security, cooling and safety systems. The company stores servers in four data centers located in Dallas, TX. These centers range in size from 22,000 square feet, to over 78,000 square feet. Moreover, they contain state of the art technology, which keeps the servers secure, cool and operational round the clock. The data centers have HVAC, fire detection systems and redundant power, and they are constantly monitored by the Planet's NOCs and the company itself. HostGator offers many popular basic features, such as a website builder, eCommerce website shopping carts, and simple one click installations of well-known website platforms and apps. Also, the company includes a decent quantity of email tools in all of it’s' plans. As well as an option for webmail, you can set up a limitless number of POP3 accounts. Other email tools include autoresponders, email aliases, catch alls, mail forwarding and mailing lists. Lastly, you do not need to fret about spam, because Spam Assassin is included in every hosting package. This potent spam prevention program ensures that junk emails are stopped from cluttering up your inbox. Windows website hosting packages (Windows dedicated hosting, Windows, VPS) are run by the Plesk website hosting control panel. The HostGator Linux website hosting packages (reseller, unlimited, dedicated, VPS) are run by the cPanel control panel. All hosting plans come with SiteStudio website development tools. Thousands of website templates are provided as well, free of charge. The company satisfies all of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) online participation and membership standards. Furthermore, the company delivers an environmentally friendly hosting service. The HostGator website hosting service is reasonably user friendly, although you have to take the time to familiarize yourself with the platform. Many of the features are not intuitive, so it will probably take you a while to understand how to use everything. The customer support service paints a similar picture. While it is adequate, there is still some space for improvement. The website has an FAQ section, where you can learn the answers to important questions. There are video tutorials and user forums on the company website too. If necessary, you can make technical support requests through live chat, toll free telephone or email. Although the company provides helpful information and good contact methods, it would be better if the response times were faster. Some customers report waiting almost sixty minutes, before telephone and online customer support reps became available. |