Are you looking for a web hosting provider? I’ve been using HostGator for the past year and a half now and I am quite satisfied with their service.
Whether you’re looking to switch web hosting provider or to start an online business. HostGator should have a service catered to you.
With many consumers using the internet to find what they want. Having an online presence is absolutely necessary and recommended.
In this article, I am going to provide you with my personal HostGator review to help you make an informative decision. Without further ado, let’s get started!
My HostGator Review 2021
There are many web hosting services available, but HostGator is one of my favorite and they are also one of the most popular web hosting companies in the world.
Whether you are searching for shared hosting, dedicated servers, virtual private server hosting (VPS), or simply hosting your existing website.— HostGator has you covered!
Previously, Smart Affiliate Hub was hosted by Wealthy Affiliate. To this day, I still highly recommend them for those who are beginners. Those who want to learn how to make money online.
As a premium member for Wealthy Affiliate, you will have to spend a bit more money per month. But you also get access to their training, resources, and tools.
HostGator is an excellent choice for those who have some experience but just want to build an online presence. You can also find resources here on Smart Affiliate Hub or other blogs available.
Please continue reading to find out if HostGator is the perfect choice of web hosting for you!
By the way, I am currently offering my WordPress Installation service with over $249.00 worth of goodies to get you started. Learn more about my WordPress Installation Service.
To ensure every aspect of HostGator is covered, I will be going over the following:
- Performance: How fast your website load on HostGator? Website Speed is a huge deciding factor in terms of visitor satisfaction and search engine ranking.
- Reliability: The up time for hosting with HostGator. Will your website remain online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week without downtime? You don’t want to host your website on a server where it’s constantly going down.
- Features: How user-friendly are the features? Will it take a rocket science degree to figure out how to manage your website(s)?
- Pricing: This is probably the most important factor and why you are reading my article. Does HostGator offer the best price available? Are there any additional savings?
The History Of HostGator
Hostgator is a web hosting service founded in 2002 and it quickly became one of the biggest and most popular web hosting companies in the world.
The reason for their success is thanks to their competitively priced hosting plans, attentive customer service, and offering reliable web hosting services.
The HostGator Performance – (Actual Test Conducted)
Let me ask you this, “Have you ever tried to access a website, but it took forever to load?”— I have, and let me tell you this… being a very impatient person myself, I usually hit the back button and browse a different website instead.
When it comes to establishing your online business, speed is an important factor because it shows your visitors how much you care about your website and their time.
You don’t want to be constantly switching web hosting providers because it will cost you a lot of time and money. Why not select one that you know will be delivering high performance? For that purpose, I’ve decided to run a test for you!
Fun Fact: A study on website performance suggest that every second your website takes to load will cost you 7% fewer conversions, 11% fewer page views, and a 16% decrease in visitor satisfaction.— You can use Google Page Speed to test your website speed.
Obviously, a brand new website will usually outperform another website that is filled with content.
If you have a website with lots of content including images, it can significantly impact your overall load time.— Your website theme can also make a difference!
For that, I decided to run a ping test on a website with a huge amount of content hosted by HostGator. Check out the results below:
The HostGator Reliability
They pride their service by guaranteeing an up time of 99.99%. And from my experience, my website rarely ever goes down. When it is down, it’s usually because I made an error while updating my website.
What really makes HostGator stand out is how long they’ve been in the web hosting industry.
You can rest assured that your website is in good hands and that they will continue to serve you for many years to come.— You don’t have to worry about finding a new web host!
HostGator Customer Service
Hostgator has employed well over 900+ employees to deliver impeccable service to all of their customers.
You can rest easy knowing that there is always someone ready to answer any of your questions.
Their customer service includes 24/7 phone, live chat, and email support. HostGator has you covered whether you need an answer now or you can wait because you need to sleep.
HostGator also provides you with a support portal which can be found in your hosting dashboard.
With the support portal, you don’t always have to contact support because within the support portal, you will find answers to commonly asked questions with articles and video tutorials.
I’ve personally used their live chat service multiple times and so far they have not let me down with their support.
HostGator Offers Shared Hosting Plans
Shared hosting plans are ideal for beginners running new websites. A shared hosting plan is when you share the same server with multiple websites.
It’s not as fast as your regular dedicated hosting plan, but it’s definitely cheaper to get started. Obviously, you are not stuck with this option for the rest of your life.
You can always upgrade to the regular hosting services as you develop your website.
Within the shared hosting plans, there are three different options for you to choose from. They all include unlimited bandwidth and storage.
The biggest difference is the number of websites you can host. Let’s start with the cheapest
HostGator’s Shared Hosting Plan
HostGator’s shared hosting plans come in three different levels. All plans include unlimited storage and bandwidth.
The main difference is the number of websites you can host. Let’s start off with the least expensive to the most expensive (Price is subject to change):
- Hatchling ($2.75/month): This plan allows you to host only one website. It also allows you to install WordPress with one click install.
- Baby ($5.95/month): This plan allows you to host an unlimited amount of websites. It includes everything from the hatchling plan plus available add-ons such as private secure socket layers (SSL).
- Business (Currently also $5.95/month): This is the perfect plan for small business websites. It comes with free secure socket layers (SSL) and a free dedicated IP address for your eCommerce website.
HostGator Offers The Following Plans and Features
HostGator offers a good variety of hosting plans to meet your needs. You don’t want to overspend for something you don’t need and HostGator definitely recognizes that. Shall we go over each plan? Why not(:
- Shared hosting ($2.75/month to $5.95/month). This is the perfect option for those who are starting a new website with a low amount of traffic. You will be sharing a single server with other websites.
- Cloud hosting ($4.95/month to $9.95/month): Unlike the shared hosting servers, cloud hosting uses multiple servers which is great for websites that are getting inconsistent traffic. One day you might receive a low amount of traffic, but the next day you might receive a large amount of traffic.
- WordPress hosting ($5.95/month to $9.95/month): This plan utilizes the same plan as shared hosting. However, this plan is optimized for WordPress powered websites. This is a very suitable plan If you are running your website on one of the most popular platforms (WordPress).
- Virtual Private Server ($19.95/month to $39.95/month) This plan utilizes the cloud hosting platform. It allows you to manage your virtual resources. I’ve seen gamers use this to host games that require a lot of power.
- Dedicated server ($119/month to $139/month): This is their most powerful hosting service because it is only dedicated to you! However, I only recommend this to experienced users because you will have to maintain it by yourself.
The Pros And Cons Of HostGator
Is HostGator perfect? Absolutely not! I have yet to find anything that is perfect, so HostGator is no exception. Let’s find out what the pros and cons are.
The Pros of HostGator
- Money-Back Guarantee: If you are not satisfied with their service. You can get your money back within 45 days guaranteed. Most companies will not offer you such extended money-back offers. This really shows how much confidence they have in their service.
- Free Transfers For New Accounts: Looking to transfer your existing website to HostGator from another host? No problem at all because they offer Free Transfer service at no additional cost within the first 30 days of signing up with them.
- Quality Customer Service: Their customer service representatives are very professional, knowledgeable, and friendly. You can rest well knowing that when you have a problem, they are there to help.
- Hosting is Reliable: HostGator prides on their 99.99% Uptime. If your website experience any sort of downtime below their standard 99.99%, you will receive one full month of credit based on your plan.
- Beginner Friendly: HostGator makes it easy with lots of tutorials to help you get started.
- Flexible Billing: You can choose monthly or annual plans with the obvious additional savings when you choose the annual plans.
The Cons of HostGator
- A domain is not free: I noticed other web hosting companies offer a free domain when you first sign up. However, you’re probably going to save more money in the long run with their competitively priced plans anyway. I’m placing this in the con’s category because I like free things.
- Upselling Services: There are upsells, so make sure you review your entire plan including additional services during the sign-up process. You can always add the additional services to your plan later.
My Final Thoughts On HostGator
We are finally down to the deciding factor.
Are you a beginner looking to start your own online business or an already experienced online business owner looking to shave off some expenses for additional savings with the ongoing payments of web hosting?
If you meet either of those criteria, then HostGator is definitely for you.
They have over 2 million existing customers, so you can rest assured that their service is superb.
There you will find everything you need to grow your online business to a whole new level.
Interested in signing up with HostGator? Click on the banner below:
Did you enjoy this article?
I hope this was helpful! If you are interested, try it out and if you don’t like it, cancel it and get your money back within 45 days.
There are many web hosting providers in the market. I just happen to use HostGator and find it a great package for my website.
It may or may not be your cup of tea. Try it out and see for yourself!
If you have any other questions, please leave a comment down below and I will try my best to help you out.
Protected by Patchstack