Tag Archives: experience
Is HostGators Hosting Service A Good Choice For Newbies?
HostGators hosting services are frequently recommended as they are one of the top hosting companies. There are located in Texas but have customers throughout the world. Founded in 2002 they have grown to the point where they host four million domains.
A range of hosting packages are on offer starting with basic shared hosting and including reseller hosting, virtual private server hosting and dedicated server hosting. This means that there is an upgrade path as a site gets busier and that HostGators service is good for personal and business users.
It should be noted that until you get to the dedicated server level HostGators service is Linux based. Generally it is best to go for Linux unless there is a particular reason to use Windows based hosting (such as having a site developed that uses Microsoft technologies).
HostGators entry level plan is available from $4.95 per month (which requires payment for 36 months upfront). However, one key attraction of HostGator is that they do actually allow monthly payments, at a higher price, and you can still cancel at any time.
Like most hosting companies these days HostGators packages include resources such as bandwidth, disk space, email accounts etc. on an “unlimited” basis, which at least keeps it simple. The only limitation of the entry level plan is that only one domain can be hosted.
Most new users of hosting are seeking a service that:
* Is user friendly – HostGators service offers cPanel with Fantastico which makes it was to install software such as WordPress.
* Is always available – a 99.9% uptime guarantee is provided, some maintenance is always required so no host will offer 100%. Whilst maintenance is generally undertaken at night local time this can occasionally be at inconvenient times in other parts of the world.
* Loads pages quickly – In my experience this is no problem with HostGator.
* Provides excellent support – This is an area where HostGators reputation is good and my own experience has been very positive. They offer support 24/7 by phone, chat and email. This may not seem like a top priority to a new user of hosting but I can tell you from past experience how frustrating it is to have problems and be unable to get proper support.
HostGators service meets the above criteria and I would recommend it to new users. I have noticed that HostGator seems to be the choice of many internet marketers and if it is good enough for them.
Is HostGators Hosting Service A Good Choice For Newbies?
HostGators hosting services are frequently recommended as they are one of the top hosting companies. There are located in Texas but have customers throughout the world. Founded in 2002 they have grown to the point where they host four million domains.
A range of hosting packages are on offer starting with basic shared hosting and including reseller hosting, virtual private server hosting and dedicated server hosting. This means that there is an upgrade path as a site gets busier and that HostGators service is good for personal and business users.
It should be noted that until you get to the dedicated server level HostGators service is Linux based. Generally it is best to go for Linux unless there is a particular reason to use Windows based hosting (such as having a site developed that uses Microsoft technologies).
HostGators entry level plan is available from $4.95 per month (which requires payment for 36 months upfront). However, one key attraction of HostGator is that they do actually allow monthly payments, at a higher price, and you can still cancel at any time.
Like most hosting companies these days HostGators packages include resources such as bandwidth, disk space, email accounts etc. on an “unlimited” basis, which at least keeps it simple. The only limitation of the entry level plan is that only one domain can be hosted.
Most new users of hosting are seeking a service that:
* Is user friendly – HostGators service offers cPanel with Fantastico which makes it was to install software such as WordPress.
* Is always available – a 99.9% uptime guarantee is provided, some maintenance is always required so no host will offer 100%. Whilst maintenance is generally undertaken at night local time this can occasionally be at inconvenient times in other parts of the world.
* Loads pages quickly – In my experience this is no problem with HostGator.
* Provides excellent support – This is an area where HostGators reputation is good and my own experience has been very positive. They offer support 24/7 by phone, chat and email. This may not seem like a top priority to a new user of hosting but I can tell you from past experience how frustrating it is to have problems and be unable to get proper support.
HostGators service meets the above criteria and I would recommend it to new users. I have noticed that HostGator seems to be the choice of many internet marketers and if it is good enough for them.
Why Is HostGators Web Hosting Service Recommended So Often?
HostGators service is usually ranked highly in web hosting reviews and comments posted by users are mainly positive.
To me the key part of HostGators service is the support offered. Despite its recent growth it is still possible to escalate support issues to Brent Oxley the founder and Chairman (although I have not needed to tested this).
I know from past experience how frustrating it is to have a problem and not be able to get a sensible answer from the host’s support team. I have also used a reseller service, which seemed like a very good deal until my site went down on a Friday evening and I could not get any help until Monday morning.
These experiences have made me believe that support is the most important factor when choosing a web host (after, of course, ensuring that your technical requirements are met). Certainly it is more important than getting the lowest possible price.
HostGators support is quite extensive. There is a Support section of their web site with articles and videos covering numerous areas and a series of forums where users can discuss topics. If you need to contact support this can be done 24/7 via phone (toll free in US), chat and email (creates a ticket in a help desk system).
Of course ultimately how successful a support operation is depends on the people involved. Are they helpful, do they know what they are talking about and, most importantly, are they able to resolve issues?
My own experience is that HostGators support team are good and are prepared “to go the extra mile” to help even when the issue is not their fault. It would be very easy, and probably understandable, to establish that a problem was nothing to do with HostGator and leave it at that. However on several occasions they have done more than this, helping me establish what the problem was advising me how to fix it.
I therefore became a very satisfied customer and am happy to recommend HostGators service to others.