HostGator is a world-leading provider of web hosting. Since 2002, the company is privately owned and based in Houston, Texas. Since then, HostGator has grown from a small hosting company with just three servers into a world-leading and industry recognized hosting provider with more than 12,000 servers under management. The over five million domains hosted by HostGator make up approximately 1% of the world’s Internet traffic. As a technology and product innovator, HostGator is able to provide its more than 400,000 customers with innovative products and services designed to complement their existing businesses. HostGator serves customers ranging from individual freelancers to Fortune 500 companies in more than 200 countries. The company is constantly working to improve and refine their service and support.
HostGator Editor’s Review
When friends ask us for a good web hosting provider (and believe us, they surely do) we have a very solid suggestion for them: WebHostingHub.com or InmotionHosting.com. Both of these hosting companies provide unparalleled support for all of our web hosting needs, and make it easier than ever for us to realize our Internet dreams, turning them into profitable realities.But today we wanted to talk about HostGator.com (read our HostGator user reviews), another great web host with pretty solid background. All of this excellence begins with their lineage starting in 2002, the year of HostGator’s birth. Since that first initial step in Houston, Texas, the company has grown to support a whopping 12,000 servers, all under direct, controlled management. In addition, HostGator proudly services and aides a network of some 400,000 customers in more than 200 countries. No other web hosting provider can claim to support such a varied network of people, much less put their name to half the global presence HostGator offers. All in all, the company’s track record alone is enough for us to hand over our digital keys. However, we know you might need a bit more convincing. With that in mind, below you’ll find a few of our choice reasons to sign with HostGator, though its hardly a comprehensive list: With HostGator, its hard to find an end to all the pros!
Varied Web Hosting Solutions
First and foremost, HostGator offers every kind of hosting imaginable and then some. Furthermore, if you’re a bit lost about which hosting variety is best for your needs, HostGator can help with that, too. For example, let’s say your business already has a shared hosting plan (that’s a plan in which you share a server with potentially thousands of other users) and needs a more stable environment. As such, HostGator offers, and will suggest, their dedicated hosting plan, which provides you with a fully managed server of your very own to place your website on. Though, if you require traditional shared hosting, HostGator is more than happy to provide this level of service as well. Likewise, should you need the localized control and stability of a virtual private server, which blocks your content off from outside abuse through operating system virtualization, HostGator is ready out-of-the-box to help. Not to mention the company’s extensive support for reseller hosting, which allows you to take a chunk of the HostGator network, and redistribute it for a profit to others.
Support When You Need It
HostGator also offers 24/7, round-the-clock technical support for any and all problems you may encounter. This support can not only be reached when you need, but also where you need it: With phone lines, chat rooms, and email inboxes open all day long, HostGator is sure to return any complaints with a speedy solution—every time!
Bookmark http://www.hostgator.com/contact.shtml just in case you ever need to contact HostGator.
One of the Best Shared Hosting Around
In terms of sheer quality and performance, no one out does HostGator’s shared hosting plans. To begin with, choosing to sign with HostGator will only cost you $3.71 a month with a new contract. That is a special offer for WebHostingGeeks.com visitors! And for that low price of less than four dollars a month, HostGator offers truly unlimited service from the ground up.
HostGator 25% OFF Coupon Code: “GEEKS“.
With unlimited disc space and unlimited bandwidth, you will never again have to worry about size or data transfer limitations. In fact, at the next price range—which begins at only $6.36 per mont—you can also enjoy unlimited domains, making shared hosting a definitive reality for your multi-domain business.
Lastly, HostGator’s shared hosting plan comes stock with a wealth of additional features including a 99.9% up-time guarantee, as well as a no contract 45-day money back guarantee. Add to this a world-class cPanel experience, a free website builder, and almost 5,000 free Website templates, and you’ve got one seriously incredible shared hosting plan on your hands.
Unbeatable Reseller Options
If you’re a new web hosting provider looking to take a superior chunk out of your peers, HostGator’s reselling options will give you an instant leg-up on the competition. The provider works hard to make your reselling experience an easy and efficient one, providing you with the tools you need to please clients and turn a profit. For starters, HostGator provides each and every one of its reseller accounts with fully functional client management and billing software. These tools are indispensable when it comes to managing your growing business, and make the difference in your livelihood as a reseller.
In addition, HostGator also offers a bevy of unlimited options, including unlimited domains, sub domains, email accounts, MySQL databases, cPanels, and FTP accounts. And with plans starting at only $19.96, becoming a reseller host has never been cheaper, as well as easier.
Visit HostGator.com for more information about their reseller hosting services.
Virtual Private Servers With a Punch
If you’re looking for a dedicated server experience without the budget bite of the real thing, there’s no better option than virtual private servers. And if you’re looking for a quality VPS host, there’s no name worthier than HostGator. The provider’s comprehensive VPS plans start at only $15.96 a month, earning you a wealth of additional features for far less the cost of a physical dedicated server.
As with its other hosting plans, HostGator offers a menagerie of unlimited options for its VPS costumers. These include unlimited domains, sub domains, email accounts, MySQL databases, and FTP accounts. HostGator’s VPS accounts are also fully managed with cPanel or Plesk, and support several different levels of experience, working to meet your needs where they are.
Yes, the list continued and don’t turn that dial just yet! there is much to say about HostGator. Thus far we have not quite covered all of the critical elements, a fact that should come as no surprise, considering the mountain of features and feature sets that HostGator offers. With that in mind, let us continue to examine the host and offer you, the reader, a deeper look into the incredible services the company offers.
If you’re considering a quality VPS host, shared host, dedicated host, or even reseller host, HostGator is one of the best in the business, and we’re about to show you how! Starting with one of our favorite aspects about the provider, its incredible dedicated hosting potential.
Visit HostGator.com for more information about their VPS hosting solutions.
Linux Based Dedicated Hosting
Within the realm of dedicated server hosting, HostGator splits its services across two unique operating systems. The first of which is Linux. All HostGator dedicated servers in this category come stock with a free and secure, server edition of CentOS that’s guaranteed to manage your files easily and with the tightest possible safety. Best of all, those with the technical knowledge can benefit from HostGator’s full root access that’s allowed to the webmaster, as well as the available choice between either a 32-bit or 64-bit hosting experience. Even better, all HostGator dedicated servers with a Linux flavoring come loaded to the gills with the latest in web hosting software: This includes cPanel with WHM, Apache Web Server access, MySQL 5, PHP5, Perl support, Python ready hosting, Ruby on Rails, FFMpeg support, and even free WHMCS or WHM client management and billing software. All in all, signing with HostGator for your Linux-oriented dedicated server needs is a great way to get the most bang for your buck, right out of the box.
HostGator’s Linux dedicated server plans begin at only $139 a month, a rock-solid bargain for the business or personal user looking to form a dedicated presence on the Internet. For that money, users can enjoy a full Intel Xeon Quad Core processing experience, 2 GB DDR3 memory, a dual 250 GB hard drive, and 10 TB in bandwidth. At a lowly one-hundred and forty dollars a month, that much functionality is an incredible steal, regardless of the budget you’re operating on.
Visit HostGator.com for more information about their linux dedicated servers.
Windows Dedicated Servers
Like HostGator’s Linux dedicated server hosting, the Windows side of the company’s dedicated options sports an impressive array of features and hooks designed to obtain your business and trust. For example, all HostGator Windows servers come stock with Windows Server 2008 R2, complete with remote desktop and a 64-bit system on demand. Likewise, the latest in Parallels Plesk is offered here in conjunction with IIS Web Server, MSSSQL, MySQL, FTP Server, DNS Server, and even a SmarterMail Professional Mail Server. All of this functionality, of course, is kept under guard by a secure Firewall and IPsec Policy. And like HostGator’s Linux servers, all Windows dedicated offerings are fully managed, requiring no additional overhead for you or your board to worry about. All in all, HostGator is simply one of the best places to find secure, stable, and up-to-date Windows dedicated hosting.
Visit HostGator.com for more information about their windows dedicated servers.
HostGator Superior Control Panels
And it’s not just server excellence that HostGator is offering: The company is also responsible for some seriously killer control panels, too! With every Linux-based shared hosting account, users are given full, unrestricted access to the latest edition of the popular cPanel platform. This platform comes totally loaded with Website statistics thanks to such quality plug-ins as AWStats, Webalizer, Raw Log Manager, Referrer and Error Logs. There’s also support for popular services like Fantastico, password protected directories, and custom error pages for all of your sites. In addition, users who choose such an account can benefit from an easy-to-use and graphic file manager that makes moving and creating files a cinch.
If you recently purchased a new account with HostGator, you should type the following information into the address bar of your browser:
http://yoursitesIPaddress/cpanel (For example, type http://50.22.22.170/cpanel).
If your domain name is already pointing to HostGator, then you can use the domain name to log into cPanel. Here is an example:
http://www.yourdomainname.com/cpanel or http://cpanel.yourdomainname.com/
Try HostGator’s cPanel Demo.
HostGator Web Host Manager
For everyone else (Reseller accounts, VPS hosting, and Dedicated subscribers) the same cPanel quality can be obtained, even with many of the same features. This includes the latest WHM Control Panel with multi-language support, server status monitoring, package limiting, disc space distribution, and complete control over passwords, DNS accounts, tenant restrictions, and even branded materials like client panels. And, of course, the Windows side of this server coin comes loaded with the extremely popular Plesk control panel, offering all of the above features and more, including an application vault and redirected URLs.
There are a few ways to log into WHM. The best way depends on if your domain name has propagated yet.
If you recently purchased a new account with HostGator or have run out of bandwidth, you will type the following information into the address bar of your browser:
http://yourIPaddress/whm (For example, type http://50.22.22.170/whm).
If the domain name is already propagated, then you can use the domain name to log into WHM. Here is an example:
http://www.yourdomainname.com/whm or http://whm.yourdomainname.com/
Extensive Application Support
Lastly, we’re blown away by HostGator’s unprecedented support for popular dynamic web applications like WordPress, Joomla, Magento, Wiki Hosting, and phpBB Hosting. Specifically, they’re unprecedented appreciation for the power and potential of WordPress is to be applauded. The company makes it quick, easy, and affordable to create a WordPress-powered website in only minutes, even allowing users to port their old WordPress blog along, adding it to a dedicated space with no additional wrangling. The same applies to other content management systems like Joomla and Drupal, allowing the blossoming blogger to fully realize their potential with hardly a scratch on their budget.
HostGator Awards & Reviews
All in all, HostGator looks to be one of the largest, most trusted, and most feature rich hosts around. If you’re looking for quality shared, VPS, dedicated or reseller hosting, there’s (on paper) hardly a better choice. The plans are cheaper, the features unbeatable, and the customer support truly rock-solid. The performance itself also looks to be absolutely superb, when compared to other industry leaders. The company has won hundreds of awards over the years, including some of the most prestigious from WebHostingMagazine, FindMyHost, and WebHostDir.
However, our users here at Web Hosting Geeks have had some other things to add. If you’re looking for a quality web host, HostGator looks a fit to us, but before diving into the provider, be sure to check some of our quality, user written reviews here.
HostGator: Common Customer Complaints
In our eyes, it’s our job to inform you about some of the largest names in the web hosting industry. In other words, we look at the corporate giants that are constantly vying to steal your money and attention, and our only thought is, “What’s wrong with this provider?” There are a lot of quality options out there, but on the other hand, you’ll find just as many rotten experiences. In today’s article, we’ll be analyzing the not-so-good of just one such hosting provider. HostGator.com has been in the industry for a long time, and has earned more awards than we can shake a stick at. However, if you think they’re all gold and sunshine, you may want to jump on down below the break to view some of the user complaints we’ve received against the company. We’ve compiled a few of the more common ailments just below the break, but before we dive into the what of what’s wrong with HostGator, let’s talk a bit about the who.
If you’ve managed to search the web for quality hosting without encountering HostGator, we haven’t got a clue how you did it. HostGator has been in the business as long as we can remember, and during that time, they’ve been racking up the awards left and right. Their main focus is on cheap shared hosting, but they also offer quite a few additional services, like virtual private servers. Their plans are rock-bottom, but they’re also guaranteed with an entire list of “unlimited” benefits. All in all, they look like every other big name hosting provider on the market.
But are they really all they crack themselves up to be? For that, we’ll have to dive into the treasure trove of user reviews we’ve stockpiled over the years. So without keeping you waiting any longer, dive on down below the break to see what our reviewers are complaining about the most with HostGator!
Sales Issues
Not-So Obvious Pricing: First and foremost, HostGator advertises a single low price for their basic shared hosting account. However, as many of our reviewers have pointed out, you shouldn’t let that number fool you! You’ll have to sign up for an entire year to get that price, and if you decide to do anything shorter, you’ll be paying a higher premium. Granted, this is hardly a deal breaker, but we felt you should know, especially as so many of our users have been talking about it.
Throttled Service: On a more disturbing note, we’ve also been hearing reports that HostGator throttles the performance of accounts as soon as their 30-day money back guarantee has expired. Apparently, once the safety nets are off the company will drastically reduce the overall performance of the site, so much so that it’s noticeable on the front-end. We can’t guarantee these reports are true, but we’ve certainly heard it from enough of our user base to think it’s at least plausible, if not probable.
Customer Support Complaints
No Notifications: To dive into another area of the common complaints we’ve been getting, it appears that HostGator’s technical support can be somewhat lackluster. Most noticeably, our users have been reporting a lack of reports. In other words, their accounts have been removed, modified, or even been down without any sort of notification of a change in service. It appears this is a tactic to avoid being blamed for server problems. At least, that’s what our users have been saying. The common trend is apparently the need to pester and badger the technical support representative until, finally, they admit to a server-side problem. Obviously this is a terrible way to run a business, and it appears the reseller hosts are suffering the most.
Lack of Knowledge: On another note, it also appears that HostGator’s support representatives have been unable in a lot of cases to solve the problems our users have been facing. Frequently, our reviewers have called up a tech support agent, only to have their situation either exacerbated, or worsened.
Slow Service: Lastly, we’re hearing reports that the tech support service with HostGator is somewhat slow on the upkeep. It often took our users days to hear back from an eMail ticket, and even the live chat appears to be somewhat sluggish.
Server Functionality Issues
cPanel Problems: To be honest, this is a complaint we don’t see everyday, but enough of our users have reported it to make it relevant. Apparently, the cPanel offers little to no support for languages other than English, producing overlapped fields and other such inconsistencies in service. If your primary language is English, this likely won’t be a problem. For others, we thought you should at least be aware.
Broken Links: A slightly more bizarre, though no less common, complaint, we’ve been hearing that HostGator frequently breaks all the links embedded within a website, and with no obvious cause. One morning, many of our users awoke to find their links simply broken. As mentioned earlier, tech support didn’t appear to be of much help, and in all but a few cases, our users moved on to a different hosting company.
Database Errors: We see this with a lot of shared hosting companies, but our users have reported more database errors than most with HostGator. It appears housing a database with HostGator is somewhat risky, often leading to overloaded requests or sites that simply don’t function correctly because of it.
So there you have it! Those are some of the more common complaints we’ve heard about HostGator, and though it may seem all negative, we feel we should mention that we’ve also heard good things about them. This is why you should always check WebHostingGeeks.com for the full review of each and every web host you’re considering! We’ll always cover the pros and cons of the most popular options, and no matter who you’re looking at, we guarantee we can keep you informed.
Conclusion
Feel free to inspect the provider yourself at HostGator.com. And, of course, their trained representatives are always standing by, at the ready to field your questions as they arise. In other words, don’t just take our word for it: Let HostGator dazzle you as it’s dazzled us.
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