Every business needs a web site, whether it ‘s a fully function e-commerce setup or a bare web log to post daily updates. Either way, you need a web hosting service. The stack HostGator is a clear option, as it includes feature-rich cloud, WordPress, virtual individual server ( VPS ), and dedicated waiter packages. however, it ‘s the ship’s company ‘s shared plans that stand out from the very crowd world wide web hosting pack. In fact, HostGator ‘s shared packages are indeed robust that the avail is our Editors ‘ Choice blame in that hosting subcategory .
Shared Web Hosting
Shared host, if you ‘re not familiar with the class, is a type of web host that sees multiple sites living on a single server. In this setup, sites share the server resources ( hence the name ), so a boastfully traffic surge on Site A can, unfortunately, shock Site B ‘s performance in a minus fashion. Shared host is a effective option if you ‘re looking for cheap host ; if you want more server resources devoted to your site, you need to go the VPS or dedicated host routes .
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Reading: HostGator Web Hosting Review
Products in the Web Hosting Category in the past year
Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buy decisions. ( See how we test. ) HostGator offers month-to-month shared world wide web hosting plans, but pushes hard for you to sign up for longer terms, starting at six months. I do n’t like that during the signup action HostGator defaults to a three-year term. It ‘s one thing to encourage users to skip month-to-month servicing, but pushing them into three years from the start is a bit much. That said, HostGator offers Linux- or Windows-based shared host packages that give small- and medium-sized businesses room to grow. The Hatchling plan ( starting at $ 10.95 per calendar month, or $ 3.95 per calendar month with an annual plan ) offers outright disk space, monthly datum transfers, databases, and e-mail addresses, plus support for one domain and third-party applications such as content management systems and e-commerce platforms. The Baby plan ( starting at $ 11.95 per calendar month, or $ 5.00 per calendar month with an annual plan ) builds on the Hatchling offer by adding unlimited domains. The top-tier Business plan ( starting at $ 16.95 per calendar month, or $ 7.95 per month with an annual plan ) includes highly specialized options, such as a toll-free number for your business and a secret SSL ( impregnable socket layer ) security. HostGator ‘s ample shared host packages offer unlimited repositing, electronic mail, and monthly databases that give occupation batch of board to grow. In short, it ‘s the best service we ‘ve reviewed for shared host packages. As a resultant role, HostGator is our Editors ‘ Choice cream for shared web hosting services .
VPS Web Hosting
virtual secret waiter ( VPS ) host is for people who want more server horsepower than what shared hosting offers. VPS hosting besides sees multiple sites living on a server, though far fewer in number than what you ‘ll find on a shared host waiter. You ‘ll pay more for a VPS server, but you get more server power in return. HostGator offers three, Linux-based VPS host tiers. If you need more might, expect high traffic volumes, or have specific submission requirements that prevent you from using shared servers ( but you do n’t want to pay dedicated waiter prices ), these are good options to consider. The most basic VPS plan, snappish 2000 ( starting at $ 29.95 per calendar month, or $ 23.95 per calendar month with an annual commitment ), offers 2GB of RAM, 120GB of SSD disk outer space, and inexhaustible electronic mail and monthly data transfers. The mid-tier dapper 4000 software ( starting at $ 59.95 per month, or $ 34.95 per calendar month with an annual plan ), builds upon Snappy with 4GB of RAM and 165GB of SSD storage. The most advance plan, dapper 8000 ( starting at $ 119.95 per month, or $ 59.95 per month with an annual batch ), offers 8GB of RAM and 240GB of SSD repositing. The plans are flexible, but not quite adenine well rounded as Hostwinds, our Editors ‘ Choice pick for VPS host. Hostwinds has wallet-friendly, all-around VPS offerings that start at $ 16.99 per calendar month for 1GB of RAM, 30GB of magnetic disk space, 1TB of monthly data transfers, and unlimited e-mail. Plans scale up to $ 574 per month for 96GB of RAM, 750GB of disk outer space, 9TB of monthly data transfers, and unlimited electronic mail. Hostwinds ‘ VPS plans besides have a Windows manoeuver system option, which is something that HostGator does n’t offer .
Dedicated Web Hosting
Dedicated host is a knock-down form of vane host that sees your locate existing on a server all by itself. As a leave, this expensive host is besides the most herculean. If you expect lots of dealings, it ‘s what should world power your web site. HostGator ‘s dedicated server packages begin with the Value grade ( starting at $ 189 per month, or $ 109 per month with an annual design ). With Value, you get 8GB of RAM, 1TB of HDD storage, and outright electronic mail and monthly data transfers. Building upon Value is Power Server ( starting at $ 249 per month, or $ 139 per calendar month with an annual plan ), which includes 16GB of RAM and 2TB of HDD memory ( or 512GB of SSD memory ). The high-end Enterprise Server ( starting at $ 289 per calendar month, or $ 159 per month with an annual plan ) contains 30GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage. HostGator ‘s dedicate servers come in both Linux and Windows flavors, which is n’t a banal as you might think ; Linux tends to dominate the field. In fact, HostGator is one of the few network hosts we ‘ve tested that scored well and offers both operating systems. even DreamHost, one of our darling host services, lacks Windows-based dedicate servers. That said, Hostgator is n’t the Editors ‘ Choice picking for dedicate host. That deed goes to AccuWeb. AccuWeb has an impressive feature set. Its dedicate host packages ( starting at $ 105 per month ) can be outfitted with up to 2TB of storage, a whopping 512GB of RAM, and 50TB of monthly data transfers. The servers come in either Linux or Windows flavors, besides. still, HostGator ‘s dedicate host offerings are nothing to sneeze at. Check them out if you ‘re in need of give hosting with high-capacity SSD storage .
Cloud Web Hosting
HostGator, like the many other web hosts that PCMag has reviewed over the years, besides offers defile host. With cloud host, the resources that your site needs to operate are shared across multiple servers. The benefits ? You can scale resources in real fourth dimension, as your site is n’t limited to physical server constraints. HostGator ‘s overcast host service—unlike that of DreamHost, the category ‘s co-Editors ‘ Choice—is only available via the Linux platform ; if you want the Windows operate system, you must look elsewhere. hush, HostGator has attractive cloud host plans that are worth your consideration. The Cloud Hatchling plan ( starting at $ 12.95 per calendar month, or $ 7.95 per year with an annual plan ) comes with 2GB RAM, and outright electronic mail, monthly datum transfers, and storehouse. From there, Cloud Baby ( starting at $ 13.95 per month, or $ 9.95 per calendar month with an annual plan ) adds outright domains, and ups the RAM to 4GB. At the exceed of the offerings is Cloud Business ( starting at $ 19.95 per calendar month, or $ 11.95 per calendar month with an annual plan ), which includes 6GB of RAM and a consecrated IP address. 1 & 1 Ionos, the other co-Editors ‘ Choice pick for cloud host, is designed for enterprise-level businesses. You ‘ll find 16-core CPUs, servers with 48GB of RAM, and other high-end specification. You can greatly customize your software, besides. Please read that inspection for in-depth details .
WordPress Web Hosting
HostGator lets you install the WordPress capacity management system ( CMS ) onto any of its servers, but the network host besides offers three tiers of pre-installed, managed WordPress web host : Starter, Standard, and Business. Starter ( starting at $ 14.95 per month, or $ 7.95 per calendar month with an annual plan ) offers 100,000 visits per month, the ability to host fair one WordPress site, 50GB of storage, and unlimited electronic mail. Standard ( starting at $ 20.95, or $ 9.95 per calendar month with an annual plan ) up things to two WordPress sites, 200,000 monthly visits, and 150GB of harrow space. Business ( starting at $ 27.95 per month, or $ 11.95 with an annual plan ) grants three WordPress sites, 500,000 monthly visits, and unlimited storage. All plans come with page hoard and an optimize WordPress host environment. That said, A2, Bluehost, and WP Engine —our co-Editors ‘ Choice picks for WordPress hosting—top HostGator with slenderly more robust packages. Please check out those reviews for a deep dive into their WordPress offerings. WordPress is easy to set up on HostGator even if you do n’t go the managed-WordPress route. The customer portal has an option called Quick Links that opens a dedicate interface for installing third-party applications. There ‘s besides a handy shortcut called Get Started With WordPress Today that leads to the Quick Links interface. I set the way to my web log ‘s facility, entered the username for the WordPress administrator history, and clicked on the install button. ampere easy as that, my web site was up and running. HostGator besides automatically installed the WP-Super-Cache circuit board to help improve blog performance. If you ‘re looking for even more plug-ins to give your site a boost, check out The Best WordPress circuit board for Supercharging Your Website. In testing, the action of setting up my WordPress site was easy, because the database was already there. There was besides a link to the Mojo Marketplace under WordPress services, with premium add-ons and services for my web log. HostGator itself lacks a blog-import button, but WordPress makes the spell process easy adequate .
Building a HostGator-Powered Website
It ‘s a good thing HostGator sends a getting-started e-mail with links to all the resources you ‘ll need to create a web site, because the interface takes a little getting used to. HostGator has a Billing Login link at the circus tent of its site that leads to the customer portal, where all the payment information, details about your plan, and options to purchase add-ons are listed. This foliate has tabs across the top for history and domain management. The Hosting pill is where you see the actual control jury with site-building tools, applications, web site statistics, and more. The introductory e-mail besides has a aim yoke for the control dialog box, but it looks different from what you ‘d get through the Hosting pill, making the know a bit confusing at foremost. HostGator has several options for building a web site, including HostGator ‘s excellent, simple-to-use Gator web site builder. The drag-and-drop functionality let me promptly build an attractive page dispatch with slideshows, contact forms, social media links, and more in no time. You can besides install WordPress or other CMS platforms such as Drupal, b2evolutions, Joomla, Mambo, and Tiki, to name a few. A File Manager cock lets you manually upload files to the server to create the web site that means. The cock is better than a basic FTP customer, because you can edit the files directly or use a built-in HTML editor. HostGator blesses you with a barren sphere name if you sign up for at least 12 months of cloud, shared, or WordPress hosting—dedicated and VPS hosting do not qualify. That ‘s not an unusual have in the web hosting space, but it is a decent touch. There are two caveats, however. The no-cost period lasts for one class, and your hope domain must end in either the .com, .org, or .net extensions. If you already own a world list ending in one of the aforesaid extensions, HostGator will transfer it to a server free of tear. If you want to know more about site build up, check out The Best Courses for Learning How to Build Websites and How to Create a Blog .
Reseller Web Hosting
If you ‘re looking to get into the network host business, but you do n’t want to deal with infrastructure matters, check out HostGator ‘s reseller host packages. The plans, starting at $ 19.95 per month, include outright e-mail across the board. The Aluminum, Copper, and Silver plans are of both the Linux and Windows kind, but HostGator does n’t supply them with unlimited storage and monthly data transfers at each tier, as the reseller Editors ‘ Choice pick Hostwinds does with its offerings. On the top, HostGator lets you apply your own post to the servers you rent, and it besides supplies 24/7 technical school support. As mentioned, HostGator offers Mojo Marketplace, which has e-mail commercialize tools such as DaDa Mail ( starting at $ 34.95 per year ), software that lets you send e-mail newsletters to a subscriber list. quick Links besides has e-commerce packages, including Magento, phpCOIN, SugarCRM, and ZenCart. I installed Magento, which provides a drag-and-drop interface to create an attractive on-line memory. Setting up denounce with the new cock is aboveboard and easy. You select a root, add products, price, and images, and pick your choose payment and ship methods. If you plan on using your web site to sell products, HostGator offers many excellent options.
Read more: Guide:Class setups – Terraria Wiki
Excellent Uptime and Customer Service
I used a website-monitoring cock to track our HostGator-hosted test site ‘s uptime over a 14-day menstruation. Every 15 minutes, the joyride pings my web site and sends me an e-mail if it is ineffective to contact the web site for at least 1 minute. The testing data reveals that HostGator is unusually stable ; in fact, it did n’t go down once in the two-week quiz period. You should n’t have to worry about your HostGator locate going down for extend periods of time. HostGator has 24/7 telephone defend and live web chat corroborate. I placed a call on a weekday dawn and spoke to a customer service rep less than a hour by and by. I asked about the different host tiers, and experienced excellent customer support. The rep was friendly and knowing. Like many other world wide web hosts, HostGator has a money-back guarantee. however, it does better than most of its competitors by offering a 45-day refund window ( most web hosts top out at 30 days ). That said, DreamHost, another Editors ‘ Choice choice, is evening more generous with its impressive 97-day guarantee .
Dedicated to Hosting
Featuring numerous hosting types, excellent customer service, terrific uptime, and a drawn-out money-back guarantee, HostGator comes packed with the tools you need to launch a personal- or business-related website—provided that a Windows-powered server is n’t a top precedence. If you need to build atop the Windows Server operating system, AccuWeb ( besides an Editors ‘ Choice pick ) will suit you well. For more on world wide web host, point your browser toward 10 easily But Powerful SEO Tips to Boost Traffic to Your Website and How to Create a Website .
HostGator Web Hosting
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The Bottom Line
HostGator is an excellent web hosting service that offers an array of brawny tools, including a terrific web site builder, for bloggers and small businesses .
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