If you desire a highly effective and versatile web hosting service, Hostwinds must be in your radar. Hostwinds presents an array of shared, digital non-public server (VPS), devoted, cloud, WordPress, and reseller internet hosting packages designed to enchantment to each mom-and-pop store homeowners and greater companies. In reality, Hostwinds’ feature-packed VPS and reseller choices make it an Editors’ Choice in these classes. Overall, Hostwinds is without doubt one of the greatest net hosts we have reviewed.
Shared Hosting
If your web site would not require high-end servers to stick with it and working, shared internet hosting could also be proper up your alley. The low-cost web hosting locations your web site on a server with different web sites, thus sharing system assets. You pay much less cash on this roommate state of affairs, however huge site visitors spikes may trigger your web site to decelerate—and even unavailable for a while. Hosts do their greatest to forestall this from taking place, however bear in mind that that is the shared internet hosting tradeoff.
Hostwinds presents engaging, wallet-friendly Linux-based shared hosting plans that are available in three flavors: Basic, Advanced, and Ultimate. Unfortunately, Hostwinds lacks Windows-based plans. Its costs have barely elevated because the final time we reviewed Hostwinds, however they’re nonetheless comparatively low general. Basic (beginning at $8.99 per thirty days) presents limitless month-to-month information transfers, limitless storage, a free devoted IP tackle, and the power to host a single area. Advanced (beginning at $10.99 per thirty days) builds on Basic by letting you host as much as six domains. Ultimate (beginning at $12.99 per thirty days) provides the power to host a limiteless variety of domains. Unless you are on a decent price range, there’s not a lot motive to pick something apart from the Ultimate plan in order for you a Hostwinds shared internet hosting package deal that gives room to develop. As with different internet hosting companies, Hostwinds tosses reductions your approach in case you join a number of months or years.
HostGator, our Editors’ Choice for shared internet hosting, offers small- and medium-sized companies much more room to increase their net presences. Its Hatchling plan (beginning at $10.95 per thirty days) presents limitless disk area, bandwidth, databases, and e mail addresses, plus help for one area and third-party purposes, equivalent to content material administration methods and e-commerce platforms. HostGator’s Baby plan (beginning at $11.95 per thirty days) builds on Hatchling’s providing by including limitless domains. The top-tier Business plan (beginning at $16.95 per thirty days) additionally consists of extremely specialised choices, equivalent to a free devoted IP and a safe socket layer (SSL) certificates improve. HostGator additionally lets you choose Linux- or Windows-based server choices. If you might want to run Microsoft-specific scripts, you will admire the Windows choice. For its flexibility, HostGator is the class’s prime canine.
VPS Hosting
VPS internet hosting is for individuals who wish to construct their websites on servers that provide extra energy than what shared internet hosting supplies. With VPS internet hosting, your web site nonetheless shares server area, however with far fewer different websites gobbling up assets. VPS internet hosting prices more cash than shared internet hosting, however it’s well worth the funding in case you count on a number of site visitors. VPS websites additionally are typically safer as a result of a few of their assets are remoted by virtualization.
If you are in search of VPS hosting, Hostwinds has you coated, with 4 tiers every of fully-managed Linux- and Windows-based plans. The lowest tier of managed Linux VPS internet hosting (beginning at $10.99 per thirty days) presents 1GB of RAM, one CPU core, 30GB of SSD disk area, and 1TB of month-to-month information transfers, whereas the upper-end (beginning at $50.99 per thirty days) offers customers entry to 2 CPU cores, 6GB of RAM, 100GB of SSD disk area, and 2TB of month-to-month information transfers. Windows VPS internet hosting has the identical vary by way of {hardware} functionality, however with elevated pricing (from $16.99 per thirty days, as much as $56.99 per thirty days).
There’s additionally quite a few unmanaged internet hosting plans with each Linux and Windows choices. For instance, the bottom tier of unmanaged Linux VPS begins at simply $4.99 per thirty days (for 1GB of RAM, 30GB of disk area, 1TB month-to-month information transfers, and limitless e mail), whereas the tenth tier scales as much as $328.99 per thirty days (for 16 CPU cores, 96GB of RAM, 750GB of disk area, 9TB month-to-month information transfers, and limitless e mail). The unmanaged Windows VPS plans begin at $10.99 per thirty days (for 1GB of RAM, 30GB of disk area, 1TB month-to-month information transfers, and limitless e mail) and maxes out at a whopping $376.99 per thirty days (16 CPU cores, 96GB of RAM, 750GB of disk area, 9TB month-to-month information transfers, and limitless e mail). In brief, Hostwinds has versatile, highly effective VPS plans that outshine these of most of its rivals. As a end result, Hostwinds is the PCMag Editors’ Choice for digital non-public server internet hosting.
Dedicated Hosting
Hostwinds offers you a selection of customizable or prefab Linux- or Windows-based dedicated servers. Dedicated internet hosting is highly effective internet hosting that locations your web site on a server all by itself. As a end result, your web site has great server assets to attract from in order that it could actually stand up to excessive site visitors volumes.
Both prefab and customizable server costs begin at $75 per thirty days, however both sort of server can price rather more, relying on the way you configure them. You can outfit the configurable servers with as much as 3TB of arduous drive storage or 1TB of SSD storage (per drive bay, with a most of 4 drives relying in your server choice), 96GB of RAM, and limitless in-bound month-to-month information transfers. Outbound information transfers begin at 10TB, with a further scaling price of as much as $750 for unmetered outbound site visitors. If you max out every little thing, you may simply spend almost $1,500 per thirty days. Hostwinds’ devoted server choices are fairly good.
Hostwinds’ devoted packages fall a hair behind what AccuWeb presents, nevertheless. Regardless of the plan you begin with, you possibly can outfit AccuWeb’s devoted servers with as much as 512GB of reminiscence, 8TB of storage, and 50TB of month-to-month information transfers. As a end result, AccuWeb Hosting’s devoted internet hosting plans surpass Hostwinds, the previous class champ. AccuWeb now reigns because the Editors’ Choice for devoted internet hosting.
WordPress Hosting
If you fancy utilizing the WordPress content material administration system to construct your web site, you will be pleased to study you could set up it on common Hostwinds servers, in addition to the corporate’s WordPress optimized servers. Hostwinds’ WordPress plans begin at $8.99 per thirty days for one hosted area and limitless storage and month-to-month information transfers (its top-tier, $12.99-per-month Ultimate plan provides limitless domains). That stated, for WordPress internet hosting with additional punch, we advise trying out A2, the class’s Editors’ Choice.
The Linux-based A2 presents 4 wonderful WordPress internet hosting tiers, beginning at $2.99 per thirty days, and presents limitless storage and month-to-month information transfers from the $4.99 per thirty days tier on up. The plans prime out with the $43.99 per thirty days Managed package deal that features limitless databases and web sites. You additionally get a free SSL certificates throughout the board, too. For extra on the fantastically widespread content material administration system, you must learn How to Get Started With WordPress.
Cloud Hosting
Hostwinds additionally presents cloud internet hosting, a model of internet hosting that spreads CPU, RAM, and different assets throughout a number of servers. It’s fairly in contrast to conventional internet hosting, which pulls energy from a single server. The benefit is that your web site is not tied to a single server’s assets.
Hostwinds’ cloud internet hosting packages begin at $4.99 per thirty days for a skimpy 1GB of RAM, a single CPU core, and 1TB of month-to-month information transfers. The plans prime out at a hefty $328.99 per thirty days for 96GB of RAM, sixteen CPU cores, 750GB of storage, and 9TB of month-to-month information transfers.
These are stable choices, however DreamHost and 1&1 Ionos stay the class’s co-Editors’ Choice picks. DreamHost, which caters extra towards small companies, has packages begin at $4.50 per thirty days (for 512MB of RAM, 100GB of storage, and limitless month-to-month information transfers) and prime out at $48 per thirty days (for 4 CPU cores, 8GB of RAM, 80GB of SSD storage, and limitless month-to-month information transfers). 1&1 Ionos, however, has extremely highly effective cloud internet hosting packages that favor enterprise-level shoppers. Please learn that assessment for 1&1 Ionos’ many cloud internet hosting choices.
Reseller Hosting
If you are seeking to get into the internet hosting enterprise for your self, however you do not wish to take care of managing servers and different infrastructure issues, try Hostwinds’ wonderful reseller hosting packages. With reseller internet hosting, you lease server area from a longtime participant and resell it to your personal clients.
Hostwind’s reseller plans mirror its shared internet hosting plans, beginning at $8.99 per thirty days for limitless e mail, storage, and information transfers. On supply are devoted and VPS packages of each the Linux and Windows selection, in addition to shared internet hosting, which is proscribed to Linux. The servers have the identical RAM and storage quantities as people who Hostwinds provides immediately, which isn’t at all times the case. Hostwinds additionally permits you to apply your personal branding to the servers you lease, and it provides 24/7 tech help, too.
Rivals net hosts, equivalent to A2, GoDaddy, and HostGator, present high quality reseller choices, too, however Hostwinds goes the additional mile with stacked specs in quite a lot of server classes. As a end result, Hostwinds is the Editors’ Choice for reseller internet hosting.
Building a Hostwinds Website
The website builder that is included with Hostwinds’ internet hosting packages is Weebly. The web site builder comes care of e-commerce platform Square, and presents approach to rapidly create an internet site, weblog, or on-line retailer. There are are a whole lot of themes and kinds to select from on your deliberate web site. Weebly’s builder offers customers drag and drop web site components, together with textual content, photos, dividers, movies, maps, and extra. Weebly additionally optimizes you web site for desktop and cellular configurations, making it straightforward to design a web site that anybody can browse.
E-Commerce and Security
Hostwinds’ Softaculous library accommodates the Magento ecommerce app. We used Magento to create a gorgeous retailer, utilizing its drag-and-drop retailer builder. Please learn our Magento assessment for an in-depth have a look at this open-source procuring cart.
Hostwinds presents Website Monitoring for its shared and reseller plans, monitoring your web site across the clock. It robotically submits a assist ticket in your behalf in case your web site experiences downtime. You can even add the $5.00 per yr ID Protection, which masks your title and tackle within the Whois registry.
Excellent Uptime
Website uptime is a particularly necessary a part of the internet hosting expertise. If your web site is down, shoppers or clients will probably be unable to seek out you or entry your services or products—and they won’t come again. Fortunately, Hostwinds is extraordinarily reliable.
For this testing, we use an internet site monitoring device to trace our take a look at websites’ uptimes. Every quarter-hour, the device pings our web site and sends us an e mail whether it is unable to contact the location for longer than one minute. In our newest assessments, Hostwinds went down zero instances in the course of the 14-day take a look at interval. It proved way more reliable than TMDHosting’s unreliable internet hosting service.
Good Customer Service, Short Refund Window
Hostwinds presents 24/7 cellphone, net chat, and ticket-based buyer help. We examined the chat help on a weekday night, and we by no means needed to wait greater than a minute earlier than a Hostwinds consultant responded to my queries. The individual on the opposite facet of the chat window precisely defined the variations between shared and VPS internet hosting to me.
We additionally referred to as buyer help throughout a weeknight to find out about Hostwinds’ Minecraft internet hosting. The pleasant consultant gave us the small print in a approach that was straightforward to grasp. Overall, we loved the Hostwinds’ buyer help expertise.
Hostwinds used to have a powerful 60-day, money-back assure—not anymore. Instead, the corporate presents refunds requested inside 72 hours of an order buy. That’s falls in need of most corporations’ 30-day, money-back ensures. That brief window would not offer you a lot time to determine if you wish to follow the corporate. In addition, the cancel button is not straightforward to seek out. If you determine to stop Hostwinds, it’s essential to dig by way of the account administration part.
The Way the Winds Blow
Despite its brief refund window, Hostwinds stays among the best internet hosting companies. It boasts satisfying customer support, dependable uptime, and attractively priced internet hosting tiers that enchantment to a variety of individuals and firms. More importantly, Hostwinds stands tall because the Editors’ Choice decide within the reseller and VPS subcategories. If you need reliable, across-the-board Windows internet hosting (one thing that Hostwinds lacks), the superb AccuWeb will serve you effectively.
For extra on getting began on-line, learn our tips about how to create a website. You may also wish to try our story on how to register a domain name for your website.
The Bottom Line
Hostwinds presents strong instruments that will help you construct engaging, useful web sites. It’s a best choice general, with stellar reseller and VPS internet hosting plans for small and huge companies.
