SiteGround Web Hosting Review | PCMag

There are many variables to contemplate once you’re deciding on a web hosting service. For instance, there are options that enchantment to a basic buyer base (comparable to pricing and storage), in addition to options which might be extra enterprise targeted (comparable to e-commerce and server location). SiteFloor addresses all of those points, and does so nicely. It provides an honest variety of internet hosting varieties, numerous performance-enhancing instruments, and wonderful customer support at an inexpensive worth. Although SiteFloor lacks VPS, devoted, and Windows servers, it is a high quality website hosting service for each people and small companies.

Shared Web Hosting

If you are concerned about low-cost web hosting, shared internet hosting is the tier you need to examine. With shared internet hosting, a number of web sites bunk collectively on a single server, thus reducing the general price. That stated, the a number of websites actually share the server’s computing energy, which implies your web site’s efficiency could possibly be negatively impacted if one other bunk-mate has an enormous site visitors surge from a Reddit hit.

SiteFloor, like a couple of different net hosts, permits you to select which knowledge heart you need to host your web site: United States (Chicago), Europe (Amsterdam, Milan, Germany), Asia-Pacific (Singapore), United Kingdom (London), and Australia (Sydney). If you’re involved about knowledge privateness or retention legal guidelines, you’ll be able to select a European knowledge heart. If lots of your customers are primarily based in Asia, you’ll be able to select to make use of an Asia-Pacific knowledge heart. Or you’ll be able to simply default to a US server. I can not think about numerous companies will want this function, nevertheless it’s a surprisingly superior possibility for such a newbie-focused supplier.

Each SiteFloor plan has a comparatively excessive month-to-month worth, however you’ll be able to drive the price down utilizing introductory offers and annual sign-ups. Here’s how they appear.

The BeginUp plan (beginning at $14.99 per 30 days) consists of one web site, 10GB of storage, community site visitors appropriate for roughly 10,000 guests a month, a one-year free Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates, day by day knowledge backups, limitless e-mail, and help for CloudFlare (extra on this later) and managed WordPress.

The GrowBig plan (beginning at $24.99 per 30 days) builds upon the bottom plan. It has every thing included in that tier, plus help for limitless web sites, limitless databases, 20GB of storage, web site staging, and community site visitors appropriate for about 25,000 visits a month.

The GoGeek plan (beginning at $39.99 per 30 days) plan is meant for still-larger websites. It takes GrowBig to the following degree by together with 40GB of storage, community site visitors “appropriate” for about 100,000 visits a month, precedence help, white-label help, and a Git repository.

Note that SiteFloor reductions BeginUp, GrowBig, and GoGeek to $6.99 per 30 days, $9.99 per 30 days, and $14.99 per 30 days, respectively, for individuals signing up for brand spanking new annual plans. In addition, SiteFloor states that it may well deal with extra guests than the listed limits, however solely as one-time occurrences (comparable to when your weblog lands a Reddit hit) per 30 days. I give props to SiteFloor for its limitation transparency; most net hosts, even those that boast “limitless” guests and/or knowledge, have some site visitors restrictions buried of their phrases of service.

SiteFloor has strong shared internet hosting plans, however they don’t seem to be as sturdy as HostGators‘ choices. The Editors’ Choice for shared net companies matches SiteFloor’s specs, plus has the choice for customers to pick a Windows-based server (SiteFloor solely provides Linux-based shared servers). Companies which might be deeply invested in Microsoft’s net ecosystem will discover HostGator’s Windows servers enticing.

Cloud, not VPS

SiteFloor not has VPS hosting, however boasts cloud internet hosting. The Linux-based platform, which attracts assets from a number of servers, is designed to auto-scale with site visitors surges, in order that your web site will not go down because of an absence of energy.

The 4 Cloud Hosting plans begin at $80 per 30 days for 4GB of RAM, 40GB of storage, and 5TB of month-to-month knowledge transfers, and max out at $240 per 30 days for 10GB of RAM, 120GB of storage, and 5TB of month-to-month knowledge transfers. There’s numerous room for development. You may customise your Cloud Hosting plan do you have to want extra energy. They additionally embody a free, one-year SSL certificates. SiteFloor’s cloud internet hosting plans, in addition to its shared GrowBog and GoGeek packages, have a cool Collaborator function that lets customers who do not want entry to a web site’s administration instruments (suppose freelancers) to add and create content material.

Still, DreamHost stays our co-Editors’ alternative for cloud internet hosting service, together with the enterprise-friendly 1&1 Ionos . DreamHost’s Linux-or-Windows-based packages begin at $4.50 per 30 days (for 512MB of RAM, 100GB of storage, and limitless month-to-month knowledge transfers) and high out at $48 per 30 days (for 4 CPU cores, 8GB of RAM, 100GB of storage, and limitless month-to-month knowledge transfers). Ionos, then again, has prorated plans, customized internet hosting packages, and massive specs for giant companies.

If you are within the hunt for conventional VPS internet hosting, try Hostwinds, the class’s Editors’ Choice, which provides a wonderful digital non-public server package deal.

No Dedicated Web Hosting

SiteFloor additionally lacks a dedicated hosting tier. If you are on the lookout for take internet hosting sort, we propose looking at AccuWeb, PCMag’s Editors’ Choice for devoted website hosting. It not solely has a alternative of Linux and Windows working techniques, but in addition tops out at 512GB of RAM, 2TB of storage, and 20TB of month-to-month knowledge transfers.

WordPress Web Hosting

Like lots of its opponents, SiteFloor provides WordPress hosting. In reality, SiteFloor oversees your set up with optimized managed WordPress internet hosting, a service that grants your web site enhanced safety, automated day by day backups, web page caching, staging, and automated content material administration system updates. It additionally provides one-click set up and a free account switch. SiteFloor not provides a free area title, nevertheless it provides substantial reductions for registration. The plans are much like the corporate’s shared internet hosting plans with reference to cost. Your choices are to join one-, two-, or three-year contracts.

SiteFloor’s base WordPress tier, BeginUp ($9.95 per 30 days), provides a skimpy 10GB of storage, a mere 10,000 month-to-month guests, and the flexibility to host only one WordPress web site. GrowBig ($14.95 per 30 days) ups the storage to 20GB and month-to-month guests to 25,000, whereas letting you host limitless WordPress websites. The top-level plan, GoGeek ($29.95 per 30 days), builds upon GrowBig with its 30GB of storage and 100,000 month-to-month guests. All plans include limitless e-mail and month-to-month knowledge transfers. SiteFloor additionally provides quite a few free WordPress themes. SiteFloor consists of many helpful in-house instruments for constructing your WordPress web site: WP Migrator, SG Optimizer, and SuperCacher.

On the opposite hand, A2, the Linux-based PCMag Editors’ Choice for WordPress internet hosting, has no such customer caps. Each of its plans, beginning with the $7.99 per 30 days Lite plan, consists of limitless storage and month-to-month knowledge transfers. The top-tier Managed plan ($75.48 per 30 days) provides web site staging so you’ll be able to experiment with web site modifications earlier than they go stay, limitless web sites, and limitless databases.

Siteground provides a handful of WordPress plug-ins that enhance the site-creation expertise. WP Starter walks you thru curated themes and the commonest web site options. It’s designed so you’ll be able to select precisely what you want and launch your web site extra rapidly. WP Migrator, the corporate’s migration device, helps switch knowledge from an outdated web site to your new Siteground-powered web site. And SG Optimizer, which works as well as with SuperCacher, enhances your web site’s efficiency by optimizing CSS, photographs, javascript, and different website hosting tech.

Once you are logged into SiteFloor’s WordPress setup, you’ll be able to create posts, pages, and galleries as you’ll with every other self-hosted WordPress web site. If you need to arrange a non-managed WordPress web site, you are able to do that, too. I clicked on the WordPress icon within the superior management panel to go to the WordPress web page in Softaculous, SiteFloor’s third-party software library. It launched a wizard that walked me by means of the set up. SiteFloor additionally let me allow the Clef plug-in, which provides customers the flexibility to log in to WordPress with their telephones as a substitute of a username and password. I’m stunned and happy to see these superior options right here.

Revamped Reseller Web Hosting

SiteFloor not provides standalone reseller internet hosting packages. Instead, the corporate lets GoGeek and Cloud internet hosting subscribers give purchasers entry to their web site administration instruments utilizing the Client white-label possibility. In addition, Cloud plans let customers create customized internet hosting packages for every shopper relying on the wanted assets. The reseller handles the internet hosting help and billing, and expenses purchasers.

If you are on the lookout for extra a extra sturdy reseller providing, Hostwinds goes the additional mile with extra beneficiant specs in a wide range of server classes. As a outcome, Hostwinds is the Editors’ Choice for reseller hosting.

Setting Up a Website

SiteFloor leverages Weebly as its website builder of alternative. It’s a great transfer, as Weebly let me make enticing net pages with out sacrificing a lot of my time. Weebly made it easy so as to add textual content, photographs, and video to my check pages. For extra data on this straightforward web site builder, please read our Weebly review.

SiteFloor additionally provides WordPress Starter, an easy-to-use content material administration system that has a curated choice of free themes and plug-ins. It’s designed to get your private or enterprise web site on-line as rapidly as doable.

E-Commerce and SSL

Instead of utilizing Weebly, I may have additionally arrange my web site from the get-go with e-commerce software, comparable to PrestaShop, CS-Cart, or Magento. The management panel has the icons for these platforms beneath AutoInstallers, making them straightforward to search out. You may go to Softaculous and decide one of many 30 accessible choices, together with Zen Cart, ShoWare, OpenCart, and Axis, to call a couple of.

I used Magento to create a pretty retailer utilizing its drag-and-drop retailer builder. If you solely want a purchasing cart, that is no downside, or if you wish to focus solely on invoicing and billing, there may be an app for that, too.

If you intend to promote merchandise on-line, you will desire a safe socket-layer (SSL) certificates. The net host consists of them without spending a dime in all plans above the shared BeginUp tier. Siteground additionally provides Wildcard, a premium SSL certificates that secures your top-level area, in addition to a vast variety of subdomains. Wildcard is bundled as a free, one-year bonus function once you join the GrowBig or GoGeek packages. Otherwise, it is $60 per yr.

Security Features

SiteFloor provides a number of safety choices, together with the SG Site Scanner to let you realize in case your web site is beneath assault, antispam instruments SpamAssassin and SpamExperts, hotlink safety, and IP deal with blocklists. It scans all of the hyperlinks in your homepage to be sure that they’re clear.

SiteFloor additionally provides an attention-grabbing function known as Leech Protect, which lets directors stop customers from giving out or publicly posting their passwords to parts of the location. I additionally like the actual fact SiteFloor integrates with the CloudFlare content material supply community (CDN) service for higher efficiency and safety. While any web site proprietor can simply join with CloudFlare, the combination (accessible without spending a dime!) means extra individuals who had no thought this was an possibility at the moment are in a position to profit.

Another useful device is SiteTest. This automated software program scanning device checks your web site to see if there may be any malware within the code or on the location. Running it periodically is a good suggestion, since the very last thing you need to see in your e-mail inbox are messages from irate customers saying that visiting your web site contaminated their computer systems. SiteFloor additionally has free day by day backups to safeguard your knowledge.

Excellent Uptime

Website uptime is among the most vital elements of a internet hosting service. If your web site is down, purchasers or clients can be unable to search out you or entry your services or products.

For this testing, I take advantage of an internet site monitoring device to trace my check websites’ uptime over a two-week interval. Every quarter-hour, the device pings my web site and sends me an alert whether it is unable to contact the location for no less than one minute. The knowledge revealed that SiteFloor is steady; our check web site did not go down as soon as throughout the two-week commentary interval.

Customer Service

SiteFloor says its primary focus is on customer support, and it reveals within the service’s many wizards, knowledgebase articles, and tutorials. Customer help is accessible by means of a ticket-based system, stay chat, and 24/7 phone help.

I examined SiteFloor’s on-line chat and am amazed at how rapidly somebody got here to my assist. I used to be related to a chat consultant in a couple of seconds. I requested in regards to the variations between SiteFloor’s cloud internet hosting and devoted internet hosting, and acquired a immediate and clear response.

I additionally known as the cellphone quantity on a weekday morning to ask a consultant about the right way to import my WordPress.com setup into SiteFloor. The consultant patiently and efficiently walked me by means of the method.

SiteFloor lets customers cancel inside 30 days of when their bank card was charged. It’s tolerable, however I favor DreamHost’s prolonged, 97-day money-back assure.

For Beginners, Businesses, and Beginner Businesses

SiteFloor is clearly positioning itself as a internet hosting supplier for newbies, and particularly small enterprise newbies. SiteFloor’s companies—from its options to help assets—are designed for the mom-and-pop shops, sole proprietors, and unbiased companies that do not have numerous design time or superior net abilities. Furthermore, when you aren’t anticipating a flood of customers to your web site every day, you do not actually care about limitless storage or limitless month-to-month knowledge transfers, so SiteFloor’s limitations in these regards may not trouble you.

Additionally, SiteFloor’s stunning variety of safety features additionally signifies that it has small companies in thoughts. Small companies are extremely weak to web site assaults, and likelihood is they aren’t going to put money into a web site scanner to search for malware or a cloud supplier to guard them from a denial-of-service assault. The indisputable fact that SiteFloor does it for them makes it a strong pal for small companies simply beginning out. Still, when you want better storage and bandwidth allotments, or high-powered VPS or devoted internet hosting, think about shifting to Editors’ Choices Dreamhost, HostGator, Hostwinds, or Liquid Web for extra superior options and beefed-up storage.

For extra on getting began on-line, learn our tips about how to create a website. You may also need to try our story on how to register a domain name for your website.