HostGator web hosting review | IT PRO

HostGator has lengthy been one of many world’s greatest web hosting suppliers, and its Gator web site builder ranks among the many greatest web site builders. It presents a number of web hosting packages focused at novices and people getting into the house for the primary time, and at first look, it appears to be a wonderful choice. But as you will note in our HostGator review, issues aren’t all the time fairly nearly as good as they appear.

HostGator review: Snapshot

Despite being one of many greatest names within the web hosting world, HostGator simply doesn’t stack up in opposition to the competitors. It solely presents easy shared, VPS, and devoted server hosting choices, and people aren’t the one downsides. 

For instance, the corporate offers little details about its safety practices, which does little to instil confidence in its providers. Its worth construction is misleading, and there are too many upsells for consolation. On high of this, HostGator’s efficiency isn’t on par with extra dependable alternate options like Hostinger. 

On the plus aspect, HostGator does boast a beginner-friendly interface, first rate customer support, and a number of notable options. But then once more, so do Hostinger and Bluehost, and so they stand out as a lot better choices for these beginning their first web site.

Score: 3.5/5

Read on for the total HostGator review.

HostGator’s opponents

How does HostGator evaluate to its most important opponents?

HostGator: Key options

HostGator could rely closely on its repute to attract new prospects, however regardless of its common safety, lack of a staging atmosphere, and absent server-side caching system, it boasts numerous neat options.

For starters, the native Gator Builder web site builder is among the many greatest we’ve seen. It permits pixel-perfect drag-and-drop constructing, which makes it an ideal choice for these on the lookout for superior design flexibility. 

All shared hosting plans include fundamental entry to the Gator Builder, which incorporates assist for as much as six pages, entry to greater than 100 templates, and a number of different instruments. Note that you’ll have to pay for a extra advanced website builder plan if you want to create a bigger website. 

Another enticing characteristic is the HostGator Marketplace, which comprises a number of third-party apps and integrations. Here, you will see that all the pieces, from search engine optimization instruments to spice up your search engine rankings to integrations with platforms like Office 365 and Constant Contact.

HostGator’s area registration portal can be very helpful, notably for these trying to create a number of web sites. Here, you possibly can register new domains and add them to your administration dashboard. Domains that you simply’ve registered elsewhere may be imported, enabling you to retailer your digital belongings in a single central hub. 

Last, however not least, HostGator’s customer support is great. It presents 24/7 dwell chat and telephone service, and the assist workforce is pleasant and responsive. We spoke with an agent by way of the dwell chat interface, receiving a solution to our questions inside minutes.

HostGator: What’s new in 2022?

HostGator isn’t within the behavior of releasing common product updates. Of course, it makes use of the newest server administration software program and often updates this, however its shared hosting merchandise haven’t modified for a while. 

There was a press launch web page, the place we’d count on the HostGator workforce so as to add common product updates. But this hyperlink now redirects to the homepage, suggesting there haven’t been any notable updates for some time, and it is unclear the place this web page has now gone. 

There’s additionally a HostGator Happenings class on the corporate weblog, however this additionally comprises solely a small variety of entries. The newest notable submit is from February seventeenth 2021, over a 12 months in the past.

HostGator: Pricing

HostGator presents a number of hosting choices which might be typically focused in the direction of these getting into the trade for the primary time. Introductory costs for the three shared hosting plans vary from £2.25 to £4.30 a month, however you’ll have to join a 36-month plan to entry the marketed costs. Month-to-month subscriptions begin at £8.98 a month, and you’ll pay considerably increased costs on the renewal of all 12-month or longer plans. 

There’s the powerful Gator website builder (from £3.15 to £7.56 a month on a three-year plan), which offers all-in-one website creation options. VPS hosting ranges from £24.56 to £98.36 a month, whereas devoted hosting begins at £131.20 a month, and reseller hosting from £24.56 a month. However, the VPS and devoted server choices have restricted configurability, and are considerably underpowered, making them poor choices.

HostGator’s pricing plans

Shared hosting

WordPress hosting

VPS hosting

Dedicated hosting

Reseller hosting

*Introductory costs are quoted, charges will enhance considerably on renewal

Testing HostGator

To check HostGator’s shared hosting, we signed up for a brand new account and created our personal easy WordPress web site. The overwhelming majority of easy websites constructed by these utilizing hosts like HostGator are constructed on WordPress, so this can be a essential check. We additionally monitored the efficiency of our website for a 14-day interval, drawing conclusions concerning the host’s velocity and reliability.

How simple is it to create a WordPress web site with HostGator?

Once you’ve signed up for a brand new HostGator account, it is possible for you to to start creating your new web site virtually instantly. The checkout course of is a bit of deceptive, with quite a few upselling makes an attempt and misleading pricing, but it surely shouldn’t take you various minutes to work by way of it. 

There’s a fast “Install WordPress” hyperlink on the principle HostGator dashboard. This results in the Softaculous one-click installer, which lets you set up WordPress to your hosting account in a matter of minutes. 

The total course of could be very easy and easy, and it is best to be capable of start creating your website as quickly as WordPress is put in. Simply navigate to the WordPress administration dashboard to start.

How does HostGator carry out?

We monitored the efficiency of our HostGator web site for a 14-day interval utilizing Pingdom’s monitoring instruments. The outcomes have been combined.

On the plus aspect, we encountered 99.99% uptime. Over the whole testing interval, our website was solely offline for one minute. This shouldn’t trigger something greater than a minor inconvenience. 

The server response instances weren’t fairly nearly as good. They ranged from 396ms to 560ms, with a mean worth of 464ms. While the low most response time was good to see, the common sits on the decrease finish of the spectrum—most dependable shared hosts have a mean response time someplace within the 200ms to 400ms vary. 

At the identical time, it’s nothing to fret an excessive amount of about.

Alternatives to HostGator

HostGator is clearly one of many world’s hottest web hosting suppliers, however opponents equivalent to Bluehost and Hostinger are worthy of consideration.   

Like HostGator, Bluehost targets these searching for web hosting for the primary time. It’s a extra dependable choice that’s price taking a look at if you’d like a beginner-friendly host with out too many fancy options, but it surely’s not a sophisticated choice. For instance, Bluehost presents no uptime assure, which is uncommon amongst respected hosts. 

However, you should have entry to first rate assist, and costs begin from simply £6.50 a month. In addition, the Bluehost WordPress web site builder and streamlined native administration dashboard are enticing options. However, month-to-month funds aren’t out there with a budget shared hosting plans. Find out extra in our comparability characteristic pitting Bluehost vs HostGator.

For us, Hostinger presents a extremely enticing choice. Prices begin from £9.99 a month, and all customers profit from a set of superior options together with glorious safety and main customer support. All hosting is backed by glorious safety instruments, and the shared plans include the native hPanel management panel, which is arguably even higher than the favored cPanel. 

On the draw back, server assets are fairly restricted with the shared hosting plans, however there’s little else to not like. We’d advocate Hostinger over virtually each different supplier should you’re on the lookout for a price range, beginner-friendly choice.

HostGator’s options in comparison with the competitors

HostGator: Final verdict

HostGator could seem like a dependable and low-cost web hosting supplier on the floor. In precise truth, it’s fairly an costly choice that doesn’t fairly evaluate to the competitors. 

For starters, its worth construction is misleading, and the checkout course of is filled with annoying upselling makes an attempt. You should pay for 3 years upfront to entry the marketed costs, and you may count on to pay as much as triple the preliminary payment on renewal. 

There are a couple of neat options that might be price paying for, together with the Gator Builder web site builder and entry to the HostGator market, however there are additionally many options lacking. For instance, there’s no staging atmosphere, and the corporate actually doesn’t appear to put a lot significance on safety. 

On the plus aspect, HostGator makes it simple to start out a brand new WordPress web site. It contains a Softaculous one-click installer integration, enabling you to attach your new website inside a matter of minutes. The efficiency of our check website was under common, though not so horrible that it’s a critical concern. 

Overall, we simply can’t advocate HostGator as a viable hosting choice. If you’re on the lookout for a beginner-friendly platform, we’d counsel testing Hostinger’s hosting options. If you need one thing a bit of extra superior for a enterprise or ecommerce web site, Hostwinds ought to have you ever lined.