HostGator Review 2023 (Best Pick For Novice Webmasters)

Are you looking for the Hostgator review?

Well, this post is definitely for you where you’ll discover everything related to the HostGator that includes its basic overview, features, plans & pricing, pros, cons, and much more.

A domain name and web hosting are two primary things needed to start a blog or website. But finding a reliable web host within budget could be a tedious job for novice webmasters.

That’s why we came up with a thought to review HostGator hosting so that you can easily decide whether HostGator is a good pick for you or not?

So without much ado, let’s get started.

HostGator Overview

Hostgator is one of the most oldest and reliable web hosting companies.

It was founded back in 2002 in a dorm room, now became the leading provider of Shared, Reseller, VPS, and Dedicated web hosting with having several international offices throughout the globe.

In 2012, HostGator was acquired by Endurance International Group.

Their unparalleled speed, reliability, technical support, and customer service made them win several prestigious awards from some big brands like Hosting Advice, PCMAG.COM, and wpbeginner.

Whether you are looking for web hosting services for a small business or an established big enterprise, they have got you covered!

Their every plan is a fully-featured pack plan which is available at very affordable prices.

So now let’s get started knowing about HostGator’s web hosting services in detail.

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HostGator Review 2023: An Honest Review of Their Hosting Services

Firstly, let’s talk about all the features that you get with HostGator shared hosting.

Features List of HostGator

All these features make HostGator a perfect package for beginners to start a blog or website.

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HostGator Pricing Plans (Starts At $2.75/mo)

HostGator shared hosting offers you 3 pricing plans which are listed below.

• Hatchling plan
• Baby plan
• Business plan

1. Hatchling plan: This is the cheapest hosting plan from HostGator where you can install 1 WordPress website which costs you $2.75 per month and this is the hosting plan that’s great for starters and entry-level websites.

2. Baby plan: This is the most recommended and widely popular shared hosting plan from HostGator where you can install unlimited sites which costs you $3.95 per month and offers you features like unlimited domains, one-click installs, unmetered bandwidth, free SSL certificates, and so on.

3. Business plan: This is the advanced shared hosting plan from HostGator which costs you $5.95 per month and you will get access to all the features from the baby plan along with exclusive features like a free upgrade to positive SSL, free dedicated IP, free SEO tools worth $50/year and so on.

What about the discount on HostGator hosting plans?

You’ll be getting 60% off on all the shared hosting plans from HostGator and you don’t have to enter any promo code to avail of this offer while using our affiliate link to sign up.

Are there any other hosting choices available from HostGator?

Apart from shared hosting, HostGator also offers a variety of hosting plans that fit all budgets and requirements. Here are a few of the other web hosting options offered by HostGator.

• Cloud hosting: Cloud hosting is both affordable and faster which is most suitable if your website gets frequent traffic spikes. Their pricing plans include Hatchling Cloud, Baby Cloud, and Business Cloud and they start at the pricing of $4.95 per month
• WordPress hosting: This is also another shared hosting plan which is exclusively optimized for WordPress powered websites. It optimizes performance and protects your website from some common WordPress attacks and also performs automatic WordPress updates. The pricing starts at $5.95 per month
• VPS hosting: Virtual Private Server allows you to manage your virtual resources on a cloud hosting platform and also offers you the fastest website speeds and the pricing plans start at just around $30 per month
• Dedicated hosting: With dedicated hosting, you get a server solely for hosting your websites and the pricing plans start at around $120 per month

Apart from the above hosting choices, HostGator also offers you reseller hosting, Application hosting, Windows hosting, etc so you can literally host any type of website ranging from a small website to portfolio site to big eCommerce site.

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3 Reasons You Might Want to Consider HostGator

If you’re thinking about whether HostGator is a good choice for you or not, then you can consider the following 3 reasons and make a choice.

1. Lots of new features added to HostGator (at no extra cost!)

The good news is that HostGator is improving with time and introducing incredible hosting features at no extra cost. If you’re curious to know what those features are, here you go.

Free SSL certificates: SSL certificates assure your website visitors and customers that any data including credit cards, passwords etc they enter on your website is fully secure and protected.

HostGator is now offering SSL certificates to all the hosting plans (including basic plan) at free of cost. Previously it used to charge extra for providing SSL certificates but now it’s offering them for free to provide better security to the users.

Free website transfer: Previously HostGator used to charge extra money for website transfers but it is now providing this service free of cost.

So if you want to migrate your website from an existing web host to HostGator, you can avail their website transfer feature completely for free. Note that, HostGator provides free transfers for new accounts within 30 days of signing up, (along with newly upgraded accounts), so make sure to avail this feature within 30 days.

Free domain transfer: Is your domain registered elsewhere? Want to host your domain and move to HostGator for free? HostGator provides you 1 free domain transfer per billing account of any domain that may be transferred to HostGator through Launchpad.

You can request the free domain registration transfer any time while you have an active hosting package on your billing account by contacting them via phone or Live Chat.

Free dedicated IP (with free SEO tools): Although this feature is limited ONLY to HostGator Business shared hosting plan users (costs you $5.95 per month) but you’ll get a free dedicated IP address along with SEO tools for free which are worth of $50/year.

HostGator also includes SEO Tools “start” package providing you the tools to increase your website search rankings including a personalized step-by-step SEO plan.

2. A ton of useful hosting features

Here are a few more useful features offered by HostGator.

Unlimited everything: HostGator is mostly popular because it offers you unlimited everything which includes the following.

• Unlimited domains (except Hatchling plan)
• Unmetered bandwidth
• Unmetered storage
• Unlimited SSL certificates (this applies automatically to every domain hosted on your account)
• Unlimited subdomains
• Unlimited FTP accounts
• Unlimited MySQL databases
• Unlimited email accounts

As you can see above, you’ll literally get everything you need to host and manage a website with HostGator shared hosting features.

One click installs: HostGator offers you easy to use cPanel along with easy 1-click installs where you can choose from all the best hosting applications including WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, phpBB, Wiki and so on.

In case if you’re launching an eCommerce store, you can easily grow your online business by using eCommerce specific platforms such as Magento, PrestaShop, ZenCart, etc.

3. Affordable hosting plans (plus monthly plans)

Another reason to consider hosting from HostGator is that it offers you really affordable hosting plans as their basic shared hosting plans start at just $2.75 per month (cheaper than Bluehost and SiteGround).

Not only that, HostGator also offers you monthly hosting plans which most of the other web hosts such as Bluehost don’t offer. So if you’re not comfortable paying for 1 or 2 years hosting fee at once, monthly plans from HostGator can come handy for you.

Above all, you’ll also get $200 worth of marketing credits for both Bing and Google to display paid ads to promote your website or online business.

• $100 Bing Ads Credit
• $100 Google AdWords

As you can see above, millions of people opt for a web host like HostGator simply because it offers you incredible hosting features at really affordable prices.

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1 Reason You May Avoid HostGator

The only drawback of using HostGator hosting is that they do not offer automatic backups with their shared hosting plans.

When it comes to choosing the right web host, website security should be given top choice because literally thousands of websites get hacked every single day. Your web hosting plays a key role when it comes to securing your WordPress website from hackers.

But HostGator really lacks in providing superior security features to secure your WordPress sites. In fact, you’ll need to pay extra money for a few security features such as;

• Site backup
• SiteLock monitoring etc

Both the above features are premium add-on services in HostGator (as they should be provided for free and that definitely makes HostGator better).

If you’re curious here are the details about the above tools.

Site backup: This is a premium backup add-on from HostGator powered by CodeGuard which costs you $2 per month (billed annually at $23.95) which helps you with daily automated website backup for all website files and databases with a 1-click restore.

SiteLock monitoring: This is a premium add-on from HostGator which costs you $1.67 per month (billed annually at $19.99) which checks your website daily and immediately notifies you if your website has been hacked or injected with malicious code.

Read: Top 10 Best WordPress Hosting Providers for High Traffic Websites 

So there you go. If you still have any doubt or confusion regarding Hostgator, you should look for other hosting alternatives before signing up for HostGator.

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Alternatives to HostGator Hosting

If you are searching for other better alternatives to HostGator hosting, here are 3 better web hosting options we’ve for you.

1. Bluehost

There’s a reason why we’re mentioning Bluehost #1 in the list of better HostGator alternatives and the reason is it offers better security and customer support. Bluehost is also the #1 web host which is officially recommended by WordPress and used by over 2 million sites worldwide.

Here’s the pricing list of Bluehost shared hosting (not mentioning their Go Pro plan which is really expensive to Bluehost shared hosting plan standards).

1. Basic plan: This is the basic shared hosting plan from Bluehost which costs you $2.95 per month (normally $3.95 per month) where you can install 1 website and you’ll get the following features.

2. Plus plan: This shared hosting plan costs you $5.95 per month (normally $10.99 per month) where you can install unlimited websites and you’ll get these features.

3. Choice plus: This is the widely used shared hosting plan from Bluehost which costs you $5.95 per month for a limited time (normally $14.99 per month) and you’ll get the following features.

2. HostArmada

Whether you know it or not, both Bluehost and HostGator belong to the same EIG group that holds dozens of other web hosts. 

So if you don’t want to get hosting from the EIG group and looking for other better HostGator alternatives, you can give a try to HostArmada which offers a plethora of hosting features.

You can read our detailed HostArmada review to find its pros, cons, and more.

The good thing? HostArmada pricing plans are extremely affordable and you’ll get a 70% instant discount if you go with their 3-year hosting plans. 

Here are the pricing plans offered by HostArmada.

1. Start Dock: This plan costs you just $2.99 per month (70% off) and offers the following list of hosting features. 

2. Web Warp: This plan costs you $4.49 per month (70% off) and offers the following list of web hosting features. 

3. Speed Reaper: This plan is suitable for speed and better security features like private DNS and costs you $5.39 per month (70% off) and offers the following features. 

You can also check out our latest HostArmada coupon codes to find the latest deals and discounts on their hosting plans. 

3. WPX Hosting

Last but not least: WPX hosting is one of the best alternatives to HostGator. Although WPX hosting costs bit extra (pricing starts at $25/mo) but it is worth every penny. This is the same web host we’ve been using at BloggersPassion ever since we migrated from HostGator hosting and we’re extremely happy with the results.

Here are the WPX hosting pricing plans.

1. Business plan: This is the most affordable hosting plan from WPX hosting which costs you $24.99 per month ($19.99 per month if you pay annually) and you can host up to 5 websites using this plan. You get 10 GB of storage with this plan.

2. Professional plan: This is a much better but expensive plan which costs you $49.99 per month ($39.99 per month if you pay annually) and you can host up to 15 websites using this plan. You get 20 GB of storage with this plan.

3. Elite plan: This is the advanced WPX hosting plan which costs you $99 per month ($79.99 per month if you pay annually) and you can host up to 35 websites using this plan. You get 40 GB of storage with this plan.

As you can see above, we have provided you 3 of the best web hosting alternatives to HostGator instead of 1 so you can go through their pricing plans along with their hosting features and pick the right web host that suits your budget and website needs.

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Pros And Cons of HostGator

Let’s now talk about the pros and cons of HostGator hosting so you can easily decide whether it’s a right web host for you or not.

Pros:

Cons:

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What about the speed and uptime?

What about the speed and uptime provided by HostGator?

Let’s talk about both these things so you can decide whether or not to use HostGator for hosting purposes.

So let’s talk about the uptime and speed offered by HostGator.

Let’s start with its uptime first.

Although HostGator claims 99.9% uptime guarantee but we’ll find their “true uptime” by visiting the Hrank website as they track millions of websites regularly to check the uptime and response times of over 300 web hosts worldwide.

Here’s the uptime of HostGator (data is taken from Hrank)

As you can see above, the uptime of HostGator for the last 30 days is over 99.9% (which is higher than what actually is claimed by HostGator). So the overall uptime is great.

What about the speed?

As you can see above, the response time for the last 30 days is “1173 ms” which is 1.73 seconds. That means, the average speed of websites hosted on HostGator is almost close to 2 seconds.

Not too bad considering the affordable pricing plans offered by HostGator.

Now, you can decide whether HostGator is great in terms of uptime and speed or not. Then, you can use our HostGator promo code if you’re happy with them.

So, this is our unbiased review of Hostgator.

For us, Hostgator is one of the best hosting service providers and one can go with it without thinking twice.

If you want to start a WordPress site on Hostgator right away, here is a step by step guide for doing the same with ease.

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How to Set up a WordPress Blog on HostGator (Step by Step)

So let’s now talk about how you can set up a WordPress site on Hostgator.

Step 1: Click on this link to visit HostGator website. You’ll be landing on an exclusive page dedicated to the BloggersPassion readers.

Here’s how it looks like;

Choose any of the hosting plans from the above as you’re provided with 3 plans including;

• Hatchling Plan (if you want to host only one website on HostGator)
• Baby Plan (if you want to host unlimited websites)
• Business Plan (can host unlimited sites along with free private SSL, Free Dedicated IP etc)

Quick tip: We highly recommend Hatchling Plan to beginners as it is the most affordable plan inlcuded with all the necessary features required to build a site from scratch.

Step 2: Choose an easy to remember domain name

Once you’ve chosen your preferred hosting plan from HostGator, you’ll be taken to their billing page where you need to register a new domain or you can also enter any domain that you already own.

Step 3: Select a Hosting plan and Billing cycle

Quick tip: We highly recommend you choose 36 months plan to save maximum.

Step 4: Create your Hostgator Account

Step 5: Enter your Billing Information

Step 6: Remove Additional Services

Uncheck all the additional services, as a beginner, you will not require them.

Step 7: Enter a Coupon Code

This coupon code will be applied automatically. So you don’t need to enter any promo code from your end.

Step 8: Review Order Details

Review your order details and click on the Checkout Now button.

That’s it, you’re done. Upon successful payment, you’ll get a welcome email from HostGator with all the details so you can install WordPress easily.

Quick note: In case if you are not happy with HostGator web hosting, you can cancel your account within 45 days of your hosting purchase and you’ll get a full refund!

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Hostgator Customer Reviews

If you are still not satisfied with the features that HostGator offers, have a quick look at the HostGator reviews given by its renowned customers.

What Others are Reading:

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FAQs

Here’s a list of few important questions you might want to know about HostGator and their hosting plans in general.

1. What type of web hosting do I need from HostGator?

It completely depends on your website’s needs (along with your budget). If you’re a beginner who wants to get access to an affordable hosting plan from HostGator, we highly recommend you to check out Baby shared hosting plan as it costs you just $3.95 per month and you can install unlimited sites with free SSL certificates, unlimited storage, bandwidth, etc.

But if you’re looking for an exclusive WordPress hosting, you should definitely consider HostGator managed WordPress hosting choice where the pricing plans start at $5.95 per month (basic plan). You’ll get excellent speed, superior support along with automatic WordPress updates.

2. Will I get a free domain name with HostGator?

Yes. HostGator offers a free domain name while signing up for their hosting plans. Generally it costs you around $15 per year, but if you go with HostGator you will get a free domain name (.com included) for complete one year.

Read: Popular Domain Registrars

3. Is SiteGround better than HostGator?

Yes, when it comes to security, customer support, and speed, SiteGround is better than HostGator. SiteGround hosting uses SSD storage whereas HostGator still uses traditional HDDs. The customer support is also way better in SiteGround when compared to HostGator customer support.

SiteGround shared hosting plans start at $3.99 per month whereas HostGator shared hosting plans start at $2.75 per month. So if you’re looking for a cheaper hosting choice, HostGator is better than SiteGround.

4. What’s the money-back guarantee offered by HostGator? What payment methods does HostGator accept?

HostGator provides you a 45 days money-back guarantee which means, if you are not happy with their hosting or features within the first 45 days of your service, you can ask for a full refund by contacting their customer support through phone, live chat, or ticket system.

Coming to the payment options, HostGator accepts all major credit cards like Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. They also accept Paypal, personal checks, money orders, and bank transfers.

5. Does HostGator offer site backups?

No, Hostgator does not offer automatic backups with its shared hosting plans. It is recommended to have some other backup method such as Updraftplus or you can even consider HostGator premium CodeGuard service (which costs you a bit extra).

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Final Thoughts

We have tried our level best to cover each and every aspect of HostGator.

At last, after reviewing all the features and pricing of HostGator, we can conclude that it is one of the best web hosts for beginners.

If you’re looking for a full-fledged web host that is affordable, HostGator can be a great choice for you.

All in all, HostGator is a better hosting choice for those who are running small blogs with limited traffic and looking for affordable hosting plans.

Once your site starts growing bigger and it starts generating income, you can consider migrating your site from HostGator to other web hosts such as WPX hosting, WPEngine, etc.

So did you find our HostGator review useful? If you have any questions let us know in the comments.