Are you planning to launch your website, and then an application for the same or a shared hosting? What about a one-stop solution for all of that? Introducing HostGator, a web-hosting company, based in Texas which has gained expertise in this sector for over 15 years. It is one of the oldest companies in the web hosting industry and highly reputed for its good uptime. Currently, HostGator is a part of the Endurance International Group.
HostGator comes with an extended range of products to meet all necessary hosting essentials, such as cloud hosting, VPS hosting, reseller account, shared hosting, dedicated servers, drag and drop tool for websites and many more. However, you should be informed that this company offers only three dedicated and VPS servers with a very limited configuration.
Hostgator: Best Plans & Types
HostGator seems pretty decent in offering bulky features even with its basic plan. The starter pack “Hatchling” comes with these following features_
- Unlimited storage space
- Free templates for websites
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Simple control panel
- Free SSL certificates
- MySQL database
- Flexibility in adding helpful add-ons
- User-Friendly WordPress
All these features are more than enough to run even a business website. However, this starter plan is priced only $2.75 a month (payments are done on a three-year plan). The “Business Plan” offered by HostGator carries unlimited domain hosting. This plan also allows adding some professional features, such as_
- SSL certificate
- Dedicated IP
The “Business Plan” is also much affordable and is priced $5.95 monthly for three years. This pack can be renewed for a payment of $14.95- $16.95 (on the ground of service length). Interestingly, HostGator also offers another plan, namely “Baby Plan”. This includes all the features in “Hatchling” along with unlimited Domain. This plan can be subscribed for $2.98 monthly.
The only significant problem you can face with HostGator is its preference for the automated installer. Other web host giants come with Softaculous which efficiently simplifies the installation procedure for WordPress, PrestaShop, Magento, Joomla and a handful of other applications. However, HostGator is highly preoccupied with WordPress only. Nothing to worry! If you need other applications, you can install them manually as well.
Website Builder:
The website builder by HostGator is based on Weebly. You can enjoy cool drag and drop features with its website builder and also comes with free SSL. However, you need to be aware of this trap by HostGator. With its website builder, you basically subscribe to a $4 monthly plan by Weebly. It offers a very limited space of 500 MB for your web hosting. It is not a problem for most of all; however, it can stand to be a big issue for the web designers.
HostGator also offers a paid plan for its consumers which allows you to remove such limitations and it also allows you to add important features, such as_
- Shopping cart
- Password protection
- Statistics
- Site search and many more.
The website builder by HostGator may cost you $8.68 monthly. The subscription of HostGator is highly recommended for you, or you may choose to spend $12 for subscribing to Weebly’s Pro Account. The choice is yours to make.
Application Hosting:
Exciting to know that, HostGator has deployed supercharged cloud architecture and servers with minimal density, several caching layers as well as CDN. This has made this Web Host relatively faster in loading web pages than any others in the market. You also need to know that, HostGator provides free migration for shifting your WordPress to a new account.
This process is much safer with HostGator, as it offers an automatic update for WordPress which keeps the site secure in real-time. The charges for application hosting with HostGator starts from $5.95 monthly, how affordable can that be? This plan can be renewed for a payment of $9.95.
Site Management:
Don’t worry if you are a novice in web hosting. The customer portal offered by HostGator comes with a cool dashboard that allows you to manage the account and take hold of your web space. You need to know that, most of the features offered by HostGator for site management are very optional. At the moment of signing up, it asks you to purchase CodeGuard, a backup system for web hosting and the annoying part is, it keeps you pushing notification all the time to buy it. Another site management feature offered by HostGator is ‘Search our KnowledgeBase’ is also not much useful. The control panel section comes with regular management modules for your website, such as_
- Email Account
- Database
- File manager
If you want to add up some more features in your control panel, such as FTP, Webalizer and other, you can do that manually.
Customer Support Of HostGator:
‘Search our KnowledgeBase’ can be considered the first line of support by HostGator. It comprises a huge list of articles organized categorically as_
- Domains
- Control Panel
- Security
- Database
- VPS and many more.
HostGator’s search box is very efficient in providing to the point articles at top. Nothing to worry if you are not satisfied with the result. HostGator also offers live chat support or you can also choose to talk to customer service over the phone (toll-free). They offer 24*7 supports to their consumers.
WordPress by HostGator:
Building a website with HostGator is very simple. HostGator offers two options for creating a website, which are_
- Powered by Weebly
- Drag and drop builder
After choosing the option, you get to pick your domain and a directory. After that, you get enter necessary information such as blog title, name, username and your email address and that is all. Installing WordPress with HostGator is now just a click away.
Pros & Cons Of HostGator:
As stated before, it is one of the oldest in business and still pertains to be very popular around the world for some particular reasons. Here is a list of some of the pros and cons of this renowned web host provided for you,
Pros:
- Fats Server
HostGator is much faster than other web hosts in the market
- Discounts
A first time user of HostGator can choose their service at a very minimal price. What are you waiting for then?
- Support Channels
It offers multiple support channels which is not a big deal though. However, they offer support via social media also.
- Free migration
- Strong Server Uptime
It offers a maximum server uptime on average with 99.9%. Most interestingly, HostGator administrators also back it up with a full guarantee.
Cons:
Here is a list of some of the noticeable disadvantages with HostGator for you to decide your next web host_
- Inconsistent Speed
Even with their 99.9% uptime guarantee, users report of slow loading of pages. However, you also need to keep your images optimized to avoid issues like that.
- Limitation to Backup
The Backup feature offered by HostGator is not an automatic process. You have to do it manually from the control panel.
- Support
People complain about customer service’s long response time.
- Renewal fees
It is a noticeable fact that renewal fees can grow expensive in time.
FAQS:
Am I liable for HostGator discounts if my account is older?
Ans: – No. Discounts are only applicable to the new accounts of HostGator. It does not apply to any renewal or up-gradation of plans. You should also be aware that, existing plans cannot be transferred to new HostGator accounts or canceled to avail of promotions.
How to install an SSL certificate?
Ans: – in order to install an SSL certificate, you have to contact customer support.
How to know about the available disc space?
Ans: – to know about available disc space, you need to log in to the control panel and then click on the icon for disc space inside the file tab.
You can also check bandwidth usage by clicking on the Bandwidth icon.
How long does it take for the website to be on track?
Ans: – After you make changes to the website DNS record, it generally takes 24 hours for your websites to get working. However, it does not take much longer if you make slight changes in the record.
How to install any script?
Ans: – You can use the quick installer tool for the same. It allows easy installation of Joomla, WordPress, or e-commerce sites, such as Magneto. QuickInstaller can be found in the control panel, under the software section.
How Bandwidth can this affect my web hosting?
Ans: – When someone visits your website, it basically sends a request to the server for that particular web page. The process of this transmission requires bandwidth. Therefore, the more request a server gets, or the more visitors you get on your page, the more bandwidth it is going to consume.
If a server is unable to cope with the bandwidth consumed, it can crash your website. This is why, HostGator is highly beneficial, as it offers unlimited bandwidth to its users.
