Sunday, October 2nd
2022 Web Hosting Company Reviews
Host Papa
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Standard web hosting
- Optimized WordPress hosting
- Managed WordPress hosting
- VPS hosting
- Reseller hosting
- Website builder
- eCommerce
- Free Migration
- Do-It-For-Me setup help
HostPapa, in business since 2007, provides shared, VPS, managed WordPress, optimized WordPress, and reseller hosting as well as a premium website builder. The company hosts 200,000 customers with a 99.9% uptime guarantee, 24/7 email support, and live telephone and chat support in multiple languages. They have a 30-day money-back guarantee on shared web hosting and reseller hosting. There are specific conditions to qualifying for the money-back guarantee, so be sure to read the fine print.
Green Hosting"We Think?
HostPapa has a link to "Green Hosting" but the page didn't contain any details other than to state that they are a "leader in green hosting" . So if you're looking for a host that specifically provides environmentally responsible hosting, we can only assume that they are compliant in that arena.
Competitive Pricing
Pricing plans, billed annually, for shared hosting are introductory rates of $3.95 per month for Starter or Business plans. The introductory rate for the Business Pro plan is $12.95 per month. At renewal, Starter and Business jump to $11.99 per month and $16.99 per month, respectively. The Business Pro plan jumps to $27.99 per month. There are $1-$2 per month discounts when paying for 24 or 36 months at a time. Plans for managed WordPress, optimized WordPress, and VPS are similarly increased or structured at renewal time. The monthly pricing, billed annually, for the website builder doesn't have a renewal rate.
Versatile Website Builder Tool
The website builder HostPapa offers is mobile-responsive and is a separate offering that includes 2 pages for the Starter plan and up to 1,000 pages for the Business, Premium, and Enterprise plans. You also get free domain registration with each plan. With the Premium and Enterprise plans, you get advanced HTML and CSS editing as well as header and footer code injection, which is useful for add-on scripting and analytics. With the Enterprise plan, you get eCommerce features, over 45 different payment gateways, no additional transaction fees, digital goods features, inventory management, and being able to sell on Facebook.
HostPapa hosting costs
HostPapa offers the following web hosting plans:
- $3.95 per month for Starter or Business plans
- $12.95 for the Business Pro plan
Support and Services
For customer support, you'll have access to a knowledge base, videos, live chat, phone, and email. Additional services such as SiteLock, SSL, protection from hackers, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, advanced business email, backups, done-for-you, and domain name registration are all sold separately.
Responsive Customer Support
HostPapa's server speed at producing the first byte to the web browser is 187 milliseconds for their home page. That's a great number to see, assuming that most hosting customers have that same experience. HostPapa has an "A+" accredited rating with the Better Business Bureau. It has fairly good reviews there and the complaints registered are all responded to. Elsewhere, HostPapa receives mostly positive reviews. People like the helpfulness of customer service representatives, ease of use, and competitive pricing compared to other hosts. Complaints included issues with customer service representatives, trouble getting refunds for unexpected renewals, and high prices.
Trusted Web Hosting with a Long History
HostPapa is a solid hosting company with longevity in a shifting industry. It would be better if their offerings were more comprehensive and not so much a la carte. But we still recommend HostPapa as a serious contender in your list of choices.
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The 14 Best Web Hosting Companies
Which Web Hosting Service is the Best?
Having a website is a necessity for anyone who wants to communicate with a regional, national, or global audience. Whether it's a website for brand awareness, eCommerce, media, services, writing, or a hobby, every site needs to be hosted somewhere. Since the web began, thousands of hosting companies have arisen, flourished, and disappeared. How do you know which companies available today will be around as long as you plan to have your website online? And, how do you know what features to look for?
For starters, be aware of your budget and what hosting companies charge. Don't be lured in by apparently low-priced plans without first reading the fine print. Many companies attract website owners with seemingly impossibly low fees only to jack up the rate at the time the hosting plan is renewed. Some offer a single rate regardless of the billing period. Others offer discounts based on whether you pay monthly, yearly or multiple years in advance. Yet others offer more advanced capabilities depending on the size and needs of your website and audience.
Web Hosting Company FAQ
- Fast Time to First Byte (the time it takes for the web server to deliver the first byte of data in a request)
- Free SSL certificates that automatically renew
- Focus on security and performance so that an attack or spike in traffic on another unrelated site on the same server will not adversely affect your site
- Included Content Delivery Network (CDN) to duplicate your content closer to the geographical location of your visitors for faster content delivery
- High availability (typically 99.99% uptime) so that you have as little downtime as possible
- Backup and restore capabilities, preferably included at no additional cost
- Maintenance package if your site uses a content management service like WordPress
- Easy access to support via chat, email, and phone in case of problems or questions
Continued from above...
When considering features, make a list of what you really need, what would be good to have, and what isn't very necessary. For example, do you need a plethora of themes to choose from in a do-it-yourself direction, or would you rather have a web designer create a custom design for you? Do you need a high-availability, supercharged dedicated server or just a bit of space on a shared server? Do you plan to develop your own code or do you need a professional developer for that? If you don't have a domain, will the host sell you one? If you do have a domain, how hard is it for the host to transfer it and also migrate your existing site? If you need email, eCommerce, advertising, and search engine optimization (SEO), be sure to list those as well.
Something people almost never think about is security and performance. Most like to assume that all hosts are secure and provide fast page load speeds. But that isn't always the case! This is especially a problem when a host charges very low prices for marginally capable plans. Those services are not likely to be secure or fast. Beware of shared hosting, which means your site is among hundreds or even thousands of others housed on the same server. In a shared server, when someone else's site is compromised or has a problem, it puts your site at risk.
Finally, look at a hosting company's reputation. This is not just about how many years they have in business. It's a combination of longevity, how they treat customers, how many complaints are logged, and how many of those complaints are directly answered by a representative of the company. Ask other website owners, web designers, and developers if they like or dislike a hosting company you're considering. Most of them will be able to share good and bad stories about any hosting company.
When evaluating your list and narrowing down your choices, consider these factors:
- Features. Which features does the web host offer and do you need all the features or just some of them?
- Cost. How are the hosting costs structured? Will there be monthly subscription cost hikes after a certain period of time?
- Reputation. What are people saying about the web host online? Is the web host going to shut down or change names soon, and are they engaging in shady practices that can hurt your brand?
- Security. How many security incidents has the web hosting company experienced? Are there widespread complaints of site outages? If so, how quickly and to what extent were those issues addressed?
- Performance. Are websites generally faster or slower on one web hosting service compared to its competitors? Does the web host offer plans that handle increasing numbers of visitors or sudden traffic spikes with more ease?
- Customer Service. If you experience problems with your website, what are the contact options for getting support, and how responsive are they? Are support representatives courteous and helpful, or are they rude and condescending? How long does it take to fix problems?
TopConsumerReviews.com has created a list of the most popular or prominent website hosting providers to guide you in your research. We hope this information makes it easier for you to choose the best web host for your business that will make your website engaging, performant, affordable, and secure.
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