Network Solutions has a long heritage behind it as it was originally founded as a consulting company all the way back in 1979. During the 1990s, the company was a major player and at one point had the entire monopoly on the sale of domain names however their grip had waned by 1998. Today the company has been substantially downsized but they still offer a selection of attractive hosting packages, primarily aimed at the needs of small business owners. With three offices in the United States and one in Buenos Aires, they are still a contender in the market. Find out everything that you need to know about this web hosting provider and discover whether this could be the right web hosting company to meet your website’s requirements in this Network Solutions review.
Panama Address: 12808 Gran Bay Parkway, Jacksonville, Florida 32258, US
Mobile No: 1.800.333.7680
Outside USA Calls: 1.570.708.8788
E-mail: premiersupport@networksolutions.com
What Can Network Solutions Shared Hosting Offer Me?
The biggest selling point of Network Solutions web hosting is its flexibility. This company focus on offering a tailored approach essentially to meet the needs of small businesses and they are generally known to be a good choice for anyone who intends to operate a large number of domains and websites or for anyone who thinks their business is likely to expand and develop over time.
Network Solutions offers a broad spectrum of hosting options, including three shared hosting packages. These are entitled Small, Large and Unlimited, and unlike many other providers, Network Solutions shared hosting packages offer a choice of both Linux and Windows operating systems servers, although there is a limit of 100 concurrent connections on Windows operated servers. All three types of plan offer unlimited data storage, however on both Small and Large packages there is a limit places on disk space which is 300 GB on the basic plan and 500 GB on the Large package. These restrictions could deter users from selecting these options unless their requirements are very basic as the amounts are quite low when compared to other providers who offer unlimited disk space as standard even on the most basic of plans. Network Solutions also offer lots of other hosting options including specific WordPress hosting, SharePoint hosting, VPS hosting and reseller hosting.
Useful Information About Network Solutions Web Hosting
Network Solutions web hosting is a reliable and trustworthy choice, as they offer a guarantee of 99.99% uptime for their Linux operating systems servers and 99.9% for their Windows operating system ones. Their customer service options are fairly limited as they do not offer a live chat facility. They do offer an online forum and some video tutorials as well as a ticketing system and a toll free telephone number based in the United States. It is possible to access extra help by purchasing MyTime support. This allows customers to access an appointment system which will action a call from a technician at a designated time. This service is aimed at novices and deals with aspects such as setting up emails, transferring websites and adding links to web pages.
Network Solutions do not use cPanel as their user interface which could be disappointing for those who are used to the user-friendly format of that control panel. Instead, this provider offer their own customised control panel which is quite basic and lacking in the features providing on more well known control panels like cPanel and Plesk.
There are some extras provided by Network Solutions to add value to your package. Customers who choose one of the three Network Solutions shared hosting plans get one free domain name on signing up. They also receive some credits towards e-commerce products offered by Network Solutions themselves. Registering one domain alone for a single year costs around $35 and $49.99 will get you a domain name and a starter web page for one year. This company do offer an interesting special feature however in that they offer 100 year hosting for a fee of just under $1000. This is ideal for those who do not want to deal with the hassle of having to renew their account regularly.
Should I Choose Network Solutions Web Hosting for my Website?
Network Solutions do have many things to offer, but primarily they are a better option for those who require a more bespoke approach to their website. Particularly suited to those who are running a website with the potential to grow and expand, they do offer more flexibility than some other package providers. Network Solutions also has the backing of one of the biggest organisations in the industry, Web.com, so you can feel safe in the knowledge that your data is being protected by a major established brand. Users can benefit from inclusive web building software to get them off the ground, and novices who pay a little extra can get the extra help offered by MyTime support. Network Solutions also have a very impressive record for uptime and so are a good and reliable choice if you want to be certain that you are minimising the downtime of your website.
There are quite a few negatives to this company however. The biggest drawback is the user interface which is not particularly user friendly, and quite basic when compared to popular and commonly found alternatives like Plesk and cPanel. The lack of a live chat facility on their website is also a bit of a drawback as this tends to be a standard feature for many of Network Solutions’ competitors.