Learn the Facts in a HostGator Hosting Review

Whether you are running your own blog or an e-commerce site, you will know the importance of choosing a reliable web hosting provider who will offer you minimal downtime and a good range of features to meet your needs. HostGator’s generous 45 day money back guarantee helps to give purchasers complete peace of mind in the event that their package does not meet their needs, while their comprehensive selection of plans offer something to meet the needs of all website owners. Find out everything that you need to know about whether to choose HostGator web hosting in this helpful HostGator review, and make an informed choice of hosting provider to meet your website’s needs.

All You Need to Know About HostGator Shared Hosting Packages

HostGator shared hosting packages represent an excellent deal for anyone running a personal or small to mid-sized business website. They are one of the few providers that offer a month to month package as well as longer term plans. The HostGator shared hosting basic plan, the Hatchling, starts at a very affordable $7.17 a month and is a good choice for beginners, offering one domain, unlimited bandwidth, email addresses and disk space as well as third party applications like e-commerce platforms and content management systems. For those who need a little more leeway, the mid-level Baby plan for less than $1 more a month offers unlimited domains, and the top level shared hosting account, the Business plan (at under $12 per month) offers other options including an SSL Certificate. Unlike many other hosting providers, HostGator have the option to select a server that uses either a Linux or a Windows operating system, perfect if your website is running applications that are incompatible with one of these systems. Should you require a Virtual Private Server or Dedicated server to meet the needs of your website, HostGator provides these as an upgrade option.

Building Your Site and Managing Emails with HostGator

Although the HostGator user interface is not as user friendly as that provided by some of the other hosting options, it is pretty easy to build your own website, even if you are a novice. There are several options available for website building including the popular drag and drop Weebly which allows you to create an attracive webpage easily. You also have the option to install other content management system platforms like WordPress, Joomla and Drupal, and you can use the File Manager tool to upload files manually to your website.

Even the HostGator shared hosting basic package allows unlimited emails to be associated with your domain and it is very easy to set up your email accounts one at a time through the Customer Portal. There is a built-in facility to check the strength of your password, however there is no anti-spam or anti-virus tools built into HostGator’s emails, whereas other providers come with these as standard.

Customer Service, E-Commerce and Security Features with HostGator Web Hosting

HostGator web hosting allows access to the Mojo Marketplace, where you can find a broad spectrum of third party applications including email marketing tools and e-commerce applications like Magneto and ZenCart which allow you to easily make your own attractive online shop front.

HostGator do not offer any security options on their emails like anti-spam or anti-virus protection, however even the basic HostGator shared hosting package can benefit from a shared SSL certificate. Nevertheless, if you are wanting to operating a e-commerce business you would do well to select the Business package option as this comes with the essential dedicated SSL certificate that brings peace of mind to your customers when shopping online.

HostGator web hosting offers 24/7 telephone support to customers, and staff are knowledgeable and professional. They also offer an online chat facility, however the wait times can be quite long to utilise this service. For those who would like to find their own solutions, HostGator offer a comprehensive knowledgebase which provides answers to a broad spectrum of questions and issues.

Is HostGator a Good Choice for Your Website?

HostGator has a lot of advantages when it comes to selecting a web hosting service to meet your website’s needs. With a broad range of packages on offer, there is sure to be a plan to suit your requirements, and they offer good value for money.

HostGator web hosting makes setting up your emails and websites very simple, especially if you take advantage of the Weebly website builder with its drag and drop functionality that makes it easy even for novices to use. Other bonuses like unlimited data storage and bandwidth make HostGator an attractive option.

One of HostGator’s strong advantages is that they offer a choice of Linux or Windows servers which accommodates the needs of all types of website users. If you are using applications that are only compatable with the Windows operating system, HostGator could be the perfect choice for you.

There are some drawbacks however to choosing HostGator shared hosting packages. Their user interface is not the most accessible and can be difficult to navigate, especially for those who are new to creating their own website. There are also better alternative companies when it comes to email security, as no anti-spam or anti-virus protection is offered by HostGator. Although HostGator’s customer service is very professional and capable of answering queries effectively, wait times can be longer than with other web hosting companies. There is also no facility for one step WordPress import, which means that it can be more difficult for novices to get started should they need to do this.