HostGator Web Hosting Review

RANK

Overview

HostGator is a Houston based company and chances are you’ve heard of them one time or another. They have been one of the most used and most popular hosting companies for years. They have been around since 2002 and utilize two U.S. based data centers. What has made HostGator so successful in the hosting world? Is it their massive marketing budget? Customer service? Uptime? or something else? I took a look at all the analytics I could find and compared that to actual user testimonials to find out if HostGator is all that it’s cracked up to be.

Overall Rating

Price 80%
Support 75%
Reliability 75%
Features 80%

VISIT SITE

PROS:

Good variety of plans
Easy to use control panel
45 day money back guarantee
$150 in offers for Adwords and Bing

CONS:

Customer service is inefficient
Uptime is inconsistant
Load times are slower than competitors
Unflattering user reviews

It should come as no surprise that HostGator is up for review here at ReviewsZone. Host Gator is easily one of the most recognizable brands in the hosting world. I aimed to find out why. Is it due to incredible customer service and great prices? Is it because of a numerous amount of features? Or is it just an incredibly large marketing budget?

When comparing uptime and load speed to other hosting companies I was shocked at the results. HostGator actually shows sub-par numbers for both uptime and load speed. They have made a drastic improvement over the years but only for the cloud hosting plan they provide. When it comes to their basic shared plans, they fall very short. After taking a look at customer service reports and tickets submitted, the response time was lacking, to put it nicely. Many people complained about less than adequate customer service a lack of resolution to simple problems.

Some good things you can expect from Host Gator hosting is unmetered bandwidth, a very easy to use cPanel (control panel) and $150 in credits you can apply to Google Adwords or Bing/Yahoo ads. HostGator does offer a wide array of plans that fit more individual needs. All in all, I have come to the conclusion that HostGator has some improvements to make, but if you take a look at their last year, they have already made a significant improvement. Let’s hope they keep improving!

HostGator has 7 different plans you can chose from and the price is pretty standard for the industry. But, is the product worth the price? Here’s what I’ve discovered by meticulously going over the details of all of their plans and the add-ons they have to offer. Starting at only $2.78, the initial basic plan price is very impressive. But for the quality and service you get for that price, you start to understand why it’s so cheap. If you do want to step up to a more quality plan with better uptime and load speeds, the cost rises more quickly than you’d expect. If you need to unlock all of the features HostGator has to offer, you just might experience a little sticker shock.

The reviews and testimonials are probably the biggest red flag with HostGator. A lot of customers have reported less than stellar customer service and ticket response time. If you are running an eCommerce based website, you know that time means money. Some reports have shown that HostGator has taken up to a week or longer to respond to a ticket. This can cost your business thousands of dollars or more! Sub-par customer service paired with a lower than the industry standard uptime can be disastrous. HostGator has vastly improved in the last year and reports show that they will continue to do so over the next few years. The reviews and testimonials are 55% negative across the board. For being one of the top 10 hosting companies, this is simply unacceptable. Keep in mind, though, the improvements they have made are already easing customers worries. Give them a little time and HostGator could show their true potential.

Summary

HostGator must have a very large marketing budget because their name is well known in the hosting world. When I compare all the reports, however, I have to conclude that I would not recommend Host Gator for anyone who needs more than basic hosting. If you purchase their base plan you will find that it’s one of the best priced on the market. If you have a very simple set up, chances are you will never need to submit a ticket or call customer service. If you have an eCommerce business, you might want to avoid the basic plans due to inconsistent uptime and terrible customer service response time. When you get into their more pricy plans, such as cloud hosting, the uptime is far better and customer service response times are faster. This means you’re going to have to spend a little extra with HostGator. Most other hosting companies don’t believe this is fair and would prefer to earn your business rather than buy it with a large marketing budget.